Dead Pool 14th January 2018

We have a winner! The first death of the season falls to Nickie who correctly guessed that the great Bella Emberg would meet her maker. Not only does she get the extra 50 points for the first death of the season, Nickie also listed her as her Woman, so a whopping 220 points awarded in total!! She’s now become the one to beat! Well done Nickie!!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Thomas Bopp, 68, American astronomer, co-discoverer of Comet Hale–Bopp, liver failure.
• Eddie Clarke, 67, British guitarist (Motörhead, Fastway), pneumonia.
• Edgar Ray Killen, 92, American Ku Klux Klan leader and convicted murderer.
• Bella Emberg, 80, British actress (The Russ Abbot Show, The Benny Hill Show, Bear Behaving Badly).
• Doreen Tracey, 74, English-born American actress (The Mickey Mouse Club), pneumonia.
• Keith Jackson, 89, American sportscaster (ABC Sports, Wide World of Sports)
• Ray Thomas, 76, English singer-songwriter (“Veteran Cosmic Rocker”, “For My Lady”) and Hall of Fame musician (The Moody Blues), prostate cancer.

In Other News

As you may have heard, Big Brother star Rebekah Shelton is not dead after a social media ‘hack’. A tweet from her verified account said she had died unexpectedly, however a video apparently posted by the transgender Big Brother star says she is not dead and was the victim of a Twitter hoax. The 32-year-old was on Big Brother in 2009 where – as Rodrigo Lopes – she finished fifth. A later tweet from the account said although the hoax was a “horrible experience”, the positive thing was that “I realise that I’m loved and so many people cared about me”.  Sadly, we at Dead Pool Towers don’t give a shit about her.

Olympic BMX silver medallist Jelle van Gorkom is in a coma after a training accident on Tuesday. The Royal Dutch Cycling Union said the 27-year-old had “broken ribs, a fracture in the face, a tear in the skull and damage to the liver, spleen and kidneys”. The incident occurred at the National Sports Centre Papendal in Arnhem. Van Gorkom won silver medals at the 2015 World Championships and the 2016 Rio Games. Bas de Bever, the Dutch national BMX coach, asked that the rider, his girlfriend and his family be given “peace and privacy”, while Jochem Schellens, director at the National Sports Centre Papendal, added: “It is a terrible accident and… we wish them all the strength in the coming period.” Who said cycling was fun and safe?

Andy Murray has survived hip surgery in Melbourne and says he hopes to be playing again in time for this summer’s grass-court season. The former world number one, 30, has not played a competitive match since he was knocked out of Wimbledon in July. The ongoing problem forced the Scot to pull out of the Australian Open, which begins on 15th January. “I’m not finished playing tennis yet. I’m going to be competing at the highest level again,” he said. “I’m very optimistic about the future – the surgeon is very happy about how it went.” Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion, believes if he can return to 95% of his best, that will be enough for him to compete again at the top level. However, we know that 95% of ‘his best’ isn’t anywhere good enough. Murray, who has fallen to 19th in the world, said he is not “interested in coming back for a specific tournament”. Which is fair enough, we don’t want to watch him either.

On This Day

• 1907 – An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000 people.
• 1969 – An accidental explosion aboard the USS Enterprise near Hawaii kills 27 people.

Deaths

• 1742 – Edmond Halley, English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist (b. 1656)
• 1898 – Lewis Carroll, English novelist, poet, and mathematician (b. 1832)
• 1957 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor (b. 1899)
• 1977 – Anthony Eden, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1897)
• 2006 – Shelley Winters, American actress (b. 1920)
• 2009 – Ricardo Montalbán, Mexican actor (b. 1920)
• 2016 – Alan Rickman, English actor (b. 1946)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Orlando Bloom (41), Liam Hemsworth (28), Michael Peña (42), William B. Davis (80), Bill Bailey (53), Kirstie Alley (67), Rachael Harris (50), Rob Zombie (53), Zayn Malik (25), Howard Stern (64), Pixie Lott (27), Melanie C (44), Jeff Bezos (54), Jason Connery (55), Mary J. Blige (47), Rachel Riley (32), John Sessions (65), Jemaine Clement (44), Evan Handler (57), George Foreman (69), Fran Walsh (59), Rod Stewart (73), Pat Benatar (65), Joely Richardson (53), Imelda Staunton (62), Catherine Duchess of Cambridge (36), Jimmy Page (74), Michelle Forbes (53), Stephen Hawking (76), Amber Benson (41), Nicolas Cage (54), Jeremy Renner (47), Linda Kozlowski (60), Erin Gray (68), Lewis Hamilton (33),  Helen Worth (67) and Kenny Loggins (70).