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Dead Pool 6th April 2025

With the world falling into pieces, I bet those listed below are glad to be away from the  shit-show that is life. However, we must look at the bright side of things, like points! With the sad passing of Val Kilmer, I can award 85 points to Nicki H, Sarai K, and Ian K, well done all of you! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

 In Other News

The Taliban is investigating an Afghan man’s claim that he is 140 years old – which would make him the oldest person ever to have lived. Aqel Nazir, who lives in the country’s eastern Khost province, says he was born in the 1880s. He claims to remember celebrating the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919 alongside King Amanullah Khan, the Afghan leader who launched a campaign against the British, while in his thirties. Nazir, who lives in the picturesque hills in Khost, said: ‘I was in the palace with King Amanullah Khan. I was over 30 at the time and I remember saying that the British had fled and knelt down. Everyone was happy and thanked King Amanullah Khan for chasing the British away. Many leaders accompanied us to the Arg [presidential palace], but now all of them have passed away.’ The great-great grandfather does not have any documents to support his claim, but his family are also on board with gaining official recognition of his status. Khyal Wazir, his 50-year-old grandson, said: ‘He is my grandfather, and I have my grandchildren as well.’ Another grandson, Abdul Hakim Sabari, said: ‘We request the government confirm our grandfather’s age using an ID or any other scientific method or documents, to prove he is 140 years old.’  In an attempt to solve the mystery, the ruling Taliban administration has dispatched a special civil registration team to assess his true age. Mustaghfar Gurbaz, a Taliban spokesman for the province, said: ‘If confirmed by documents or assessments, we will work to register him as the oldest person in the world. If verified, he would comfortably take the title of the oldest person to have ever lived.’ That record is held by Jeanne Calment, who was born in 1875 and passed away in 1997, 122 years later. The world’s current verified oldest living person is Inah Canabarro Lucas, a Brazilian nun who turned 116 last June.  

A familiar TV personality is said to be gearing up to enter the Celebrity Big Brother house on ITV, with the show set to premiere April 7th, just over a year after she faced a cancer diagnosis. TV host Trisha Goddard bravely announced this February that her breast cancer had made a comeback after previously battling and overcoming the disease in 2008. Sources, including The Flying Monkeys, suggest she’s thrilled about the chance to join the reality TV fray. Trisha was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer – also referred to as metastatic or stage 4 breast cancer – a condition treatable but incurable. She kept her diagnosis under wraps for 19 months until going public with it in February 2024. Renowned for her eponymous talk show on ITV which aired from 1998 to 2005 before transitioning to Channel 5, Trisha has been a familiar face on British television. Trisha has been vocal about her previous encounters with cancer and has cited the burden of carrying the secret of its return as the reason for disclosing it now. The TV star has candidly spoken out about not wanting to be seen as “frail” following her health issues. She told the Flying Monkeys that maintaining secrecy over her health became exhausting, saying: “I can’t lie, I can’t keep making up stories. It gets to a stage, after a year and a half, when keeping a secret becomes more of a burden than anything else.” Revealing her nervousness around public perception after her diagnosis, the icon shared: “My worry is that people will start seeing me as a frail little thing, and that if the news got out, I’d be judged, or people would change the way they are with me, or that I wouldn’t work.”  

Virginia Giuffre has spoken publicly for the first time since sparking alarm with a social media post claiming she had just “four days to live.” Giuffre — who has accused Prince Andrew of abusing her when she was a teenager, a claim the royal denies — shared the disturbing update last Sunday, writing: “I’ve gone into kidney renal failure, they’ve given me four days to live, transferring me to a specialist hospital in urology.” Now, the 40-year-old has broken her silence about her health battle, telling the Flying Monkeys the issues began following a serious episode earlier this year. “I was able to fight back against Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein who abused and trafficked me… I can no longer stay silent,” she said in a statement. “Again, I thank everyone for their support.” Giuffre’s condition is said to have worsened after a bus crash in rural Western Australia on March 24th. However, police, the bus driver, and several witnesses have since said the collision was not as severe as she had suggested online. Her brother, Sky Roberts, later clarified the viral post, saying doctors had warned Giuffre she could have died within four days without treatment. “Let’s be clear, she never stated in the bus accident the cause of all her other injuries,” he told us. “Nobody ever said her liver issues and kidney failure were ever from that. We still don’t know if it is, I’m not a medical professional. That’s up to her doctor to determine.” He added that while he didn’t know the exact cause of her internal injuries, they were “consistent” with a car crash. Giuffre remains in a Perth hospital, where a spokeswoman said she is “marginally better but still in serious condition” after undergoing treatment. The update comes amid growing scrutiny of Giuffre’s private life, following reports that she has become increasingly isolated since splitting from her husband earlier this year. She now lives alone on a secluded 40-acre farm north of Perth — a property she bought following her settlement with Prince Andrew in 2022, reportedly worth millions. The Duke of York made the payment with no admission of liability. While the farm is equipped with stables, a brook, and a dirt bike track, neighbours say it has become a “gilded cage,” with high-security fences and surveillance cameras. “You don’t know the half of it,” one neighbour told us. “I can’t really say anymore, but none of this surprises me.” Giuffre is also facing a court appearance on April 9th, accused of breaching a family violence restraining order. It is unclear whether she will be discharged in time, with hospital sources saying, “It looks like she may be here for a few more days still.”

On This Day

  • 1965 – Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.
  • 1974 – In Brighton, United Kingdom, ABBA wins the 1974 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with “Waterloo“, the first of a joint-record seven Swedish wins.
  • 2018 – A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collides with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others. 

Deaths

  • 1199 – Richard I, king of England (b. 1157).
  • 1528 – Albrecht Dürer, German painter, engraver, and mathematician (b. 1471).
  • 1992 – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction writer (b. 1920).
  • 1998 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942).
  • 2014 – Mickey Rooney, American soldier, actor, and dancer (b. 1920).
  • 2015 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1918).

Death Row’s Youngest

The youngest woman ever to be sentenced to death in the US is still on death row almost 30 years later.

On 12th January 1995, then-18-year-old Tennessee woman Christa Pike lured a 19-year-old classmate named Colleen Slemmer to a secluded location and murdered her.

Pike thought that Colleen was trying to ‘steal’ her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, and the three of them, along with 18-year-old Shadolla Peterson, signed out of their dormitory and went into the woods. 

The 18-year-old told her victim that she wanted to make  peace with her by offering her some cannabis, but she and Shipp attacked Colleen while Peterson acted as a lookout.

A court heard that Colleen was beaten, slashed, and had a pentagram carved into her chest for around 30 minutes before Pike killed her by smashing her skull with a chunk of asphalt.

Pike kept a piece of her victim’s skull, and started showing it to other people in her class.

It wasn’t long before she, Shipp and Peterson were arrested. 

Though she confessed to torturing and killing Colleen, Pike insisted that she had only intended to scare the 19-year-old.

Charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, Pike was found guilty on 22nd March 1996, and shortly afterwards was sentenced to death by electrocution.

Shipp received a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 25 years, while Peterson had become a state witness and was given a six-year probationary sentence.

Pike became the youngest woman to be sentenced to death in the US, but almost 30 years on, she is still on death row.

The reason for that is that there are very long processes involved with carrying out an execution. Many death row inmates will spend years appealing and challenging their death penalty. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, prisoners in the US who have been sentenced to death will normally spend more than 10 years before they get executed or are found to be not guilty. 

They said that since 2013, more than half of death row inmates who are exonerated had to spend over 25 years awaiting execution before their names were cleared.

The group added that over half of US inmates sentenced to death have spent at least 18 years on death row.

Over time, Pike has appealed her verdict, cancelled her appeal, and then re-issued it, as well as had legal representatives attempt to commute her sentence.

At one point, she did have an execution date set for 19th August 2002, but a month before that, she said she changed her mind and her appeal continued.

While behind bars in 2001, she attempted to murder fellow inmate Patricia Jones by strangling her with string, and was convicted of attempted murder in 2004.

In 2012, a plan to break her out of prison was discovered, with a man named Donald Kohut, who had been writing letters to her in prison, and corrections officer Justin Heflin coming up with a plan.

The two men were arrested, with Kohut sentenced to seven years in prison and Heflin being fired from his job. Pike wasn’t charged as it was not clear how much involvement she had with the plan.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Paul Rudd (56), Michael Rooker (70), Zach Braff (50), John Ratzenberger (78), Billy Dee Williams (88), Lily James (36), Hayley Atwell (43), Mitch Pileggi (73), Pharrell Williams (52), Robert Downey Jr. (60), Natasha Lyonne (46), Hugo Weaving (65), David Blaine (52), Graham Norton (62), Adam Scott (51), Alec Baldwin (67), Sofia Boutella (43), Eddie Murphy (64), Amanda Bynes (39), Paris Jackson (27), Pedro Pascal (50), Michael Fassbender (48), Emma Myers (23), Penelope Keith (85), Mackenzie Davis (38), Asa Butterfield (28), Ali MacGraw (86), Michael Praed (65), Christopher Walken (82), Ewan McGregor (54), Rhea Perlman (77), and William Daniels (98).

6th April 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 30th March 2025

Yesterday I was all worried that there were no notable deaths, the good old Flying Monkeys  were released and now we have a few names at least! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Legendary crooner Johnny Mathis has announced his retirement from touring and live performing due to “age and memory issues.” The 89-year-old romantic singer, behind hits like “Wonderful, Wonderful” and “It’s Not For Me To Say,” was scheduled to continue touring throughout the summer. However, he has now canceled all concerts from June 2025 onwards. “As many of you may already be aware, Johnny Mathis is approaching his 90th birthday this year,” a statement shared from his Facebook account read. “So, it’s with sincere regret that due to Mr. Mathis’ age and memory issues which have accelerated, we are announcing his retirement from touring & live concerts. At this time, the 2025 Voice of Romance Tour dates will continue, with the final concert currently scheduled on May 18th 2025 in Englewood, New Jersey at the Bergen PAC,” the statement continued. “Johnny Mathis & his entire staff send their heartfelt gratitude to all Mathis Fans worldwide for your continued love & support of his music. It’s truly been ‘Wonderful, Wonderful,’” it concluded. Mathis’ final concert brings an end to an incredible singing career that has spanned over six decades. In that time, he’s recorded 73 studio albums, 10 of which are certified Gold for having sold 500,000 units each. In total, he’s gone on to sell more than 360 million records worldwide. His most popular album, Johnny’s Greatest Hits, was once the record holder for the longest-running album to chart on the Billboard 200. It remained on the chart for 490 weeks from its 1958 release until 1968. It was later dethroned by Pink Floyd’s 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. In 2003, Mathis was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He’s also nabbed five nominations, with his first one being in 1960 for Best Vocal Performance Single Record Or Track, Male for his song “Misty.” Mathis is also known for his Christmas albums. In fact, his latest album, released in 2023, is titled Christmas Time Is Here and features covers of several holiday classics, including “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”  

The daughter of Dame Esther Rantzen has revealed that the cancer drugs that her mother was placed on last year are no longer working. The 84-year-old revealed in 2024 that her cancer was being kept at bay thanks to a new drug, which had left her feeling “much better” than she thought she would be. The broadcaster, who is best known for founding Childline, a telephone helpline for young people aged up to 18, has previously revealed that she has registered with the Swiss assisted dying clinic, Dignitas. Rantzen’s daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, said that the medication her mother was put “was an improvement”, but then admitted: “I really wish that was true but I don’t think that’s the case anymore.” Wilcox also revealed that Rantzen’s health is so poor that travelling to Dignitas is now out of the question. Both Rantzen and Wilcox are advocates of making assisted dying legal in the UK. The topic is the subject of a much-debated parliamentary bill which has this week been delayed by two years. Speaking of the delay, Wilcox explained: “I just wish that people understood that all the assisted dying bill is, is choice for people that want it. All it is, is giving you peace of mind and that peace of mind, I cannot tell you how powerful that would be right now for my mum. I’m a witness to the trauma of uncertainty, to the trauma of stress around what is going to happen. The fact that she doesn’t know how her death is going to happen, how the pain is going to progress, the exhaustion, the fatigue, what symptoms are going to come in. She is a person who has fought her whole life for other people, and she has no control now. Why can’t we give people like my mum with a terminal diagnosis, with no other choice, some choice as to when and how and where they die? Frankly, Dignitas is out of the window for us as well. You have to be relatively healthy to do that, if she had gone, she would have gone months before she would have died here.”  

King Charles has been forced to cancel a string of engagements after being admitted to hospital. In a statement released on Thursday evening, Buckingham Palace said that following “scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer”, he had “experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital”. The monarch, 76, later returned to Clarence House, where he lives with Queen Camilla. “As a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrow’s diary program will also be rescheduled”, the Palace added. While the Palace did not comment on the specific nature of the side effects, it’s understood not to be uncommon with cancer patients. Sources described the medical incident as a “most minor bump in a road that’s very much heading in the right direction”, but added that in order to “protect and prioritise his continued very positive recovery” he has “regretfully” cancelled engagements planned for Birmingham on Friday. The King was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February last year and has been undergoing treatment as an outpatient ever since. He was forced to cancel all public-facing duties for several weeks, but returned in April and has since travelled internationally – including to Australia last October – and hosted incoming state visits for international dignitaries, all while continuing his recovery. Just last week, the King visited the Pharmacy and Pharmacology department at Ulster University in Northern Ireland to learn about their groundbreaking cancer research. During his time there, he told fellow cancer patients: “What’s that Winston Churchill saying? Keep b****ring on.” The King added that, in regards to side effects, “you just have to push on, don’t you?” While it’s not clear what type of cancer the King has, it’s previously been reported that it was caught at a very early stage.

On This Day

  • 1842 – Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long. 
  • 1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident. 
  • 2023 – Donald Trump becomes the first former United States president to be indicted by a grand jury.  

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Warren Beatty (88), John Astin (95), Eric Clapton (80), Donna D’Errico (57), Lucy Lawless (57), Ed Skrein (42), Brendan Gleeson (70), Marina Sirtis (70), Christopher Lambert (68), Eric Idle (82), Thaddea Graham (28), Elle Macpherson (61), Julia Stiles (44), Vince Vaughn (55), Lady Gaga (39), Nick Frost (53), Dianne Wiest (79), Chris Barrie (65), Quentin Tarantino (62), Nathan Fillion (54), Julian Glover (90), Mariah Carey (56), Keira Knightley (40), Jennifer Grey (65), Martin Short (75), Diana Ross (81), Steven Tyler (77), Lee Pace (46), Sarah Jessica Parker (60), Paul Michael Glaser (82), Richard O’Brien (83), Elton John (78), Jessica Chastain (48), Jim Parsons (52), Lara Flynn Boyle (55), Alyson Hannigan (51), Kelly LeBrock (65), and Tig Notaro (54). 

30th March 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 23rd March 2025

A surprisingly pointless week, I thought some of you had George Foreman listed, but alas  nobody did. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Frank Bruno is recovering after falling ill while on a plane and being rushed to hospital. The 63-year-old former world heavyweight champion spent nearly two weeks in a hospital in Doha, Qatar after becoming unwell on a flight that took off from Heathrow on March 3rd, according to the Flying Monkeys, he’s contracted a viral infection. A post from Bruno on  Twitter included a picture showing him smiling, while sat on a plane. That was accompanied by the message: “Morning so the Frank Bruno World tour continues up early for a plane I don’t sleep well on planes but trying to catch up on some zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz’s.” Bruno’s manager Dave Davies explained: “Frank was flying out to work in Thailand when he was taken ill on the plane at Doha. Medical crew attended Frank on the plane and at hospital. He’s now recovering and hopes to be back at work as soon as possible.” Bruno, who was accompanied by his PA Paul Hunter, is said to have fallen ill shortly after the flight took off and after initially suspecting food poisoning, they realised it was something more serious. A source said to the Flying Monkeys: “Frank was fine when he boarded the plane – but quickly went downhill during the flight. He was in a really bad way and they were unsure what the problem was. Frank was in a bad way and was sweating profusely and had fever-like symptoms. Paul was worried but was doing his best to keep him calm. He was treated on the flight at Doha, in the airport and then at the hospital. Doctors were really worried and carried out all sorts of tests, including for meningitis. They then diagnosed him with a viral infection, which at least meant they could start treating him.” An ‘Evening with Frank Bruno’ event that was scheduled for this Sunday in Manchester has been postponed.  

Bulgarian club Arda Kardzhali have apologised for holding a minute’s silence for a former player who is still alive. Petko Ganchev was mourned ahead of Sunday’s 1-1 league draw with Levski Sofia, with both teams lining up on the centre circle and bowing their heads. However, the club then announced it had been misinformed in a Facebook post shared before the top-flight match finished. “The management of PFC Arda would like to express a huge apology to the former Arda player Petko Ganchev and his relatives after the club received wrong information about his death,” read the statement. “We wish Petko Ganchev many more years of good health and to enjoy the success of Arda.”  

The last surviving Battle of Britain pilot John ‘Paddy’ Hemingway has died, aged 105. The Royal Air Force said he passed away peacefully on Monday. Paddy Hemingway – one of “The Few” and a revered figure in British aviation history – played a key role in defending the skies over the United Kingdom against the Nazis in the summer of 1940, when he was just 19. “The Few” refers to a speech by Sir Winston Churchill in the House of Commons in August that year as the Battle of Britain reached its peak. Praising the efforts of RAF fighter pilots, the wartime prime minister said that “never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”. In an online tribute, the RAF said Mr Hemingway’s squadron shot down 90 enemy aircraft during an 11-day period in May 1940. In August, he was twice forced to bail out of his Hurricane fighter plane – and the following year, he broke his hand in another bailing out, this time at 600ft after his plane’s instruments failed in bad weather. His parachute failed to open properly – but luckily it caught on the branches of a tree, sparing him further injury. Near the end of World War Two, while serving in the Mediterranean, he was forced to bail out a fourth time near Ravenna in Italy after his Spitfire was hit multiple times by anti-aircraft fire. Dropping into enemy territory, he contacted Italian partisans, who helped him return to his squadron. Mr Hemingway never saw his role in the Battle of Britain as anything other than doing the job he was trained to do, the RAF said. The force described him as always having a “twinkle in his eyes as he recalled the fun times with colleagues in France and London – his courage in the face of overwhelming odds demonstrated his sense of duty and the importance of British resilience”. Mr Hemingway, the RAF said, was a “quiet, composed, thoughtful and mischievous individual” who “embodied the spirit of all those who flew sorties over this green and pleasant land”. In July 1941, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and in September of that year, he was Mentioned in Dispatches.

On This Day

  • 1801 – Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death inside his bedroom at St. Michael’s Castle.
  • 2014 – The World Health Organisation reports cases of Ebola in the forested rural region of southeastern Guinea, marking the beginning of the largest Ebola outbreak in history.
  • 2020 – Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the United Kingdom into its first national lockdown in response to COVID-19.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Michelle Monaghan (49), Amanda Plummer (68), Joanna Page (48), Reese Witherspoon (49), Matthew Modine (66),  William Shatner (94), Lena Olin (70), Carter Wong (78), Gary Oldman (67), Rosie O’Donnell (63), Timothy Dalton (79)), Matthew Broderick (63), Sonequa Martin-Green (40), Holly Hunter (67), Ruby Rose (39), David Thewlis (62), Freema Agyeman (46), John de Lancie (77), Theresa Russell (68), Bruce Willis (70), Glenn Close (78), Ursula Andress (89), Harvey Weinstein (73), Brad Dourif (75), Queen Latifah (55), Kurt Russell (74), Rob Lowe (61), Morfydd Clark (36), Gary Sinise (70), John Boyega (33), and Patrick Duffy (76).

23rd March 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 16th March 2025

A couple of unexpected deaths last week, sadly, no points to be awarded either. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Britain’s oldest drag queen and a beloved Brighton entertainer has died. David Raven, better known by the stage name Maisie Trollette, has died aged 91 in the early hours of the morning (Wednesday, March 12th) in Brighton.  David had been performing for more than five decades and had been a fixture of Brighton Pride since 1973 when the event was first held in the city.  David was revered within the LGBTQI+ community as drag royalty. He was known for his generosity, razor sharp wit, dynamic singing voice and lovable, cantankerous personality. Tributes to David and Maisie have been flooding in, with people from near and far sharing their fond memories of David’s performances over the last fifty years. Drag queens, both locally and internationally, have paid tribute to Maisie. David’s alter ego Maisie started out as one half of the legendary “Trollettes” drag duo with fellow performer Jimmy Court. The Trollettes performed at historic LGBTQ+ London venues like The Black Cap and The Vauxhall Tavern David regularly starred in pantomimes with many A-list celebrities, whom he was proud to call his close friends. In 2023 David celebrated his 90th birthday with a special birthday gala event – David at 90 – at the Brighton Dome. The show featured music from all nine decades of David’s life and was his last public performance.  David had chosen for all the funds to be donated to the Brighton Rainbow Fund, a charity which which distributes funds to Brighton and Hove LGBTQ+ and HIV organisations.  The LGBT+ trailblazer worked tirelessly to support good causes and raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Aids charities. In 2022 Maisie became the subject of the award-winning documentary Maisie: Britain’s Oldest Performing Drag Artiste. The documentary covers important themes within David’s life. David opened up about his experiences being a gay man before it became ‘legal’ in the UK. Within the film, he also talks about performing at Brighton Pride the day after the death of his beloved life partner Don whom he dedicated many of his songs to. 

Popular YouTuber and potential Maverick Alysha Burney has died while vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, a day before her 25th birthday. She died after suffering an asthma attack while she was asleep, according to her brother, Charles Burney. Following online speculation about how she died, he told the Flying Monkeys that she did ‘not do drugs’ and was a ‘self-loving and happy individual who cherished her life and was looking forward to the upcoming year’s plans.’ ‘She was in Mexico to celebrate her birthday. She was a very classy young woman,’ he said. ‘There’s a spread of misinformation online, stating different things based on speculation. These sources lack credibility and should not be believed. My sister did not engage in environments that would lead to such situations.’ Charles also praised his sister for never being ‘selfish with her knowledge’ and living life as a ‘very open book.’ ‘Alysha was very goal-oriented, creative, and passionate about giving back. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Digital Media Production and was working towards her graduate degree,’ he noted.  

Frank Beard, the longtime drummer for the legendary rock group ZZ top, has stepped away from the current tour due to a “health issue,” according to reports. No further details were provided about what that issue might be. The band released the following statement on social media. “Shelter Music Group, ZZ Top’s management, has announced the band’s drummer, Mr. Frank Beard, has temporarily stepped away from the current tour to attend to a health issue requiring his focus in the near term. Beard, along with ZZ Top members Billy F. Gibbons and Elwood Francis, presently on the Elevation tour since March 5th, have engaged fellow Texan and longtime tech member, percussionist and drummer, John Douglas, for the interim. Mr. Douglas has maintained a close relationship with Beard and the bandmates, having served with the group in the past.” Beard, 75, has been a member of ZZ Top for more than 55 years and has played on all of the band’s albums. The band noted in its statement that Beard is “looking forward to a speedy recovery.”

On This Day

  • 1872 – The Wanderers F.C. win the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1–0 at The Oval in Kennington, London. 1
  • 1988 – The Kurdish town of Halabja in Iraq is attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5,000 people and injuring about 10,000 people. 
  • 1988 – The Troubles: Ulster loyalist militant Michael Stone attacks a Provisional IRA funeral in Belfast with pistols and grenades. Three persons, one of them a member of PIRA are killed, and more than 60 others are wounded.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Alexandra Daddario (39), Alan Tudyk (54), Jerome Flynn (62), Aisling Bea (41), Erik Estrada (76), Jimmy Nail (71), David Cronenberg (82), Eva Longoria (50), Michael Caine (92), Billy Crystal (77), William H. Macy (75), Titus Welliver (63), Aaron Eckhart (57), Lesley Manville (69), Jaimie Alexander (41), Liza Minnelli (79), Jodie Comer (32), Alex Kingston (62), Johnny Knoxville (54), John Barrowman (58), Olivia Wilde (41), Jon Hamm (54), Sharon Stone (67), and Chuck Norris (85). 

16th March 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 9th March 2025

No points this week, so the Flying Monkeys have been flown, watch this space next week! Big thanks to everyone who shares news stories and deaths, keep ‘em coming! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Tim Kruger, 44, German pornographic film actor and director, domestic accident. 
  • Angie Stone, 63, American singer (“No More Rain (In This Cloud)“, “Wish I Didn’t Miss You“) and rapper (The Sequence), traffic collision. 
  • Jack Vettriano, 73, Scottish painter (The Singing Butler). 
  • George Lowe, 67, American voice actor (Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Robot Chicken). 
  • Kathryn Apanowicz, 64, British actress (Angels, EastEnders) and television presenter (Calendar).  
  • Carl Dean, 82, American businessman, husband of Dolly Parton. 
  • Roy Ayers, 84, American musician and composer (Everybody Loves the Sunshine). 
  • Pamela Bach, 61, American actress (Baywatch), suicide by gunshot.  
  • Brian James, 70, English punk rock guitarist (The Damned, The Lords of the New Church) and songwriter (“New Rose”). 
  • Brad Sigmon, 67, American convicted murderer, execution by firing squad.

In Other News

Prominent adventurer Andrew Cross has died aged 36 after being taken off life support a month after he was involved in a ‘severe’ car accident in Colorado. Andrew, known as ‘Desert Drifter’ to half a million fans on YouTube, died peacefully on Tuesday, having sustained a serious brain injury in the January 31st crash. ‘Andrew’s spirit is free, surrounded by light and love,’ the explorer’s sister, Jenna Spooner, announced on the CaringBridge website. She told how those with Andrew before his passing put him on a mobile ventilator and walked a loop around the ICU with him, staff lining the hallway to ‘honour him’. Then in the room, friends and family read scripture, prayed, and sang during the process of removing life support and for over an hour afterwards.’ The family said earlier this week they had made the ‘difficult decision’ to remove Andrew from life support, after acknowledging his discomfort in late February. Andrew described his vlogging as ‘exploration and adventure with a historical twist’, documenting desert tours and mountain climbs for hundreds of thousands of viewers. The Virginia-born adventurer was tragically involved in a two-car accident at the end of January, when he was rear-ended at high speed while stopped. The Mesa County Coroner’s Office in Colorado confirmed to the Flying Monkeys on Wednesday that Andrew had died from injuries sustained in the crash.  

The autopsy of Gene Hackman revealed that the 95-year-old Oscar winner died of a combination of “advanced Alzheimer’s disease” and severe heart disease, the New Mexico Chief Medical Examiner announced last week. “It is reasonable to conclude that Mr. Hackman died on February 18th,” Dr. Heather Jarrell said in a press conference with Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza and other county officials. “He was in very poor health,” Dr. Jarrell also noted of Hackman, adding that there was evidence that he hadn’t eaten for a number of days. His wife, Ms. Arakawa is assumed to have died on or around February 11th, officials estimated. “The cause of death for Mr. Gene Hackman, aged 95 years, is hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributory factor,” Dr. Jarrell explained in greater detail. “Autopsy examination and a full body post mortem CT examination demonstrated no acute findings of internal or external trauma, and showed severe heart disease, including multiple surgical procedures involving the heart, evidence of prior heart attacks and severe changes of the kidneys due to chronic high blood pressure.” Hackman’s heart issues were well-known and the actor had spoken about them on numerous occasions before retiring from public life in the early 2000s. Last week it was unveiled by Santa Fe County Sheriff’s department that Hackman’s pacemaker appeared to cease functioning around February 17th, a timeline that tracks with the details offered Friday. New Mexico health authorities also said that Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa seems to have passed away from Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome. A rare-ish disease, Hantavirus is spread mainly by rodents’ faeces, and is not spread from person-to-person, according to the CDC. Hackman did not have Hantavirus all tests have shown.

On This Day

  • 1959 – The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.  
  • 1961 – Sputnik 9 successfully launches, carrying a dog and a human dummy, and demonstrating that the Soviet Union was ready to begin human spaceflight. 
  • 1976 – Forty-two people die in the Cavalese cable car disaster, the deadliest cable car accident in history. 

Deaths

  • 1847 – Mary Anning, English paleontologist (b. 1799). 
  • 1996 – George Burns, American comedian, actor, and writer (b. 1896). 
  • 1997 – Terry Nation, Welsh author and screenwriter (b. 1930). 
  • 1997 – The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper, songwriter, and actor (b. 1972). 
  • 2006 – John Profumo, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1915). 
  • 2023 – Chaim Topol, Israeli actor (b. 1935). 

Last Meals 

Brad Sigmon was an American convicted murderer who was executed for the 2001 double murder of his ex-girlfriend’s parents in South Carolina. Sigmon was convicted of battering David and Gladys Larke, aged 62 and 59, respectively, to death with a baseball bat on 27th  April 2001, a week after he and his former girlfriend had broken up.

Subsequently, Sigmon was found guilty and given two death sentences for the double murder. He was also given a 30-year jail term for first-degree burglary for stealing from the Larkes on the day of the murders. Sigmon was executed by firing squad on 7th March 2025, becoming the first person in almost fifteen years to be executed by this method as well as the oldest person executed in the state. 

Sigmon was put to death by firing squad in the Broad River Correctional Institution. The firing squad fired at 6:05 pm, and Sigmon flexed his arms and heaved in the chair for a few seconds before he fell motionless, and he was pronounced dead at 6:08 pm.

Sigmon became the fourth person in the United States to be executed by firing squad since 1976, and the first since the execution of Ronnie Lee Gardner in Utah in June 2010. As a result of Sigmon’s execution, South Carolina became the second state in the United States to carry out a firing squad execution; the country’s first three firing squad executions (including Gardner’s) were all conducted by Utah since 1976. 

For his last meal, Sigmon ordered a KFC, green beans, mashed potatoes with gravy, biscuits, cheesecake and sweet tea. Sigmon originally asked for three buckets of the fried chicken and wanted to share them with the other inmates, but his request was denied by the prison department.

In his final statement, Sigmon hoped for the end of the death penalty and found it unjustified under the New Testament for him to pay with his life for the murders of David and Gladys Larke, stating that they were no longer living under the Old Testament and no one had the authority to take lives except for God. Reportedly, Sigmon’s lawyers, the family members of the Larkes, the prosecution, religious counsellors and three reporters were present to witness the execution

Last Week’s Birthdays

Oscar Isaac (46), Juliette Binoche (61), Cynthia Rothrock (68), Bryan Cranston (69), Rachel Weisz (55), Alan Davies (59), Shaquille O’Neal (53), Eva Mendes (51), Jolene Blalock (50), Matt Lucas (51), Paul Blackthorne (56), Fred Williamson (87), Patsy Kensit (57), Catherine O’Hara (71), Charlie Brooker (54), Miranda Richardson (67), Jessica Biel (43), and Julie Bowen (55).

9th March 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 2nd March 2025

A busy week for celebrity deaths! Let’s dish out the points! 62 points to Martin for correctly  guessing Roberta Flack was going to pass in 2025! Not only that, I can award 55 points to Fiona, Paula, Dave, Lee A, and Julie for predicting Gene Hackmans demise. Well done everyone! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Pope Francis, who has been battling pneumonia for two weeks, has had an “isolated” breathing crisis in hospital, the Vatican has said. It led to an episode of vomiting and a “sudden worsening of his respiratory condition” on Friday following the coughing “bronchospasm”. The 88-year-old received gas through a face mask to help him breathe. In an update on Saturday, the Vatican said the Pope had a “peaceful night and is resting”. Referring to the Pope’s peaceful night, a Vatican official added: “I think he had coffee this morning.” Earlier, Vatican sources said the Pope’s doctors needed 24 to 48 hours to determine whether there had been any damage or setback to his condition. They were not giving any prognosis, but said the Pope remained alert and “in good spirits”. In a statement on Friday, the Vatican said: “In the early afternoon of today, after a morning spent alternating respiratory physiotherapy with prayer in the chapel, the Holy Father presented an isolated crisis of bronchospasm which, however, led to an episode of vomiting with inhalation and sudden worsening of the respiratory condition. The Holy Father was promptly bronchoaspirated and began non-invasive mechanical ventilation, with a good response to gas exchange.” Vatican sources said the latest crisis happened at about 14:00 local time on Friday, but did not say how long it lasted. The latest episode comes after a couple of days in which Vatican statements had been slightly more positive, talking of a “slight improvement” in the pontiff’s condition. This is now the longest the Pope has been in hospital – and the longest period in which he’s been out of public sight – since he took over from Pope Benedict in 2013.   

Billy Joel sparked concern among concert-goers as he required help to recover from a fall on stage. Footage from his gig at Mohegan Sun resort in Stamford, Connecticut on February 22 shows Billy – who was described as “frail” at the event – twirl a microphone stand before throwing it across the stage, before suddenly falling over after delivering the wild trick. The 75-year-old was performing his hit It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me during the worrying moment, which saw him fall directly on his back. Attendees said the star was helped up by his band and managed to sing his final song to end the gig, but was “visibly thrown off” by the fall. “He just didn’t look well hobbling across the stage,” one concerned fan shared. Photos from the troubling fall seem to show Billy – dressed for the concert in an all-black suit and dress shoes – seeming to stumble before falling hard on his side, and rolling over onto his back before taking a moment to pause once he got back to his feet again. The New Yorker previously spoke about his continued love of making music, and made it clear he had no plans to retire from the industry. Speaking exclusively to the Flying Monkeys in 2023, he shared: “I still write music. I’ve kind of given up on song form because I’ve done it. I tend to like instrumental music, orchestral music. I mean, I’m writing all the time, but I’m not always recording.” The star also spoke of his stage personality, joking that he often stays seated – in contrast to his very physical show before falling this week. “I have this image of ‘I’m the least glamorous pop-star there is’. I just sit at the piano,” he said. “I’m in my 70s, I am not a matinee idol, so why are you coming to see me in the first place? But you know, it all has to do with the music, it’s all about music.” Billy has opened up about his past struggles with alcohol and substance abuse, alongside a difficult journey with mental health which culminated in a suicide attempt as he struggled with his career. 

Skype, the video calling service used by 300 million people every month, is about to die. Microsoft said it’s hanging up the phone on the programme after 14 years as the company focuses on its Teams app. Users will be asked to switch to Teams before the service is turned off in May. People will be able to log in to Teams using their Skype credentials. When doing so, Skype contacts and chats will appear on Teams. Teams users can call and chat with Skype users and Skype users can do the same with Teams users, Microsoft said in a blog post. Those who do not jump ship can export their Skype data. Microsoft said: ‘Starting in May 2025, Skype will no longer be available. Over the coming days, you can sign in to Microsoft Teams Free with your Skype account to stay connected with all your chats and contacts. Thank you for being part of Skype.’ Skype launched in 2003 and was purchased by Microsoft 14 years ago for $8,500,000,000. But in a decline only quickened by the coronavirus pandemic, rival services such as Zoom and Apple FaceTime surpassed it. When Microsoft tried to spin Skype as a corporate communications platform, software company Slack – and Teams – quickly took the crown. Jeff Teper, Microsoft’s president of collaborative apps and platforms, said: ‘Skype has been an integral part of shaping modern communications and supporting countless meaningful moments, and we are honoured to have been part of the journey.  We also understand that change can be challenging and want you to know that we’re here to support you every step of the way. We’re excited about the new opportunities that Teams brings and are committed to helping you stay connected in new and meaningful ways.’ 

On This Day

  • 1657 – The Great Fire of Meireki begins in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, causing more than 100,000 deaths before it exhausts itself three days later.
  • 1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes. 
  • 1882 – Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick Maclean in Windsor.
  • 1978 – The late iconic actor Charlie Chaplin‘s coffin is stolen from his grave in Switzerland. 

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Bryce Dallas Howard (44), Daniel Craig (57), Nathalie Emmanuel (36), Rebel Wilson (45), Gates McFadden (76), Jon Bon Jovi (63), Jensen Ackles (47), Lupita Nyong’o (42), Javier Bardem (56), Ron Howard (71), Dirk Benedict (80), Justin Bieber (31), John Turturro (68), Rae Dawn Chong (64), Amanda Abbington (51), Stephanie Beacham (78), Kate Mara (42), Adam Baldwin (63), Timothy Spall (68), Bill Duke (82), Chase Masterson (62), Sean Astin (54), Anson Mount (52), and Edward James Olmos (78).

2nd March 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 23rd February 2025

Slim picking last week, each of these celebrities could easily walk past me in the street and I’d be none the wiser. However, they have a claim to fame, so here we are.  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Pope Francis has asked Catholics to pray for him, as he continues to receive treatment in hospital for double pneumonia. The pontiff was unable to deliver the traditional Angelus prayer in person for the second Sunday running. But in a message written over the last few days, he said he was “confidently continuing” his hospitalisation at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and “carrying on with the necessary treatment”. The message comes after the Vatican revealed on Saturday that the 88-year-old’s condition continues to be “critical”. In his message, released on Sunday, the Pope thanked the doctors and health workers at the hospital, and well-wishers who sent in messages. “In recent days I have received many messages of affection, and I have been particularly struck by the letters and drawings from children,” he wrote. “Thank you for this closeness, and for the prayers of comfort I have received from all over the world! I entrust you all to the intercession of Mary, and I ask you to pray for me.” The 88-year-old was first admitted to hospital on 14th February after experiencing difficulties breathing for several days. He is especially prone to lung infections due to developing pleurisy – an inflammation around the lungs – as an adult and having part of one of his lungs removed at age 21. During his 12 years as leader of the Roman Catholic church, the Argentine has been admitted to hospital several times, including in March 2023 when he spent three nights in hospital with bronchitis. The Pope has asked for openness about his health, so the Vatican has started to release daily statements. The tone and length of the announcements has varied, sometimes leaving Pope-watchers to attempt to read between the lines. On Saturday, the Vatican said the Roman Catholic leader was alert and spent the day in an armchair, but that he was “not out of danger” and that he was “more unwell” than he was on Friday. They added the pontiff needed blood transfusions due to a low platelet count – associated with anaemia – and he required a “high flow” of oxygen. Doctors treating the Pope confirmed this week that he was responding to medication but his condition was complex and the slightest change of circumstance would upset what was called a “delicate balance”. “He is the Pope,” as one of them put it. “But he is also a man.”  

A teenage powerlifting champion in India has died after a rod weighing 600lb fell on her neck during a training session. Yashtika Acharya, 17, was practicing with her coach at a gym in the Bikaner district in western India today when the fatal accident occurred. The teen was rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.  Horrifying footage captured the tragic moment, showing Acharya attempting to lift the heavy weight before falling backwards.  As she drops onto the floor, the heavy bar lands on her neck and she collapses.  The girl is then seen lying on the ground motionless as onlookers rush to assist her.  Her coach, who tried to hold onto the bar as she fell, reportedly sustained minor injuries.  Despite her young age, Acharya had achieved several wins in her short weightlifting career. According to Indian news outlet NDTV, she had received a gold medal at the Junior National Games in India. Acharya’s tragic accident is the latest in a series of deaths within the powerlifting community.  In 2023, a fitness influencer was killed in Bali by a barbell while trying to squat-press 460lbs in a horror accident.  Justyn Vicky, 33, was strength training at The Paradise Bali gym in Sanur and died shortly after the freak accident. After the accident, Justyn was rushed to a local hospital with a broken neck and critical compression of vital nerves connecting to his heart and lungs. He died shortly after an emergency operation, despite the surgeons’ best efforts to save his life. Justyn, from East Java, Indonesia, was trying to extend his legs as the heavy bar weighed down upon his shoulders – but struggled to stand upright. The lone spotter behind him was completely helpless as Justyn fell to the floor and the stacked barbell came crashing down onto the back of his neck.  

A tourist has been killed after leaning out of a train to take a selfie on a famous railway line and hitting a rock. Grandmother Olga Perminova, 53, was travelling on Sri Lanka’s iconic Podi Menike line when the horror accident occurred. She suffered horrific injuries after smashing her head and falling off the train, reports claim. Photos taken moments before the tragic accident show Olga posing in a pink dress. There have been dozens upon dozens of stories about tourists dying in horrific circumstances in a similar pursuit of the perfect picture. Last August, a couple plunged 80ft to their death while posing for a photo near a waterfall in Bali, Indonesia. Weeks before that, a woman was hit by the new Canadian Pacific 2816 Empress steam locomotive while posing too close to the tracks as it passed through Hidalgo in Mexico. And here in the UK, two university students were found dead at the foot of a waterfall in Scotland in April last year after reportedly attempting to take a selfie at the top. The Podi Menike is a Sri Lankan passenger train journey running from Colombo Fort to Badulla. Spanning nearly 190 miles, it takes around 10 hours to complete. It is famed for its spectacular scenery as it passes lush tea plantations, dense forests, mountainous terrains, and picturesque landscapes. The stretch from Nanuoya to Ella is a favourite among tourists. Local reports, citing the police, said Olga died ‘after falling off the train when attempting to take a selfie while hanging from the train footboard between the Badulla and Hali Ela railway stations’. ‘The woman knocked against a rock, fell off the train and sustained severe injuries,’ they added. The train was heading for Ella, home to the famous Nine Arches Bridge on a line that has been called one of the world’s greatest rail experiences.  Olga was given emergency treatment but died from her head injuries.

On This Day

  • 1943 – The Cavan Orphanage fire kills thirty-five girls and an elderly cook.
  • 1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag.
  • 1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.

Deaths

  • 1848 – John Quincy Adams, U.S. politician, 6th President of the United States (b. 1767).
  • 1931 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (b. 1861).
  • 1965 – Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian (b. 1890).
  • 1976 – L. S. Lowry, English painter (b. 1887).
  • 1995 – James Herriot, English veterinarian and author (b. 1916).
  • 2000 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (b. 1915).
  • 2023 – John Motson, English football commentator (b. 1945).

Last Meals

A death row inmate who claimed to be innocent was asked how it felt to know he’d die a day before his execution.

Oscar Ray Bolin received three death sentences in 1991 for abducting and murdering three women across 1986 in Florida.

He would go on to maintain his innocence all the way up until his death on January 7th 2016, via lethal injection, even giving an interview to the media on the day before his execution took place. 

On January 25th 1986, Bolin attacked and killed his first victim, a 25-year-old restaurant manager named Natalie Blanche Holley, after she had finished a night shift and stabbed her to death.

Holley’s body was discovered the morning by jogger running through a local woodland.

His second victim was 17-year-old student Stephanie Collins, who vanished in November after finishing a late shift at her job. Collins would remain missing for another month before it was found by authorities. She had also been stabbed to death and suffered blunt force head injuries.

On the same day that Collins’ body was recovered, police were also alerted to the disappearance of 26-year-old Teri Lynn Matthews, who had vanished from her car outside a post office. Her body was found beaten and stabbed later that day, also wrapped in a white sheet.

Despite obvious connections between the three killings, it would take four years before authorities were able to link Bolin to the deaths of the three woman – thanks to an anonymous tip off from his ex-wife.  

By the time Bolin’s ex-wife made the call, he was already in police custody, serving a separate sentence for the 1987 kidnap, rape and attempted murder of a woman in Ohio.

The tip would lead Bolin’s younger half-brother Philip to speak out against him, revealing that he’d witnessed his sibling attacking a woman wrapped in a sheet back in 1986. This was later confirmed to be Matthews. Bolin’s cousin would also testify that he’d assisted the killer with abducting a woman in Texas in 1987.

He added that Bolin had ultimately raped and strangled the woman, however, authorities in Texas declined to pursue the case due to his other charges.

Bolin would spend the 28 years between his initial imprisonment and death maintaining that he was innocent and had been framed.

In a final interview with Fox the day before his execution, Bolin stated that he was at ‘peace’ with death as it meant being ‘released’ from prison. 

“I feel a little numb,” he said with a laugh, when reporters when asked how he was doing.

“We all die, but knowing your exact date and time, that’s hard to deal with. But I’m at peace with myself… my punishment’s over.” 

His last meal consisted of a rib-eye steak, a baked potato, salad, garlic bread, lemon meringue pie, and Coca-Cola. 

Bolin was executed by lethal injection at 10:16 p.m. EST on January 7th 2016. He was the first person to be executed in the United States in 2016. 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Emily Blunt (42), Dakota Fanning (34), Kelly Macdonald (49), Josh Gad (44), Aziz Ansari (42), Kyle MacLachlan (66), Drew Barrymore (50), Jeri Ryan (57), Thomas Jane (56), James Hong (96), Julie Walters (75), Sheila Hancock (92), Nigel Planer (72), Elliot Page (38), Jennifer Love Hewitt (46), Sophie Turner (29), Kelsey Grammer (70), Tyne Daly (79), Anthony Daniels (79), Miles Teller (38), Brenda Blethyn (79), Anthony Head (71), Benedict Wong (55), Rihanna (37), Cindy Crawford (59), Millie Bobby Brown (21), Benicio Del Toro (58), Sam Reid (38), Ray Winstone (68), Seal (62), Leslie Ash (65), John Travolta (71), Molly Ringwald (57), Greta Scacchi (65), Matt Dillon (61), Cybill Shepherd (75), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (44), Bonnie Wright (34), Rory Kinnear (49), Brenda Fricker (80), Paris Hilton (44), Patricia Routledge (96), and Ed Sheeran (34).

23rd February 2025 | Categories: 2021 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 16th February 2025

Bit of a sporting theme to last week’s deaths, sadly no points to award though. I best unleash the Flying Monkeys! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Pope Francis has been hospitalised as he continues to battle with bronchitis, the Vatican said on Friday. “This morning, at the end of his audiences, Pope Francis, 88, was admitted to the Policlinico Agostino Gemelli for some necessary diagnostic tests and to continue his treatment for bronchitis, which is still ongoing, in a hospital environment,” it said. Last Wednesday, the Pope said he was suffering from a “strong cold”, and asked an aide to read his prepared message for his weekly general audience at the Vatican. “I want to ask forgiveness but with this strong cold, it is difficult for me to speak,” he told pilgrims at the audience. He was then diagnosed with bronchitis last Thursday and has continued his activities and audiences indoors at Casa Santa Marta, the Vatican residence where he lives, with a public appearance on Sunday. Before going to hospital on Friday, he had an official meeting with Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico. Francis also held meetings on Friday morning with Cardinal Luis Tagle, a senior Vatican official, with a Catholic philanthropy group based in Puerto Rico and with Mark Thompson, the chairman and CEO of the CNN news channel. A person who attended one of the meetings, who asked not to be named to discuss a sensitive matter, said the pope appeared to be struggling to talk during their encounter. Francis has long battled health problems, including long bouts of bronchitis. He uses a walker or cane when moving around his apartment and recently fell twice, hurting his arm and chin. Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the largest in the city, has a special suite for treating popes. Francis spent nine days there in June 2023, when he had surgery to repair an abdominal hernia. 

Duran Duran guitarist Andy Taylor is “fighting as hard as he can” as he continues treatment for cancer, his bandmates have said, as they addressed his absence at the Sanremo Music Festival in Italy. The musician, 63, revealed in 2022 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2018. The following year he said his cancer was “asymptomatic”, having previously been told he needed “palliative, end-of-life care”. Speaking at a press conference at Sanremo, frontman Simon Le Bon told attendees that Taylor’s cancer was “very late, fourth-stage metastasised cancer”. “He’s fighting as hard as he can,” he said of his bandmate, “and we are with him in that fight”. Andy Taylor joined Duran Duran in April 1980 and left after six years to pursue a solo career. He rejoined the band in 2001 for a series of successful concerts – as well as their 2004 album, Astronaut – before leaving again in 2006. In 2023, he hit back at reports that there was bad blood between him and his former bandmates, pointing to a moving letter read out by Le Bon as the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Taylor did not attend the ceremony due to ill health. In the same interview, he discussed how he had approached a doctor who told him about a treatment involving radioactive chemicals given intravenously, which would target only cancer cells. He said he was declared “asymptomatic” after the treatment and called the scientist, Christopher Evans, the “Elon Music of cancer”. Taylor said two symptoms alerted him that something was wrong: bone pain while jogging, which he almost mistook for arthritis after his years of live performances, and erectile dysfunction, which was masked by his use of Viagra. Asked about the prospect of returning to Duran Duran, he also said: “No, I’m not going to rejoin the band … I would not say no to the opportunity, particularly for the fans, but as I keep reminding people, you have to be asked.” 

New York Dolls co-founder and punk icon David Johansen has shocked fans with the revelation that he has a brain tumour and stage four cancer. The news first broke via a Sweet Relief Fund in the 75-year-old’s name seeking to raise money for his treatment and ongoing care. Leah Hennessey, the singer’s daughter, revealed the extent of her 75-year-old father’s health issues on the site. She wrote: ‘Five years ago at the beginning of the pandemic we discovered that David’s cancer had progressed and he had a brain tumour. ‘There have been complications ever since. He’s never made his diagnosis public, as he and my mother Mara are generally very private people, but we feel compelled to share this now, due to the increasingly severe financial burden our family is facing.’ She continued, sharing that her father incurred additional medical fees after falling down the stairs in November and breaking his back in two places. The incident forced the punk icon to stay in the hospital for an extended period of time and caused his previous condition to worsen quickly, meaning his wife has become his full-time carer. Leah wrote: ‘As hilarious and wise as David continues to be, he is physically debilitated and his care exceeds what we are capable of providing without specialised professional help.’ She added: ‘David has worked continuously as a singer and actor for the better part of six decades, to the delight of his fans all over the world.  However, for the past five years, David has been unable to work as a performer.’ Johansen himself also released a statement that reads: ‘We’ve been living with my illness for a long time, still having fun, seeing friends & family, carrying on, but this tumble the day after Thanksgiving really brought us to a whole new level of debilitation. This is the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. I’ve never been one to ask for help but this is an emergency. Thank you.’ 

On This Day

  • 1923 – Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
  • 1978 – The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago).
  • 2006 – The last mobile army surgical hospital (M.A.S.H.) is decommissioned by the United States Army.

Deaths

  • 1992 – Angela Carter, English novelist, short story writer (b. 1940).
  • 2016 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian politician and diplomat, 6th Secretary-General of the United Nations (b. 1922).
  • 2024 – Alexei Navalny, Russian activist (b. 1976).

My Bloody Valentine

Valentine’s Day. What does it mean to you? Is it 24 hours to devote to the celebration of the pure, unconditional and unbearably soul-shattering love that you feel for your soulmate? A wondrous day of passion and hugs and kisses, to be enjoyed on a rose petal-covered bed with flutes of Champagne and heart-shaped chocolates…

It is? Oh, how lovely for you!

For the rest of us, here’s something much more interesting – a rundown of some of the most infamous and shocking Valentine’s Day murders ever… 

The infamous St. Valentine’s Day massacre

True crime buffs don’t think of candlelit dinners when they hear the words ‘Valentine’s Day’. They think of seven Chicago mobsters being riddled with hundreds of bullets.

It’s never been officially confirmed, but there’s very little doubt that history’s most famous gangster was behind this audacious slaughter. Al Capone had finally had it with competing for the bootlegging racket of The Windy City and decided to eliminate his main rival, the Irish gang boss George ‘Bugs’ Moran.

Capone’s gang lured seven of Moran’s North Side Mob to a warehouse on the morning of the 14th, 1929. Dressed as police officers, the South Side Italians made the men line up against the wall and unloaded two Thompson machine guns and two shotguns into them.

The Columbine Subway shooting

The two high school sweethearts were shot to death by an unknown assailant who police have since failed to track down. Theories behind the tragic killing range from Nick interfering in a drug deal at the sandwich shop to the idea that the shooting could somehow have been related to the school massacre the previous year. All that’s known for certain is that both kids in love were cut down before they got a chance to really begin living their lives.

Oscar Pistorius shoots his girlfriend through a door

It was one of the most genuinely jaw-dropping and gob-smacking news stories ever. Arguably sport’s most inspirational character, South African runner Oscar Pistorius won over the world with his athletic exploits, despite being a double amputee since he was a toddler. ‘Blade Runner’ was a hero – literally – to millions. And then, on Valentine’s Day 2013, he became a killer.

It was the early morning of the 14th when Pistorius woke at his home in Pretoria, to find that his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was no longer in bed with him. She was, instead, in the couple’s en-suite bathroom. The sprinter heard noise coming from the bathroom and – for whatever reason – didn’t assume it was Reeva. He, apparently, thought it was an intruder. He shot through the door four times, killing her.

A lengthy and public trial ensued, with Pistorius receiving a five-year sentence for culpable homicide in 2014. Two years later the state appealed and the verdict was overturned. He was resentenced to 13 years in prison for Ms Steenkamp’s murder.

Pistorius is due to be released from prison on parole on 5th January 2024, almost 11 years after he murdered Reeva Steenkamp. 

Wife hires hitman called ‘Mr Results’ to kill unlucky husband

Snellville, Georgia. Richard Schoeck was looking forward to Valentine’s Day, 2010. He was due to meet his wife Stacey at a local park so that they could ‘exchange cards and gifts’. It was The Schoecks’ third wedding anniversary and Richard was excited. He loved his wife dearly, gladly adopting her three children after becoming her fifth husband. But she never showed up to the park.

Richard was instead met by one Reginald Coleman, a personal trainer and part-time hitman who went by the rather immodest moniker of ‘Mr Results’. Coleman gunned Richard down, killing him. Stacey waited for her $500,000 life insurance payout. She never received it. Instead, she rightly received jail time.

To make matters worse, Stacey was not only cheating on Richard, she even posthumously accused him of molesting one of her sons. The child spoke out in Richard’s defence at the trial and the notion was quashed. Stacey Schoeck is now serving life in prison. 

Christian missionary gives wife bullet as Valentine’s gift

When 39-year-old Baptist minister Nathan Leuthold called 911 on February 14th 2013, he told police that his family had been the victims of a home invasion. When officers arrived at the scene, they found Denise Leuthold – Nathan’s wife – dead. She’d received a single but deadly gunshot wound to the head. 

Things didn’t look good for Nathan’s defence. And that was before Illinois Police found Google searches on Nathan’s computer like ‘how to hit someone over the head to knock them out’ and ‘how to muffle a gun’.

He got 80 years in jail for the murder. That’s a lot of Valentine’s Days that Nathan Leuthold’ll be missing. 

A bubble and squeak murder

On the eve of Valentine’s Day 2021, a private birthday celebration in a sleepy seaside resort ended in bloody murder. 66-year-old, Penny Jackson stabbed her 78-year-old husband, David three times. The motivation for the killing was supposedly nothing more than an argument over her choice to serve ‘bubble and squeak’ with the gourmet evening meal their daughter had sent them in lockdown. During the trial later that year, recordings of the aftermath of the crime were beamed around the world, with the recording of Penny Jackson’s 999 call and police body-cam footage of her arrest going viral. 

Young couple in love tied to a tree, tortured and killed

Students Jesse McBane, 19, and Patricia Mann, 20, were a young couple out for a walk on Valentine’s Day back in 1971. It was to be the final walk either of them would ever take. Thirteen days after they entered the wooded area in Durham, Orange County, North Carolina, their lifeless bodies were found.

Fully clothed but covered crudely by leaves, the couple were tied up and had both been strangled to death. Evidence pointed to their killer or killers repeatedly tightening and loosening the ropes around their necks as a form of torture and way of prolonging the killings.

No one was ever caught for the heinous, heinous crime. So, er, yeah… Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Last Week’s Birthdays

Elizabeth Olsen (36), The Weeknd (35), Christopher Eccleston (61), LeVar Burton (68), Amanda Holden (54), Megan Thee Stallion (30), Matt Groening (71), Simon Pegg (55), Freddie Highmore (33), Danai Gurira (47), Andrew Robinson (73), Neal McDonough (59), Mena Suvari (46), Stockard Channing (81), Robbie Williams (51), Kim Novak (92), Hugh Dennis 63), Christina Ricci (45), Josh Brolin (57), Michael Ironside (75), Natalie Dormer (43), Jennifer Aniston (56), Sheryl Crow (63), Elizabeth Banks (51), Chloë Grace Moretz (28), Keeley Hawes (49), Laura Dern (58), Robert Wagner (95), Holly Willoughby (44), and Philip Glenister (62).

16th February 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 9th February 2025

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:

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

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).

9th February 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 2nd January 2025

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:

 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

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). 

2nd February 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 26th January 2025

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

Look Who You Could Have Had:

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).

26th January 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 19th January 2025

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:

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).

19th January 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 12th January 2025

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:

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

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).

12th January 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 5th January 2025

Welcome to the first newsletter of 2025!! Embarrassingly I have to declare myself the winner of 2024 and award myself the coveted trophy! 

There was a run of late-declared deaths in the final days of 2024 (which did not have any effect of 2024’s result), but half of our poolers had to choose new names for 2025, causing no end of paperwork and frustration for everyone as a lot of points went up the swanny, but the DRAMA! Anyhow, here’s a lovely picture of 2024’s Dead Pool winner with his well earned trophy, quite a handsome chap indeed! 

The donations page is now up, so if you feel that you are receiving some value from participating, please donate towards the running costs of the website etc. Thank you everyone in advance. Good luck for 2025!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

2024

2025

In Other News 

This weeks big news is that Tomiko Itooka, the Japanese woman who was the world’s oldest person according to Guinness World Records, has died at the age of 116. Alas for our purposes, she passed away on the 29th December 2024. So as the benevolent and award winning Dead Pool Master that I am, Is have ruled that those affected by her early demise are allowed to choose another name. Itooka, who loved bananas and a yogurt-flavored Japanese drink called Calpis, was born on 23 May 1908. She became the oldest person last year following the death of 117-year-old Maria Branyas, according to the Gerontology Research Group. When she was told she was at the top of the World Supercentenarian Rankings List, she simply replied, “Thank you.” When Itooka celebrated her birthday last year, she received flowers, a cake and a card from the mayor. Born in Osaka, Itooka was a volleyball player in high school, and long had a reputation for a sprightly spirit, Nagata said. She climbed the 3,067m (10,062ft) Mount Ontake twice. She married at 20, and had two daughters and two sons, according to Guinness. Itooka managed the office of her husband’s textile factory during World War II. She lived alone in Nara after her husband died in 1979. She is survived by one son and one daughter, and five grandchildren. A funeral service was held with family and friends, according to Nagata. According to the Gerontology Research Group, the world’s oldest person is now 116-year-old Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was born 16 days after Itooka.  

Sara Sharif’s father had his neck and face cut in prison as he begins a life sentence for her murder, according to reports. Urfan Sharif was allegedly jumped by two inmates in his cell at HMP Belmarsh armed with the lid of a tuna tin on New Year’s Day. The child killer, 43, is not believed to have needed hospital treatment. Sources told The Flying Monkeys: “Urfan was sliced up badly in his cell by two others who rushed in. It was planned and they used a makeshift weapon – made from the lid of a tin of tuna. “He was sliced in the neck and face, and is still in healthcare and in a very bad way. He was lucky to survive, has had to have stitches and will have scars as a permanent reminder of the attack. The guards tried to keep him safe because he obviously had a target on his back after the case was such big news. Sharif has tried to keep his head down since coming into the jail, but word quickly got round about who he was.” A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Police are investigating an assault on a prisoner at HMP Belmarsh on January 1st. It would be inappropriate to comment further while they investigate.” A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said officers are probing “an allegation that a prisoner was assaulted at Belmarsh”, adding that “the 43-year-old suffered non life-threatening injuries”. Sharif and Sara’s stepmother, Beinash Batool, were jailed for life in December for years of horrific “torture” and “despicable” abuse that culminated in the 10-year-old’s murder. 

Radio presenter DJ Spoony has thanked the NHS and his family after being treated in hospital for a “small bleed to the brain”. The BBC Radio 2 presenter, whose real name  is Johnathan Joseph, held back tears as he told listeners on Monday he had been dealing with headaches for a few weeks, but had “put off” seeing a doctor until 21st December, when he decided to go to A&E. The 54-year-old went to Bedford Hospital where staff ran tests and did a CT scan before sending him to see a specialist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge. He said his illness was caused by a subdural haematoma, a condition where there is bleeding in the brain. At Addenbrooke’s, Spoony was told doctors “need to operate”, and ended up spending Christmas Day in hospital. He said: “The amazing doctors and nurses at Addenbrooke’s had done the operation, they had flushed me out. I was feeling fine, 10 minutes after the operation. I was talking, looking forward to being back on the ward, eating a banana and having a ginger shot.” Breaking down, he added: “Thank you to everybody at Addenbrooke’s for looking after me; you were amazing. So, again thanks to our amazing National Health Service.”  

Annoyingly, Neighbours icon Ian Smith has shared an encouraging update on his health and treatment following his recent terminal cancer diagnosis. Smith, best known for his role as Harold Bishop on the soap, has been diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer called pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma. In an interview just before Christmas, the actor had some “extremely good news” to share, explaining his recent PET scan had shown a shrinking in the size of the tumour. “I did a PET scan and the words, I believe, were ‘significant metabolic change, significant shrinkage of tumour’,” Smith told the Flying Monkeys. “I’ve gone from a threat of dying this coming March to maybe a few more months… and now, God, who knows? It’s not a cure and it won’t be a cure, but I certainly have got a year, maybe two,” he added. “That’s amazing. It really is.” After receiving his diagnosis, Smith contacted Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison to see if he could return as Harold to say goodbye to the cast and fans. “I asked Jason if I could get Harold to say goodbye and he kindly said yes,” Smith explained. “I liked Harold. There’s not enough of his type in the world. I wouldn’t like to live next to him, I’ve got to be honest, but he’s good. He’s a nice man.” Herbison also agreed for Anne Charleston, who played Harold’s late wife Madge, to return to the soap in a new role. “That would have been hard for her to do, and she did it so successfully,” Smith said. “It was so good.” The scenes with Smith as Harold and Charleston in her new Neighbours role are set to air early next year.  

A donkey said to have provided the inspiration for the famous Shrek character, Donkey, has died aged 30. Perry – short for Pericles – a miniature donkey born in New York City in 1994, achieved fame when he apparently modelled for animators working on the Oscar-winning 2001 comedy. Voiced by Eddie Murphy, the talkative Donkey served as the sidekick to Shrek (Mike Myers) in the original film and three sequels, the most recent of which was released in 2010. “It’s evident if you know Perry and watch the movie that it’s him,” his lead handler at the time, Jenny Kiratli, told SFGate in a 2021 interview. “It’s amazing how much of our donkey is in Donkey, the way he flips his head when he’s mad at Shrek, the way he trots.” Perry was five years old when he modelled for the Shrek animators and was apparently paid $75 (£60) for his work. It was revealed that Perry had been suffering from an incurable condition called laminitis, which affects the hooves of horses, ponies and donkeys. Donkeys typically live to be between 25 and 40 years old. “In Perry’s last weeks, all of the handlers spent many hours at the pasture with him, petting him, cradling him, singing to him, and telling him that he was and always will be loved,” the statement continued. “We will miss you Perry. You were a special Donkey. We were lucky to have known you and we will never forget you.”

On This Day

  • 1757 – Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, who becomes the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering (the traditional form of capital punishment used for regicides).
  • 1941 – Amy Johnson, a 37-year-old pilot and the first woman to fly solo from London to 
  • Australia, disappears after bailing out of her plane over the River Thames, and is presumed dead. 
  • 1972 – US President Richard Nixon announces the Space Shuttle program.

Deaths

  • 1922 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish sailor and explorer (b. 1874).
  • 1933 – Calvin Coolidge, American politician, 30th President of the United States (b. 1872).
  • 1998 – Sonny Bono, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and politician (b. 1935).
  • 2004 – Norman Heatley, English biologist and chemist, co-developed penicillin (b. 1911).

Last Week’s Birthdays

January Jones (47), Bradley Cooper (50), Clancy Brown (66), Diane Keaton (79), Robert Duvall (94), Vinnie Jones (60), Marilyn Manson (56), Emma Mackey (29), Julia Ormond (60), Graham McTavish (64), Matt Frewer (67), Florence Pugh (29), Mel Gibson (69), Victoria Principal (75), Tia Carrere (58), Cuba Gooding Jr. (57), Frank Langella (87), Val Kilmer (66), Anthony Hopkins (88), Ben Kingsley (82), Eliza Dushku (45), Tracey Ullman (66), and Caity Lotz (39).

5th January 2025 | Categories: 2025 | Leave A Comment »

In Memoriam 2024

Another year flies by and far too many beloved celebrities passed away. Here are a few for us to remember: 

January

  • Derek Draper: The author and former political adviser, died aged 56 from extreme complications from Covid since contracting the disease in March 2020. Probably most famous for being TV presenter Kate Garroway’s husband. 
  • David Soul: Soul is best known for his role as one half of the ’70’s buddy cop duo “Starsky & Hutch.” Soul would later reprise his role alongside partner Paul Michael Glaser in the 2004 big-screen remake starring Owen Wilson as Hutch and Ben Stiller as Starsky. Outside of acting, Soul was also a chart-topping singer who reached #1 on the Billboard charts with “Don’t Give Up on Us” and “Silver Lady.” He was 80.
  • Glynis Johns: British actress Glynis Johns has appeared in over 60 films in a career spanning eight decades. Her most notable role came as Mrs. Banks opposite Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in “Mary Poppins.” Her TV roles included appearances on “Cheers,” “Murder She Wrote” and “The Love Boat.” Johns died at her home of natural causes. She was 100.
  • Franz Beckenbauer: German and World Cup football legend Franz Beckenbauer was widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. A talented defender, he won an array of trophies and honours across his glittering career, including a World Cup with West Germany as both a player and a manager, and two Ballon d’Or awards. He died aged 78.
  • Annie Nightingale: Nightingale was Radio 1s first female DJ. She first appeared as a panelist on the BBC’s Jukebox Jury before joining the station as a mainstay seven years later. She was awarded an MBE in 2002, a CBE in 2020. 

February

  • Carl Weathers: After playing for the Oakland Raiders for two seasons, Carl Weathers retired from pro football in 1974 to pursue acting. His breakout role came in 1976, when he played Apollo Creed in the movie “Rocky.” He would reprise that role in three “Rocky” sequels. He also starred in the movie “Predator”and the hit streaming series “The Mandalorian.” He died at the age of 76.
  • Jonnie Irwin: The presenter of A Place In The Sun and Escape To The Country died on 2nd February, aged 50. He announced that he had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2020.
  • Ian Lavender: Lavender was the last surviving member of the main cast of the BBC sitcom Dad’s Army, which ran from 1968 to 1977, playing “stupid boy” Private Pike. He also appeared in EastEnders, Yes Minister and the 1970s TV version of The Glums and the film Carry On Behind. He died on 2nd February 2024, aged 77.
  • Steve Wright: He hosted shows for the BBC for over 40 years and hosted his popular show Steve Wright in the Afternoon from 1981-2022. He died at the age of 69 and the BBC’s director of music was among those paying tribute, saying: “He loved radio, and he loved the BBC, but most of all… he loved his audience.”
  • Robin Windsor: The Ipswich-born Latin and ballroom dancer and Strictly Come Dancing professional died on 19th February 2024, aged 44.
  • John Savident: Savident arrived on the famous cobbles in 1994 and was quickly established as a fan favourite, known for playing the booming-voiced butcher Fred Elliott. Fred’s disastrous love life, including three marriages and several failed proposals, provided many of the character’s most memorable storylines on the soap. He also had a secret son, Ashley, played by Steven Arnold, and the two later developed a close bond as they worked as butchers together. He died aged 86. 

March

  • Dave Myers: Myers met his on-screen cooking partner Si King on the set of an ITV drama back in 1995. The pair then starred together on TV in 2004, on The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook in 2004. Over almost 30 years, the two became British TV cooking favourites and published more than 25 books.
  • Tony Green: The popular darts commentator became known to a wider audience by co-hosting the TV quiz show Bullseye with the late Jim Bowen. He died on 4th March 2024, aged 85.
  • Louis Gossett Jr.: Gossett Jr. is best known for his role in the 1982 film, “An Officer and a Gentleman,” a role that earned him a Golden Globe and a best supporting actor Oscar. He was the first African American actor to win in the category. He was 87.

April

  • Peter Higgs: Nobel Prize-winning physicist Professor Peter Higgs died this year, age 94. His pioneering theory led to the discovery of the Higgs boson particle. This particle, also known as the “God particle”, explains why matter has mass and holds the universe together.
  • O. J. Simpson: The former American football great who was accused of and ultimately acquitted of the brutal 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend. He had a second career as an actor, appearing in the Naked Gun series, The Towering Inferno, Capricorn One and many other movies and TV shows. He was 76. 
  • Terry Carter: 

May

  • Bernard Hill: Hill, famed for his role as King Theoden in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and Captain Edward Smith in the 1997 Oscar-winning film Titanic, died earlier this year at age 79. He also featured as Yosser Hughes in the iconic drama series Boys From The Blackstuff.
  • Dabney Coleman: Perhaps best known for his role as the boss in the movie “9 to 5,” Dabney Coleman also had supporting roles in the hit movies “Tootsie” and “You’ve Got Mail.” He appeared in TV shows such as “The Fugitive,” “Bonanza,” and, more recently, “Broadway Empire,” for which he won two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He was 92. 
  • David Wilkie: The Scottish athlete was the only person to have held British, Commonwealth, European, World and Olympic swimming titles simultaneously. He died on 22nd May 2024, aged 70.
  • Morgan Spurlock: The American documentary maker, who was best known for his 2004 fast food film Super Size Me, died on 23rd May 2024, aged 53.

June

  • Rob Burrow: Former Rugby League player, campaigned tirelessly to raise awareness of motor neurone disease (MND) following his own diagnosis of the illness. He played for Leeds Rhinos throughout his entire league career, and played internationally for England and Great Britain. He was celebrated for his bravery in living with his illness and was awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours List before dying at age 41.
  • Michael Mosley: TV Doctor Michael Mosley died earlier this year age 67 after going missing on holiday on the Greek island of Symi. Michael was known for his commitment to medical journalism and for the documentary Infested! Living With Parasites on BBC Four, he lived with tapeworms in his gut for six weeks. 
  • Jeannette Charles: The Queen’s most famous lookalike, who enjoyed a long career in film and television thanks to their uncanny resemblance. Alongside chat shows, corporate events, fete openings and other appearances, she appeared in Motörhead’s music video promoting their version of the Sex Pistols song God Save the Queen in 2000. She died at the age of 96. 
  • Donald Sutherland: Sutherland’s big break came when he starred in the 1970 movie comedy “M*A*S*H.” Other films included the 1978 remake of “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” and the Oscar-winning 1980 drama “Ordinary People.” He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011 and an Honorary Academy Award in 2017. More recently, he appeared in “The Hunger Games” film series. Sutherland died at the age of 88.

July

  • Shelley Duvall: Was an actress best known for her performance in The Shining alongside Jack Nicholson. She also starred in Popeye with Robin Williams, and Jane Campion’s Portrait of a Lady. Duvall was a regular figure of director Robert Altman, having appeared in seven of the director’s films, she was 75. 
  • Ruth Westheimer: Known as Dr. Ruth, was hired for a weekly 15-minute radio show called “Sexually Speaking,” in 1980. The show became so successful that it was expanded to an hour and became the most popular radio show in NY by 1983. That same year, her book, “Dr. Ruth’s Guide to Good Sex,” was published. She went on to publish more than 40 books. She died aged 96.
  • Shannen Doherty: Actress Shannen Doherty, best-known for her roles on TV’s “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed” series and movies like “Heathers,” “Mallrats,” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” Doherty lost her battle with cancer at the age of 53.
  • Richard Simmons: Simmons was a fitness personality who, after going through his own weight-loss journey, wanted to motivate others. He opened a gym in Los Angeles in 1974 and released popular workout videos, such as “Sweatin’ To The Oldies.” He appeared on the soap opera “General Hospital,” and starred in his own TV series, “The Richard Simmons Show”. He died at the age of 76.
  • Ray Reardon: The Welsh six-time World Snooker Championship winner died on 19th July 2024, aged 91. 

August

  • John Anderson: “Contenders, ready! Gladiators, ready!” For those who grew up in the 1990s, Anderson’s was one of the most familiar voices of Saturday night TV. He was best known as the umpire in the original ITV series of Gladiators, which aired between 1992 and 2000, and the revamped Sky series in 2008. But the Scottish sports coach also trained more than 100 Olympians and was inducted into the Coaching Hall of Fame in 2002. He died at the age of 92
  • Graham Thorpe: The Surrey cricketer, who represented England in 100 Test matches and 82 One Day Internationals sadly took his own life on 4th August 2024. He was 55.
  • Gena Rowlands: Actress Gena Rowlands made her TV debut in 1954. After years of working in television, she started making movies, most notably, “Woman Under The Influence“, and “Gloria”. More recently, she appeared in the 2004 hit movie “The Notebook” as well as TV shows such as “Monk” and “NCIS.” She died aged 96.
  • Alain Delon: The French actor and star of films such as The Leopard, The Yellow Rolls Royce and Girl On A Motorcycle died on 18th August 2024, aged 88. 
  • Phil Donahue: Famed TV talk show host Phil Donahue was known for “The Phil Donahue Show,” which aired for nearly 30 years. He died aged 88. 
  • Dewi “Pws” Morris: Best known for his leading role in the 1978 rugby comedy film Grand Slam, Morris died in August, aged 76.

September

  • Sven-Göran Eriksson: The football manager was the England team’s first foreign manager and he coached football icons such as David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard back in 2001. During his tenure, the England team beat Germany 5-1 in 2001, reached the quarter-finals in 2004 and again for the World Cup in 2006. He died of cancer aged 76.
  • James Earl Jones: Jones’s signature deep, rumbling voice gave life to iconic movie characters, such as Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of Disney’s The Lion King. He also starred in classics such as Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America and The Hunt for Red October. He also achieved EGOT status, winning Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. He died at age 93 surrounded by family and Mark Hamill, who played his son Luke Skywalker, paid tribute to the actor saying: “RIP dad.”
  • Clive Everton: Was known to millions worldwide as the calm, authoritative voice of televised snooker, but of even greater importance was his work as a campaigning journalist for better governance of the game. He died aged 87.
  • Dame Maggie Smith: Maggie Smith performed in theatre, movies and television during her over 60-year career. Having appeared in more than 50 films, Smith is known for her roles in the “Harry Potter” films and “Downton Abbey.” In addition to winning two Academy Awards, Smith earned five BAFTA Awards, four Emmy Awards, three Golden Globes. In 1990, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She was 89.

October

  • Kris Kristofferson: Kris Kristofferson was more than just a country music icon and formidable actor, he was also a Rhodes scholar, Army veteran and Golden Gloves boxer. However, he’s most known for his roles in “Blade”, “Convoy” and “A Star is Born,” which won him a Golden Globe. He was 88.
  • John Amos: Actor John Amos starred in the hit TV show “Good Times,” that aired from 1974 to 1976, and in the iconic 1977 miniseries “Roots.” His movie credits include  “Coming To America,” and “Die Hard 2.” He died at the age of 84.
  • Alex Salmond: Salmond led the Scottish National Party between 1990 and 2000, befoe serving again from 2004-2014. He was a prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement and went on to form his own party. At the time of his death at 69, he had been the leader of the nationalist Alba Party since 2021.
  • Liam Payne: Payne rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. The band released five albums and won numerous awards. Payne died Oct. 16 after falling from his hotel room in Buenos Aires. He was 31. 
  • Geoff Capes: The British Olympic shot putter and strongman died aged 75. Capes set the record for the longest shot put by a British man with a distance of 21.68m in 1980. 

November

  • Janey Godley: The Scottish comedian found viral fame with her dubbed imitations of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s COVID-19 news briefings during the pandemic. She also appeared on shows including Have I Got News For You, the Scottish soap opera River City, and crime drama Traces. She died of cancer aged 63. 
  • Quincy Jones: Music legend Quincy Jones died on November 3 at age 91. He was a 28-time Grammy winner, working with Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles and many more. 
  • Tony Todd: The Washington-born actor was best known for the title role in the 1992 horror film Candyman and 1986’s Platoon. He also appeared in the remake of Night of The Living Dead, The Crow, Final Destination and the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. He died on 6th November, aged 69.
  • Timothy West: West was a star of stage and screen and was known for his roles in soaps Coronation Street and Eastenders. He was married to Prunella Scales who played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers. He died peacefully aged 90 “after a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage”. 
  • John Prescott, Baron Prescott: Prescott was the longest-serving deputy prime minister in British history, serving in Neil Kinnock’s shadow cabinet before becoming Tony Blair’s deputy. He was a former trade union activist and ex-merchant seaman, who served as MP for Kingston upon Hull East for 40 years. He died at the age of 86 and former prime minister Tony Blair paid tribute saying John was: “One of the most talented people I ever encountered in politics.”

December

  • Barbara Taylor Bradford: The author of best-selling novels including A Woman of Substance, died at the age of 91. Published in 1979, A Woman of Substance sold 30 million copies and spawned seven sequels and a TV adaptation, which is still the most-watched programme in Channel 4’s history.
  • Terry Griffiths: The Welsh snooker player, who won the world championship in 1979, died from complications from dementia aged 77. In 2007 was made an OBE for his services to the sport.
  • Jimmy Carter: Former President Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his work to end conflict and advance human rights. Born to a peanut farmer in Georgia, he faced a daunting era of rising energy costs, inflation, and world crises during his White House years. He died aged 100 and was often called “the best former president in history.” 

1st January 2025 | Categories: 2024 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 29th December 2024

So, some housekeeping before we come to the end of this years competition. I missed that Neil had Alwen Hughes listed as his Woman. As Rolf Harris’ wife she was a good bet, sadly for Neil, she didn’t get a Wiki listing when she died, so nil points I’m afraid! Other than that, I actually kept on top of things this year! 

With only a couple more days to go, I’m still the points leader, at the moment… In the 33 years I have been running The Dead Pool I have never come close to winning and I promise that I didn’t send out the Flying Monkeys after the people I listed! Honest! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Former US President Bill Clinton has been discharged from the hospital after being treated for the flu, a spokesperson said on Tuesday. “He and his family are deeply grateful for the exceptional care provided by the team at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and are touched by the kind messages and well wishes he received,” Angel Ureña wrote on Twitter. Clinton was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center on Monday evening for tests and observation after developing a fever. The 78-year-old was last admitted to the hospital for six days in 2021 in California after developing an infection that reached his blood. The 42nd US president, who served in the White House from 1993 to 2001, is also known to have suffered with heart issues in the past. In 2004, aged 58, he had a quadruple bypass surgery after doctors found signs of extensive heart disease and, ten years later, he had a clogged artery opened after complaining of chest pains. He has been active since leaving office, starting what later became known as the Clinton Foundation, which partnered with American Heart Association to form the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. Not long after his second surgery, the ex-president – known for his love of fatty foods – went vegan. He told Politico in 2016, “I might not be around if I hadn’t become a vegan. It’s great.”  

One of the stars of Crocodile Dundee, who appeared alongside Paul Hogan in the 1986 blockbuster, has died at an estimated age of 90, the reptile’s caretakers have confirmed. Burt, the five-metre-long, 700kg saltwater crocodile, died in captivity at Crocosaurus Cove, a crocodile herpetarium and aquarium in Darwin, Australia, where he had been living since 2008. In a statement, the zoo said on Facebook: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Burt, the iconic Saltwater crocodile and star of the Australian classic Crocodile Dundee. Burt passed away peacefully over the weekend, estimated to be over 90 years old, marking the end of an incredible era.” The average saltwater crocodile typically lives for about 70 years but some may live for up to 100 years. The species is the largest reptile on the planet and is capable of eating any animal that strays too close to it. Burt became one of the world’s most famous reptiles thanks to the worldwide success of the Peter Faiman-directed film Crocodile Dundee, which remains the highest-grossing Australian film of all time. Paying tribute to the titular crocodile, the zoo reflected on Burt’s inspiring story and rise to fame, when he was captured in the early 1980s before his big screen debut. “Captured in the 1980s in the Reynolds River, Burt became one of the most recognised crocodiles in the world, appearing in Crocodile Dundee and helping to shape Australia’s image as a land of rugged natural beauty and awe-inspiring wildlife.” The zoo remarked that Burt was a “confirmed bachelor” and was fiercely independent, judging by his lack of enthusiasm to meet a mate on the crocodile farm.  

Homes Under the Hammer star Martin Roberts has revealed he does not know how long he has left to live. The 61-year-old, who has presented the popular BBC property auction series since 2017, has undergone a series of health complications in that period. In 2022, the TV host revealed doctors had told him he had just hours to live after he suffered a pericardial effusion, a condition caused by too much fluid build up around the heart, and was rushed into emergency life-saving surgery. At the time, he had thought the chest pains were the effects of long Covid. Following the operation, Roberts admitted he still has “twinges” in his chest, which cause him to worry. He admitted “I don’t know how much time I’ve got left”, as he went against advice to “slow down”. “The physical side of things took a lot longer than we thought to get around, I still get twinges and every single time I get a twinge in my chest, I panic. As anyone who has had any kind of problems with their heart would attest to it.” He explained that he was only told much later that he “probably had maybe two or three hours to live” when he underwent emergency surgery, according to a consultant. “That was two to three hours from dying and not being here and not seeing the kids anymore and not fulfilling all my ambitions and doing all the things I want to do,” he explained. “So that’s sort of the psychological side of that. It takes a lot longer to get over than the physical side.” However, Roberts said that despite medical advice to slow down, he has taken the opportunity to do more than ever. “I was told I need to slow down and take things easy and all that kind of stuff, and I’ve gone completely the other way,” he said. “I don’t know how much time I’ve got left, so I just want to do as much as I possibly can.” he said. 

On This Day

  • 1913 – Cecil B. DeMille starts filming Hollywood’s first feature film, The Squaw Man.
  • 2006 – The UK settles its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt.
  • 2013 – Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher suffers a massive head injury while skiing in the French Alps.

Deaths

  • 1170 – Thomas Becket, English archbishop and saint (b. 1118).
  • 1986 – Harold Macmillan, English politician, Prime Minister of the UK (b. 1894).
  • 2003 – Bob Monkhouse, English comedian, actor, and game show host (b. 1928).
  • 2020 – Pierre Cardin, Italian-French fashion designer (b. 1922).
  • 2022 – Pelé, Brazilian footballer (b. 1940).
  • 2022 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer (b. 1941).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jude Law (52), Ted Danson (77), Jon Voight (86), Danny McBride (48), Lilly Wachowski (57), Denzel Washington (70), Sienna Miller (43), Noomi Rapace (45), Joe Manganiello (48), Timothée Chalamet (29), Olivia Cooke (31), Gérard Depardieu (76), Kit Harington 38), Jared Leto (53), Temuera Morrison (64), Sissy Spacek (75), Annie Lennox (70), Carol Vorderman (64), Finn Wolfhard (22), and Harry Shearer (81).

29th December 2024 | Categories: 2024 | Leave A Comment »

Sgt Pepper 2024

Another year flies by and some well loved celebrities sadly passed away. Below is this years Sgt Pepper from talented artist Chris Barker, go buy him a coffee here. You can click on the image for a larger version. If you can’t figure out who they all are, the key is behind this link.

 

26th December 2024 | Categories: 2024 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 22nd December 2024

Another strange week. I could have sworn Eddie Stobart was already dead, but apparently it was his son Edward Stobart who died a while back. One week to go, get your lists sorted for next year and ask your morbid friends to join in.  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

A bizarre hunting accident ended in the deaths of both a bear and a father in Virginia. A group of hunters were reportedly tracking a bear in Lunenburg County, between Richmond and Danville, Virginia, on December 9th when the animal ran up into a tree to escape its pursuers. A hunter shot the bear, which fell out of the tree, crushing and killing another member of the party. The man has been identified by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources as Lester Harvey, 58, of Phenix, Virginia. The bear fell approximately 10 feet and landed on Harvey, who was standing under the tree, according to the Flying Monkeys. A member of the hunting party provided first aid until Harvey could be transported to a nearby hospital, but he ultimately died from his injuries on Friday, according to the wildlife department. According to his obituary, Harvey was a married father of five and had eight grandchildren. He worked as a self-employed contractor and reportedly loved the outdoors. A funeral for Harvey has been scheduled for Thursday.  Josh Harvey, one of his sons, said in a Facebook post that his dad was “injured extremely badly” doing what he loved the most along with his good friends. The post included photos from the hunting trip along with the dead bear and videos from his time in hospital. Despite the odd circumstances leading to Harvey’s death, it’s not unheard of for hunters to die or sustain severe injuries in the chaos of trying to kill a fleeing animal. In Alaska in 2018, a hunter was critically injured after his hunting partner shot a bear that was standing on a ridge. The bear fell down a slope next to the ridge, dislodging rocks that tumbled down and struck the man. A year later, another hunter in North Carolina was injured when his partner shot a bear in a tree. The bear fell out, but wasn’t dead; it defended itself and began attacking the hunter. The man and the bear then tumbled off a cliff together. The hunter was rushed to a nearby hospital, and the bear was later found dead.  

Police looking for a Britain’s Got Talent comic who has been missing since Monday have found a body. Officers looking for missing man Martyn Crofts, who impressed BGT judges Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon in the show’s sixth series in 2012, issued the update. He made it through to the semi-final stage as his oddball act with a saucepan on his head earned him the nickname ‘The Pan Man’ . In another round he sang a song while impersonating a Dalek from Doctor Who.  Police found a body on the Whinny Gill reservoir in Skipton, North Yorkshire on December 16th. While identification is still ongoing, the family has been informed and are being supported, North Yorkshire said. Following this, tributes have been pouring in for the 55-year-old on social media saying he was was ‘a light in everyone’s life’ who ‘put smiles on our faces while the world was at uncertainty’.  

A girl with a very rare genetic condition which causes rapid bodily aging has died at the age of 19 in South Africa. Influencer Beandri Booysen had been diagnosed with Progeria – also known as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome (HGPS) – an incredibly rare condition which affects only around one in four million babies in the world and causes children to rapidly age. Babies born with the condition tend to appear healthy at birth, but tend to start showing signs of premature aging within the first two years of life. According to the Cleveland Clinic, Progeria slows a person’s growth rate and hampers their weight gain as well as leading to a number of other symptoms including hair loss, wrinkled skin and a loss of fat underneath the skin. Booysen, from South Africa, had gained a significant following on social media after she and her family shared her journey with thousands of people. However, earlier this month (18th December), her family released a statement on Facebook announcing that she had sadly died. In the group ‘Beandri, Our Inspiration’, which was created by her family 15 years ago, they said: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Beandri Booysen, one of South Africa’s most beloved and inspiring young women. Beandri was not only known for her vibrant personality and infectious laugh but also as the last surviving individual in South Africa living with Progeria – a rare genetic condition that causes children to age prematurely. Despite the challenges she faced, Beandri radiated hope and joy. She became a symbol of awareness for Progeria and other special needs, using her unique spirit to inspire thousands of people worldwide. The Booysen family kindly requests privacy during this profoundly difficult time as they mourn the loss of their beloved Beandri.” Her mother shared on 8th October that Beandri had gone in for heart surgery and had thanked fans for their support. 

On This Day

  • 856 – Damghan earthquake: An earthquake near the Persian city of Damghan kills an estimated 200,000 people, the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history.
  • 1965 – In the United Kingdom, a 70 miles per hour speed limit is applied to all rural roads including motorways for the first time.
  • 2001 – Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.

Deaths

  • 1880 – George Eliot, English novelist and poet (b. 1819).
  • 1943 – Beatrix Potter, English children’s book writer and illustrator (b. 1866).
  • 2014 – Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (b. 1944).
  • 2018 – Paddy Ashdown, British politician (b. 1941).

Last Meals

Joseph Edward Corcoran was an American convicted mass murderer who was executed for a 1997 quadruple murder case in Indiana. Corcoran was found guilty of the 1997 murders of his brother, his sister’s fiancé, and two of their friends at his house, and sentenced to death in 1999. Prior to this, Corcoran was previously charged in 1992 with murdering his parents when he was nearly 17 but was acquitted of all charges.

On April 14, 1992, four days short of reaching his 17th birthday, Joseph Corcoran allegedly murdered his parents – 53-year-old Jack Corcoran and 47-year-old Kathryn Corcoran.

At around 8.30am, Corcoran’s parents were found dead inside their Ball Lake home at Steuben County, Indiana, sustaining gunshot wounds caused by a shotgun. Evidence showed that Corcoran likely murdered his parents with a 12-gauge shotgun. He allegedly believed they were too strict with him, had sold a car he thought would belong to him, burned his music tapes, and made him go to church. The timing of the discovery of his parents’ bodies was an hour after Corcoran boarded the school bus to school. His friends had testified that Corcoran had offered them $200 and a shotgun to kill his parents, and their conversations revolved around killing people and animals. However, the evidence against Corcoran was circumstantial and no direct evidence was found to prove Corcoran guilty of the double murder. 

On July 26, 1997, five years after allegedly killing his parents, Joseph Corcoran committed the quadruple murder of his brother and three other men.

Corcoran was inside his house in with his 30-year-old brother James Corcoran. They shared the house with their sister Kelly Nieto and her 32-year-old fiancé Robert Scott Turner. Friends 30-year-old Timothy G. Bricker and 30-year-old Douglas A. Stillwell were also inside the house that day. Corcoran’s sister was absent from home and at a nearby store at that time.

According to court and media sources, James, his friends, and Turner were together in the living room, watching television and eating pizza. Corcoran, who was upstairs on the second floor, purportedly overheard the four men talking about him in the living room. Prosecutors claim Corcoran overheard those in the living room talking about his alleged involvement in the murder of his parents. Enraged at this, Corcoran confronted the men with a gun. Before he did so, Corcoran took his seven-year-old niece into an upstairs bedroom to protect her from the gunfire and then loaded a semi-automatic rifle and moved to the living room with the weapon. Corcoran shot his brother, Turner, and Bricker. Stillwell was able to evade the initial onslaught and attempted to escape, but Corcoran shot and killed Stillwell before he could leave the house.

After murdering the four men, Corcoran stepped out of the house and asked a neighbour to call the police. When the police arrived, they found the bodies of the four men, and found Corcoran’s niece unharmed inside her bedroom. Authorities also discovered about 20 to 30 weapons inside the attic of Corcoran’s house. 

When Corcoran’s sister received word of the murders, she told the press that the truth of Corcoran murdering her other brother and fiancé made her completely view the murders of her parents in a different light. She was now certain that Corcoran was guilty of their parents’ murders in 1992. Previously, she and James defended him fiercely in court. Corcoran’s sister stated that she cried over the case and blamed Corcoran for ruining her life with the loss of their parents and James. 

Unsurprisingly, the then 22-year-old Joseph Corcoran was arraigned in court on four counts of murder, one for each of his victims. On May 22, 1999, Corcoran was found guilty of murder on all four counts. The jury returned with their verdict two days later, unanimously recommending Corcoran receive four death sentences for all the four killings. 

After being sentenced in 1999, Joseph Corcoran spent more than two decades on death row at Indiana State Prison.  

Early on the morning of December 18, 2024, Corcoran was executed by lethal injection at the Indiana State Prison. He was pronounced dead at 12:44 am, eight minutes after he received a single dose of pentobarbital. No media attendees were permitted, although Corcoran chose a reporter with the Indiana Capital Chronicle as one of his witnesses.

Corcoran reportedly requested ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s for his last meal, without specifying a particular flavour. Corcoran was granted a final meeting with his family, including his wife Tahina, whom he married while in prison. Corcoran’s last words were “Not really. Let’s get this over with.” 

Corcoran was the first condemned inmate to be executed in Indiana after a 15-year moratorium on executions since 2009. Corcoran was the 24th death row prisoner to have his death sentence carried out in the U.S. in 2024.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Ralph Fiennes (62), Vanessa Paradis (52), Samuel L. Jackson (76), Kiefer Sutherland (58), Jane Fonda (87), Jenny Agutter (72), Jonah Hill (41), Jake Gyllenhaal (44), Kristy Swanson (55), Alyssa Milano (52), Jennifer Beals (61), Richard Hammond (55), Emily Atack (35), Christina Aguilera (44), Steve Austin (60), Sia (49), Keith Richards (81), Brad Pitt (61), Steven Spielberg (78), Katheryn Winnick (47), Milla Jovovich (49), Bill Pullman (71), Laurie Holden (55), Eugene Levy (78), Ernie Hudson (79), Miranda Otto (57), and Krysten Ritter (43).

22nd December 2024 | Categories: 2024 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 15th December 2024

With little over two weeks left, we seem to have hit a quiet period for celebrity deaths. I hate to do this before Xmas, but the Flying Monkeys have been deployed! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

The Wanted musician, Max George, will spend Christmas in hospital after medical tests have revealed problems with this heart. The 36-year-old has been a part of the band alongside Siva Kaneswaran, Nathan Sykes, Jay McGuinness, and the late Tom Parker, since 2009. George’s news comes two years after the death of Parker following an 18-month experience with brain cancer. He revealed he was rushed into hospital and some issues were found with his heart. “Hey everyone, Yesterday I felt really unwell and was taken in to hospital,” George wrote in a post on Instagram on Thursday night, wearing a hospital gown. “Unfortunately after some tests they’ve found that I have some issues with my heart.” Although he did not confirm the nature of the diagnosis, he said, “I have a lot more tests to determine the extent of the problems and what surgery I will need to get me back on my feet. It’s gonna be a difficult few weeks / months… and Christmas in a hospital bed wasn’t exactly what I had planned!” He thanked his loved ones and his girlfriend and Eastenders actor Maisie Smith for their support. “As always, I’m surrounded with love and support by my wonderful partner Maisie, her family, my family and friends.. and I’m 100 per cent in the best place. Although this is a huge shock and no doubt a setback, it’s something I’ll take on with all I’ve got! I count myself very lucky that this was caught when it was. Apologies if I bore you with updates in the coming weeks.. I’ve probably got a month in a bed and there’s not THAT much to do! Let’s do this! Much love, Max x”. 

Hollywood legend Dick Van Dyke has revealed that his neighbours “saved” him from his home as he attempted to evacuate due to the devastating Malibu Franklin Fire. The Franklin Fire, another late-year wildfire fanned by fierce Santa Ana winds, left a trail of destruction in its wake. Officials confirmed nine structures were destroyed and six had been damaged. Evacuations in Malibu displaced thousands of residents, including celebrities Dick Van Dyke and Cher. According to the Flying Monkeys, the Mary Poppins star, who turned 99 on Friday, admitted that he had a lucky escape from the fire and was thankful to his neighbours. Van Dyke said: “The fire was coming from the hill, you could see it. And oh my God, and we got out of here. I was trying to crawl to the car, I had exhausted myself, I couldn’t get up.” He added: “Three neighbours came and carried me out and came back and put out a little fire in the guest house and saved me.” The actor had previously posted on Facebook on Tuesday to announce that he and his wife, Arlene Silver, were safe, but that they were not able to locate one of their pets. “Arlene and I have safely evacuated with our animals except for Bobo escaped as we were leaving,” he wrote about their cat at the time. “We’re praying he’ll be ok and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires.” The actor later updated his followers when they found Bobo, writing: “We found Bobo as soon as we arrived back home this morning. There was so much interest in his disappearance that Animal Control was called in to assist. But, thankfully he was easy to find and not harmed.”  

Ian Hislop has been injured after he was struck by an electric bike as he was crossing a road. The 64-year-old hurt his head in the accident and has been seen wearing a large bandage on the place he was hit by the bike. The star was given medical attention and medics applied the dressing. According to reports, he is now said to be “OK”. The incident was confirmed in a statement from Private Eye. His bandage was on show as he went to an event that same evening with his wife of 36 years, Victoria Hislop. The incident comes just months after he was in a taxi when the rear window smashed. Ian was in the back of the vehicle at the time, but no injuries were reported. It happened on Oxford Street near where Private Eye’s office is based. The Metropolitan Police confirmed there was “no evidence of a firearms discharge at this time” after it was initially believed the taxi had been hit by a bullet. “I always say at this point I’m glad to be here, but this week I really mean it,” Ian stated during an episode of Have I Got News For You in October. Ian also shared a little about what police officers asked him during their investigation. He said: “There was one high point when a policeman investigating me said, ‘This may be a silly question, but is there anyone who might have a grudge against you?’

On This Day

  • 1890 – Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull is killed on Standing Rock Indian Reservation, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre. 
  • 1914 – A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine, in Kyushu, Japan, kills 687.
  • 1973 – The American Psychiatric Association votes 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders.
  • 1981 – A suicide car bombing targeting the Iraqi embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, levels the embassy and kills 61 people, including Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon. The attack is considered the first modern suicide bombing.

Deaths

  • 1944 – Glenn Miller, American bandleader and composer (b. 1904).
  • 1966 – Walt Disney, American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1901).
  • 2011 – Christopher Hitchens, English essayist, literary critic, & journalist (b. 1949).
  • 2013 – Joan Fontaine, British-American actress (b. 1917).
  • 2017 – Heinz Wolff, scientist and TV presenter (b. 1928).

Robot Feelings

A surprising incident happened in South Korea. For the first time in history, a robot committed suicide. The robot was found dead after it leaped down a six-and-a-half-foot flight of stairs.

Before the event, an official saw the robot “circling in one spot as if something was there.” The robot was designated as a municipal council officer and could autonomously navigate floors by utilising an elevator.

The cutting-edge bot, created by California-based Bear Robotics, was the first of its type to occupy such a role. It helped with information sharing, city promotion, and daily document deliveries. It even held a card as a civil service officer who worked regular hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

It remains unclear why the robot took the action. Authorities in Gumi City Council are looking into the event because they think the robot may have been “depressed,” presumably due to its workload. The sudden demise of the robot has spurred discussion about the mental health of even the most sophisticated technologies.

Headlines are ablaze with conjecture on whether the robot committed suicide due to “work stress” as reality begins to resemble a dystopian science fiction story. This scenario uncannily resembles the plot of the 2004 science fiction movie “I, Robot,” in which an advanced robot can “dream,” just like a human.

The robot’s alleged suicide received mixed responses on social media. One said it would be dangerous and scary if robots started to think like humans. Another suggested it was just an “accidental fall.” A different user believed it was just a technical failure and not an act comparable to human suicide.

Experts think that the incident was most likely a technological error or a bug, despite others sensationalising it as “robot suicide.” Since its deployment in August 2023, the robot, which was a member of the city hall staff, has been operating “diligently.”

It is said to have aided in routine duties like delivering documents, informing locals, and promoting the city. Investigations are ongoing to determine what caused the fall.

Officials said there could have been a programming problem, sensor failure, or navigational error. The company has collected the pieces and will analyse them.

The council is collaborating with Bear Robotics, the manufacturer, to investigate and prevent such occurrences in the future.

Gumi City Council is not considering replacing the deceased officer with another robot.

According to the International Federation of Robotics, South Korea has the highest robot density in the world, with one industrial robot for every ten human employees. The country is renowned for its quick adoption of robotic technology.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Helen Slater (61), Paul Kaye (59), Charlie Cox (42), Garrett Wang (56), Adam Brody (45), Don Johnson (75), Natascha McElhone (55), Miranda Hart (52), Vicki Michelle (74), Emma Corrin (29), Dick Van Dyke (99), Steve Buscemi (67), Jamie Foxx (57), Taylor Swift (35), Jennifer Connelly (54), Bill Nighy (75), Mädchen Amick (54), Mayim Bialik (49), Sarah Douglas (72), Connie Francis (87), Kenneth Cranham (80), Hailee Steinfeld (28), Kenneth Branagh (64), Fionnula Flanagan (83), Susanna Reid (54), John Malkovich (71), Judi Dench (90), Beau Bridges (83), Michael Dorn (72), and Donny Osmond (67).

15th December 2024 | Categories: 2024 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 8th December 2024

Three weeks or so to go, I hope you’re all working on your lists for 2025!  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Dick Van Dyke stars in a new music video from Coldplay, as he prepares to celebrate his 99th birthday. The clip for “All My Love” was filmed at the Mary Poppins star’s beachside home in Malibu, and follows him as he reflects on life and aging. “I’m acutely aware that I could go any day now,” Van Dyke says, “but I don’t know why it doesn’t concern me. I’m not afraid of it. I have the feeling that I’m gonna be alright.” During the video, Van Dyke recreates his famous penguin dance from Mary Poppins as well as The Twizzle, from his Sixties TV sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show. It is interspersed with photos of Van Dyke through his decades-long career, revealing a life-size statue of his Mary Poppins character, Bert the chimney sweep. Reflecting on his storied career, Van Dyke says he believes he’s one of those “lucky people” who “got to do for a living what I would have done anyway. I got to do what I love… play and act silly,” he said. The clip ends with Martin improvising a song for Van Dyke, who laughs in astonishment: “Have we got that on film?” he asks, beaming. “Can you believe this man?” A shorter version of the video will be released on Friday 13 December to mark the actor’s 99th birthday.  

Neighbours legend Ian Smith is reportedly allowing a camera crew to follow him through his terminal cancer battle. The Harold Bishop actor, 86 – whose portrayal of the beloved Ramsay Street stalwart made him a household name – received a pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma diagnosis earlier this year. ‘I found out a few months back that I have cancer,’ he told the Flying Monkeys. ‘That I have a very aggressive non-fixable cancer and they expect me to… they expect me to die.’ Ian has undergone three rounds of chemotherapy, telling the Flying Monkeys that he ‘put his hands up to be a guinea pig’ because he doesn’t want to die. ‘I want to stay alive with quality as long as I can,’ he said. ‘If they can do that, I’m very happy. But I wake up every morning hoping there’s no pain, because I know that’s the beginning of the bad part.’ Ian has already filmed his final scenes alongside former co-star Anne Charleston, who is not reprising her Madge Bishop role but will be playing a new character. In an emotional video, cast and crew were joined alongside Kevin Harrington who played Harold’s son David to bid an emotional farewell to their friend and colleague, who first appeared on the soap almost four decades ago. 

Sum 41 have cancelled their entire Australian tour as frontman Deryck Whibley continues to battle pneumonia. The Canadian singer, 44, has been deemed too unwell to perform by Australian doctors, leading the band to make an announcement about the tour on Wednesday. “It is with deep sadness and regret that we announce our 2024 Australian tour is unable to proceed,” the statement. “We were beyond excited to deliver this tour from 4 December – 12 December, and connect with our Aussie fans once more.” The statement continued: “Now that we’re here though, and under the guidance and direction of multiple Australian doctors, it’s clear that Deryck is too unwell to perform. We understand and appreciate your disappointment – we’re gutted too. The good news is Good Things Festival is still going ahead in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane this weekend with an incredible lineup of local and international acts. We can’t be there, but get along for us and have the best time.” Sum 41 have been touring as part of their farewell run, while supporting their eighth and final album, Heaven :x: Hell, which was released in March this year. The latest cancellation comes after their earlier decision to call off their 4 December show at Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley Music Hall, after Whibley was diagnosed with pneumonia. The band said their frontman was receiving “the best possible care” Back in 2011, Sum 41 also had to cancel their planned appearance at Soundwave Festival after Whibley was admitted to hospital with pneumonia. He was also treated in hospital for the illness last year. 

On This Day

  • 1980 – John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota in New York City.
  • 2004 – Nathan Gale opens fire at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, killing former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell and three others before being shot dead by a police officer.
  • 2013 – Metallica performs a show in Antarctica, making them the first band to perform on all seven continents.
  • 2019 – First confirmed case of COVID-19 in China.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Teri Hatcher (60), Kim Basinger (71), Dominic Monaghan (48), David Harewood (59), Nicki Minaj (42), Kristofer Hivju (46), Nicholas Hoult (35), Jennifer Carpenter (45), Jeffrey Wright (59), C. Thomas Howell (58), Ellen Burstyn (92), Tom Hulce (71), Frankie Muniz (39), Catherine Tate (55), Marisa Tomei (60), Jeff Bridges (75), Pamela Stephenson (75), Jay-Z (55), Brendan Fraser (56, Amanda Seyfried (39), Julianne Moore (64), Daryl Hannah (64), Ozzy Osbourne (76), Lucy Liu (56), Lesley-Ann Brandt (43), Britney Spears (43), and Connie Booth (84),

8th December 2024 | Categories: 2024 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 1st December 2024

I was all ready to award some points following our Telegram group revelation that the worlds oldest mad had died, alas nobody had him listed! 38+ points gone wasted! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Dolph Lundgren has confirmed that he is cancer-free after previously being told he only had a few years to live by doctors. The Swedish actor, 67, has been in a nine-year battle with lung cancer but confirmed on Wednesday that he was cancer-free. The star, best known as Soviet boxer Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, filmed from his hospital bed and told fans that he was undergoing a lung ablation. The procedure is minimally invasive and targets cancer cells with heat or cold, without surgery. In the video, he told his Instagram followers: ‘Here I am at UCLA, I’m about to go in and get rid of that last tumour,’ he said. ‘Since there are no cancer cells in my body anymore, I guess I’ll be cancer-free, so I’m looking forward to this procedure. It’s been a rough ride and really taught me how to live in the moment and enjoy every moment of life. I mean, it’s the only way to go.’ He captioned the video: ‘Health update – finally cancer free with gratefulness and excitement for a bright future. Thanks for all your support always. ’ In 2023, the actor revealed he had been privately battling cancer. Dolph was first diagnosed in 2015 but it was in 2021 – when a ‘lemon-sized’ tumour was found in his liver – that he was told he wouldn’t live longer than a few more years. During an interview on In Depth With Graham Bensinger, Dolph revealed: ‘‘The doctor kind of started talking about all these different tumours, like, in the lung and the stomach and the spine, outside the kidneys. I asked him, “How long do you think I’ve got left?” I think he said two or three years, but I could tell in his voice that he probably thought it was less. I thought it was it, for sure.’  

Veteran stage actor Julien Arnold died suddenly on Sunday, November 24th, midway through a performance of A Christmas Carol, after experiencing a medical emergency. He passed after collapsing onstage during an evening performance of the stage production at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, according to the theatre. The cause of death has not been announced. The Flying Monkeys reported that he died at the theatre “despite resuscitation attempts” from paramedics, according to a spokesperson for Alberta Health Services. He was 60, the Edmonton Journal reported. The theatre announced Arnold’s death in a statement on Instagram. “It is with heavy hearts we share the news of the sudden passing of Julien Arnold, a beloved actor and dear friend of the Citadel Theatre. A cherished member of the Edmonton theatre community, Julien was a gifted performer whose charisma and talent graced our stage in countless productions, including A Christmas Carol. Julien’s passing is a profound loss to his family, friends, fellow Carol company members, Citadel staff, and the Edmonton community he loved so dearly. His presence brought joy, heart and depth to every role, and his artistic contributions – and big hugs – will be deeply missed.” The theatre said that the remaining performances of A Christmas Carol will be dedicated to the actor, who also performed in productions of The Wizard of Oz, Beauty and the Beast, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Once.  

Dame Esther Rantzen told the Flying Monkeys that she is “determined” to live to see the next stage of the assisted dying bill after MPs voted in favour of it on Friday. In a historic step towards backing the right for adults with less than six months to live to choose to end their own lives, a total of 330 MPs voted for the bill and 275 voted against. Speaking in the minutes after the result of the vote was read out in the House of Commons, Dame Esther’s daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, spoke to her mother on the phone. When asked if she had heard the news, Dame Esther replied: “I certainly did, my goodness me, was that thrilling.” On having to see the bill through the next stage in parliament, she said: “I’ve got to stay alive a bit longer, haven’t I?! It’s quite a responsibility. It is a very important next stage, and I’m sure it will be taken through very very carefully because some of the best judicial minds, medical minds and political minds will make sure every detail is right.” The 84-year-old broadcaster, who is terminally ill, has been a strong advocate for changing the law to allow dying adults to take their own lives in limited circumstances, without fear of their families being prosecuted for helping them. She revealed in December last year that she had joined Dignitas, to give her the choice of an assisted death in Switzerland. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was among those to vote in favour, along with the majority of his Cabinet, as well as former PM Rishi Sunak who was one of only 23 Tories to do so.

On This Day

  • 1919 – Lady Astor becomes the first female Member of Parliament (MP) to take her seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. 
  • 1952 – The New York Daily News reports the news of Christine Jorgensen, the first notable case of sex reassignment surgery.
  • 1955 – American Civil Rights Movement: In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city’s racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to that city’s bus boycott.
  • 1958 – The Our Lady of the Angels School fire in Chicago kills 92 children and three nuns. God remains silent… 
  • 1990 – Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet beneath the seabed.
  • 2019 – The outbreak of coronavirus infection began in Wuhan.
  • 2020 – The Arecibo Telescope collapsed.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Zoë Kravitz (36), Sarah Silverman (54), Bette Midler (79), Ridley Scott (87), Kaley Cuoco (39), Ben Stiller (59), Woody Allen (89), Mandy Patinkin (72), Gemma Chan (42), Jeff Fahey (72), Don Cheadle (60), Karen Gillan (37), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (40), Ed Harris (74), Martin Clunes (63), Jon Stewart (62), Ellie Taylor (41), Armando Iannucci (61), Rita Ora (34), Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (36), Christina Applegate (53), and John Larroquette (77).

1st December 2024 | Categories: 2024 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 24th November 2024

Alas, no points to dispense this week. With little over five weeks left to go, one big death  could change the outcome! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Lauren Laverne has revealed she’s cancer free and would be back presenting BBC’s The One Show on Tuesday. The broadcaster, 46, took to her Instagram with the news alongside a beaming selfie in which she proudly wore a jumper which read: ‘Life is beautiful’. The mother of-two did not reveal the type of cancer she had been diagnosed with but said when announcing the news in August had been picked up ‘unexpectedly’ during a screening test. Now in a lengthy statement she paid tribute to hospital staff and her ‘astounding’ sons and ‘absolutely extraordinary’ husband Greame Fisher. She penned: ‘Well hello there! Just a quick update from me to say that after taking some time off to get better I’ve had the all clear and will be back to work on your TV this Tuesday with the wonderful @bbctheoneshow team. I’ve also been working on some new #DesertIslandDiscs episodes (which will air soon) and am looking forward to returning to @BBC6Music in the New Year’.  She continued: I want to say a huge thank you to the brilliant medical teams who took such great care of me, to the thousands of people who sent me such beautiful and encouraging messages, the friends and acquaintances who took the time to support me after going through cancer themselves, and most of all to my family: my two astounding kids and especially my husband Graeme, who was absolutely extraordinary throughout’.  It’s been a difficult time but one that has taught me so much about what really matters. I can’t say I suddenly regretted never having hiked the Inca Trail, more that I now see more beauty in ordinary things than I could have imagined, and feel more than ever that the small things in life – the connections we make and care we take with each other – are the big things really’.

A prisoner convicted of the 1994 murder of a female hitchhiker is set to become the third person executed by controversial nitrogen gas. Alabama this year began using nitrogen gas to carry out some death sentences, the first use of a new execution method in the United States since lethal injection was introduced in 1982. The method involves placing a respirator gas mask over the person’s face to replace breathable air with pure nitrogen gas, causing death by lack of oxygen. Critics of the method cite how the first two people executed shook for several minutes. They say the method needs more scrutiny, particularly if other states follow Alabama’s path and adopt it. Carey Dale Grayson, 50, was one of four teenagers convicted of killing Vickie Deblieux, 37, who was hitchhiking through Alabama on her way to her mother’s home in Louisiana. He is scheduled to be executed at 6pm on Thursday at the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in south Alabama. Deblieux’s mutilated body was found at the bottom of a bluff near Odenville, Alabama, on Feb. 26, 1994. Prosecutors said Deblieux was hitchhiking from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to her mother’s home in West Monroe, Louisiana, when four teens offered her a ride. Prosecutors said the teens took her to a wooded area and attacked and beat her. They threw her off a cliff and later returned to mutilate her body. A medical examiner testified that Deblieux’s face was so fractured that she was identified by an earlier X-ray of her spine. Her fingers had also been severed. Investigators said the four teens were identified as suspects after one of them showed a friend a severed finger and boasted about the killing. Grayson is the only one of the four facing a death sentence since the other teens were under 18 at the time of the killing. Grayson was 19. Two of the teens were initially sentenced to death but had those sentences set aside when the U.S. Supreme Court banned the execution of offenders who were younger than 18 at the time of their crimes. Another teen involved in Deblieux’s killing was sentenced to life in prison. Grayson’s final appeals focused on the call for more scrutiny of the new execution method. They argued that the person experiences “conscious suffocation” and that the first two nitrogen executions did not result in swift unconsciousness and death as the state promised. Attorneys for Grayson asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution to give time to weigh the constitutionality of the method. “Given this is the first new execution method used in the United States since lethal injection was first used in 1982, it is appropriate for this Court to reach the issues surrounding this novel method,” Grayson’s attorneys wrote. Lawyers for the Alabama attorney general’s office asked justices to let the execution go forward, saying a lower court found Grayson’s claims speculative. The state lawyers wrote that Alabama’s “nitrogen hypoxia protocol has been successfully used twice, and both times it resulted in a death within a matter of minutes.” 

Thomas E. Kurtz, a mathematician and inventor of the simplified computer programming language known as BASIC, which allowed students to operate early computers and eventually propelled generations into the world of personal computing, died on Tuesday in Lebanon, N.H. He was 96. The cause of his death, in a hospice, was multiple organ failure from sepsis, said Agnes Kurtz, his wife. In the early 1960s, before the days of laptops and smartphones, a computer was the size of a small car and an institution like Dartmouth College, where Dr. Kurtz taught, had just one. Programming one was the province of scientists and mathematicians, specialists who understood the nonintuitive commands used to manipulate data through those hulking machines, which processed data in large batches, an effort that sometimes took days or weeks to complete. Dr. Kurtz and John G. Kemeny, then the chairman of Dartmouth’s math department, believed that students would come to depend on computers and benefit from understanding how to use them. The language was simple. Typing the command “RUN” would start a program. “PRINT” printed a word or string of letters. “STOP” told the program to stop. Students could use other popular languages of the time like Algol and Fortran, but BASIC, which required only two one-hour seminars to master the fundamentals, became the language of choice not only for Dartmouth students but also for students learning programming around the globe. The programming language would provide the intellectual building blocks for later software and is still a fundamental tool in teaching computer programming. One student who later benefited from BASIC was Bill Gates, who used a variation of it as the foundation for the first Microsoft operating systems. Versions of BASIC still empower computer operating systems today. 

On This Day

  • 1963 – Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy, is killed by Jack Ruby on live television. 
  • 1971 – During a severe thunderstorm over Washington state, a hijacker calling himself Dan Cooper (aka D. B. Cooper) parachutes from a Northwest Orient Airlines plane with $200,000 in ransom money. He has never been found.
  • 1974 – Donald Johanson and Tom Gray discover the 40% complete Australopithecus afarensis skeleton, nicknamed “Lucy” (after The Beatles song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”), in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia’s Afar Depression

Deaths

  • 1982 – Barack Obama, Sr., Kenyan economist and academic, father of Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States (b. 1936)
  • 1991 – Freddie Mercury, Tanzanian-English singer-songwriter, lead vocalist of Queen, and producer (b. 1946).
  • 2005 – Pat Morita, American actor (b. 1932).

Spaced Out! 

Have you ever wondered what would happen to your body if you were to die out in space? Researchers have put their brains together to answer the difficult questions regarding the unusual scenario.

NASA are planning another space mission to send humans to the moon within the next seven years, with wilder plans to send people to Mars in the 2030s.

The journey to the red planet will require a long-distance mission and many months in space. Because of this, there’s a need to consider how humans will survive such a long time out in the ether. 

Since the beginning of human spaceflight over 60 years ago, 20 people have died. However, none of these deaths were actually in space and were due to failed launches before leaving the Earth’s atmosphere.

Though NASA hasn’t illustrated set protocols for dealing with a death that happens in space (because they haven’t had to deal with it yet), some of the world’s space researchers have come up with their own hypothesis.

One of the ways someone could die in space is by being exposed to its vacuum without having a suitably pressurised suit to protect them.

Chris Hadfield, Canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station, shares his thoughts on what could be the worst possible outcome.

He said: “In the worst case scenario, something happens during a spacewalk. You could suddenly be struck by a micro-meteorite, and there’s nothing you can do about that. It could puncture a hole in your suit, and within a few seconds you’re incapacitated.”

Here comes the gruesome part. You probably thought it was just a dramatic effect for films, but nope. 

Emmanuel Urquieta, professor of space medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, described the horrific death experienced by an astronaut who was exposed to the vacuum, saying that it would become impossible for them to breathe and their blood and other bodily fluids would effectively boil.

According to Popular Science, the unfortunate astronaut’s blood would vaporise, along with the water in their body, in just 10 seconds.

They would lose consciousness in 15 seconds as their body horrifically expanded and their lungs collapsed. They’d be paralysed or more likely dead in 30 seconds, most likely of asphyxiation or decompression.

Then there’s the issue of burial – or lack thereof.

If someone died on Mars, Urquieta explained burial or cremation wouldn’t be possible as they ‘could contaminate the Martian surface’.

He said ‘the crew would likely preserve the body in a specialised body bag until it could be returned to Earth’.

If the astronaut was unlucky enough to die out in space, their body would eventually enter a frozen or mummified state and float through the ether – potentially for millions of years, since there’s no oxygen to prompt decomposition – until it was destroyed by a planet or star, or perhaps heat or radiation.

A cheery thought for a Sunday.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Sarah Hyland (34), Colin Hanks (47), Stephen Merchant (50), Conleth Hill (60), Billy Connolly (82), Denise Crosby (67), Dwight Schultz (77), Kayvan Novak (46), Michelle Gomez (58), Miley Cyrus (32), Scarlett Johansson (40), Mads Mikkelsen (59), Jamie Lee Curtis (66), Mark Ruffalo (57), Terry Gilliam (84), Goldie Hawn (79), Alexander Siddig (59), Björk (59), Sean Young (65), Ming-Na Wen (61), Bo Derek (68), Joe Biden (82), Adam Driver (41), Jodie Foster (62), Meg Ryan (63), Terry Farrell (61), Robert Beltran (71), Owen Wilson (56), Linda Evans (82), and Delroy Lindo (72).

24th November 2024 | Categories: 2024 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 17th November 2024

Another pointless week, but time is ticking onwards with only a few weeks left to go! I know a few of you are already working on your lists for 2025, but if you are struggling to find inspiration, running through a few older newsletters will help you out.  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Davina McCall has announced she is undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumour. The TV presenter and Masked Singer judge is having the operation to remove a 14mm benign brain tumour, which she discovered during a recent health scan. She shared the news in an Instagram post on Friday, revealing she had a colloid cyst that affects only three in a million people. In a new video posted to her Instagram account, McCall explained: “A few months ago I did a menopause talk for a company and they offered me a health scan in return, which I thought I was going to ace, but it turned out I had a benign brain tumour called a colloid cyst, which is very rare.” McCall explained that upon learning about the tumour, she put her “head in the sand for a while” but then sought out advice from neurosurgeons and got different opinions. “I realised that I have to get it taken out,” she said. “It’s big for the space – it fills the space. It’s 14mm wide. And it needs to come out because if it grows it would be bad.” The presenter will undergo a craniotomy – a surgical procedure to remove part of the skull to access the brain – to take out the cyst. “Say a prayer for me,” she said. McCall’s partner Michael Douglas then arrived in the video to assure fans he was taking care of her, and that she would be “off the grid” until she recovers. She will be in hospital for nine days in total. “I’m just letting people know that I will have my eye on her throughout the procedure,” said Douglas, before joking, “In fact, I offered to do the operation to make sure it was done properly – but they won’t let me.” McCall remarked they had both “been through a lot” but they remained in good spirits. “I’m going to be off my phone for a while, so Michael might fill you in,” she added. She assured fans that she is in good hands, and that she has total faith in her surgeon and his team. “I’m handing the reins over to my surgeon, he knows what he’s doing and I’m going to do the getting better bit after,” McCall said. “I’ll see you on the other side.” According to the London Neurology Partnership, colloid cysts are small fluid-filled sacs located in or around the lateral and third ventricle of the brain.  

Full House star Dave Coulier has revealed that he has been diagnosed with a “very aggressive” form of stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The 65-year-old actor, who starred as Joey Gladstone on the hit ABC sitcom, shared the news during an appearance on the Today show on Wednesday. Coulier said he first discovered symptoms several months ago when he got a cold and then found a large lump on his groin. “It swelled up immediately,” he recalled. “I thought, ‘Wow, I’m either really sick, or my body’s really reacting to something.’” He visited the doctor, who shared the shocking diagnosis with him just five weeks ago. “The first thing I said to them was, ‘Wait a minute – cancer?’” he said. “I was feeling like I got punched in the stomach because it never happens to you. You always hear about it happening to someone else.” Non-Hodgkins lymphoma is a form of cancer that affects the white blood cells, causing them to grow abnormally and can form tumours throughout the body. Stage 3 typically means that the cancer is large and may have spread to surrounding tissues or lymph nodes. Coulier said he started undergoing rounds of chemotherapy two weeks ago. He shared that he has six rounds of chemo every three weeks and is expected to wrap up treatment by February. “You hear chemo, and it scares the daylights out of you,” he said. “The first round was pretty intense because you don’t know what to expect. You don’t know how you’re going to feel. Is this going to hit me immediately? Is it going to be devastating? Am I going to walk out of here?” Describing treatment as “a bit of a roller coaster,” he said: “There are days where I feel unbelievable. Then there’s other days where… I’m just going to lay down and let this be what it’s going to be. Some days are nauseous and dizzy, and then there’s other days where the steroids kick in, and I feel like I have a ton of energy,” he added. “I actually skated yesterday with some friends here in Detroit. We just went and skated around and shot pucks, and it was wonderful just to be out there doing something that I love and just trying to stay focused on all the great stuff that I have in my life.” Coulier praised his wife, Melissa Bring Coulier, for her support, sharing that she “organised his entire life, from nutrition to the doctor’s appointments to pills.” 

Dolly Parton’s brother, David, has died. Their sister, Stella Parton, paid tribute to him on social media. Stella announced the sad news via Twitter  on Friday, saying her wonderful brother had passed away, adding it’s never easy to lose a loved one, but she knows David is now at peace. The Farrar Funeral Home in White Pine, Tennessee posted his obituary to their website, confirming he passed away peacefully at home. No cause of death was included. While Dolly doesn’t often talk about her family, she has expressed gratitude for their continued support of her career through the years. David was the second-oldest sibling of the 11 Parton kids. His living brothers and sisters include Willadeene, 84, Coy, 81, Dolly, Robert Jr., 76, Stella, Cassie, 73, Freida, 67, and Rachel, 65. He had three other siblings, Randy, Larry and Floyd, who all died before him. It comes just under four years after the death of Randy, at the age of 67, from cancer. Dolly, aged 78, said on behalf of her family at the time: “My brother Randy has lost his battle with cancer. The family and I are grieving his loss but we know he is in a better place than we are at this time.”

On This Day

  • 1894 – H. H. Holmes, one of the first modern serial killers, is arrested in Boston, Massachusetts. 
  • 1947   – American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain observe the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th century.
  • 2019 – The first known case of COVID-19 is traced to a 55-year-old man who had visited a market in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

Deaths

  • 1917 – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor and illustrator (b. 1840).
  • 1940 – Eric Gill, English sculptor and typeface designer (b. 1882).
  • 1968 – Mervyn Peake, English poet, author, and illustrator (b. 1911).

Last Words

A war criminal had some chilling final words before he drank poison in court and died by suicide.

It’s not often that you can say that you actually heard someone’s last words, especially in such a setting. But those who were in the room with Slobodan Praljak will never be able to forget.

It was on 29th November 2017 in a United Nations courtroom for an appeal hearing for Praljak’s 20-year jail sentence that he ended his own life.

The ex-commander of Bosnian Croat forces had been sent down for war crimes after being convicted of crimes against humanity in 2013. However, the appeals judge was not going to be lenient on him.  Once the judge confirmed the 72-year-old’s long and hard sentence, he took his own life, right in front of those in attendance, and the cameras.

You can see how he looked moments before he uttered his last words, as he fiddled with a bottle in his hands. Praljak went on to claim that he was innocent and then drank from the small bottle containing potassium cyanide before collapsing.

According to the Flying Monkeys, the former commander of Bosnian Croat military forces shouted for all to hear: “Slobodan Praljak is not a war criminal. I am rejecting the court ruling.”  He then tipped his head back and quickly drank the liquid.

All of this was streamed live from the court’s website, and anyone could have witnessed him collapsing. Praljak died two hours later in a Dutch hospital, but one questioned remained: How did he manage to get the bottle inside of court?  Nobody actually knows.

In 2018, Dutch prosecutors ended their investigation into Praljak’s suicide after an investigation had been launched into how the war criminal was able get it into the UN courtroom. The Hague Public Prosecution Service concluded in a statement that they could not find out ‘in what way and at what point in time Mr Praljak had obtained the potassium cyanide he used’.

Surveillance footage from court also led to nothing after police and prosecutors reviewed it and interviewed witnesses. The also searched his UN cell and found that there were no criminal offences committed in his bid to die by suicide.

According to reports, Praljak left a handwritten ‘farewell letter’ to his family, which was left in his cell at the UN Detention Unit, where he resided for years while he waited for the outcome of his 1992-95 Bosnian war crimes. It is said to have been written two years before he killed himself. It told his wife and step-children that he didn’t want a funeral, but did want his ashes to be scattered over a cemetery in the Croatian capital of Zagreb.

Prosecutors shared that he wrote ‘that he had already decided to put an end to his life a long time ago, should he be found guilty’.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Martin Scorsese (82), Rachel McAdams (46), Tom Ellis (46), Danny DeVito (80), Sophie Marceau (58), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (66), Kerry Godliman (51), RuPaul (64), Missi Pyle (52), Maggie Gyllenhaal (47), Pete Davidson (31), Martha Plimpton (54), Lisa Bonet (57), Gemma Atkinson (40), Jonny Lee Miller (52), Beverly D’Angelo (73), Olga Kurylenko (45), Sandahl Bergman (73), Paul McGann (65), Whoopi Goldberg (69), Gerard Butler (55), Neil Young (79), Max Grodénchik (72), Wallace Shawn (81), Ryan Gosling (44), Anne Hathaway (42), Calista Flockhart (60), Richard Dormer (55), Stanley Tucci (64), Leonardo DiCaprio (50), and Demi Moore (62).

17th November 2024 | Categories: 2024 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 10th November 2024

We have points to award!!! With the passing of June Spencer at the ripe old age of 105, Ceri  gets 145 points as she had her down as her Woman. Well done her! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Bhad Bhabie has seemingly revealed she’s been diagnosed with cancer after hitting back at fans for commenting on her appearance. The 21-year-old rapper, whose real name is Danielle Bregoli, took to her Instagram Story on Thursday in response to fans’ concerns about her health, after she appeared to lose significant weight in recent weeks. “I’m sorry my cancer medicine made me loose weight,” she wrote on her Story. “I’m slowly gaining it back. So stop running with the worst narratives.” Bregoli, who rose to internet stardom for her “Cash me outside, how ‘bout that?” catchphrase during a Dr Phil appearance in 2016, didn’t disclose any further information about her cancer medicine or diagnosis. While the OnlyFans model hasn’t shared further details about her health, many fans posted their well wishes for Bregoli following her Instagram post. In 2022, the “Gucci Flip Flops” rapper revealed she had earned $52m on OnlyFans. She later shared a screenshot to Instagram as proof of her OnlyFans income. Just one year prior, Bregoli had broken an OnlyFans record; she racked up $1m in just six hours after joining the subscription-based video-sharing platform. 

James Van Der Beek has been diagnosed with cancer. The actor, 47, shot to fame playing the lead role in teen drama Dawson’s Creek, which ran between 1998 and 2003. In a statement to the Flying Monkeys, Van Der Beek said: “I have colorectal cancer. I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family.” He added: “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.” Colorectal cancer is a type of cancer which starts in either the colon or the rectum, which are both part of the large intestine in the body’s digestive system. Van Der Beek starred in multiple popular shows and films in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He played Dawson Leery in the hit TV show Dawson’s Creek, which ran from 1998 to 2003. He also played a fictionalised version of himself in the cult television show Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, and he performed on the 28th US season of Dancing with the Stars. So far, Van Der Beek has continued working through his diagnosis.  

Janey Godley is to go on a ‘final tour’ before her funeral. The funeral of comedian Godley will take place over two days across two cities as part of a “final tour” of Scotland. A hearse will travel through Edinburgh on 29th November in tribute to her “beloved festival home” before returning to Glasgow on 30th November for the ceremony. The funeral for the comic, who died on 2nd November aged 63 after receiving palliative care for terminal cancer, will take place at St Mary’s Cathedral in the city’s west end. Her daughter, Ashley Storrie, confirmed the arrangements on social media. Godley, who found viral fame with her dubbed parodies of then Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s coronavirus news briefings during the pandemic, revealed she had ovarian cancer in November 2021. She had been due to embark on a tour entitled “Not Dead Yet,” but was forced to cancel it after her condition worsened. Godley was given the all-clear in 2022 but later that year announced another scan had shown signs of the disease in her abdomen. In the social media post her daughter said: “Here’s the details of Janey’s final tour, thank you for all the love and kindness in this past week. For the past few years of Ma’s life, it was important to her that she shared her journey with everyone, to offer support for others on the same path and to highlight the symptoms of Ovarian Cancer – all of course in her very singular Janey style, with laughter and candour. So many of you who have travelled with us on this journey wish to bid her a final farewell, so here’s the details of my mum’s final tour, in the two cities she loved with all her heart.” The hearse will travel along the Royal Mile and Lawnmarket in Edinburgh with a “pause for reflection” at St Giles’ Cathedral before travelling along Cockburn Street, Market Street and on to Glasgow. After the funeral on Saturday there will be a private service at a crematorium. Ms Storrie said her mother asked that instead of traditional funeral attire, those who wish to do so should wear bright colours to celebrate her life. She also asked that no flowers be sent but said people were invited to contribute to the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice or any charity of their choice.

On This Day

  • 1871 – Henry Morton Stanley locates missing explorer and missionary, David Livingstone in Ujiji, near Lake Tanganyika, famously greeting him with the words, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume?”
  • 1944 – The ammunition ship USS Mount Hood explodes at Seeadler Harbour, Manus, Admiralty Islands, killing at least 432 and wounding 371.
  • 1983 – Bill Gates introduces Windows 1.0.
  • 1989 – Germans begin to tear down the Berlin Wall.

Deaths

  • 1982 – Leonid Brezhnev, Ukrainian-Russian, 4th Head of State of the U.S.S.R. (b. 1906).
  • 2006 – Jack Palance, American boxer and actor (b. 1919).
  • 2010 – Dino De Laurentiis, Italian-American actor, producer (b. 1919).
  • 2015 – Helmut Schmidt, German soldier, economist, and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1918).

The Lead Coffins of Notre-Dame

Following the devastating Notre-Dame cathedral fire of 2019, Paris authorities were intrigued when they uncovered two lead-lined coffins 65 feet below the church floor.

One skeleton was quickly identified as a local cleric born in the 17th century, but the experts were left perplexed by the second, simply describing him as an ‘unknown nobleman’.

Now, they announce that it was the body of Joachim du Bellay, a celebrated French Renaissance poet and critic, born in Liré, western France in 1522.

Dubbed ‘the Horseman‘ due to his penchant for riding horses, du Bellay died of chronic meningitis due to tuberculosis in 1560, at the age of just 37.

Following his death, his remains were thought to be buried at Notre-Dame but were never identified – until now.

The new findings were revealed by University of Toulouse III and France’s National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP). Dr Éric Crubézy, professor of anthropology at University of Toulouse III, said he died of ‘chronic tuberculous meningitis in the 16th century’. ‘This age is rarely represented among the burials of important people in the cathedral,’ the professor added.

Following the Notre-Dame cathedral fire of April 2019, two lead-lined coffins were found under paving stones in a spot where the ‘nave’ and the ‘transept’ meet. In a cross-shaped cathedral like Notre-Dame, the nave and the transept are the two straight parts that are at right angles to each other. The coffins were first uncovered in March 2022, but the opening of the tombs only occurred eight months later that November.

Although burials in cathedrals were practiced throughout the medieval and modern periods, a burial in a lead coffin was special – an act ‘reserved for an elite’ – and the men were deemed to be once wealthy.

One of the coffins was identified as containing Antoine de la Porte – a cleric of the cathedral who died in 1710 at the age of 87 – largely thanks to an identification plate with his name on the coffin. Born in 1627, Antoine de la Porte provided financial support to the redevelopment of the enclosure of the choir of Notre Dame in fulfilment of the Vow of Louis XIII.

Although no organic tissue was left on the bones, the remains were still well-preserved – including his hair and beard. Examination of the bones revealed he was between 25 and 40 years of at death and spent much of his early life riding horses, giving him the nickname ‘le Cavalier’ (the Horseman). There are several markings associated with horse-riding on his  upper limbs.

Forensic experts have been able to link such physical evidence from his remains to the life and death of Joachim du Bellay as detailed in the literature. Traces of bone tuberculosis and chronic meningitis were found on the skeleton, of which the poet showed symptoms in the last years of his life.

“He matches all the criteria of the portrait.’ Dr Crubézy said at a news conference last week, as quoted by La Croix and Live Science. ‘He is an accomplished horseman, suffers from both conditions mentioned in some of his poems, like in ‘The Complaint of the Despairing’. He describes “this storm that blurs his mind” and his family belonged to the royal court and the pope’s close entourage.’

However, Christophe Besnier, an INRAP archaeologist and excavation leader, suggested that some doubts remain. ‘Certain elements do not support this hypothesis,’ Besnier said. ‘Isotope analysis of the teeth indicates that the individual lived in the Paris region or Rhône-Alpes until he was 10 years old.  However, we know that Joachim du Bellay grew up in Anjou.’

It’s thought that without the cathedral fire five years ago the sarcophagi would be still lying undiscovered.

On April 15, 2019, millions worldwide watched in horror as firefighters battled through the night to save the cathedral as a fire tore through its roof and toppled the steeple. The 300-foot-tall Gothic spire collapsed into the embers early in the blaze to pained cries of locals transfixed by the unfolding scene.

One of one of Europe’s most-visited landmarks, the fierce blaze broke out just before 7pm local time in a roof area undergoing renovations.

‘Notre-Dame survived all the wars, all the bombardments. We never thought it could burn. I feel incredibly sad and empty,’ Stephane Seigneurie, a consultant who joined other shocked onlookers in a solemn rendition of ‘Ave Maria’ as they watched the fire from a nearby bridge.

Firefighters bravely worked to stop the flames and French authorities said the holy building was within ’15 to 30 minutes’ of complete destruction.

In September 2021, the French government announced the cathedral was finally stable and secure enough to start work to rebuild it. Following restoration work largely funded by €840 million from donors, Notre-Dame cathedral is due to reopen December 8 this year.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Taron Egerton (35), Walton Goggins (53), Hugh Bonneville (61), Neil Gaiman 64), Robert Duncan McNeill (60), Lou Ferrigno (73), Parker Posey (56), Matthew Rhys (50), Gretchen Mol (52), Alfre Woodard (72), Richard Curtis (68), Gordon Ramsay (58), Adam Devine (41),  Emma Stone (36), Ethan Hawke (54), Rebecca Romijn (52), Thandiwe Newton (52), Sally Field (78), Nigel Havers (73), Maria Shriver (69), Famke Janssen (60), Sam Rockwell (56), Tilda Swinton (64), Robert Patrick (66), Armin Shimerman (75), Matthew McConaughey (55), Ralph Macchio (63), Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs (55), Tanya Reynolds (33), Loretta Swit (87), and Olivia Taylor Dudley (39).

10th November 2024 | Categories: 2024 | Leave A Comment »

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