Dead Pool 19th May 2019

Welcome all, as today is a points extravaganza I’ll just get on with it! With the death of Doris Day, the following have scored 53 points each! Christine, Paula, Rachel, Paul G, Dave, Julie, Louise, and a special hooray for Millie who had her listed as her Woman, so she earns a whopping 153 points!! 

Not to be outdone by such scoring, Paul C and Debbie correctly guessed Herman Wouk would die too, so 47 points each there as well! So that’s changed the league table somewhat and livens up the Dead Pool as it were… 

And a special RIP to Bob Hawke. The former Aussie PM who set a world record in 1953 by drinking a yard of ale in 11 seconds at Oxford’s Turf Tavern, they don’t make ‘em like that anymore! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Doris Day, 97, American actress (Pillow Talk, Calamity Jane), singer (“Que Sera, Sera“) and animal welfare activist, Golden Globe winner, pneumonia.
• Grumpy Cat, 7, American internet celebrity cat, complications from urinary tract infection.
• Bob Hawke, 89, Australian politician, Prime Minister (1983–1991), President of the ACTU (1969–1980).
• Ashley Massaro, 39, American professional wrestler (WWE), model (Playboy) and reality show contestant (Survivor).
• I. M. Pei, 102, Chinese-born American architect (Bank of China Tower, East Building of the National Gallery of Art, Louvre Pyramid), Pritzker Prize winner (1983). 
• Herman Wouk, 103, American author (The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War, War and Remembrance), Pulitzer Prize winner (1952). 
• Brian Walden, 86, British broadcaster (Weekend World) and politician, MP (1964–1977), emphysema.

In Other News 

Former US President Jimmy Carter has undergone surgery for a broken hip after falling at his home in Georgia, his office says. The 94-year-old, the oldest living former US president, was on his way to go turkey hunting when he fell. Mr Carter was recovering comfortably at a medical centre in Americus, near his home in Plains, with his wife, Rosalynn, a statement said. His surgeon was quoted as saying that the operation was successful. “President Carter said his main concern is that turkey season ends this week, and he has not reached his limit. He hopes the State of Georgia will allow him to rollover the unused limit to next year,” the Carter Center said. Since leaving the White House, Mr Carter has remained active, carrying out humanitarian work with his Carter Center in recent years. In 2015, Mr Carter – who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 – disclosed that cancer that had been found on his liver had also been discovered on his brain. After four months of treatment, he announced that he was cancer-free. At the time, he said: “I’ve had a wonderful life… I’ve got thousands of friends and I’ve had an exciting and adventurous and gratifying existence, I’ve just gotta make sure I kill all those turkeys before I go.”  

Video footage has shown Hollywood star Arnold Schwarzenegger being attacked at an event in South Africa. The 71-year-old former California governor was interacting with fans during a skipping competition at his Arnold Classic Africa sporting event when a man drop-kicked him from behind. The attacker is seen being restrained following the incident. Schwarzenegger thanked fans on Twitter for their concern, but insisted there was “nothing to worry about”. The video footage, shared widely on social media, shows Schwarzenegger posing for photos and filming at the Johannesburg event on Saturday when the man attacks him with a flying kick. The Terminator star stumbles forward a step after the kick, while the attacker falls to the ground, where he is immediately restrained by a security guard. The man was later handed over to police officers, event officials said. Schwarzenegger tweeted to his more than four million followers: “I thought I was just jostled by the crowd, which happens a lot. I only realised I was kicked when I saw the video like all of you.” He later urged fans to focus on the athletes at the event instead of the attack. 

Jeremy Kyle has said he is “devastated”  following the death of a guest and cancellation of his TV show. The controversial long-running chat show was axed by ITV bosses after the death of guest Steve Dymond last week. MPs and broadcasting regulators are now looking into the care of participants in reality and factual TV shows. “Myself and the production team I have worked with for the last 14 years are all utterly devastated by the recent events, especially since my cash cow has suddenly evaporated” Kyle said in a statement. “Our thoughts and sympathies are with Steve’s family and friends at this incredibly sad time, fuck knows what I’ll do now, perhaps I’ll just stand outside a McDonalds or a Job Centre and belittle those who walk by.” he added. On Wednesday, MPs announced the welfare of guests on TV shows is to be scrutinised in the wake of the death of Mr Dymond. The Commons media select committee is to investigate whether TV companies give guests enough support and media regulator Ofcom is examining whether to update its code of conduct. Mr Dymond was found dead on 9th May, a week after filming the show, during which he took a lie detector test.  

And finally, two tales made better or worse by mobile phones! A man has died after his head was trapped in a freak accident with an electronic seat at a Vue cinema in Birmingham. The cinema-goer went into cardiac arrest after his head was crushed by an electric footrest while he was attempting to rescue his phone. The accident is said to have taken place when the man dropped his phone between two seats in the middle of a film at Vue cinema in Star City, which is in the north east of the city. He is thought to have got trapped when the seat’s footrest clamped down on his head. After his partner and staff at the cinema struggled to release him he was eventually liberated and taken to hospital. Birmingham City Council has begun a health and safety investigation. But he might count himself lucky compared to farmer Kurt Kaser, from Nebraska, who was unloading corn last month when he climbed out of his truck and accidentally stepped into the opening of a grain hopper. The 63-year-old said he could remember telling himself “this ain’t good, this is not good at all” as he tried and failed to pull his leg out. With no mobile phone near him to call for help and the knowledge that no one would come to his aid, the farmer of 40 years made the agonising decision to amputate his own leg. He said: “I thought ‘how long am I going to stay conscious here?’ because I didn’t know what to expect. Then I felt it jerk me again and I thought it was going to grab me again and pull me in further. I had my pocket knife and I thought ‘well, the only way I’m getting outta here is to cut it off’ so I just started sawing on it. When I was cutting it, the nerve endings I could feel them just ping every time I’d start sawing around that pipe and all at once it went and let me go so I got the heck out of there.” After freeing himself, Mr Kaser then had to crawl 150ft across the farm to the nearest phone to call for help. He said he could not remember much pain or blood but he never lost consciousness and could recall the journey to the hospital. Well done that man! 

On This Day

• 1499 – Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12.
• 1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
• 1780 – New England’s Dark Day, an unusual darkening of the day sky was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada.
• 1962 – A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe‘s rendition of “Happy Birthday”.

Deaths

• 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England (1533–1536); second wife of Henry VIII of England (b. c. 1501)
• 1935 – T. E. Lawrence, British colonel and archaeologist (b. 1888)
• 1984 – John Betjeman, English poet and academic (b. 1906)
• 1994 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1929)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Tina Fey (49), Miriam Margolyes (78), Yun-Fat Chow (64), Toyah Willcox (61), Paul Whitehouse (61), Andrea Corr (45), Megan Fox (33), Pierce Brosnan (66), Danny Trejo (75), David Boreanaz (50), Janet Jackson (53), Stephen Mangan (51), Cate Blanchett (50), Tim Roth (58), George Lucas (75), Sofia Coppola (48), Francesca Annis (74), Danny Huston (57), Greg Davies (51), Martine McCutcheon (43), Siân Phillips (86), Iwan Rheon (34), Samantha Morton (42), Robert Pattinson (33), Harvey Keitel (80), Zoë Wanamaker (70), Mark Heap (62), Stephen Colbert (55), Stevie Wonder (69), Rami Malek (38), Malin Akerman (41), Emilio Estevez (57), Catherine Tate (51), Gabriel Byrne (69), Ving Rhames (60), Jason Biggs (41), Stephen Baldwin (53), and Holly Valance (36).