Dead Pool 2nd July 2017

Halfway through the year!!!! Sadly no points to be awarded on this momentous point in the game, but as you all know, ’tis a fickle game we play and it can go any way very quickly. We were surprised that nobody had good old Barry Norman, he’s been listed quite a few times in the past, but nobody deemed him worthy this year.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Michael Bond, 91, British children’s author (Paddington Bear).
  • Michael Nyqvist, 56, Swedish actor (Millennium, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, John Wick), lung cancer.
  • Ruth Pearson, 70, British dancer (Pan’s People), cancer.
  • Toytown, 24, British event horse.
  • Barry Norman, 83, British film critic and television presenter (Film…).

In Other News

Ronnie O’Sullivan has revealed he suffered a breakdown which almost forced him to pull out of the 2016 World Snooker Championship. O’Sullivan, who has battled a number of personal issues throughout his career, said he was in hospital for “four or five days” during last year’s tournament. The five-time World Champion had defeated David Gilbert 10-7 in the opening round at The Crucible but refused to attend his post-match press conference and reportedly smashed up his dressing room. Speaking on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, O’Sullivan admitted: “I didn’t intentionally smash it up. Not many people know this, but I was suffering. I’d had a massive workload, probably too much – I’d worked myself to the bone. The pressure of that tournament was too much and straight after that match I was driven straight down to London and I was in a hospital for four or five days. I was physically exhausted and just on a low. They helped me out, I had a few days in there, had some medication to try and keep me going and it was touch and go whether I was going to play in the Second Round.” O’Sullivan was declared fit to return to action but exited the competition in the Second Round after a narrow 13-12 defeat to Barry Hawkins. Widely regarded as snooker’s most naturally gifted star, ‘The Rocket’s’ personal problems have been well-publicised over the past three decades. He has previously admitted to suffering from clinical depression and has had drug-related problems.

US tennis star Venus Williams has been involved in a car crash that led to the death of a 78-year-old man. A spokesman for Palm Beach Gardens police in Florida confirmed to the media they were investigating a fatal crash involving the Grand Slam champion. A man was taken to hospital after the accident on 9th June and died two weeks later from his injuries, he said. Police believe she was at fault but her lawyer says it was an accident. She has not been cited or charged. The man who died, Jerome Barson, was travelling with his wife who was driving their vehicle through an intersection when the collision happened. Ms Williams’ car suddenly darted into their path and was unable to clear the junction in time due to traffic jams, according to witness statements in a police report obtained by US media. Mrs Barson was also taken to hospital but survived. “[Ms Williams] is at fault for violating the right of way of [the other driver],” the report said, adding that there were no other factors like drugs, alcohol or mobile phone distractions. The 37-year-old, seven-time Grand Slam champion reportedly told police she did not see the couple’s car and she was driving slowly.  Ms Williams’ lawyer Malcolm Cunningham told CNN in a statement: “Ms Williams entered the intersection on a green light. The police report estimates that Ms Williams was travelling at 5mph when Mrs Barson crashed into her. “Authorities did not issue Ms Williams with any citations or traffic violations. This is an unfortunate accident and Venus expresses her deepest condolences to the family who lost a loved one.”

A playboy who tried to blackmail the Royal Family over a gay sex scandal killed himself by taking a lethal cocktail of drugs, an inquest heard today. Ian Strachan, 40, tried to extort £50,000 after claiming he had video of an unnamed man performing a sex act on a male aide and taking cocaine. But he was branded a fantasist and jailed for five years in 2008, serving 2½ years. Strachan, whose real name was Paul Adalsteinsson, used different names — including Paul Stein — to obtain a variety of prescription drugs which he popped “like sweets,” the inquest heard. He had registered to three separate practices, two GPs and a private clinic. His left leg was amputated following a 30ft fall from a balcony in 2013, and he was visiting numerous hospitals — including Chelsea and Westminster and St Thomas’ — for surgery. Last year he suffered two heart attacks and became violent towards his mother, Westminster Coroner’s Court heard. In the hours before his death he had become aggressive and sent texts at 1am to his mum Elizabeth Stratton, who had been for lunch with him the day before. The text messages read: “You want a body, you have got one. It will be a different day tomorrow, I won’t be here.” He was found collapsed on Christmas Eve after taking codeine, maxicodone, xopicone and other prescription drugs mixed with milk. Toxicology reports also found cocaine in his system. Strachan was described at the 2008 Old Bailey blackmail trial as a fantasist who had a wild party lifestyle. He concocted the elaborate plot with fellow blackmailer Sean McGuigan, who also got five years. The pair demanded the cash for sex and drugs recordings said to be of an unnamed, married royal.

On This Day

  • 1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.
  • 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives ends with the death of Ernst Röhm.
  • 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
  • 1962 – The first Wal-Mart store opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.

Deaths

  • 1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer and author (b. 1503)
  • 1850 – Robert Peel, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1788)
  • 1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
  • 1973 – Betty Grable, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1916)
  • 1991 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
  • 1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (b. 1926)
  • 1997 – James Stewart, American actor (b. 1908)
  • 2013 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (b. 1925)
  • 2016 – Caroline Aherne, English actress and comedian (b. 1963)
  • 2016 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Pamela Anderson (50), Olivia de Havilland (101), Liv Tyler (40), Dan Aykroyd (65), Geneviève Bujold (75), Debbie Harry (72), David Prowse (82), Vincent D’Onofrio (58), Mike Tyson (51), Gary Busey (73), Amanda Donohoe (55), John Cusack (51), Mel Brooks (91), Felicia Day (38), Kathy Bates (69), Alice Krige (63), Elon Musk (46), Tobey Maguire (42), J.J. Abrams (51), Ariana Grande (24), Ricky Gervais (56) and Carly Simon (72).

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