We have points to award! Well done to Abi for predicting that Steven Lawayne Nelson would die this year, albeit was a forgone conclusion as he was scheduled for execution, but still a brave bet as not all Death Row executions get mentioned in the Wiki listings. Anyhow, 113 points! Well done! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Tony Martin, 80, English farmer and convicted criminal, stroke.  
• P. H. Moriarty, 86, British actor (The Long Good Friday, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Jaws 3-D).
• Brian Murphy, 92, English actor (Man About the House, George and Mildred, Last of the Summer Wine), cancer. 
• Steven Lawayne Nelson, 37, American convicted murderer, execution by lethal injection. 
• Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas, 78, Welsh politician, llywydd of the Senedd, MP, and member of the House of Lords. 
• Tony Roberts, 85, American actor (Annie Hall, Play It Again, Sam, Serpico), lung cancer.

In Other News

Katie Price’s friends reportedly fear for her health after a “risky” move following another round of surgery. The 46-year-old refuses to slow down despite jetting to Turkey again last month for gruelling surgeries. Katie was seen singing and dancing at a public appearance in Yorkshire, despite needing rest following serious facial procedures abroad. The mum-of-five, who is teetotal, wasn’t drinking – but her pals fear she is pushing herself too hard instead of allowing her body to heal. A source told The Flying Monkeys: “Katie’s had lots of surgeries so she tends to play them down, but they’re not all minor. She has to undergo various types of anaesthesia and she’s doing it in a foreign country, far away from home. Everyone knows partying after surgery is a very bad idea.” The former glamour model has long been open about her love of cosmetic surgery, undergoing multiple facelifts, boob jobs, and other procedures over the years. She underwent tweakments abroad last month after being unhappy with her recent £10,000 facelift. Sources close to the star claimed she was unhappy with her “pixie ears” following her face lift. Fans spotted her ears had been snipped and Katie no longer has any lobes. It comes as Katie explained one of her biggest fears around having so much plastic surgery. A clairvoyant predicted she would pass away peacefully in her sleep, which her sister Sophie suggested could apply to being under anaesthesia. 

Conductor Daniel Barenboim says he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The 82-year-old issued a statement Thursday on Instagram. He has appeared more frail since 2022, canceling scheduled performances that included a new production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle in Berlin. “I am planning to maintain as many of my professional commitments as my health permits,” he wrote. “As ever, I consider the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra my most important responsibility. It is essential for me to ensure the orchestra’s long-term stability and development. I will continue to conduct the Divan whenever my health allows me to. At the same time, I will take an active role in ensuring that the Divan has the opportunity of working with excellent conductors going forward. I have been navigating this new reality of mine and my focus is on receiving the best available care.” A child prodigy pianist who made his Carnegie Hall debut at 1957 at age 14. Barenboim has been chief conductor of the Orchestre de Paris and music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Milan’s Teatro alla Scala and general music director of the Berlin State Opera.  

Ozzy Osbourne is gearing up for one final performance despite no longer being able to walk as his Parkinson’s diagnosis progresses. The 76-year-old announced that he is reuniting with Black Sabbath and will return to the stage one last time for “the greatest heavy metal show ever” at Villa Park in his hometown of Birmingham on July 5, 2025. His health woes began in 2003 when Ozzy was involved in an ATV accident; this led to extensive back surgery, where he had metal rods placed in his spine. Ozzy’s spinal issues didn’t stop; sixteen years later, the rocker suffered a nasty fall in his home, which dislodged the metal rods and kick-started his long health journey. It was discovered in that he had the Parkinson’s after the fall at his Los Angeles home, which required him to undergo surgery on the old spinal injury. Ozzy’s condition has progressed to the point where it has affected his legs. “I have made it to 2025. I can’t walk, but you know what I was thinking over the holidays? For all my complaining, I’m still alive, I may be moaning that I can’t walk but I look down the road and there’s people that didn’t do half as much as me and didn’t make it.”  

On This Day

• 1959 – The R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR.
• 1986 – Halley’s Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System.
• 1996 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares the end to its 18-month ceasefire
• and explodes a large bomb in London’s Canary Wharf, killing two people.
• 2021 – Second impeachment trial of Donald Trump begins.

Deaths

• 1984 – Yuri Andropov, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1914).
• 2002 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (b. 1930).
• 2007 – Ian Richardson, Scottish actor (b. 1934).

Last Meals

Steven Lawayne Nelson was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, after spending 13 years locked up for the murder of a pastor. 

He was put on death row after being convicted of beating, strangling and suffocating Reverend Clint Dobson, 28, during a robbery at the NorthPointe Baptist Church in 2011, while his secretary, Judy Elliot, was badly beaten but ended up surviving.

Nelson denied killing Dobson, however, saying he was at the church to be a lookout for the robbery, claiming that Dobson and Elliot were already on the floor when he arrived and were still breathing.

The 37-year-old had maintained his innocence despite being convicted by a jury in 2012, and each of his appeals were denied by state and federal courts. 

Marking the second execution to take place in the US since the start of the year, Nelson was pronounced dead at 6.50pm local time on Wednesday evening.

Nelson made a series of chilling remarks as the process got underway, most of which were in reference to his wife Helene Noa Dubois, who got married two weeks before his execution date.

In his final moments, Nelson repeatedly told his spouse that he loved and appreciated her while she watched on through a window a short distance away.

Dubois had brought their white dog into the witness area, which she scooped up in her arms to watch the execution as Nelson said: “Give Monkey a hug for me.”

Addressing his wife, Nelson said: “It is what it is,” before encouraging her to ‘enjoy life’.

“I’m not scared, it’s cold shit in here, but I’m at peace, I’m ready to be at home. Let’s ride, Warden.”

As the lethal dose of pentobarbital was administered, Nelson reportedly told Dubois to ‘let him go to sleep’ before he was seen mouthing the word ‘love’.

The Flying Monkeys reported that he then briefly began trembling as the drug took effect, before he was pronounced dead 24 minutes later.  

He was not entitled to a final ‘death row’ meal under a unique Texas law which abolished the luxury in 2011.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Michael B. Jordan (38), Rose Leslie (38), Tom Hiddleston (44), Ciarán Hinds (72), Joe Pesci (82), Mia Farrow (80), Mary Steenburgen (72), Seth Green (51), Nick Nolte (84), John Williams (93), James Spader (65), Deborah Ann Woll (40), Ashton Kutcher (47), Eddie Izzard (63), Chris Rock (60), Kevin Whately (74), Jennifer Jason Leigh (63), Michael Sheen (56), Charlotte Rampling (79), Christopher Guest (77), Tony Jaa (49), Cristiano Ronaldo (40), Gabrielle Anwar (55), Alice Cooper (77), Jim Jefferies (48), Isla Fisher (49), Aimee Lou Wood (30), Nathan Lane (69), and Warwick Davis (55).

Again I have to dole out the points! Congratulations to Neil G for correctly guessing that  Catherine Laborde would pass away this year, 177 points as he also listed her as his Woman. I can also award Shân EW 72 points for Marianne Faithful, who also passed away last week. Well done both of you! 

I’ll be closing the donations page in the next few days, if anyone else would like to donate this year, please do so soon. Thank you to everyone who has generously donated this year, although we didn’t cover the costs this year, it certainly helped immensely. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Ken Flores, 28, American comedian. 
• John Erwin, 88, American voice actor (He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power). 
• Catherine Laborde, 73, French weather presenter and author, dementia with Lewy bodies
• Michael Baggott, 51, British antiques dealer and TV personality (Flog It!), heart attack.
• Sir Julius Chan, 85, Papua New Guinean politician. 
• Marianne Faithfull, 78, English singer (“As Tears Go By“), songwriter (“Broken English“) and actress (The Girl on a Motorcycle). 

 In Other News

Pope Francis tripped when the handle of his walking stick snapped entering the Vatican auditorium for an audience Saturday. The 88-year-old pope often has to use a wheelchair or a cane because of bad knees and has fallen twice in the past two months. After Saturday’s slight stumble, two aides helped him to his chair on the stage and the audience proceeded without incident. After he recovered someone in the audience shouted “Viva il Papa” and the audience applauded. Earlier in January, Francis fell and hurt his right arm. It wasn’t broken, but a sling was put on as a precaution. On December 7th, the pope whacked his chin on his nightstand in an apparent fall that resulted in a bad bruise. The pontiff has long battled health problems including long bouts of bronchitis. He uses a walker or cane when moving around his apartment in the Vatican’s Santa Marta hotel. Speculation about Francis’ health is a constant in Vatican circles, especially after Pope Benedict XVI broke 600 years of tradition and resigned from the papacy in 2013. Benedict’s aides have attributed the decision to a nighttime fall that he suffered during a 2012 trip to Mexico, after which he determined he couldn’t keep up with the globe-trotting demands of the papacy. Francis has said that he has no plans to resign anytime soon, even if Benedict “opened the door” to the possibility. In his autobiography “Hope” released this month, Francis said that he hadn’t considered resigning even when he had major intestinal surgery. 

Giles Coren has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Coren, 55, said urology nurses had taken a biopsy before informing him they had found “some cancer” but that “no treatment would be necessary for the moment”. “In the very week that it was announced on the front page of The Times that prostate cancer is now the commonest cancer in England … I have been diagnosed with it!” he wrote in his column for the paper. Earlier in the week charity Prostate Cancer UK said diagnoses of the disease had overtaken breast cancer in 2022 and 2023, making it England’s most common cancer. TV star and writer Coren, who is the brother of Only Connect presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell, said his “delightful journey started a couple of years ago”. “I had to demand, literally demand, a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test along with my annual cholesterol check, because not only is it not mandatory on the NHS but your GP is not even allowed to suggest it unless you have symptoms,” he claimed. Coren said the test “came back a bit high” and revealed he had only asked for it because of the work done by celebrities including Stephen Fry, the late Bill Turnbull – and more recently Sir Chris Hoy, who revealed his prostate cancer was terminal in 2024.  

Patti Smith is assuring fans that she is “absolutely fine” after a “small incident” onstage while performing in Brazil. The rocker, 78, seemingly collapsed onstage in Sao Paulo on Wednesday, while performing with the Soundwalk Collective group, and was helped offstage before returning briefly in a wheelchair. In a statement shared to Instagram the next day, Smith said she’d been dealing with the effects of a migraine, and that various accounts of what happened had been “grossly exaggerated.” “This is me letting everyone know that I am fine,” she wrote alongside a selfie that featured her smiling for and waving to the camera. “I had some post migraine dizziness. Had a small incident, left the stage, and returned 10 minutes later and talked to the people, told them I was fine and sang them Wing and Because the Night.” Smith said she’d been checked out by an “excellent doctor” and was doing well. “Please do not accept any other story. With all the strife in the world, this explainable incident does not merit so much attention,” she wrote. “Thank you everyone for your concern. Trust me I am fine.” The “Because the Night” singer fell about 30 minutes into her performance, and remained there for several minutes before she received assistance. Journalist Micheline Alves told the Flying Monkeys that Smith seemingly tried to support herself by holding her microphone or music stand, but “everything fell on top of her.” She remained conscious, and was able to stand on her own, Alves said. 

On This Day

• 1709 – Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe’s adventure book Robinson Crusoe.
• 1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day is observed.
• 1901 – Funeral of Queen Victoria.

Deaths

• 1907 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (b. 1834).
• 1969 – Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887).
• 1970 – Bertrand Russell, English mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1872).
• 1979 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (b. 1957).
• 1995 – Fred Perry, English tennis player (b. 1909).
• 1995 – Donald Pleasence, English-French actor (b. 1919).
• 1996 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, dancer, and director (b. 1912).
• 2014 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1967).
• 2021 – Captain Sir Tom Moore, British Army officer and charity campaigner (b. 1920).
• 2024 – Carl Weathers, American football player and actor (b. 1948).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Paul Mescal (29), Gemma Arterton (39), Brent Spiner (76), David Jason (85), Shakira (48), Sherilyn Fenn (60), Michael C. Hall (54), Harry Styles (31), Minnie Driver (55), Jonathan Banks (78), Dexter Fletcher (59), Justin Timberlake (44), Christian Bale (51), Olivia Colman (51), Gene Hackman (95), Phil Collins (74), Katharine Ross (85), Tom Selleck (80), Heather Graham (55), Marc Singer (77), Oprah Winfrey (71), Ariel Winter (27), Will Poulter (32), Elijah Wood (44), Tom Hopper (40), Alan Alda (89), Alan Cumming (60), Rosamund Pike (46), James Cromwell (85), Bridget Fonda (61), and Patton Oswalt (56). 

A quiet week this week, barely any famous deaths and hardly any news to talk about.  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Leila Hayes, 85, Australian actress (Sons and Daughters, Division 4). 
• John Sykes, 65, English guitarist (Tygers of Pan Tang, Whitesnake) and songwriter (“Is This Love“), cancer. 
• Unk, 42, American rapper (“Walk It Out“, “2 Step“, “Show Out“). 

In Other News

Pauline Quirke has been diagnosed with dementia, her husband Steve Sheen has announced. The Birds of a Feather star, 65, is best known for playing Sharon Theodopolopodous in the much-loved sitcom alongside Linda Robson and Lesley Joseph from 1988 to 1999. Quirke, who has also had roles in Emmerdale and Broadchurch, was first diagnosed with the disease in 2021. She will now “step away from all commercial and professional duties”. The BAFTA-nominated actor’s last public appearance came in February 2023, when she was awarded an MBE by Prince William for service to young people, entertainment and charity. In his statement, Quirke’s husband Sheen said: “It is with a heavy heart that I announce my wife Pauline’s decision to step back from all professional and commercial duties due to her diagnosis of Dementia in 2021. Pauline has been an inspiration through her work in the film and TV industry, her charity endeavours and as the founder of the very successful Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts (PQA). Her talent, dedication, and vision have touched countless lives and will continue to do so through the legacy of her work and through PQA where her vision and guidance has facilitated many young peoples’ progression and interest in the Arts and enhanced their self-confidence.” Dementia is an umbrella term for progressive conditions associated with an ongoing decline of brain functioning. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common, and a timely diagnosis is vital. On average, people live between eight to ten years after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. However, some live for a further twenty years or more. 

Music legend Sting has been forced to cancel four gigs just 24 hours before being back on stage. The singer, 73, has fallen ill with a statement from his Instagram page reading: “On advisement from his doctor, due to illness, it is with sincere regret that Sting must cancel his appearance at the Bass Magazine Awards this Thursday.” It added he would also “postpone his STING 3.0 concerts in Phoenix, AZ and Wheatland, CA as well as his performance at the Cherrytree Music Company’s 20th anniversary”. The statement went on to say: “Fans should retain their tickets for the postponed shows, as they will be honoured on the new dates. Sting sincerely apologises for any inconvenience and extends his gratitude to the fans for their understanding.” Sting last cancelled a string of gigs back in 2019 due to a mystery illness. He was forced to pull of performances in Belgium, Germany, Stuttgart, and the Czech Republic. A source insisted the illness was not serious, saying: “He’s just resting up. Everyone is expecting him to be back up and running very soon. He’ll be going straight into the rest of his scheduled tour dates.” Later that year, Sting had made a full recovery but took to the stage in a sling.

On This Day

• 1905 – The world’s largest diamond ever, the Cullinan, which weighs 3,106.75 carats (0.62 kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
• 1926 – The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird.
• 1998 – On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had “sexual relations” with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. 
• 2009 – Nadya Suleman gives birth to the world’s first surviving octuplets.
• 2020 – A Sikorsky S-76B flying from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport crashes in Calabasas, 30 miles west of Los Angeles, killing all nine people on board, including five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant and his daughter.

Deaths

• 1823 – Edward Jenner, English physician, creator of the smallpox vaccine (b. 1749). 
• 1973 – Edward G. Robinson, Romanian-American actor (b. 1893).
• 2020 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (b. 1978).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Scott Glenn (86), Deep Roy (76), Ellen DeGeneres (67), Volodymyr Zelenskyy (47), Justin Baldoni (41), Mischa Barton (39), Kristen Schaal (47), Matthew Lillard (55), Nastassja Kinski (64), Ed Helms (51), Adrian Edmondson (68), Gil Gerard (82), Linda Blair (66), Geena Davis (69), Emma Bunton (49), Rainn Wilson (59), Tom Baker (91), and Gary Barlow (54).

Loads of points  to award this week, with the passing of Linda Nolan I can award 85 points to Paula H, Lara U, Paul G, and an amazing 185 points to Mark K, Mark W, Chris A, Martin G, Lee U, as they had her listed as either a Cert or a Woman. I can also award 55 points to Fiona B for correctly guessing that Joan Plowright would die in 2025. Well done everyone! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Tony Slattery, 65, British actor (The Crying Game, Peter’s Friends), comedian and television personality (Whose Line Is It Anyway?), heart attack. 
• Paul Danan, 46, English actor (Hollyoaks, Celebrity Love Island). 
• Diane Langton, 77, English actress (Hollyoaks, Only Fools and Horses, EastEnders). 
• David Lynch, 78, American television and film director (Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive), visual artist and musician, complications from emphysema. 
• Linda Nolan, 65, Irish singer (The Nolans), actress and television personality (Celebrity Big Brother), double pneumonia. 
• Dame Joan Plowright, 95, English actress (Enchanted April, A Taste of Honey, 101 Dalmatians). 
• Denis Law, 84, Scottish footballer (Manchester United, Huddersfield Town, national team), complications from Alzheimer’s disease. 
• Claire van Kampen, 71, English composer and theatre director, cancer.  

In Other News

Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan has been stabbed after an intruder invaded his home in Mumbai. Khan, 54, was rushed to Lilavati Hospital in an auto-rickshaw where he underwent emergency surgery.  A 2.5-inch piece of the blade was removed from his spine after a five-hour-long surgery. Khan’s public representatives also confirmed the incident, calling it an “attempted burglary”, adding that “the rest of the family is doing fine”. Later on Thursday, doctors told reporters Khan was “on the path to complete recovery”. “He sustained a major injury to the thoracic spinal chord due to a lodged knife in the spine,” said Nitin Dange, one of the doctors operating on on the actor. “Surgery was performed to remove the knife and also repair the leaking spinal fluid.” A female employee at their home was also attacked and was being treated, police said. Khan lives in an apartment in the western Mumbai suburb of Bandra, along with his wife Kareena Kapoor-Khan, who is also an actor, and their two children. According to the Flying Monkeys a suspect has been detained in Chhattisgarh and the police have launched an investigation into the attack. Khan is among the country’s most bankable actors, having featured in more than 70 films and television series, in some also as a producer. He is the son of former India cricket captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and actress Sharmila Tagore.  

James Whale was rushed to hospital over the festive period. The 73-year-old broadcaster, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, had to be taken into intensive care after falling ill with the flu. The TV and radio veteran has been diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer that has spread to his brain, spine and lungs. Whale was hospitalised with the flu but he was discharged from the ICU and able to go back home to recover. His wife Nadine updated fans after the hospital dash, admitting he’d had another encounter with the “Grim Reaper”. She wrote: “After a worrying week I am happy to report that @THEJamesWhale is out of ICU and back at home, having batted off the Grim Reaper yet again. This time he tried with a bout of Influenza A, but without success. Our hero is home.” Whale, who was made an MBE for his services to to broadcasting, was first diagnosed with cancer back in 2000 and had one of his kidneys removed. However, in 2020, the presenter revealed the cancer had returned in his kidney, brain, spine and lungs. The Talk TV host admitted he considered euthanasia shortly after his diagnosis so he could “go and get it over with”. He said: “I came home, had a little think about things. I decided I’m just booking myself a trip to Dignitas. You might as well just go and get it over with. I’d looked into it quite some time ago because Melinda died two years ago and it’s been something in the back of my mind. But you have to make the most of it. When you’re my age – and I’ve had a good life – you say maybe you have another year left. Four years ago, we thought I had months.”  

Heart Radio presenter Jamie Theakston has revealed he is cancer-free, four months after being diagnosed with stage one laryngeal cancer. The 54-year-old broadcaster made the emotional announcement during his return to Heart Breakfast on Friday morning, following a period of absence that began in September 2024. Theakston had undergone three separate surgeries after listeners first noticed a change in his voice prior to his diagnosis. Speaking on the show, Theakston said: “Today is the four-month anniversary of my cancer diagnosis. So it’s been four months, and I’ve had enough of hospitals and operations, and it’s just lovely to be back, and I’ve got some news for you. Because I can tell you that as of today, I’m cancer-free.” The diagnosis had come as an overwhelming surprise to the presenter. “When I was told, ‘Oh, it’s probably cancer,’ just, literally, I just didn’t even know what to say. I mean, it just blew my mind,” he revealed. Theakston detailed the challenging series of procedures he underwent, with each surgery causing increased damage to his vocal cords. The presenter revealed the stark statistics he faced. “By the third one, they said, ‘Well, look, you’ve got a one in six chance you might not be able to talk again.’ And so, then you kind of think, ‘Oh, okay, that’s like rolling a dice,'” he shared. The presenter confirmed he will return to Heart Breakfast full-time on Monday, January 20th.

On This Day

• 1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
• 1901 – Queen Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom, is stricken with paralysis. She dies three days later at the age of 81.
• 1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW’s plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003. 
• 2012 – The file-sharing website Megaupload is shut down by the FBI.

Deaths

• 1983 – Ham, chimpanzee and animal astronaut, first hominid in space (b. 1957). 
• 2000 – Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-American actress, singer, and mathematician (b. 1914). 
• 2017 – Miguel Ferrer, American actor (b. 1955).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Katey Sagal (71), Rob Delaney (48), Tippi Hedren (95), Dolly Parton (79), Michael Crawford (83), Kevin Costner (70), Dave Bautista (56), Mark Rylance (65), Jim Carrey (63), Zooey Deschanel (45), Lin-Manuel Miranda (45), Caroline Munro (76), FKA twigs (37), James May (62), Natasia Demetriou (41), James Nesbitt (60), Claudia Winkleman (53), Eddie Hall (37), Jason Bateman (56), Emily Watson (58), Kevin Durand (51), Mark Addy (61), Faye Dunaway (84), Dave Grohl (56), Michael Peña (49), Liam Hemsworth (35), Orlando Bloom (48), Natalia Dyer (30), Ruth Wilson (43), and Bill Bailey (60).

Barely a week into the new year and we can award points already! With the welcome death of the bigoted Jean-Marie Le Pen, I can award Abi F-B and Mazurn L, 54 points, plus the 50 ‘First Death of the Year’ points to both of you.

However, we’re not stopping there! Mark K also guessed that the Wrestler Black Bart would die this year, albeit two days after Le Pen, so 74 points! Well done everyone!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• The Vivienne, 32, British drag queen (RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, Dancing on Ice). 
• Jean-Marie Le Pen, 96, French politician, MEP (1984–2019), founder of National Front. 
• Peter Yarrow, 86, American singer (Peter, Paul and Mary) and songwriter (“Puff, the Magic Dragon“), bladder cancer. 
• Black Bart, 76, American professional wrestler (NWA), colon cancer. 
• Sam Moore, 89, American singer-songwriter (Sam & Dave), complications from surgery. 
• Bill Byrge, 92, American actor (Ernest Saves Christmas, Ernest Goes to Jail, Ernest Scared Stupid) and comedian.

In Other News

Singer and former reality TV star Kelly Osbourne has been rushed into hospital, with suspected pneumonia and a high temperature. The TV personality revealed she is suffering from a temperature of 37.8C, and is currently receiving medical care in a hospital. She shared a clip of herself breathing through a tube to her Instagram Story as she wrote: “So I may have developed pneumonia.” Osbourne revealed she had started feeling unwell earlier in the evening before she later developed a fever and feeling unwell. Taking to her Instagram Stories again with a picture of her thermometer, she wrote: “How is this happening? How am I sick again?” The mother of one hasn’t shared more information on her health, apart from being in the hospital where she is receiving care. Last year Kelly made headlines for her 85-pound weight loss. She denies using Ozempic, a drug her mother Sharon has openly used for weight loss. Instead she attributes her weight loss to cutting sugar and carbs, as well as a 2018 gastric sleeve surgery. 

However Osbourne wasn’t the only one under the weather last week. Carrie Johnson has revealed she was hospitalised for almost a week after she contracted the flu and pneumonia. Boris Johnson’s wife took to social media to share her health struggle as she praised NHS nurses and doctors who cared for her as “the best people on earth”. The 36-year-old, who shares three children with the former prime minister, struggled to breathe after falling ill with a chest infection over Christmas. She said she was yet to fully recover from the illness and urged others to get the flu jab. “I didn’t expect to spend the first week of 2025 in hospital,” she said in an Instagram post. “After having a nasty chest infection for nearly 18 days at home over Christmas, it just got out of hand and I was struggling to breathe properly. Hospital confirmed I had flu and pneumonia. I was there nearly a week and I’m still not recovered. It could take another few weeks until I feel like myself again.” The caption was accompanied by a picture showing the end of a hospital bed and another of her son Wilf’s “favourite dinosaur toy ‘Greenie’”, and her daughter Romy’s princess key ring, which she said they gave her to take to hospital. Her post continued: “The reason for this post tho is 1) NHS doctors and nurses are the best people on earth. I say it a lot but they have looked after me and my family when we’ve needed it most and I will never not be enormously grateful. They are the absolute best of us. I was at the John Radcliffe and I cannot thank them enough. When I was particularly low, one nurse even serenaded me by my bed. Unbelievable kindness. 2) Obviously check with your doctor but my strong advice is to get the bloody flu jab. I really, really wish I had. It totally slipped my mind this year. No guarantee, but I very possibly wouldn’t have spent the last 3 weeks horribly, horribly ill had I got it.” She ended with an explanation about the dinosaur and princess key ring and added “health and family are everything”.  

We can’t finish this weeks newsletter without mentioning the L.A. Wildfires. Although no celebrities have lost their lives, yet… some of Hollywood’s best-known faces are among the thousands caught up in the devastating wildfires currently tearing through Southern California. With nearly 180,000 residents already evacuated, the crisis has touched everyone from ordinary families to some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. The crisis began with the Pacific Palisades fire on Tuesday morning, swiftly followed by outbreaks in neighbouring communities like Eaton, Woodley, and Hurst. The flames have been indiscriminate, and sadly, stars such as Anthony Hopkins, Billy Crystal, Spencer Pratt, Heidi Montag, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester are among those who have lost their homes. The area where the fire erupted, nestled between Santa Monica and Malibu in northern Los Angeles, is known for its exceptionally high property values. It boasts some of the most expensive real estate in the country, belonging to stars like Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Adam Sandler, Miles Teller and more. Here are some of the most notable celebrities who lost their homes in the LA fire: Paris Hilton on Wednesday took to Instagram to share that she is ‘heartbroken beyond words’ as her Malibu home was burned to the ground by the California fires. The Hotel heiress learned about the destruction from TV news. In her post, she wrote, ‘Sitting with my family, watching the news, and seeing our home in Malibu burn to the ground on live TV is something no one should ever have to experience.’ The Oscar-winning actor and a Hollywood veteran Anthony Hopkins has reportedly lost his £6 million Pacific Palisade estate. Visuals of the charred remains of his 4-bedroom residence are a testament to fire’s destructive power. This is the exact location where he often posted videos on TikTok of him playing the piano. Actress Anna Farris lost her £5 million eco-friendly home where she lived with her family. Destroyed by the blaze, the Scary movie star’s 4000 square metres residence is a smouldering ruin now. Celebrities such as, Maria Shriver, Eugene Levy, Diane Warren, and Cobie Smulders were forced to evacuate their homes as the wildfires continued to spread. 

On This Day

• 1967 – Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation. 
• 1998 – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning, so you’re only going to get one of me! 
• 2010 – An earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Deaths

• 1976 – Agatha Christie, English crime novelist, and playwright (b. 1890).
• 2003 – Maurice Gibb, Manx-Australian singer-songwriter, and producer (b. 1949).
• 2017 – William Peter Blatty, American writer and filmmaker (b. 1928). 
• 2017 – Graham Taylor, English football player and manager (b. 1944). 
• 2023 – Lisa Marie Presley, American singer-songwriter (b. 1968).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Rachael Harris (57), Pixie Lott (33), Mary J. Blige (54), Rachel Riley (39), Jemaine Clement (51), Rod Stewart (80), J.K. Simmons (70), Joely Richardson (60), Imelda Staunton (69), James Acaster (40), Cynthia Erivo (38), Michelle Forbes (60), Nicolas Cage (61), Jeremy Renner (54), Linda Kozlowski (67), Erin Gray (75), Helen Worth (74), Norman Reedus (56), Rowan Atkinson (70), Kate McKinnon (41), and Eddie Redmayne (43).