Dead Pool 13th November 2016

Good afternoon all, welcome to yet more deadly hilarity! Again, no points to award, we’re not doing so well considering celebrities are dying like flies this year!!!

So, let’s talk about next year! You now have seven weeks remaining to research and submit your new list. Sounds like a lot of time, but remember how long it took you to get around to watching that box set? Yeah…

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Leonard Cohen, 82, Canadian singer-songwriter (“Suzanne“, “Hallelujah“, “First We Take Manhattan“), poet and novelist (Let Us Compare Mythologies, Beautiful Losers).
• Julie Gregg, 79, American actress (The Godfather, The Happy Time, Batman), cancer.
• Sir Jimmy Young, 95, British radio personality (Radio 2) and singer (“Unchained Melody“, “The Man from Laramie“).
• Robert Vaughn, 83, American actor (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Magnificent Seven, Hustle), acute leukemia.

In Other News

Jill Gascoine is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, her heartbroken husband has revealed. Actor Alfred Molina said his wife’s prognosis was “bleak” and that she was in latter stages of the disease. Gascoine, 79, is best known for her role ITV’s The Gentle Touch  which ran from 1980 to 1984 and, at its height, was regularly watched by 18 million viewers. The actress also played a recurring role in the hugely popular 1970s drama The Onedin Line. Molina, who is 16 years younger than his wife, told The Radio Times: “Not everyone can approach Alzheimer’s with the bravery that Terry Pratchett showed.” Molina added: “Every Alzheimer’s case is unique unto itself – the only thing that unites them all is the outcome is always the same. Ultimately, you end up on the same path.”

Joyce Frost, who appeared as the “Old Woman” on BBC Radio 2’s Steve Wright in the Afternoon, has died. Frost, from Dagenham, east London, died “peacefully and pain free” last week, Wright announced on his Wednesday show. The Old Woman, a regular on the show, discussed the news and once presented the “factoids” slot – listing quirky facts – with Hollywood star Will Smith. Wright praised her as “a complete natural on the air” and said she had been a “lovely, lovely person”. On Wednesday’s show, Wright told  listeners she had been “very opinionated and witty” and always cheeky, funny and charming. He added: “It’s a sad loss, thank you for being the Old Woman with us Joyce and we’ll miss you very much.”

Sir Bruce Forsyth’s wife has thanked the public for the support the couple have received  during the entertainer’s recuperation from surgery. “We’ve had so many wonderful letters and phone calls and good wishes for him,” said Lady Wilnelia Forsyth. Earlier this month, Lady Forsyth said the 88-year-old was still having “a bit of a problem moving”. “He’s in incredible shape mentally but he gets very tired,” she said. Speaking on ITV on Thursday, Lady Forsyth said it had been “very hard” for her husband to be convalescing, having been “active until just recently”. Sir Bruce has not been seen in public of late, having been too frail to attend the funerals of close friends Ronnie Corbett and Sir Terry Wogan. “With a little bit of luck he should be back,” said the 1975 Miss World winner. “I don’t expect him to go tap dancing, he’s not doing that at home, but he loves show business.” Sir Bruce underwent keyhole surgery last year after doctors discovered he had two aneurysms following a fall at his Surrey home.

On This Day

• 1002 – English king Æthelred II orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice’s Day massacre.
• 1841 – James Braid first sees a demonstration of animal magnetism, which leads to his study of the subject he eventually calls hypnotism.
• 1947 – The Soviet Union completes development of the AK-47, one of the first proper assault rifles.
• 1974 – Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murders his entire family in Amityville, Long Island in the house that would become known as The Amityville Horror.

Deaths

• 1770 – George Grenville, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1712)
• 1903 – Camille Pissarro, Virgin Islander-French painter (b. 1830)
• 1973 – Lila Lee, American actress (b. 1901)
• 1974 – Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist (b. 1946)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Sally Field (70), Ethan Hawke (46), Thandie Newton (44), Rebecca Romijn (44), Emma Stone (28), Maria Shriver (61), Joni Mitchell (73), Tinie Tempah (28), Gretchen Mol (44), Matthew Rhys (42), Tara Reid (41), Jack Osbourne (31), Gordon Ramsay (50), Lou Ferrigno (65), Tracy Morgan (48), Stanley Tucci (56), Demi Moore (54), Calista Flockhart (52), Leonardo DiCaprio (42), Wallace Shawn (73), Neil Young (71), Ryan Gosling (36) and Ann Hathaway (34).

The Last Word

“There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is God’s messenger.”

• Saddam Hussein December 30, 2006 – Executed by hanging

Next week peeps!