Dead Pool 27th November 2016
Welcome to a busy week for the Dead Pool! A stalwart name on many a list has finally passed away, Fidel Castro died at the age of 90. This gives 60 points to Lee, Laura, Mark, Dave, Wendy, Sarai, Stu, Millie and Paula. Strangely enough, nobody had him down as a Cert. This has changed the league table somewhat, we have a new points leader and with just over a month to play, it’s very close at the top.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Peter Sumner, 74, Australian actor (Ned Kelly, Star Wars, Heartbreak High).
- Florence Henderson, 82, American actress (The Brady Bunch) and singer (Fanny), heart failure.
- Fidel Castro, 90, Cuban politician, Prime Minister (1959–1976), President (1976–2008).
- Ron Glass, 71, American actor (Barney Miller, Firefly, Lakeview Terrace).
- David Hamilton, 83, British photographer, suspected suicide.
In Other News
US rapper Kanye West has been taken to hospital following an emergency services call. A police spokesperson said they had received a “disturbance call” on Monday afternoon, but did not name the singer. The disturbance was later deemed a medical incident, he said, and the fire department responded. A spokesman for the LA Fire Department said an unnamed man had been taken to hospital for “further assessment”. Further details of the incident naming West varied in conflicting reports from multiple news sources. NBC News said officers had been responding to a “medical welfare call” and the decision to hospitalise West was for his own health and safety, citing “multiple authorities familiar with the case”. Gossip website TMZ said that West was taken to hospital for “psychiatric evaluation” and had been seeking treatment for “severe sleep deprivation”. Before news broke of West’s hospital treatment, Kardashian West’s mother, Kris Jenner, spoke to US media about the rapper’s reasons for cancelling his shows. “He’s exhausted, he’s just really tired. He’s had a gruelling tour and it’s been a grind so he just needs some rest,” she told US TV show Extra. The rapper had cancelled all remaining dates on his current tour after abandoning a Sacramento performance at the weekend. He had performed just three songs on Saturday night, before embarking on an unscripted rant, criticising Facebook, Jay Z and Hillary Clinton. He criticised Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg for failing to give him $53m (£42.5m) to get out of debt and said he was hurt that Jay Z failed to visit his family after last month’s robbery. West then appeared to suggest that Jay Z employed hit men, saying: “Jay Z, I know you got killers, please don’t send them at my head.” “Get ready to have a field day, press, because the show’s over,” he said, as he dropped his microphone and walked out. His promoter, Live Nation, has announced refunds for all tickets from the show.
The former British middleweight champion Nick Blackwell was in a “stable condition” in hospital last night after he was taken ill having reportedly been involved in a sparring session. Blackwell had retired from competitive boxing after recovering from being put into an induced coma following March’s fight against Chris Eubank Jnr, where he collapsed shortly after being stopped. The 26-year-old from Trowbridge was found to have suffered a bleed on the skull following that fight, but woke without requiring an operation and made encouraging progress. Although Blackwell had his boxer’s licence removed by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) after his ordeal, he retained a trainer’s licence. The BBBofC general secretary, Robert Smith, confirmed on Saturday evening that Blackwell was in hospital. “We are investigating this matter and it will be fully looked into, but it is very early days. We understand that Blackwell was sparring some time this week and he has undergone a procedure. We don’t know exactly what the procedure was yet. We have spoken to a number of people about this and we will be putting the full facts together.”
On This Day
- 176 – Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son Commodus the rank of “Imperator” and makes him Supreme Commander of the Roman legions.
- 1835 – James Pratt and John Smith are hanged in London; they are the last two to be executed for sodomy in England.
- 1895 – At the Swedish–Norwegian Club in Paris, Alfred Nobel signs his last will and testament, setting aside his estate to establish the Nobel Prize after he dies.
Deaths
- 1852 – Ada Lovelace, English mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1815)
- 1895 – Alexandre Dumas, French novelist and playwright (b. 1824)
- 1934 – Baby Face Nelson, American criminal (b. 1908)
- 1978 – Harvey Milk, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Irvin Kershner, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Ken Russell, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
- 2011 – Gary Speed, Welsh footballer and manager (b. 1969)
- 2014 – P. D. James, English author (b. 1920)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Miley Cyrus (24), Mark Ruffalo (49), Goldie Hawn (71), Joe Binden (74), Scarlett Johansson (32), Jamie Lee Curtis (58), Christian Applegate (45), Tina Turner (77), Sarah Hyland (26), Bo Derek (60), John Larroquette (68), Rita Ora (26), Bjork (51), Boris Becker (49), Carly Rae Jepsen (31), Terry Gilliam (76), Billy Jean King (73), Natasha Bedingfield (35), Peter Facinelli (43) and Ming-Na Wen (53).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 20th November 2016
Afternoon all, welcome to spot the dead celebrity week. Maybe I’m being a little cruel and uneducated, but fuck me, who are these people? Six more weeks to go and all to pay for.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Leon Russell, 74, American Hall of Fame musician (The Wrecking Crew) and songwriter (“Tight Rope“).
- Lisa Lynn Masters, 53, American actress (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Girl in the Book, Gossip Girl), apparent suicide by hanging.
- Sharon Jones, 60, American singer (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings), pancreatic cancer.
- Yevgeni Lazarev, 79, Russian-American actor (Iron Man 2, The Sum of All Fears, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare), cardiac arrest.
In Other News
Restaurant critic AA Gill has revealed he has been diagnosed with the “full English” of cancers. The illness prompted his engagement to his partner of 23 years, Nicola Formby, with whom he has two children. Doctors found he had cancer, which has spread from his lungs to other parts of his body, after he went for an X-ray when people noticed he had lost weight. Gill, 62, who is having chemotherapy, said he does not “feel cheated” and has been “very lucky” in his life. The columnist, who is restaurant and TV critic for the Sunday Times, told the paper: “I’ve got an embarrassment of cancer, the full English. “There is barely a morsel of offal not included. I have a trucker’s gut-buster, gimpy, malevolent, meaty malignancy.” Doctors found he had a smoking-related cancer which had spread from his lungs – despite him giving up smoking 15 years ago. The illness has meant he is unable to ride a bike because one tumour affects his balance and he has been banned from flying because he cannot risk infections. Gill told readers of his column he was revealing his diagnosis because chemotherapy can alter the way things taste, adding: “If ever things start tasting like licked battery terminals, I’ll tell you.” Gill said he had visited a private doctor and paid for his own X-rays, but wanted to go back into the NHS because of the “connection it brings”. He told the newspaper: “My father would say he didn’t want to die in the trench, and I don’t want to die in a trench in Harley Street.”
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson has told how she feared she was going to die when doctors revealed she had a brain tumour. The 44-year-old former “It girl” has received treatment for the non-malignant growth in her pituitary gland since January and said it had now cleared. She told the media: “I went to the doctors to talk about my latest blood test results when I got back from skiing in January. I said: ‘What does this mean? Can you translate it?’ And the doctor said: ‘As I suspected, you have a brain tumour’.” “I got terribly frightened. I started thinking, ‘I’m going to die, I’m going to die. I’ve only got a couple of weeks to live.’ Stuff like that.” Palmer-Tomkinson, who has battled drug problems in the past, also said the blood tests found she was suffering with an auto-immune disease which had caused tiredness, joint pain and acute anaemia. So nothing to do with cocaine then..
An 89-year-old Canadian has made headlines for digging his own grave. “I love digging,” Jimmy Kickham, from Prince Edward Island, told CBC News, saying he feels pride in his personal project. Mr Kickham, who owns a construction business, has been digging graves and trenches for more than 60 years. “One day I just thought I’d do my own if I lived to be 90,” Mr Kichkam explained. He is in good health but turns 90 on Thursday. “I love digging. Just one of those things that gets into your system. It’s just work. Money. No matter what they wanted dug, I could do it,” he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Mr Kichkam still works on most days, using the same earth mover that he bought 45 years ago. Eric Gallant, a maintenance worker for the St Alexis church in Rollo Bay, said he had never come across anything like it. “It’s something else. That’s one of a kind, I figure,” he said. “The only thing that’s missing is his casket.” “And me!” Mr Kickham quipped.
On This Day
- 1947 – The Princess Elizabeth marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, who becomes the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London.
- 1985 – Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released.
- 1990 – Andrei Chikatilo, one of the Soviet Union‘s most prolific serial killers, is arrested; he eventually confesses to 56 killings.
- 1992 – In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, badly damaging the castle and causing over £50 million worth of damage.
- 1998 – The first module of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched.
Deaths
- 1910 – Leo Tolstoy, Russian author and playwright (b. 1828)
- 2006 – Robert Altman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Peter Dimmock, English sportscaster and producer (b. 1920)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Rachel McAdams (38), Owen Wilson (48), Jodie Foster (54), Prince Charles (68), Meg Ryan (55), Jimmy Kimmel (49), Danny DeVito (72), Whoopi Goldberg (61), Larry King (83), Maggie Gyllenhaal (39), Linda Evans (74), Martin Scorsese (74), Gerard Butler (47), Anni-Frid Lyngstad (71), Beverly D’Angelo (65), Calvin Klein (74), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (58), Lauren Hutton (73), Martha Plimpton (46), RuPaul (56), Delroy Lindo (64), Sophie Marceau (50), Missi Pyle (44), Chad Kroeger (42) and Condoleezza Rice (62).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 13th November 2016
Good afternoon all, welcome to yet more deadly hilarity! Again, no points to award, we’re not doing so well considering celebrities are dying like flies this year!!!
So, let’s talk about next year! You now have seven weeks remaining to research and submit your new list. Sounds like a lot of time, but remember how long it took you to get around to watching that box set? Yeah…
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Leonard Cohen, 82, Canadian singer-songwriter (“Suzanne“, “Hallelujah“, “First We Take Manhattan“), poet and novelist (Let Us Compare Mythologies, Beautiful Losers).
- Julie Gregg, 79, American actress (The Godfather, The Happy Time, Batman), cancer.
- Sir Jimmy Young, 95, British radio personality (Radio 2) and singer (“Unchained Melody“, “The Man from Laramie“).
- Robert Vaughn, 83, American actor (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Magnificent Seven, Hustle), acute leukemia.
In Other News
Jill Gascoine is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, her heartbroken husband has revealed. Actor Alfred Molina said his wife’s prognosis was “bleak” and that she was in latter stages of the disease. Gascoine, 79, is best known for her role ITV’s The Gentle Touch which ran from 1980 to 1984 and, at its height, was regularly watched by 18 million viewers. The actress also played a recurring role in the hugely popular 1970s drama The Onedin Line. Molina, who is 16 years younger than his wife, told The Radio Times: “Not everyone can approach Alzheimer’s with the bravery that Terry Pratchett showed.” Molina added: “Every Alzheimer’s case is unique unto itself – the only thing that unites them all is the outcome is always the same. Ultimately, you end up on the same path.”
Joyce Frost, who appeared as the “Old Woman” on BBC Radio 2’s Steve Wright in the Afternoon, has died. Frost, from Dagenham, east London, died “peacefully and pain free” last week, Wright announced on his Wednesday show. The Old Woman, a regular on the show, discussed the news and once presented the “factoids” slot – listing quirky facts – with Hollywood star Will Smith. Wright praised her as “a complete natural on the air” and said she had been a “lovely, lovely person”. On Wednesday’s show, Wright told listeners she had been “very opinionated and witty” and always cheeky, funny and charming. He added: “It’s a sad loss, thank you for being the Old Woman with us Joyce and we’ll miss you very much.”
Sir Bruce Forsyth’s wife has thanked the public for the support the couple have received during the entertainer’s recuperation from surgery. “We’ve had so many wonderful letters and phone calls and good wishes for him,” said Lady Wilnelia Forsyth. Earlier this month, Lady Forsyth said the 88-year-old was still having “a bit of a problem moving”. “He’s in incredible shape mentally but he gets very tired,” she said. Speaking on ITV on Thursday, Lady Forsyth said it had been “very hard” for her husband to be convalescing, having been “active until just recently”. Sir Bruce has not been seen in public of late, having been too frail to attend the funerals of close friends Ronnie Corbett and Sir Terry Wogan. “With a little bit of luck he should be back,” said the 1975 Miss World winner. “I don’t expect him to go tap dancing, he’s not doing that at home, but he loves show business.” Sir Bruce underwent keyhole surgery last year after doctors discovered he had two aneurysms following a fall at his Surrey home.
On This Day
- 1002 – English king Æthelred II orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice’s Day massacre.
- 1841 – James Braid first sees a demonstration of animal magnetism, which leads to his study of the subject he eventually calls hypnotism.
- 1947 – The Soviet Union completes development of the AK-47, one of the first proper assault rifles.
- 1974 – Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murders his entire family in Amityville, Long Island in the house that would become known as The Amityville Horror.
Deaths
- 1770 – George Grenville, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1712)
- 1903 – Camille Pissarro, Virgin Islander-French painter (b. 1830)
- 1973 – Lila Lee, American actress (b. 1901)
- 1974 – Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist (b. 1946)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Sally Field (70), Ethan Hawke (46), Thandie Newton (44), Rebecca Romijn (44), Emma Stone (28), Maria Shriver (61), Joni Mitchell (73), Tinie Tempah (28), Gretchen Mol (44), Matthew Rhys (42), Tara Reid (41), Jack Osbourne (31), Gordon Ramsay (50), Lou Ferrigno (65), Tracy Morgan (48), Stanley Tucci (56), Demi Moore (54), Calista Flockhart (52), Leonardo DiCaprio (42), Wallace Shawn (73), Neil Young (71), Ryan Gosling (36) and Ann Hathaway (34).
The Last Word
“There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is God’s messenger.”
- Saddam Hussein December 30, 2006 – Executed by hanging
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 6th November 2016
Good afternoon everyone, another edition hits the press, alas no points and some very obscure deaths. With eight weeks to go, we’re beginning to wonder if we peaked too early on in the year.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Curly Putman, 85, American songwriter (“Green, Green Grass of Home“, “D-I-V-O-R-C-E“, “He Stopped Loving Her Today“).
- Max Alexander, 63, American comedian and actor (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Trainwreck, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2), head and neck cancer.
- Kay Starr, 94, American singer (“Wheel of Fortune“, “The Rock and Roll Waltz“), complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
- John Carson, 89, English actor (Doomsday, Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter, Doctor Who)
In Other News
US actor Val Kilmer has denied he has cancer, following Michael Douglas’s claim that his former co-star is ill. “I love Michael Douglas but he is misinformed,” the Top Gun and Batman Forever star wrote in a Facebook post. Douglas claimed that Kilmer was “dealing with” throat cancer – the same ailment that Douglas was diagnosed with in 2010. Kilmer, however, said he was “rehabbing steadily” from “a swollen tongue” and had “no cancer whatsoever”. “The last time I spoke to [Douglas] was almost two years ago, when I asked him for a referral for a specialist to get a diagnosis for a lump in my throat,” wrote the 56-year-old. “I ended up using a team at UCLA and have no cancer whatsoever,” he continued. Following Douglas’s comments, it was reported that he had been reluctant to seek medical treatment due to his Christian Science faith. He added: “Some fans have mistakenly thought my silence about my personal issues meant that somehow I wasn’t being responsible to my health, because of my reliance on prayer and Love. “Nothing could be further from the truth… Being healthy and having the respect of my peers and love from my family, friends, peers and fans is a DAILY source of inspiration, for which I am so grateful.” Kilmer’s post follows a number of Facebook messages last year in which he assured fans he had “no tumour or infection of any kind”.
US whistleblower Chelsea Manning attempted suicide for a second time last month, her lawyers say. Her legal team declined to give details but said prison conditions contributed to her fragile mental state. Manning was sentenced to 14 days in solitary confinement in September for charges relating to her attempt to kill herself in July. The transgender army private, born Bradley Manning, is serving a 35-year sentence for espionage. In July, the former intelligence analyst attempted to take her own life after what lawyers said was the Army’s refusal to provide appropriate health care. She later went on hunger strike which ended after the military agreed to provide her with gender dysphoria treatment. Her lawyer Chase Strangio described her treatment in a letter, quoted by the AP news agency, as “demoralising”, adding that it was an “assault on her health and humanity”. “She has repeatedly been punished for trying to survive and now is being repeatedly punished for trying to die,” wrote Mr Strangio.
David Van Day, a former member of pop duo Dollar, is “doing fine” after suffering a heart attack, his spokesman has said. The singer was taken to a hospital in Essex over the weekend after suffering chronic chest pain for several days. The 59-year-old was later moved to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in central London for treatment. A representative told the BBC that Van Day has “had a stent fitted to a main artery”. Van Day’s spokesman said the singer “should be leaving for home soon” following the operation but will need to rest for the next month. He tweeted: “Thanks for all the kind and positive messages I’ve had today. I’m hoping to make a speedy recovery.” Van Day, together with Canadian-born Thereza Bazar, made up Dollar – a pop duo who had a string of chart hits in the late 1970s and 1980s, including Mirror Mirror and Give Me Back My Heart.
Singer Michael Buble and his wife Luisana Lopilato have said they are “devastated” after their three-year-old son Noah was diagnosed with cancer. The Canadian star broke the news on his Facebook page. He did not give any details about the type of cancer although we strongly believe its cancer of the ear. He said he and Lopilato, a model and actress, were giving up work commitments to concentrate on “helping Noah get well”. His statement said: “We are devastated about the recent cancer diagnosis of our oldest son Noah who is currently undergoing treatment in the US. “We have always been very vocal about the importance of family and the love we have for our children. Luisana and I have put our careers on hold in order to devote all our time and attention to helping Noah get well. “At this difficult time, we ask only for your prayers and respect for our privacy.” Let’s hope the little nipper gets better, the burden of bing Buble’s son is enough for one child to bear.
And finally, a quick mention to Herbert Howe, who died last month after a brave battle with cancer. Alas he wasn’t famous enough for our needs, i.e. no Wiki page or a listing on the deaths page, but I’m sure you’ll recognise those teeth!
On This Day
- 1944 – Plutonium is first produced at the Hanford Atomic Facility and subsequently used in the Fat Man atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
- 2012 – Tammy Baldwin becomes the first openly gay politician to be elected to the United States Senate.
Deaths
- 1893 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and critic (b. 1840)
- 2004 – Fred Dibnah, English engineer and television host (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Clive Dunn, English actor (b. 1920)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Henry Winkler (71), Peter Jackson (55), Vanilla Ice (49), Anthony Kiedis (54), Toni Collette (44), Jenny McCarthy (44), K.D. Lang (55), David Schwimmer (50), Rosanne Barr (64), Dolph Lundgren (59), Anna Wintour (67), Loretta Swit (79), Ralph Macchio (55), Matthew McConaughey (47), Laura Bush (70), Louise Redknapp (42), Robert Patrick (58), Bryan Adams (57), Tilda Swinton (56), Tatum O’Neal (53), Sam Rockwell (48) and Famke Janssen (52).
The Last Word
Adolf Hitler – April 29th 1945 – Hitler committed suicide, with is wife Eva Braun, in an underground bunker in Berlin. The last lines of Hitler’s suicide note reads as follows:
“I myself and my wife – in order to escape the disgrace of deposition or capitulation – choose death. It is our wish to be burnt immediately on the spot where I have carried out the greatest part of my daily work in the course of a twelve years’ service to my people.”
Next week peeps.
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