Dead Pool 3rd May 2020

Sadly we have points to hand out this week, with the death of the pioneering actress Jill Gascoine I can award Louise, Paul & Ashley 67 points each, and a special well done to Abi who had her listed as her Woman, so 167 points! Well done all. This has changed the leader board somewhat as we now have a new pooler in pole position.  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Michael Robinson, 61, English footballer (Brighton & Hove Albion, Liverpool, Republic of Ireland national team) and sports commentator, melanoma.  
• Jill Gascoine, 83, British actress (The Gentle Touch, C.A.T.S. Eyes, The Onedin Line).  
• Irrfan Khan, 53, Indian actor (Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi, The Lunchbox), colon infection.  
• Rishi Kapoor, 67, Indian actor (Bobby, Do Dooni Chaar, Kapoor & Sons), complications from bone marrow cancer.  
• Sam Lloyd, 56, American actor (Scrubs, Galaxy Quest) and musician (The Blanks), brain tumour.

In Other News

Sir Michael Palin was saved by an elderly neighbour after accidentally starting a fire in his home while recovering from surgery, he has claimed. The Monty Python star says he was relaxing after having open-heart surgery in September when he blew some kitchen roll into a naked flame while doing his breathing exercises. “I leapt up and grasped a hand towel, which briefly smothered the flames before itself catching alight,” Palin said. “In some alarm now, as flames licked up towards the ceiling, I dialled the emergency services – but the moment we connected, the smoke alarm went off and I couldn’t hear a word they were saying. Palin continued: “I just caught something about washing my hands which made me realise that, without my glasses on, I’d rung 111 instead of 999. But I washed my hands anyway, and by a fantastic stroke of luck, the loose tap that we never had fixed finally came apart, dousing the ceiling and partially extinguishing the fire.” His 86-year-old neighbour broke into his house via a window and saved him, he claims. Palin notes that the neighbour had also had heart surgery the week before, adding: ”Thank God he’d been told to take it easy, otherwise he’d have been out playing golf and my house would have been a write-off.” Palin underwent open-heart surgery to fix his mitral valve, a small flap that prevents blood from flowing in the wrong direction around the heart.  

Sopranos and Bad Boys actor Joe Pantoliano is recovering from “a severe head injury” after being hit by a car. The actor, who also played Cypher in 1999 film The Matrix , was taking a walk with his family in Connecticut when a Porsche ran into him after avoiding a collision with another car. Pantoliano’s wife Nancy said that he was “sent flying a couple feet backwards”. He was rushed to hospital, but is now recovering from the head injury and “some chest trauma” at home. His family shared a photo of the actor and his head injury on Instagram, writing: “Joey is home recovering. He has a severe head injury and some chest trauma. He is going to be dark for a couple days while recovering. “Thank you for all the well wishes and positive vibes. Keep them coming! We’ll reading them to him to help him get better!” 

James Corden has reached out to fans to reveal that he has undergone minor surgery and won’t be able to film his show whilst he recovers. Taking to Twitter, the ‘star’ told his nearly 11 million deluded followers: “Hey all. I had to have minor surgery on my eye yesterday. I am doing well and recovering, but won’t be able to film new episodes for a few nights.” He added: “Thank you to everyone who has been watching the Late Late Shows from my garage. I’ll be back soon. Stay safe and well everybody. X.” Last month, the annoying cunt was close to tears as he admitted that the global pandemic had left him feeling “anxious and sad” and he wasn’t finding it easy to adjust. Speaking from his garage, where he has been filming his show, the 41-year-old told viewers: “I’ve found it tougher than I ever thought I would. I’ve found myself having these incredible spikes of anxiety and sadness when I’ve allowed myself to think about my family back home in England, or my friends or the people I love.” He then added that he’s realised it’s “OK” to feel such emotions. “It’s all right to feel a bit sad,” he said. “It’s OK to feel anxious, and the best thing we can all do is try and breathe through that and try and put our minds in a positive place.” Toughen up Tinkerbell, this rollercoaster has only just begun! 

The Newly Infected

• Andy Murray: has revealed that he believes he contracted coronavirus before the UK went into lockdown. 
• Madonna: revealed that she has tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. 
• Mikhail Mishustin: The Russian Prime Minister said that he has been tested positive, becoming the highest-ranking Russian official known to have gotten infected. 
• J.K. Rowling: The Harry Potter author revealed on Twitter that she had symptoms of the coronavirus but never got tested.

On This Day

• 1978 – The first unsolicited bulk commercial email (which would later become known as “spam”) is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States. 
• 2000 – The sport of geocaching begins, with the first cache placed and the coordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet. 
• 2007 – The 3-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann disappears in Praia da Luz, Portugal, starting “the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history”. Kate and Gerry McCann were never arrested. 

Deaths

• 1972 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (b. 1904) 
• 2003 – Suzy Parker, American model and actress (b. 1932)
• 2011 – Jackie Cooper, American actor, director, producer and executive (b. 1922)  

Last Meals

John Candy was a Canadian actor and comedian is known mainly for his work in Hollywood films. Candy rose to fame through his appearances in such comedy films as Stripes, Splash, Cool Runnings, Summer Rental, Home Alone, The Great Outdoors, Spaceballs, and Uncle Buck, as well as more dramatic roles in Only the Lonely and JFK. One of his most renowned onscreen performances was as Del Griffith, the talkative shower-curtain ring salesman in the John Hughes comedy Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

On March 3rd 1994, the comic actor was in Durango, Mexico, working on the movie “Wagons East.” His final movie, was his least enjoyable experience in film. Richard Lewis, who worked with him on the movie, said he was so much fun and so funny, but when he looked at him, he looked so tired. Although Candy complained about the 90-degree heat, he shot a series of exhausting action shots until 10 p.m. He then retired to his room and ordered Mexican spaghetti — pasta with a salsa-based sauce. 

He ate alone and told his bodyguard he planned to shower and go to sleep. The next morning around 8 a.m., Candy’s body was found in bed, clad in a long red-and-black nightshirt. The body remained in bed until 4 p.m., until four strong men could be found to carry the overweight actor to an ambulance. There was no sign of drugs, alcohol or foul play, and a doctor declared the cause of death a heart attack. The exact cause is uncertain, as no autopsy was performed however he was a heavy smoker, obese and had history of cocaine use. Wagons East was completed using a stunt double and special effects and released five months after Candy’s death. He was 43 years old.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Christina Hendricks (44), Rob Brydon (54), Sandi Toksvig (61), Dwayne Johnson (47), Ellie Kemper (39), Matt Berry (45), David Suchet (73), David Beckham (44), Lily Allen (34), Jamie Dornan (37), Julie Benz (47), Joanna Lumley (73), Una Stubbs (82), Sam Heughan (39), Kirsten Dunst (37), Gal Gadot (34), Burt Young (79), Daniel Day-Lewis (62), Michelle Pfeiffer (61), Uma Thurman (49), Kate Mulgrew (64), Jerry Seinfeld (65), Willie Nelson (86), Anita Dobson (70), Jessica Alba (39), Ann-Margret (79), Penélope Cruz (46), Jay Leno (70), and Sheena Easton (61).