Dead Pool 8th March 2015
Afternoon Poolers. A relatively quiet week has just passed and nil points to all of us. I’ll not waffle, let’s get on with it!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Daniel von Bargen, 64, American actor (Malcolm in the Middle, Philadelphia, Super Troopers), complications from diabetes.
- Mal Peet, 67, British author and illustrator, cancer.
- Jim McCann, 70, Irish musician (The Dubliners).
- Lynn Borden, 77, American actress (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry, Hazel).
- Dirk Shafer, 52, American model, actor and director (Man of the Year).
In Other News
US actor Harrison Ford is expected to make a full recovery from injuries suffered when crashing his plane on to a golf course in Los Angeles. The 72-year-old star of the Indiana Jones and Star Wars films reported engine failure and crash-landed his vintage plane on a Venice golf course. He was breathing and alert when medics arrived and took him to hospital in a “fair to moderate” condition. His son Ben, a chef in Los Angeles, said later from the hospital: “Dad is OK. Battered but OK! The nature of Ford’s injuries have not been disclosed but website TMZ, which first reported the story, said he suffered “multiple gashes to his head”. Film producer Ryan Kavanaugh, who also witnessed the accident from his office, told The Hollywood Reporter: “He literally had five seconds, and 99% of pilots would have turned around to go back to the runway and would have crashed.” “Harrison did what the best pilots in the world would do,” he continued. “He made the correct turn that the plane was designed for with an engine out.” What more could you expect from the pilot of the Millennium Falcon??
Misao Okawa, born in 1898, is said to be in remarkably good health and says she is ‘very happy’ to be 117. Okawa, the world’s oldest person, celebrated her 117th birthday at a nursing home in Osaka, western Japan, last week, and despite her longevity she remarked how short her life seemed. The year Okawa was born, Queen Victoria was on the throne and the Spanish-American war was in its infancy. Her life spans three centuries, which have included six British monarchs, four Japanese emperors and 20 US presidents. She was five when the Wright brothers achieved the first powered flight. She married almost a century ago and has been a widow for more than 80 years. At a televised event on Wednesday, a day before her birthday, she disappointed any who hoped she would reveal the secret to a long life. “Well, I wonder about that too,” she said. Previously she has attributed her longevity to plenty of sleep and a varied diet. While she has spoken of her love of mackerel sushi, which she eats at least once a month, Okawa says she is not particularly fussy when it comes to food. When he asked how she felt about the past 117 years, she replied: “It seemed rather short.” According to government figures, Japan is home to more than 58,000 people aged 100 or over, 87% of whom are women. Experts attribute Japan’s longevity statistics to a traditional low-fat diet, affordable healthcare and generous pensions.
Singer Shania Twain has announced her final tour. The star, whose 1997 album Come On Over remains the best-selling country album ever, will play 48 dates across the US and Canada, kicking off in June. The Canadian singer became a massive star in the mid-1990s, with hits such as Man! I Feel Like A Woman and That Don’t Impress Me Much. She’s sold more than 75 million albums worldwide and became the best-selling female artist in the history of country music, but largely disappeared from the limelight between 2004 and 2009, citing personal issues and creative inertia. Bit early to think of retirement we feel, at 50 she should be in her prime, maybe she knows something we don’t…
On This Day
- 1618 – Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion.
- 1775 – An anonymous writer, thought by some to be Thomas Paine, publishes “African Slavery in America”, the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery.
- 1817 – The New York Stock Exchange is founded.
- 1910 – French aviatrix Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman to receive a pilot’s license.
- 1971 – The Fight of the Century between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali commences. Frazier wins in 15 rounds via unanimous decision.
- 1974 – Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
- 1978 – The first radio episode of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, is transmitted on BBC Radio 4.
- 1979 – Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time.
- 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The aircraft is believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean off the coast of Australia with the loss of all 239 people aboard.
Deaths
- 1874 – Millard Fillmore, American politician, 13th President of the United States (b. 1800)
- 1930 – William Howard Taft, American politician, 27th President of the United States (b. 1857)
- 1999 – Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player and coach (b. 1914)
- 2003 – Adam Faith, English singer and actor (b. 1940)
- 2007 – John Inman, English actor and singer (b. 1935)
- 2008 – Carol Barnes, English journalist (b. 1944)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Justin Bieber (21), Jessica Biel (33), Bryan Cranston (59), Jon Bon Jovi (53), Daniel Craig (47), Julie Bowen (45), Brooklyn Beckham (16), Bobbi Kristina Brown (22), Laura Prepon (35), Ron Howard (61), Roger Daltrey (71), Javier Bardem (46), Rachel Weisz (45), Harry Belafonte (88), Chris Martin (38), Eva Mendes (41), Tom Arnold (56), Rob Reiner (68), Catherine O’Hara (61), Bryce Dallas Howard (34), Miranda Richardson (57), Patsy Kensit (47), Fred Williamson (77), Penn Jillette (60) and Jensen Ackles (37).
Next Week peeps!
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