Dead Pool 27th January 2019

Winner winner, chicken dinner! Dave J. is extending his lead with yet another correct guess. He successfully predicted that Shivakumara Swami would die this year, an amazing 39 points earned. Perhaps we should give him a prize, like a bit of glass from Prince Philip’s crash, a snip to buy on eBay at £65k!!!! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Tony Mendez, 78, American intelligence officer, subject of Argo, complications from Parkinson’s disease.  
• Shivakumara Swami, 111, Indian Lingayat spiritual leader and educationist, Seer of Siddaganga Matha (since 1941), lung infection.  
• James Frawley, 82, American television and film director (The Monkees, The Muppet Movie), Emmy winner (1967), heart attack.  
• Hugh McIlvanney, 84, Scottish sports writer (The Sunday Times).
• Fatima Ali, 29, Pakistani-born American chef, Ewing’s sarcoma.  
• Michel Legrand, 86, French composer (“The Windmills of Your Mind“, “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?“), conductor and jazz pianist, Oscar winner (1968, 1971, 1983).

In Other News

Kate Beckinsale is in hospital with a ruptured ovarian cyst. The 45-year-old actor shared a photo of herself from her hospital bed on Instagram, with a breathing tube in her nose and pained expression on her face. “Turns out a ruptured ovarian cyst really hurts and morphine makes me cry. So thankful to everyone who looked after me #wobbly.” A second picture showed her lying in the hospital bed. Beckinsale did not share any more information, but replied to her stylist Peter Savic who asked when it happened: “Today!! Thank you darling love you.”. A number of Beckinsale’s friends and colleagues sent their best wishes. Comedian Sarah Silverman, a close friend and ex of Beckinsale’s former partner Michael Sheen, wrote “OMG!!!!”. Isla Fisher asked: “Are you okay? Sending you so much love?” while singer Natalie Imbruglia said: “Oh no… wishing you a speedy recovery.” Beckinsale is known for her starring roles in films including Total Recall, the Underworld franchise, and Love & Friendship.  

Victoria Pendleton has opened up about her depression and revealed she considered taking her own life at her lowest points last summer. The Olympic cycling gold medallist said she “fantasised” about killing herself on a daily basis, and had accumulated more than enough drugs to do so. “I had it there, in front of me, and I knew how much it would take,” she said. “And how long I would have to be left for it definitely to work. It wasn’t even like I was really upset about it. I just felt numb.” The 38-year-old has spoken about her mental health in the past, revealing she suffered with depression and self-harming, but in an interview with media this week, she disclosed the extent of her struggle, saying: “This was on another level.” She says could not be left alone and was taking so much medication she was “rattling”. She even asked her mother for forgiveness for what she might do. Pendleton was diagnosed with depression last summer, after her attempt to climb Everest for a CNN documentary series was thwarted by hypoxia, an oxygen deficiency due to high altitude. Doctors suggested that the condition may have caused her depression, but she believes it was an accumulation of factors. Representing Great Britain and England as a cyclist, Pendleton has won nine world titles including a record six in the individual sprint competition. She was appointed an MBE in 2010 and CBE in the 2013 new year honours list for services to cycling.   

A St Louis police officer has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly shooting a college during a game of Russian roulette. Nathaniel Hendren, 29, shot fellow officer Katlyn Alix, 24, at an apartment in the Missouri city in the early hours of Thursday morning, according to a St Louis Police Department statement. A probable cause statement from the force, provided by St Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner’s office, offered an account of the deadly game that allegedly led to her death. Ms Alix and Mr Hendren were playing with guns when the male officer produced a revolver. “The defendant emptied the cylinder of the revolver and then put one cartridge back into the cylinder,” the statement said. He allegedly spun the cylinder, pointed the gun away and pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire. The statement said Ms Alix took the gun, pointed it at Mr Hendren and pulled the trigger. Again, it didn’t fire. Mr Hendren “took the gun back and pointed it at the victim (and) pulled the trigger causing the gun to discharge”, according to a police statement. “The victim was struck in the chest.” Another male officer present at the apartment told investigators he warned Mr Hendren and Ms Alix not to play with guns and reminded them they were police officers. He was about to leave when he heard the fatal shot. The two male officers drove Ms Alix to a hospital where she died. Both men were on duty at the time of the shooting. Police Commissioner John Hayden has declined to answer questions about why the officers had gathered at the apartment, which was home to one of the men. 

On This Day

• 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31st.  
• 1880 – Thomas Edison receives the patent on the incandescent lamp.  
• 1967 – Apollo program: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Deaths

• 1596 – Francis Drake, English captain and explorer (b. 1540)  
• 1910 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber and businessman (b. 1836)  
• 1993 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)  
• 2010 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (b. 1919)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Ellen DeGeneres (61), Scott Glenn (78), Alicia Keys (38), Kristen Schaal (41), Mischa Barton (33), Nastassja Kinski (58), Michael Ontkean (73), Adrian Edmondson (62), Neil Diamond (78), Rutger Hauer (75), Richard Dean Anderson (69), Gil Gerard (76), XXXTentacion (20), Diane Lane (54), Linda Blair (60), Piper Laurie (87), Geena Davis (63), Emma Bunton (43), Rainn Wilson (53), David Lynch (73), Tom Baker (85), Buzz Aldrin (89), Katey Sagal (65), Dolly Parton (73), Rob Delaney (42), Tippi Hedren (89), and Michael Crawford (77).