Dead Pool 19th February 2017
It’s been a funny old week; although we’ve had no klaxons, quite a few interesting deaths have come to pass, along with half a dozen racehorses that wont be mentioned. No points to awards this week, but plenty to be getting on with.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Sara Coward, 69, British actress (The Archers), breast cancer.
- Damian, 52, British pop singer, cancer.
- Al Jarreau, 76, American jazz and R&B singer (“Moonlighting“, “Since I Fell for You“, “We Are the World“), seven-time Grammy winner, respiratory failure.
- Kim Jong-nam, 45, North Korean political figure, member of Kim dynasty, poisoned.
- Bruce Lansbury, 87, British-American television producer (Murder, She Wrote, The Wild Wild West, Knight Rider) and screenwriter, complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
- Dick Bruna, 89, Dutch author and illustrator (Miffy).
- George Steele, 79, American professional wrestler (WWF) and actor (Ed Wood), renal failure.
- Warren Frost, 91, American actor (Twin Peaks, Matlock, Seinfeld).
- Daniel Vickerman, 37, South African-born Australian rugby union footballer (Brumbies, Waratahs, national team).
In Other News
Former boxer Michael Watson, the man who first started off The Dead Pool, was hurt in a suspected carjacking attempt last week in London, his friend has said. The 51-year-old, who suffered a near-fatal brain injury in a 1991 fight with Chris Eubank, was in a car with his carer when it was hit from behind. The carer tried to speak to the driver but was sprayed in the face with “some sort of ammonia”, former boxer Spencer Oliver told BBC Radio 5 live. Mr Watson was dragged along the road as a man drove off in his car, he said. Police said both men required hospital treatment, but their injuries were not life-threatening. Mr Oliver, who spoke to both Mr Watson and his carer, Lennard Ballack, after the incident, said the pair were at traffic lights in Chingford, east London, last Thursday when they got into difficulties. After a white Mercedes bumped into them, Mr Ballack got out, intending to tell the driver that no damage had been done, Mr Oliver said. But when he tapped on the car window, the driver leapt out and sprayed him with “some sort of ammonia”, he said. Mr Ballack fell to the ground and tussled with his attacker, while the passenger tried to hijack Mr Watson’s car, he added. Mr Watson got caught up in the seatbelt as he tried to get out. As the car was driven off, he was “hanging out of the door”, said Mr Oliver. The former boxer is now recovering at home from injuries to the skin caused by being dragged along the road. Mr Oliver said the incident had been traumatic and both men were still shaken up. Mr Watson’s 1991 WBO super-middleweight title fight with Mr Eubank left him partially disabled and ended his boxing career. He spent 40 days in a coma and had six brain operations and also made The Dead Pool Master a lot of dirty money!
The actor Harrison Ford has emerged unscathed following another mid-air mishap. Ford, 74, was told to land his single-engine plane on a runway at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, on Monday, but he mistakenly landed it on a parallel taxiway, passing over an American Airlines jet holding nearby, NBC reported. “Was that airliner meant to be underneath me?” Ford is heard asking air traffic controllers in a recording. American Airlines Flight 1456, with 110 passengers and six crew, departed safely for Dallas a few minutes later. Ford’s publicist, Ina Treciokas, declined to comment. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor couldn’t confirm that Ford was piloting the Aviat Husky that overflew the Boeing 737, but he said the pilot received and had read back the proper landing instructions. The FAA is investigating. In March 2015, Ford was seriously injured when his second world war-era trainer crashed on a Los Angeles golf course when it lost power shortly after takeoff. The actor was praised for his ingenuity in avoiding more populated areas. In 1999, Ford crash-landed his helicopter during a training flight in which he and an instructor were practising auto rotations in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles; neither of them was hurt. An in another incident, Ford was flying a Beechcraft Bonanza in 2000 when wind shear forced him to make an emergency landing at Lincoln Municipal Airport in Nebraska. Ford and his passenger were uninjured when the plane clipped the runway.
The Jump has claimed its latest victim. Five-time Olympic champion Sir Bradley Wiggins has quit TV winter sports show The Jump after breaking his leg. The former Tour de France winner said he was “gutted” after sustaining a “small leg fracture” while taking part in snowcross training. Channel 4 said Sir Bradley had been keen to continue but would not appear after the fourth show in the series. Last year, injuries to a number of celebrities prompted a review of safety procedures on the reality show. Sir Bradley, who announced his retirement from cycling in December, tweeted: “Gutted to be leaving The Jump. I wanted to give you an injury update. “Seen a specialist, I have a small leg fracture and need to rest for 3-6 weeks. Good news no surgery or cast required. “Huge thanks to the crew and good luck to all of the cast. Due to the way the show is filmed, I’ll still be on until show four, so tune in. Before his departure, model Vogue Williams left this season of the show after suffering a knee injury in training. Last year’s series of The Jump was dogged by injuries, which resulted in seven celebrities quitting the programme.
On This Day
- 1674 – England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, and it is renamed New York.
- 1847 – The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.
- 1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
- 1985 – William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave hospital.
- 1985 – EastEnders, BBC‘s flagship soap opera, broadcasts for the first time.
Deaths
- 1994 – Derek Jarman, English director and set designer (b. 1942)
- 2001 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (b. 1913)
- 2016 – Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Harper Lee, American author (b. 1926)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Ashton Kutcher (39), Jennifer Aniston (48), Burt Reynolds (81), Jennifer Jason Leigh (55), Cristiano Ronaldo (32), Elizabeth Banks (43), Damien Lewis (46), Chloe Grace Moretz (20), Laura Dern (50), Chris Rock (52), Garth Brooks (55), Sheryl Crow (55), James Spader (57), Mia Farrow (72), Charlotte Rampling (71), Joe Pesci (74), Greg Norman (62), Sarah Palin (53), Christopher Guest (69), Michael Sheen (48), Nick Nolte (76), Seth Green (43), Axel Rose (55), John Grisham (62), Rick Astley (51) and Glenn Beck (53).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 12th February 2017
Afternoon poolers, today we have a points bonanza with the untimely death of Joost van der Westhuizen, the following each get 105 points: Martin, Laura, Paul C, Dave, and Lee. However Shan had him as a Cert, so 205 points to her! Also, Sylvia correctly guessed that Tara Palmer-Tomkison would kick the bucket, so a further 105 points awarded! Well done all!!!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Adele Dunlap, 114, American supercentenarian.
- Alec McCowen, 91, English actor (A Night to Remember, Frenzy, Gangs of New York).
- Joost van der Westhuizen, 45, South African rugby union player (Bulls, Blue Bulls, national team), motor neurone disease.
- Richard Hatch, 71, American actor (Battlestar Galactica, The Streets of San Francisco, All My Children), pancreatic cancer.
- Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, 45, British socialite and television presenter.
- Alan Simpson, 87, British comedy scriptwriter (Hancock’s Half Hour, Comedy Playhouse, Steptoe and Son), lung disease.
In Other News
Chas Hodges, one half of music duo Chas & Dave, has cancer of the oesophagus. he 73-year-old will begin treatment “immediately” after the illness was caught “at an early stage”, the band said in a Facebook post. They added: “Chas recently underwent hospital tests which revealed cancer of the oesophagus. Luckily this has been spotted at an early stage and he’ll be undergoing treatment immediately.” The star “expects to be back out on the road with Dave” soon, but the duo have cancelled several dates scheduled across February. Performances at Potters Bar, Norwich and in Milton Keynes on February 17, 18 and 19 “will need to be rescheduled”. “Apologies to ticket-holders for the inconvenience. The venues themselves will advise regarding re-scheduling/refunds,” the statement added. The duo, famous for hits such as Gertcha and Rabbit, formed in the 1970s and are the creators of a musical style dubbed rockney – a mix of rock and cockney.
The Ukip leader, Paul Nuttall, has moved house because of fears for his personal safety, the party has said. Paul Oakden, Ukip’s chairman, said on Saturday that Nuttall’s house in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, where the Ukip leader is standing in the forthcoming byelection, had been targeted after the address was shared on social media. “Since the address of the house Paul Nuttall has been staying at during the Stoke-on-Trent Central campaign was published on social media there have been a series of concerning incidents at or around it,” Oakden said. “The most serious of these was two unknown men attempting to gain access to the house through a rear entrance. There has also been hate mail posted through the letterbox and other intrusive behaviour including trespassing in the private garden of the premises and attempts to take pictures through windows and the letterbox.”
Australian wicketkeeper Sam Harper was taken to hospital overnight after being struck on the head by a bat during a Sheffield Shield match. The Victoria player, 20, needed medical treatment after he was caught by the follow-through of a shot from South Australia batsman Jake Lehmann. Harper, who was wearing a helmet, later had a brain scan in hospital. “Scans have not identified any bleeding or bone damage,” a Cricket Victoria statement read. “However, he will remain in hospital overnight for observation.” In January, Melbourne Renegades wicketkeeper Peter Nevill was ruled out of the Big Bash tournament after he suffered a burst blood vessel when he was hit by a flying bat during his side’s win over Adelaide Strikers. Concussion in cricket, and the use of the bouncer, have been under increased scrutiny since November 2014 when Australia Test batsman Phillip Hughes died after being struck on the top of the neck by a ball while batting for South Australia during a Sheffield Shield game against New South Wales.
And finally, an Egyptian woman, believed to be the world’s heaviest woman at 500kg (78.5 stone), has arrived in Mumbai, India, for weight reduction surgery. The family of 36-year-old Eman Ahmed Abd El Aty said it was the first time she had left home for 25 years. She was flown on a chartered plane to Mumbai where bariatric surgeon Dr Muffazal Lakdawala plans to operate. The Indian embassy in Cairo initially denied her visa request as she was unable to travel there in person. If the claim about her weight is true, then that would make her the world’s heaviest woman alive as the current Guinness record holder is Pauline Potter of the United States who weighed 292kg in 2010. Ms Abd El Aty’s family says she weighed 5kg (11lb) at birth and was diagnosed with elephantiasis, a condition in which a limb or other body parts swell due to a parasitic infection, Dr Lakdawala told the BBC in a phone call from Mumbai. “They said when she was 11, she had gained immense weight because of which she could not stand up and would crawl. “And then she suffered a stroke which left her bedridden and she has not been able to leave home since then.” Dr Lakdawala believes that Ms Abd El Aty does not have elephantiasis, but suffers from obesity-related lymphoedema which causes gigantic swelling of legs. “She would need to remain in Mumbai for two to three months for the surgery and treatment after which she would be able to return home, but it would take two to three years to bring her body weight under 100kg,” the surgeon said.
On This Day
- 881 – Pope John VIII crowns Charles the Fat, the King of Italy: Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1554 – A year after claiming the throne of England for nine days, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason.
- 1924 – George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue received its premiere in a concert titled “An Experiment in Modern Music”, in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Paul Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano.
- 1993 – Two-year-old James Bulger is abducted from New Strand Shopping Centre by two ten-year-old boys, who later torture and murder him.
- 1994 – Four thieves break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal Edvard Munch‘s iconic painting The Scream.
Deaths
- 1554 – Lady Jane Grey, English daughter of Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (b. 1537)
- 1929 – Lillie Langtry, English singer and actress (b. 1853)
- 1979 – Jean Renoir, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
- 2014 – Sid Caesar, American actor and comedian (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Steve Strange, Welsh singer (b. 1959)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Ashton Kutcher (39), Jennifer Aniston (48), Burt Reynolds (81), Jennifer Jason Leigh (55), Cristiano Ronaldo (32), Elizabeth Banks (43), Damien Lewis (46), Chloe Grace Moretz (20), Laura Dern (50), Chris Rock (52), Garth Brooks (55), Sheryl Crow (55), James Spader (57), Mia Farrow (72), Charlotte Rampling (71), Joe Pesci (74), Greg Norman (62), Sarah Palin (53), Christopher Guest (69), Michael Sheen (48), Nick Nolte (76), Seth Green (43), Axl Rose (55), John Grisham (62), Rick Astley (51), Bobby Brown (48), Glenn Beck (53) and Vince Neil (56).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 5th February 2017
Welcome all, another week and a few more deaths! As cruel as this game can be, this is possibly the cruelest announcement I have had to make. Last week I awarded an extra 50 points to many of you for ‘the first death of the season’, unfortunately for you I have had to deduct said points as Laura’s dubious choice of a fairly unknown murderer on Death Row has now been listed on Wiki, which unfortunately for some of you, trumps last weeks deaths. However, it’s not all doom and gloom, Mark scores 83 points for listing John Wetton and Paul G gets awarded 60 points for Desmond Carrington. Don’t you just love the drama!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Frank Pellegrino, 72, American actor (Goodfellas, The Sopranos) and restaurateur (Rao’s), lung cancer.
- John Wetton, 67, British singer-songwriter (“Only Time Will Tell“, “Heat of the Moment“) and bass guitarist (Asia, King Crimson), colorectal cancer.
- Desmond Carrington, 90, British actor (Emergency – Ward 10) and broadcaster.
- Sir Ken Morrison, 85, British businessman, president of Morrisons.
In Other News
Former South Africa captain Joost van der Westhuizen is in a “critical condition” in hospital as he continues to fight motor neurone disease. The 45-year-old, who helped his country win the 1995 World Cup, was diagnosed with the illness in 2011. “The family and friends of Joost ask that you all pray for Joost,” read a statement on his J9 Foundation website. “When we have updates, we will let you know. For now, we ask that we all bow our heads in prayer.” Van der Westhuizen is regarded as one of the finest scrum-halves in rugby history and won 89 caps for the Springboks between 1993 and 2003, scoring 38 tries. He played in his first of three World Cups in 1995 when the Springboks beat New Zealand in the final, and won the Tri-Nations Championship in 1998.
Former US President George HW Bush has been discharged from a Texas hospital after a spell in intensive care as he was treated for pneumonia. “He is thankful for the many prayers and kind wishes he received during his stay,” said his spokesman Jim McGrath. The 92-year-old was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on 14th January, experiencing breathing difficulties. His wife, Barbara Bush, 91, was briefly admitted to the facility days later to be treated for fatigue and a cough. The nation’s 41st president was moved to intensive care where doctors inserted a breathing tube, which was removed after a couple of days. He was transferred out of the intensive care unit a week ago and has been recovering since then, taking antibiotics. Mr Bush, who served as US president from 1989-93, spent a week in hospital in the US state of Maine in 2015 after falling and breaking a neck bone. He also suffers from a form of Parkinson’s disease and uses a wheelchair.
A prominent Russian opposition activist has been hospitalised with organ failure, two years after he almost died of suspected poisoning. Journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who works for pro-democracy group Open Russia, fell ill at about 05:00 local time. Mr Kara-Murza’s wife told the BBC she was on her way to hospital where her husband is in a medically-induced coma. The activist nearly died when he suffered sudden kidney failure in 2015. “He is already on life support and in a medicated coma. It’s the same clinical picture [as last time],” Evgenia Kara-Murza told the press. The journalist’s wife said he had suffered the same sudden onset of symptoms as in his previous illness. “The ambulance took him directly to the hospital where the same medical team has since been trying to determine what is happening,” she said. “He was brought there conscious but was put in a medicated coma and on life support later, because his organs began shutting down like last time.” No cause was ever established for Mr Kara-Murza’s last illness, but tests confirmed that he had ingested a poisonous substance. Then aged 33, he was in a coma for almost a week and struggled to communicate when he regained consciousness.
And finally, The founder of video game company Bandai Namco, which released cult game Pac-Man, has died at the age of 91, the firm has announced. Masaya Nakamura established Nakamura Manufacturing, which went on to become the Nakamura Amusement Machine Manufacturing Company (Namco) in 1956. He started out installing two electric horses on the roof of a department store in Japan as amusement rides. He was known as the “father” of Pac-Man because it was a Namco release in 1980. The game was developed by Toru Iwatani and in 2016 was named the highest-grossing arcade game of all time by the website US Gamer. Mr Nakamura was an honorary advisor at Bandai Namco until his death on 22nd January. He was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, a Japanese government honour, in 2007 and was inducted into the International Video Game Hall of Fame in 2010.
On This Day
- 1757 – Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering, the traditional and gruesome form of capital punishment used for regicides.
- 1919 – The German Workers’ Party, which would become the Nazi Party, is founded.
- 1933 – Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
Deaths
- 1066 – Edward the Confessor, English king (b. 1004)
- 1922 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish sailor and explorer (b. 1874)
- 1933 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (b. 1872)
- 1941 – Amy Johnson, English pilot (b. 1903)
- 1956 – Mistinguett, French actress and singer (b. 1875)
- 1998 – Sonny Bono, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and politician (b. 1935)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Oprah Winfrey (63), Justin Timberlake (36), Minnie Driver (47), Gene Hackman (87), Christian Bale (43), Heather Graham (47), Harry Styles (23), Morgan Fairchild (67), Tom Select (72), Carol Channing (96), Alice Cooper (69), Isla Fisher (41), Shakira (40), Vanessa Redgrave (80), Lisa Marie Presley (49), Phil Collins (66), Michael C. Hall (46), Natalie Imbruglia (42), Dick Chaney (76), John Lydon (61) and Brett Spiner (68).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 29th January 2017
Welcome all; seven of you have caused me a little headache this week because you managed to pick celebrities that died on the same day. Search as I might, I couldn’t find a time of day for the deaths of John Hurt and Mary Tyler Moore, so I have awarded the first death of the season points to both celebrities. So, for John Hurt we award Abi, Neil, and Millie 123 points each, and for Mary Tyler Moore, we award Laura, Paul C, Mark and Dave 120 points. Well done all of you!!! We’ve finally kicked off the season!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Gorden Kaye, 75, English actor (‘Allo ‘Allo!, Brazil, Coronation Street), kidney failure.
- Kevin Geer, 63, American actor (Twelve Angry Men, The Pelican Brief, The Contender), heart attack.
- Sir John Hurt, 77, British actor (Midnight Express, Alien, The Elephant Man).
- Mary Tyler Moore, 80, American actress (The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Ordinary People) and philanthropist, complications from pneumonia.
- Mike Connors, 91, American actor (Mannix, The Ten Commandments, War and Remembrance), leukaemia.
- Barbara Hale, 94, American actress (Perry Mason, Airport), complications from COPD.
- David Rose, 92, British television producer, founder of FilmFour.
In Other News
A basketball player says he is “doing pretty well, all things considered” after his eye popped out in the middle of a game, New Zealand media report. Akil Mitchell, who plays for the New Zealand Breakers, was in Auckland for an Australian NBL game on Thursday night when the incident happened. The finger of an opposing player accidentally dislodged his eyeball. The American fell to the ground holding his hands to his left eye and was rushed to hospital. “With the palm of my hand I felt my eyeball on the side of my face,” he told New Zealand’s Radio Sport. “I could still see out of the eye.” “I remember thinking oh man… this is kinda bad, but I actually felt it kind of out of place and that’s when I kind of freaked out a little bit.” The 24-year-old said he remembered hearing the crowd and fellow players panicking and thought he would lose his sight and his career was over. “Once I got in the ambulance they gave me a little pain medicine and some saline drops in my eye and I felt it slide back into place, which is also a really strange feeling. “It felt so good to be able to blink again, which is insane.” After being released from hospital on Thursday, he posted on Twitter that he was “seeing fine” and used the eyeballs emoji. The player from North Carolina said he was expected to fully recover and could be playing again soon.
An actor has died after being shot while filming a music video in the Australian city of Brisbane. The man, in his 20s, suffered a chest wound inside the Brooklyn Standard bar in Eagle Lane in the city centre, Queensland police said. The video was for Sydney-based hip hop group Bliss n Eso. The band’s management released a statement to Australian news outlets confirming the death. “The video production crew and our team are currently working with the police in their investigation and we are unable to provide further comment at this time,” the statement said. Members of the film crew had tried to administer CPR on the victim, but the man eventually died from his injuries. Insp Armitt did not say whether the gun was loaded with live ammunition or if blanks were being used. It is also unknown how many shots were fired.
Woe betide us all, atomic scientists reset their symbolic “Doomsday Clock” to its closest time to midnight in 64 years on Thursday, saying the world was closer to catastrophe due to threats such as nuclear weapons, climate change and Donald Trump’s election as U.S. president. The timepiece, devised by the Chicago-based Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and displayed on its website, is widely viewed as an indicator of the world’s vulnerability to disaster. Its hands were moved to two minutes and 30 seconds to midnight, from three minutes. The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than it’s ever been in the lifetime of almost everyone in this room,” Lawrence Krauss, the bulletin’s chair, told a news conference in Washington. The clock was last set this close to midnight in 1953, marking the start of the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Thursday’s reset was the first since 2015. Krauss, a theoretical physicist, said Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin carried a large share of the blame for the heightened threat.
On This Day
- 1845 – “The Raven” is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.
- 1856 – Queen Victoria issues a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that establishes the Victoria Cross to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War.
- 1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
Deaths
- 1820 – George III of the United Kingdom (b. 1738)
- 1888 – Edward Lear, English poet and illustrator (b. 1812)
- 1977 – Freddie Prinze, American comedian and actor (b. 1954)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Ellen DeGeneres (59), Alan Alda (81), Ariel Winter (19), Elijah Wood (36), Ed Helms (43), Alecia Keys (36), Neil Diamond (76), Mischa Barton (31), Bridget Fonda (53), Eddie Van Halen (62), Linda Blair (58), Piper Laurie (85), Patton Oswalt (48), Alan Cumming (52), Jessica Ennis-Hill (31), Kristen Schaal (39), James Cromwell (77), Jazzy Jeff (52), Nastassja Kinski (56) and Rutger Hauer (73).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 22nd January 2017
Welcome all, another edition hits the press. Well, what a week! Old Trump is still alive after his inauguration, which is a huge surprise to all of us who thought he’d be assassinated as soon as he stood upon that podium. Fair play to those Secret Service guys, they’re still doing their job, even though they obviously hate the cunt.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Jimmy Snuka, 73, Fijian-born American professional wrestler (WWF, AWA, PNW).
- Eugene Cernan, 82, American astronaut (Apollo 10, Apollo 17), last person to walk on the Moon.
- William Margold, 73, American pornographic actor and director.
- Loalwa Braz, 63, Brazilian singer-songwriter (“Lambada“), burns.
- Miguel Ferrer, 61, American actor (RoboCop, Mulan, NCIS: Los Angeles), throat cancer.
In Other News
Former US President George HW Bush and his wife Barbara Bush remain in hospital in Houston, Texas, according to a spokesman. The 41st president, who was admitted with pneumonia on Saturday, is still in the intensive care unit, relying on a ventilator to breathe. The 92-year-old had a breathing tube inserted on Wednesday in a procedure to clear his airway. Wife, Barbara, who has had bronchitis, said she was feeling “1,000% better”. Mrs Bush, 91, was admitted on Wednesday suffering from fatigue and a cough. “President Bush had a good night’s rest,” spokesman Jim McGrath said on Thursday. “We are hopeful he will be discharged from the ICU in a few days.” He said the couple had received “an uplifting visit” from longtime friend former Secretary of State James Baker, who lives in Houston. In a letter addressed 10 January, Mr Bush – the oldest living US president – wrote to Mr Trump to excuse himself from attending his inauguration as 45th US president on Friday. Mr Bush wrote that “my doctor says if I sit outside in January, it will likely put me six feet under”. “Same for Barbara. So I guess we’re stuck in Texas,” he wrote, adding that they will be “with you and the country in spirit”.
Chelsea Manning, whose sentence was commuted by the outgoing president, thanked him “for giving me a chance”. The 29-year-old transgender soldier, born Bradley Manning, gave embarrassing documents to Wikileaks in 2010. At President Obama’s final press conference on Wednesday, he declared that “justice has been served”. She will be freed from the Fort Leavenworth military prison in May – 29 years ahead of her scheduled release in 2045. Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan called the decision “outrageous”. “Chelsea Manning’s treachery put American lives at risk and exposed some of our nation’s most sensitive secrets,” Mr Ryan said. We at Dead Pool Towers agree, we listed her as a possible suicide, but now she’s been given hope!
George Michael’s childhood friend Andros Georgiou has linked the singer’s death to drugs. “Hard drugs had been back in his life,” he told the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire programme, adding that crack cocaine was one of Michael’s “favourite drugs”. Mr Georgiou grew up with Michael and the two referred to each other as cousins. He added: “I just think he took too much of something, mixed with antidepressants.” The star died aged 53 on Christmas Day. A post-mortem examination was “inconclusive”, police have said. More tests are being carried out to determine what led to his death, which is not being treated as suspicious. Mr Georgiou said he believed Michael’s death was an accident. “I believe he had suicidal thoughts, because his mental health was all over the place. But I don’t believe this was suicide,” he told the programme. He described crack cocaine as one of Michael’s “favourite drugs”, adding: “I just think he took too much of something, mixed with antidepressants and other drugs he was on – with alcohol. “I think his heart just stopped beating.”
On This Day
- 1901 – Edward VII is proclaimed King after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.
- 1905 – Bloody Sunday in Saint Petersburg, beginning of the 1905 revolution.
- 1970 – The Boeing 747, the world’s first “jumbo jet”, enters commercial service for launch customer Pan American Airways with its maiden voyage from John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.
- 1984 – The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during a Super Bowl XVIII television commercial.
Deaths
- 1900 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, invented the microphone (b. 1831)
- 1901 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1819)
- 1973 – Lyndon B. Johnson, American lieutenant and politician, 36th President of the United States (b. 1908)
- 1994 – Telly Savalas, American actor (b. 1924)
- 2008 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor and director (b. 1979)
- 2010 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress (b. 1929)
- 2016 – Cecil Parkinson, English politician (b. 1931)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Betty White (95), Kevin Costner (62), Michelle Obama (53), James Earl Jones (86), Zooey Deschanel (37), Jim Carrey (55), Dolly Parton (71), Bill Maher (61), Kate Moss (43), Katey Segal (63), Rainn Wilson (51), Geena Davis (61), Placido Domingo (76), Buzz Aldrin (87), Jack Nicklaus (77), Billy Ocean (67), Mario Van Peebles (60) and Emma Bunton (41),
And Finally….
In 2000, a 19-year-old man in Houston, Texas seemed to get the concept of Russian Roulette confused by using a semi-automatic pistol instead of a revolver.
Instead of putting one bullet in a revolver and pulling the trigger, giving him a one-in-six chance of dying, he put the bullet in a semi-automatic pistol (where the bullets are instantly moved into the gun’s chamber), rising those odds to exactly 100 per cent.
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 15th January 2017
Afternoon minions, we start with a rather controversial happening. Our current Angel of Death, Laura, has on her list a nice chap called Christopher Wilkins, he was executed this week in Texas. Unfortunately for Laura, he has not cropped up on the Wiki listing, maybe because he’s not famous or his crimes heinous enough. So as a death, he’s been disallowed. 0 Points. More of a kick in the teeth for Wilkins than Laura I feel. Laura shouldn’t feel bad though, she still guessed the first death, again, just didn’t score, so she is the lass to beat still!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Pioneer Cabin Tree, c.1000, American giant sequoia tree, storm damage.
- Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 82, Iranian politician, President (1989–1997).
- Peter Sarstedt, 75, English singer-songwriter (“Where Do You Go To (My Lovely)?“), progressive supranuclear palsy.
- Buddy Greco, 90, American jazz and pop singer, actor (The Girl Who Knew Too Much) and pianist.
- Clare Hollingworth, 105, British journalist (The Daily Telegraph), broke news of German invasion of Poland.
- Tony Booth, 83, British poster artist (The Beatles), cancer.
- Brian Fletcher, 69, British jockey, winner of the Grand National (1968, 1973, 1974), cancer.
- Victor Lownes, 88, American businessman (Playboy).
- Tommy Allsup, 85, American rockabilly and swing guitarist.
- William Peter Blatty, 89, American novelist (The Exorcist, Legion) and screenwriter (A Shot in the Dark), multiple myeloma.
- Larry Steinbachek, 56, English keyboardist (Bronski Beat), cancer.
- Graham Taylor, 72, English football player and manager (Watford, Aston Villa, national team), heart attack.
- Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, 86, English photographer and filmmaker.
- Dick Gautier, 85, American actor (Get Smart, Transformers, Bye Bye Birdie).
- Mohammed bin Faisal Al Saud, 80, Saudi royal and businessman.
- Zhou Youguang, 111, Chinese linguist and supercentenarian.
In Other News
The Queen has made her first public appearance of 2017 after ill-health affected her during the festive season. She attended the morning church service at St Mary Magdalene in Sandringham, Norfolk, on Sunday. There were concerns about the monarch’s health after she missed services on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, which she normally attends with other members of the royal family. Buckingham Palace said she was “recuperating” from a heavy cold. The Queen, dressed in blue, arrived with Prince Philip at about 11:00 GMT in a maroon Bentley. Shortly after, she was joined by other members of the royal family, including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, as well as the Middleton family. They stayed at the church for an hour, before being driven back to their estate at 12:00 GMT. The last time the Queen was seen in public was at an investiture, during which actor Eddie Redmayne was awarded an OBE, maybe it was all his fault and he’s heading the the Tower of London as we speak.
The actor who played Damien Thorn in the 1970s horror film The Omen punched two cyclists in a road-rage attack and has been given a suspended prison sentence – on Friday the 13th. Harvey Spencer Stephens, 46, lashed out at two riders and damaged one of their cycling helmets after getting out of his car after a dispute. He pleaded guilty to two counts of ABH and one of causing criminal damage following the attack. Maidstone crown court heard that father-of-two Stephens was “red-faced and angry” when he confronted the cyclists, knocking one of them unconscious after driving up behind them. Prosecutor Kieran Brand said Stephens repeatedly used his horn when riders Mark Richardson and Alex Manley, who were out cycling separately, were side-by-side on the road as one overtook the other. Richardson responded by flicking his middle finger at Stephens, who then accelerated heavily before overtaking the pair and pulling over. Brand said Stephens punched Richardson, knocking him unconscious, which prompted Manley to intervene. Stephens responded by asking Manley: “You want some do you?” before punching him twice in the face, causing him to fall on his back with his bicycle still between his legs. Stephens held Manley down and punched him six or seven times, inflicting dental injuries and damaging his helmet. Let this be a warning to all cyclists, the Devil is after you!
A Serbian man is being hailed a miracle survivor after he spent two-and-a-half days stuck down a well in temperatures well below freezing. Jezdimir Milic left home on Friday morning to buy groceries ahead of Orthodox Christmas the next day, but failed to come home. He was found some 52 hours later, on Sunday afternoon, trapped down a well while temperatures reached -20C (-4F). Mr Milic was discovered by neighbour Goran Markovic, who says Mr Milic’s poor sight probably explains how he did not see the five-metre-deep (16-foot) well and fell into it. Mr Markovic said he discovered Mr Milic when he noticed a bag of groceries sitting by the well, in a wooded area close to their village of Smoljinac. “Attracted by the unusual sight, I walked over to the bag in which there was a bottle of red wine, a few bottles of beer and some corn flour,” Mr Markovic told news organisation RTS. “At that moment I remembered that there was talk in the village about a disappeared person named Jezdimir. Then I heard some cries and looked into the well and I saw, at the bottom, someone sitting with their hands and feet close to their chest.” He then notified a local vet, who summoned police. The fire service eventually got Mr Milic out. As well as hypothermia, he is being treated for bruises and abrasions consistent with a fall from height.
On This Day
- 1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London, England.
- 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.
- 1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.
- 1970 – Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
- 2001 – Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopaedia, goes online.
- 2009 – Captain Sully (Chesley Sullenberger) emergency landed a US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River saving all 155 passengers after the plane collided with birds few minutes after take-off.
Deaths
- 1987 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
- 1996 – Minnesota Fats, American billiards player (b. 1913)
- 2011 – Susannah York, English actress and activist (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (b. 1944)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Zayn Malik (24), Jason Bateman (48), Liam Hemsworth (27), Kate Middleton (35), Faye Dunaway (76), Howard Stern (63), Rod Stewart (72), Kirsty Alley (66), George Foreman (68), Amanda Peet (46), Mary J. Blige (46), Rush Limbaugh (66), Pat Benatar (64), Joely Richardson (52), Evan Handler (56), Mel C. (43), Pixie Lott (26), Carl Weathers (69) and Shirley Bassey (80).
And Finally…
This took the top Darwin Award in 1994. A Polish farmer, Krystof Azninski, who “staked a strong claim to being Europe’s most macho man by cutting off his own head.” Azninski and his friends, in an inebriated state, decided it was good idea to engage in a little competition of who was the most masculine. It is strange how these things escalate. First, they striped off naked. Second, they hit each other with frozen turnips. But things turned decidedly bizarre -and deadly when one of them cut off his own foot with a chainsaw. Azninski decided to top this by literally sawing off his own head! One of the men was quoted as saying: “It’s funny, because when he was young he put on his sister’s underwear. But he died like a man.”
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 8th January 2017
Welcome all, as of yet, not a lot has happened in our quest to score points off celebrity deaths. But fear not, as sure as the sun rises each day, someone will surely peg it soon enough.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Elisabeth Ekenæs, 112, Norwegian supercentenarian.
- Jill Saward, 51, British sexual assault awareness campaigner, subarachnoid haemorrhage.
- Om Puri, 66, Indian actor (Ardh Satya, City of Joy, East Is East), heart attack.
- Tilikum, 35, American-held orca, subject of film Blackfish.
- Francine York, 78, American actress (It’s Only Money, Batman, The Family Man), cancer.
- Mário Soares, 92, Portuguese politician, President (1986–1996) and Prime Minister (1976–1978, 1983–1985).
In Other News
It is one of the perks of being a member of the archaic hereditary UK monarchy that you have armed guards watching over you at all hours. But that apparently almost backfired for the Queen when she decided to take a late-night walk around the palace grounds and came close to being shot. From time to time her majesty is said to struggle to sleep. During a spell of insomnia, the 90-year-old will occasionally put on her coat and go for a short stroll, an ex-guardsman said. In what could have been a points bonanza, he said he was patrolling inside the perimeter of the Palace walls when he spotted a figure in the darkness. Thinking that he had caught a potentially dangerous intruder, sneaking into the Royal residence at 3am, he shouted: “Who’s that?” But to his surprise, it was actually the Queen. “Bloody hell, Your Majesty, I nearly shot you,” he is reported to have said, on impulse. Perhaps realising this wasn’t the tone to be used when addressing the Queen, he expected a telling off. But the Queen reportedly took responsibility for putting him in such an awkward position. “That’s quite all right,” she replied. “Next time I’ll ring through beforehand so you don’t have to shoot me.” It is believed the encounter happened at the Queen’s normal weekday residence, Buckingham Palace.
And as we’re on the subject of shooting, David Blaine thought he had died when his attempt to fire a rifle and catch the bullet in his mouth went wrong. The magician, 43, performed the stunt at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and it aired on his E4 show Beyond Magic last night. It involved him holding a metal cup between his teeth, which were protected by a gumshield, and pulling a cord to set off the rifle in front of him. The .22-caliber bullet fired into the cup as planned but his gumshield shattered on impact and the cup slammed into the back of his throat. As the action played out, Blaine narrated: ‘Time just started to move really slow. ‘When the bullet struck the cup, there was a high-pitched ringing in my ears and I felt an impact on the back of my throat. ‘I was sure the bullet went right through my head and that I was dead. ‘Suddenly I became aware of the pain and it brought me back. At that moment I realised that the mouth guard had shattered again, and I was alive.’ Blaine’s friends have now refused to help him perform the stunt, which he has performed three times since 2010, but he still wants to include it in his upcoming world tour so there’s hope for some of us to score some points!
Cult leader Charles Manson was back in a central California prison on Saturday after a reported hospital stay for an unspecified medical problem. Manson, 82, was at California state prison, Corcoran, said Jeffrey Callison, a spokesman for the state department of corrections and rehabilitation. “We never stated he was anywhere else,” Callison said in an email. “Medical privacy laws do not allow [the department] to discuss inmates’ medical issues, if any.” The department has declined to comment on reports from TMZ and the Los Angeles Times that earlier in the week Manson was taken to a hospital in Bakersfield, 60 miles south of the prison. While the prison has medical facilities, California prisoners generally are sent to outside hospitals if they need “surgical services, emergency care, or diagnostic services of an acute nature”, Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the federal receiver who controls prison medical care, said on Tuesday. Manson is serving a life sentence for orchestrating the 1969 murders of the actor Sharon Tate, who was pregnant, and six others in southern California.
On This Day
- 1697 – Last execution for blasphemy in Britain; of Thomas Aikenhead, student, at Edinburgh.
- 1790 – George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address in New York City.
- 1835 – The United States national debt is zero for the only time.
- 1996 – An Antonov An-32 cargo aircraft crashes into a crowded market in Kinshasa, Zaire, killing up to 237 on the ground; the aircraft’s crew of six survive the crash.
Deaths
- 1337 – Giotto, Italian painter and architect, designed Scrovegni Chapel and Giotto’s Campanile (b. 1266)
- 1642 – Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (b. 1564)
- 1990 – Terry-Thomas, English actor and comedian (b. 1911)
- 1991 – Steve Clark, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1960)
- 1996 – François Mitterrand, French sergeant and politician, 21st President of France (b. 1916)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Bradley Cooper (42), Diane Keaton (71), Robert Duvall (86), Mel Gibson (61), Cuba Gooding Jr. (49), Frank Langella (79), Marilyn Manson (48), Jeremy Renner (46), Nicholas Cage (53), Julia Ormond (52), Tia Carrere (50), Michael Stipe (57), Rowan Atkinson (62), Kenny Loggins (69), Danny Coleman (85), Verne Troyer (48), Vinnie Jones (52) and Lewis Hamilton (32).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 1st January 2017
Welcome all, let’s start off the last Newsletter of the year by handing out the final points. Millie gets 54 points for Richard Adams. Toby and Laura get 55 for Liz Smith whist I myself finally score with her as my Woman for 155. Unbelievably, Alex & Eliza had Carrie Fisher down as their Woman, 190 points! How did they know???
So, as you will see from the leader board, I can now officially declare that Laura has won the title of Angel of Death 2016! A whopping 654 points, which is an all time record for us here at TheDeadPool.rip
I’d like to also add a huge thank you for everyone who has taken part in 2016 and also for the generous donations we’ve received. We have more than covered the running costs so there will be a prize for 2017, either a cash pot or a deadly gift, all depends if something suitable crops up during the year. Let me wish you all good luck for 2017 and keep those Klaxxons coming, you’re usually quicker that TMZ!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Richard Adams, 96, British author (Watership Down, The Plague Dogs, Shardik), complications from a blood disorder.
- Rick Parfitt, 68, British singer, songwriter and guitarist (Status Quo), infection.
- Liz Smith, 95, English actress (The Royle Family, I Didn’t Know You Cared, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).
- George Michael, 53, British singer (Wham!) and songwriter (“Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go“, “Careless Whisper“, “Faith“), suspected heart failure.
- Vera Rubin, 88, American astronomer, innovator of dark matter theory, dementia.
- Sarah Clancy, 108, Irish centenarian, nation’s oldest person.
- William Salice, 83, Italian businessman and inventor (Kinder Surprise), stroke.
- Carrie Fisher, 60, American actress (Star Wars, When Harry Met Sally…), novelist and screenwriter (Postcards from the Edge), complications from a heart attack.
- Debbie Reynolds, 84, American actress, dancer (Singin’ in the Rain, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Irene) and singer (“Tammy“), stroke.
- Allan Williams, 86, English businessman and promoter (The Beatles).
In Other News
The Queen may miss the annual New Year’s Day church service at Sandringham after Buckingham Palace said the 90-year-old could still be too unwell to attend. A spokeswoman said: “The Queen is continuing to recover from her heavy cold and is still in the residence of Sandringham. We probably will not know what is happening until the morning.” The monarch has not been seen in public for 11 days since she and Prince Philip caught heavy colds, forcing them to cancel the traditional train journey to their north Norfolk estate for Christmas. Instead, the royal couple were flown directly from the palace by helicopter, with the Queen missing the Christmas Day service at St Mary Magdalene church for the first time in 28 years. Philip, 95, was well enough to go to the 25th December service with Prince Charles, Prince Harry and other family members before reportedly joining the traditional Boxing Day pheasant shoot. This comes after a tweet from a fake BBC News account claimed that The Queen had died; the palace was forced to issue a statement confirming she was still alive but a 24 hour media blackout before the New Years Honours List and her stepping down from being a patron to 25 high profile charities only exacerbated the rumours.
Talking about tweets, Sony Music has said sorry to pop star Britney Spears, after an official Twitter account suggested the pop star had died. The entertainment firm quickly removed the hoax tweets, saying its global account had been “compromised” but that the situation had “been rectified”. Sony added it “apologises to Britney Spears and her fans for any confusion”. The 35-year-old did not react directly to the tweet, but her manager confirmed the singer was “fine and well”. As well Sony’s Twitter account, the official account of Bob Dylan also appears to have been hacked. It tweeted: “Rest in peace @britneyspears” around the time of the fake Sony tweets. After the tweets were published, a group called OurMine appears to have gained access to the Sony Music account and pointed out the security breach. It is not clear whether it was also responsible for the original false messages.
Former football star Paul Gascoigne was taken to hospital after an alcohol-fuelled fight at a hotel, it has been reported. Mr Gascoigne, 49, was “racially abusing” customers at the Ace Hotel in Shoreditch, east London, and throwing money at them, according to a witness. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to a disturbance at the hotel shortly after 6pm on Tuesday before a 49-year-old man was taken to hospital with a head injury. Witness Alvin Carpio said the former England and Newcastle United striker, who has long-battled alcoholism, appeared “very drunk” during the altercation. He tweeted: “Gazza has just been kicked down the stairs by a guy whose friend got slapped by him. He really isn’t in a good place. “It’s a sad state: He’s been spitting, making racist remarks & groping women, all while throwing around £ notes. “He was racially abusing my mates, and hitting one of them on the shoulder and head before throwing a £20 note on him.” Mr Gascoigne’s spokesman, Terry Baker, said the troubled star had been taken to hospital with a head wound. Mr Baker added: “He hasn’t been arrested. He’s about to be released and sent home.” Mr Gascoigne was fined £1,000 at Dudley Magistrates’ Court in September after racially abusing a bodyguard who was employed to protect him. Twat….
Ex-world champion Ricky Hatton says he tried to kill himself on several occasions in a battle with depression. The Briton also talked about the need for boxers to get more help after retiring, when he appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today show. “I tried to kill myself several times,” said Hatton, 38, who retired in 2012. “I used to go to the pub, come back, take the knife out and sit there in the dark crying hysterically.” Hatton, who previously spoke to the BBC in 2011 about attempted suicide and depression, won the world light-welterweight and welterweight titles. He was stripped of his licence to box in 2010 after admitting using cocaine and retired the next year before fighting once more. He is now a promoter and trainer. He continued: “There were times when I hadn’t had a drink for days and I’d still come home and if something went through my mind I’d start pondering something. It was the same outcome whether I was having a drink or wasn’t having a drink. “But in the end I thought I’ll end up drinking myself to death because I was so miserable. “I was coming off the rails with my drinking and that led to drugs. It was like a runaway train.” Hatton feels “more should be done for boxers” with depression, with ex-world champions Tyson Fury and Frank Bruno among other Britons to have suffered with the illness.
A post-mortem examination into the cause of George Michael’s death was “inconclusive” police have said. The star died aged 53 on Christmas Day at his home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. More tests will now be carried out to determine what led to his death, Thames Valley Police said in a statement. The results of these tests are unlikely to be known for several weeks. Michael’s death is still being treated as unexplained but not suspicious. South Central Ambulance Service were called to Michael’s property at 13:42 GMT on 25th December and the singer was confirmed dead at the scene. Thames Valley Police also attended. Michael’s partner Fadi Fawaz said he had found the singer lying “peacefully in bed”. He told the media: “I went round there to wake him up and he was just gone. We don’t know what happened yet.” Michael’s manager, Michael Lippman, said the singer had died of heart failure. Michael, who was born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in north London, sold more than 100 million albums throughout a career spanning almost four decades. Charities and individuals lined up to pay tribute to George following his death and also reveal stories of generosity. A close friend predicted that he will have donated some or all of his future song royalties to charity. He said: “If he did something like this it means the good causes would receive a yearly boost from George even after his death. It is just the kind of thing he would do because he was so generous.” Sad loss…
The family of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher are reportedly planning a joint memorial service. The Singin’ In The Rain star, 84, died from a suspected stroke on Wednesday, while grieving for her daughter Fisher, who died just a day earlier. Fisher, 60, best known for her role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars series, died after suffering a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles. Reynolds’ son said: “It’s what we want to do, but we’re still working on the mechanics. “We like the idea, if it’s at all possible. I think it’s appropriate.” Mr Fisher announced his mother’s death on Wednesday, revealing that her last words were: ‘I want to be with Carrie”. He confirmed to US network ABC News that there is currently no date or location for the mother-daughter funeral, but plans are in process.
On This Day
- 45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1st as the new date of the new year.
- 1600 – Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1st instead of March 25th.
- 1651 – Charles II is crowned King of Scotland.
- 1772 – The first traveler’s cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, go on sale in London, England.
- 1788 – First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
- 1808 – The importation of slaves into the United States is banned.
- 1833 – The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
- 1873 – Japan begins using the Gregorian calendar.
- 1877 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.
- 1902 – The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California.
- 1934 – Alcatraz Island becomes a United States federal prison.
- 1948 – The British railway network is nationalized to form British Railways.
- 1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.
- 1985 – The first British mobile phone call is made by Michael Harrison to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone.
- 1999 – The Euro currency is introduced in 11 countries – members of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).
Deaths
- 1782 – Johann Christian Bach, German composer (b. 1735)
- 1953 – Hank Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1923)
- 1972 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer (b. 1888)
- 1994 – Cesar Romero, American actor (b. 1907)
- 2001 – Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Jared Leto (45), Maggie Smith (82), Denzel Washington (62), Ellie Goulding (30), LeBron James (32), Tiger Woods (41), Annie Lennox (62), Anthony Hopkins (79), Sissy Spacek (67), Ben Kingsley (73), Sienna Miller (35), Jon Voight (78), Ted Danson (69), Eliza Dushku (36), Jude Law (44), Marianne Faithfull (70), Val Kilmer (57), John Amos (77), Mary Tyler Moore (80), Shane MacGowan (59), Patti Smith (70), Gerard Depardieu (68), Tracy Ullman (57), Lars Ulrich (53), Helena Christensen (48), Stan Lee (94), Noomi Rapace (37), Michael Nesmith (74), Masi Oka (42), Danny McBride (40) and Jay Kay (47).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 2016 Review
2016 is over and we now have a winner! Congratulations to Laura, she scored a whopping 654 points and wins the coveted title of Angel of Death 2016! A small prize will be winging its way to you once it arrives from Satan, or the extremely talented Sarai as we know her!!
So, let’s have a look at 2016; it does seem that there have been a lot of celebrity deaths, but when you look back to 2015, there were just as many notable demises and just as many recognisable faces, although this last week in December was a tad brutal.
2017 might see as many again, as what seems to be the culprit is that it’s much easier to become a celebrity nowadays.
So lets have a look at some of the celebrities we lost during 2016…
The Dead Pool Review of the Year
Abe Vigoda, Cecil Parkinson, Terry Wogan, Glen Frey, Sheila Sim, David Bowie, David Margulies, Alan Rickman, Dan Haggerty, Omis Clay, Ed Stewart, Lemmy, Natalie Cole, Wayne Rogers.
Frank Kelly, Tony Burton, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Harper Lee, Umberto Eco, George Gaynes, Margaret Forster, Maurice White.
Rob Ford, Johan Cruyff, Garry Shandling, Sylvia Anderson, Nancy Reagan, Paul Daniels, George Martin, Keith Emerson, George Kennedy.
Victoria Wood, Prince, Howard Marks, David Gest, Gareth Thomas, Amber Rayne, Erik Bauersfeld, Patty Duke, Ronnie Corbett.
May
Burt Kwouk, Susannah Mushatt Jones, Jonathan Cainer, Barry Howard.
June
Anton Yeltsin, Jo Cox, Harambe, Carla Lane, Muhammad Ali, Dave Swarbrick.
July, August & September
J.T. McNamara, Jerry Doyle, Vivian Gray, John Pigeon, John McMartin, Gladys Hooper, Caroline Ahern, Michael Cimino.
Joao Havelange, Padraig Duggan, Gerald Grosvenor – The Duke of Westminster, Kenny Baker, Barry Jenner, David Huddleston.
Bill Nunn, Alexis Arquette, Prince Buster, Gene Wilder.
October
Pete Burns, Bobby Vee, Raine Spencer, Jean Alexander, Bhumibol Adulyadej, Jean Shepard, Shimon Peres, Ann Emery.
Florence Henderson, Fidel Castro, Ron Glass, David Hamilton, Leon Russell, Leonard Cohen, Jimmy Young, Robert Vaughn, Curly Putman, John Carson.
December
Zsa Zsa Gabor, Rick Parfitt, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Ian McCaskill, Michael Nicholson, Henry Heimlich, Peter Vaughan, Greg Lake, John Glenn, A.A. Gill, Andrew Sachs, Margaret Rhodes, George Michael, Liz Smith, Richard Adams.
Dead pool 25th December 2016
Welcome to the penultimate edition of The Dead Pool Newsletter 2016! We have points to award, Zsa Zsa has finally been released from her long wait. It would probably be easier for me to list who didn’t have her, but since 19 people had her listed let’s just say well done to all of you, either 51 or 151 points awarded for those who did, just check the leader board to see the change in scores but no real change in positions.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank myself for producing this weekly monstrosity, even on Christmas Day! and if you feel the same, please donate towards the running costs on the website, everything is very much appreciated. As you will see, some very generous people have already set the ball in motion but please don’t feel like you have to, I know we all struggle at this time of year.
All that is left for me to say is, keep working on those lists for 2017, you have until 31st December to hand them in and I hope you all survive the Christmas overindulgence so that you can take part next year. As you will see from this week’s league table, you might want to think a little longer on who you decide your Big Three will be. All of the top scorers have had at least two of their biggies drop, so make sure to take this advantage yourselves in 2017!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Zsa Zsa Gabor, 99, Hungarian-born American actress (Moulin Rouge, Touch of Evil, Lili) and socialite, heart attack.
- Lionel Blue, 86, British rabbi, journalist and broadcaster, complications from Parkinson’s disease.
- Deddie Davies, 78, Welsh actress (The Railway Children, Stella) and musician (The Zimmers).
- Frank Murray, 66, British band manager (Thin Lizzy, The Pogues), suspected heart attack.
- Philip Saville, 86, British television director and screenwriter.
- Piers Sellers, 61, British astronaut and meteorologist, pancreatic cancer.
- Rick Parfitt, 68, British musician and songwriter (Status Quo), complications from shoulder injury.
In Other News
Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, is in intensive care after suffering a heart attack during a flight, her brother says. Fisher, 60, went into cardiac arrest minutes before the end of the London to LA flight. Passengers attempted to revive her with CPR and she was taken to hospital when the plane landed after midday local time. “If everyone could just pray for her that would be good,” her brother Todd said. “The doctors are doing their thing and we don’t want to bug them. We are waiting by patiently.” Fisher had been on tour promoting her latest book, The Princess Diarist. The heart attack happened about 15 minutes before the plane landed in LA, a medic who was travelling on the plane administered CPR. Paramedics then spent a further 15 minutes administering more CPR to Fisher before getting a pulse, TMZ reported. The actress was on a ventilator in the UCLA medical centre. A law enforcement official told NBC that her condition was “not good”.
The Queen missed the traditional Christmas day church service at Sandringham for the first time in almost 30 years as she continues to fight a heavy cold, Buckingham Palace said. The 90-year-old monarch has attended the annual service ever since the Royal family began visiting Sandringham in 1988. Before then, the family stayed at Windsor for Christmas. This morning, Prince Charles, The Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Harry, the Earl of Wessex and Prince Andrew were seen making their way from Sandringham House to the service. Hundreds of no-lifers had gathered outside the church, with some assholes arriving before dawn. The Queen and Prince Philip, 95, were stuck down with colds earlier this week and had to delay the departure of their holiday by 24 hours. Buckingham Palace revealed on Wednesday the royal couple had both come down with “ heavy colds”, leading to the last minute postponement of their annual trip. While the Queen usually takes the train every year to her Norfolk estate, the pair made the 100-mile journey by helicopter, with Royal aides suggesting that it had turned out to be the most practical method of travelling at short notice.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova has been injured by a knife-wielding attacker, believed to be a burglar, at her home in the Czech Republic. Kvitova, 26, was stabbed in the left hand when she tried to defend herself but her injuries are not life-threatening. She tweeted: ‘In my attempt to defend myself, I was badly injured on my left hand. I am shaken, but fortunate to be alive.’ Kvitova was attacked this morning in the town of Prostejov in the east of the country, which is home to a national tennis academy. Prostejov police spokesman Frantisek Korinek said the attacker, who was aged about 35, escaped from the house and a manhunt is under way. Kvitova tweeted: ‘The injury is severe and I will need to see specialists, but if you know anything about me I am strong and I will fight this. Thank you all again for your love and support.’
On This Day
- 336 – First documentary sign of Christmas celebration in Rome.
- 800 – The Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
- 1066 – William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
- 1914 – A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas.
- 1946 – The first European self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within the Soviet Union‘s F-1 nuclear reactor.
- 1989 – Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, First-Deputy Prime-Minister Elena are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial.
Deaths
- 1946 – W. C. Fields, American actor, comedian, juggler, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
- 1977 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor and director (b. 1889)
- 1989 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian general and politician, 1st President of Romania (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Dean Martin, American singer and actor (b. 1917)
- 2006 – James Brown, American singer-songwriter (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Eartha Kitt, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Brad Pitt (53), Katie Holmes (38), Jake Gyllenhall (36), Alyssa Milano (44), Kiefer Sutherland (50), Jane Fonda (79), Samuel L. Jackson (68), Ralph Fiennes (54), Eddie Vedder (52), Ricky Martin (45), Vanessa Paradis (44), Steven Spielberg (70), Christina Aguilera (36), Keith Richards (73), Ray Liotta (62), Johan Hill (33), Stephanie Meyer (43), Steve Austin (52), Jennifer Beals (53), Phil Donahue (81), Chris Evert (62), Carla Bruni (49), and Kirsty Swanson (47).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 18th December 2016
Welcome all, another edition hits the stands. Congratulations to Millie, the only one to guess that Henry Heimlich would pass away this year. Luckily she listed him as a Cert, thus garnering a total of 154 points! Woo!
Now, we only have two weeks left to go, I hope you are all working hard on your lists. Also, remind your friends and get them in on the game as well. The rules are here, if you want to link them and also point them towards the donations page 😉
Onto email Klaxxons, I’d like to know what you think of them. Some people love them, others despise them. I have had a few people drop out of the email list because of them, but some of you, perhaps like me, do rather enjoy having the interaction within our group and a reminder of who’s died. Sometimes it seems the email arrives before the media get hold of the news!! Depending on your reaction, Klaxxons may be consigned to The Hole™
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Ian McCaskill, 78, British meteorologist and weatherman.
- Michael Nicholson, 79, British journalist and war correspondent.
- E. R. Braithwaite, 104, Guyanese novelist (To Sir, With Love) and diplomat.
- Jim Prior, Baron Prior, 89, British politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1981–1984) and Employment (1979–1981).
- Alan Thicke, 69, Canadian actor (Growing Pains, Not Quite Human), talk show host (The Alan Thicke Show), and songwriter, heart attack.
- Bernard Fox, 89, Welsh-American actor (Bewitched, Titanic, The Mummy), heart failure.
- Henry Heimlich, 96, American physician and inventor of the Heimlich maneuver, complications from a heart attack.
In Other News
Bruce Springsteen’s wife helps him pull “back into his life” when he is gripped by depression. The 67-year-old musician revealed earlier this year he was “crushed” by the disease in his early 60s, and says his spouse Patti Scialfa helps him see how “blessed” his life is when he is experiencing one of his dark periods. He said: “Patti’s very helpful, and sometimes just time. Or sometimes the correct medication, you need the right drugs. That can really help also. “These are all things that can pull you back into your life and certainly in my case how blessed my life has been. “I have developed some skills that help me deal with it but still, it is a powerful, powerful thing, it really comes up and there are things that still remain unexplainable to me.” Let’s hope that she goes on a long vacation…
Larry Lamb finds ageing “frightening at times”. The 69-year-old actor says everything changed for him when he turned 65 and admits it was then he realised that the “clock had started ticking”. He said: “You suddenly realise that you’re not immortal anymore. One minute you’re mortal and then you suddenly realise that you’re not. The clock starts ticking, you get your pension and you know you’re heading towards the end. “You never used to know where you were heading in life and then it all changes, You begin to feel like an old man and it’s frightening at times.”
Tony Bennett has decided he’ll never retire from making music because “it’s too late” to give up. The 90-year-old music legend has decided it would be pointless to end his career despite being only 10 years off 100 as there is still so much more he wants to achieve. Talking about reaching the ripe age of 90, he previously said: “I turn 90 tomorrow and feel like I’m just getting started and look forward to each day.” So do we Tony, so do we.
Lionel Blair has “always” lied about his age for many years, but has finally revealed he is three years older than he had previously let on. The British actor has admitted he has been pretending to be three years younger than he actually is for his entire life, but has finally decided to come clean about how old he is whilst celebrating his 88th birthday this week. However, the veteran performer has revealed despite telling a little white lie about his age, his hair is real and all his own. Lionel has revealed he would like nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of fellow actor Kirk Douglas, who hit a major milestone of 100 years old last week. And the star has hinted his hectic lifestyle and heavy work schedule is the secret to keeping him feeling young and, although he he hasn’t been offered many acting roles lately, he believes he will be inundated with work commitments in the New Year.
On This Day
- 1777 – The United States celebrates its first Thanksgiving, marking the recent victory by the American rebels over British General John Burgoyne at Saratoga in October.
- 1898 – Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat sets the first officially recognised land speed record of 39.245 mph (63.159 km/h) in a Jeantaud electric car.
- 1981 – First flight of the Russian heavy strategic bomber Tu-160, the world’s largest combat aircraft, largest supersonic aircraft and largest variable-sweep wing aircraft built.
Deaths
- 1932 – Eduard Bernstein, German theorist and politician (b. 1850)
- 1993 – Sam Wanamaker, American-English actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
- 1997 – Chris Farley, American comedian and actor (b. 1964)
- 2000 – Kirsty MacColl, British singer-songwriter (b. 1959)
- 2006 – Joseph Barbera, American animator, director, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (b. 1911)
- 2008 – Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (b. 1932)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Taylor Swift (27), Jamie Foxx (49), Eugene Levy (70), John Kerry (73), Christopher Plummer (87), Steve Buscemi (59), Dick Van Dyke (91), Vanessa Hudgens (28), Don Johnson (67), Jennifer Connelly (46), Bill Pullman (63), Milla Jovovich (41), Pope Francis (80), Ernie Hudson (71), Billy Gibbons (67), Dionne Warwick (76) and Laurie Holden (47).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 11th December 2016
Welcome all, a short and sweet edition hits the press! No points to be awarded this week but if things were slightly different, one of next years contestants would have close to 300 points already!!!! So this should show you how hard you should be trying to make sure your list hits the top spot next year!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Billy Chapin, 72, American child actor (The Night of the Hunter).
- Wayne Duncan, 72, Australian musician (Daddy Cool), stroke.
- Margaret Whitton, 67, American actress (Major League, The Secret of My Success, Steaming), cancer.
- Peter Vaughan, 93, British actor (Game of Thrones, Brazil, Porridge).
- Greg Lake, 69, English singer and musician (King Crimson, Emerson, Lake & Palmer), cancer.
- John Glenn, 95, American astronaut (Mercury-Atlas 6) and politician, U.S. Senator from Ohio (1974–1999).
- Joseph Mascolo, 87, American actor (Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful, Jaws 2), complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
- A. A. Gill, 62, British writer and restaurant critic (The Sunday Times), cancer.
In Other News
One of Jared Leto’s L.A. homes was the scene of a panic Friday evening that had firefighters searching the grounds. LAFD says it got a call to the residence in Laurel Canyon because someone smelled smoke. We’re told everyone inside the house had been evacuated by the time firefighters arrived and started going through the 50,000 sq. ft complex. Good news for Jared — who was home at the time, we’re told — firefighters found nothing burning. No fire. No damage. No messy insurance claims. No deaths. Win-win-win-boo.
Batman star Val Kilmer has been seen struggling to speak with a severely swollen tongue – after denying he has cancer. Last month, Val clarified rumours around his health, but now the actor shocked an audience in LA on Thursday night when he had trouble speaking. The 56 year old took to the stage to explain that his tongue and swollen and he was still recovering. He didn’t explain what caused the swelling and dabbed saliva from his mouth while he joked with the audience. The actor explained that he’s had to cancel his tour of his one-man play version of Twain. Earlier this month, Michael Douglas — who beat stage 4 oral cancer in 2013 — was speaking at a Q&A in London when he talked about Val battling oral cancer. “Things don’t look too good for him,” the 72 year old said.
On This Day
- 1282 – Battle of Orewin Bridge: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, in mid-Wales.
- 1972 – Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and last Apollo mission to land on the Moon.
Deaths
- 1964 – Sam Cooke, American singer-songwriter (b. 1931)
- 1996 – Willie Rushton, English cartoonist, author, and publisher, co-founded Private Eye (b. 1937)
- 2008 – Bettie Page, American model (b. 1923)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Jay Z (47), Marisa Tomei (54), Judd Apatow (49), Nicki Minaj (34), John Malkovich (63), Judi Dench (82), Tyra Banks (43), Jeff Bridges (67), Kim Basinger (63), Kirk Douglas (100), Ann Coulter (55), Teri Hatcher (52), Dominic Monaghan (40), Kenneth Branagh (56), Beau Bridges (75), Sinead O’Connor (50), Donny Osmond (59), Margaret Cho (48), Little Richard (84), Frankie Muniz (31) and Nicole Appleton (42).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 4th December 2016
Welcome all to the first Dead Pool Newsletter of December!!! As per usual, I do a bit of housekeeping and go through each of your lists with a fine tooth-comb and award points for all those dead people I missed throughout the year. I thought I’d been rather good at not missing anyone, however, I was very wrong! But before we get onto that, lets congratulate Julia for getting Margaret Rhodes for 59 points!
- Apologies to Julie and Martin, both guessed that TV Presenter Cliff Michelmore would die this year, 56 points each.
- Apologies also go to Alex & Eliza, the musician Scotty Moore died back in June, another 66 points awarded!
- Apologies to Laura, actress Lupita Tovar died in November at the age of 106, but she also listed her as her Woman, so 144 points!
- Apologies to Wombat, who correctly guessed cinematographer Douglas Slocombe who died at the age of 103 back in February.
- Apologies to Luke, chemist Adam Bielañski died in September at the age of 103.
Points awarded all round!! So, that changed a few positions on the league table with only four weeks to go!!! I hope I don’t need to remind you that you should be working on your list for 2017!!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Bernard Gallagher, 87, British actor (Casualty, Crown Court, Downton Abbey).
- John Mansfield, 108, British centenarian, oldest man in the United Kingdom.
- Keo Woolford, 49, American filmmaker and actor (Hawaii Five-0), complications from a stroke.
- Andrew Sachs, 86, German-born British actor (Fawlty Towers, Coronation Street, Hitler: The Last Ten Days), dementia.
- Margaret Rhodes, 91, British writer, cousin of Elizabeth II.
- Alice Drummond, 88, American actress (Awakenings, Ghostbusters, Where the Heart Is), complications from a fall.
- Peng Chang-kuei, 97, Taiwanese chef, inventor of General Tso’s Chicken, pneumonia.
- Jim Delligatti, 98, American entrepreneur, creator of the Big Mac.
- Don Calfa, 76, American actor (The Return of the Living Dead, Weekend at Bernie’s, Me, Myself and I).
- And an airplane full of Brazilians.
In Other News
Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the Moon, has been evacuated from the South Pole after falling ill. The 86-year-old former astronaut was visiting Antarctica in a tourist group and was evacuated to New Zealand. He has fluid in his lungs but is responding well to treatment, a statement on his website said. He is being kept overnight for observation. Mr Aldrin’s manager Christina Korp, who accompanied him, said he was in good spirits. She described the last 24 hours as “gruelling”, posting a picture on Twitter of Mr Aldrin giving the thumbs up while being lifted on a stretcher.
Ex-youth football coach Barry Bennell, who is at the centre of a sex abuse scandal, has been taken to hospital after being found unconscious. The convicted sex offender was found at an address in Knebworth Park, Stevenage on Friday, Thames Valley Police said. The force said it was called to a “fear for welfare” incident and the 62-year-old was still in hospital. Bennell was named last week by several former footballers who alleged they were abused as children. Five police forces are now investigating claims of historical abuse. Bennell, who also worked for Manchester City, Stoke and junior teams in north-west England and the Midlands, was given a four-year sentence for raping a British boy on a football tour of Florida in 1994 and a nine-year sentence in 1998 for 23 offences against six boys in England. He was jailed for a third time in 2015 after admitting abusing a boy at a 1980 football camp in Macclesfield. Bennell was said to have moved out of his home in Milton Keynes when the new allegations came to light.
Kanye West is reportedly back at home more than a week after he was admitted to hospital with exhaustion. According to multiple reports in the US, the rapper left UCLA Medical Centre in Los Angeles with wife Kim Kardashian and his doctor, Michael Farzam. The 39-year-old was admitted to hospital last Monday suffering from “temporary psychosis due to sleep deprivation and dehydration”. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) responded to a report of a disturbance last week but later said it was a “medical emergency”. The rapper was admitted to hospital a day after he cancelled his Saint Pablo tour after a series of rants on-stage.
And finally, Emma Morano, who just turned 117 years old, says she doesn’t want to celebrate her birthday, but people came from all over the world to see her anyway. When she was born, Umberto I was still reigning over Italy, Fiat had only just been established and Milan Football Club was still a few weeks off creation. Looking back on a life which has not only spanned three centuries but also survived an abusive marriage which started with blackmail, the loss of her only son and a diet which most would describe as anything but balanced. Ms Morano, the oldest of eight siblings, all of whom she has outlived, was born on 29th November 1899 in the Piedmont region of Italy. This year, she officially became the world’s oldest living woman after American Susannah Mushatt Jones died in May. She is also officially the last person still living born in the 1800s. Ms Morano’s longevity, she admits, is partly down to genetics – her mother reached 91 and several sisters reached their centenary – and partly, she says, down to a rather unusual diet of three eggs – two raw – each day for more than 90 years. It was a regime she took up as a young woman, after the doctor diagnosed her with anaemia shortly after World War One. These days, she has cut down to just two eggs a day, and a few biscuits. Let’s all wish her a very happy birthday!
On This Day
- 1791 – The first edition of The Observer, the world’s first Sunday newspaper, is published.
- 1872 – The crewless American ship Mary Celeste is found by the Canadian brig Dei Gratia. The ship had been abandoned for nine days but was only slightly damaged.
- 1954 – The first Burger King is opened in Miami.
Deaths
- 1642 – Cardinal Richelieu, French cardinal and politician, Chief Minister to the French Monarch (b. 1585)
- 1850 – William Sturgeon, English physicist, invented the electric motor (b. 1783)
- 1902 – Charles Dow, American journalist and publisher, co-founded the Dow Jones & Company (b. 1851)
- 1993 – Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1940)
- 2015 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (b. 1930)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Ben Stiller (51), Woody Allen (81), Ozzy Osbourne (68), Julianne Moore (56), Don Cheadle (52), Britney Spears (35), Jon Stewart (54), Bette Midler (71), Ed Harris (66), Randy Newman (73), Joel Cohen (62), Lucy Liu (48), Billy Idol (61), Mandy Patinkin (64), Amanda Seyfried (31), Ridley Scott (79), Nelly Furtado (38), Brendan Fraser (48), Bill Nye (61), Judd Nelson (57), Diane Ladd (84), Tom Sizemore (55) and Daryl Hannah (56).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 27th November 2016
Welcome to a busy week for the Dead Pool! A stalwart name on many a list has finally passed away, Fidel Castro died at the age of 90. This gives 60 points to Lee, Laura, Mark, Dave, Wendy, Sarai, Stu, Millie and Paula. Strangely enough, nobody had him down as a Cert. This has changed the league table somewhat, we have a new points leader and with just over a month to play, it’s very close at the top.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Peter Sumner, 74, Australian actor (Ned Kelly, Star Wars, Heartbreak High).
- Florence Henderson, 82, American actress (The Brady Bunch) and singer (Fanny), heart failure.
- Fidel Castro, 90, Cuban politician, Prime Minister (1959–1976), President (1976–2008).
- Ron Glass, 71, American actor (Barney Miller, Firefly, Lakeview Terrace).
- David Hamilton, 83, British photographer, suspected suicide.
In Other News
US rapper Kanye West has been taken to hospital following an emergency services call. A police spokesperson said they had received a “disturbance call” on Monday afternoon, but did not name the singer. The disturbance was later deemed a medical incident, he said, and the fire department responded. A spokesman for the LA Fire Department said an unnamed man had been taken to hospital for “further assessment”. Further details of the incident naming West varied in conflicting reports from multiple news sources. NBC News said officers had been responding to a “medical welfare call” and the decision to hospitalise West was for his own health and safety, citing “multiple authorities familiar with the case”. Gossip website TMZ said that West was taken to hospital for “psychiatric evaluation” and had been seeking treatment for “severe sleep deprivation”. Before news broke of West’s hospital treatment, Kardashian West’s mother, Kris Jenner, spoke to US media about the rapper’s reasons for cancelling his shows. “He’s exhausted, he’s just really tired. He’s had a gruelling tour and it’s been a grind so he just needs some rest,” she told US TV show Extra. The rapper had cancelled all remaining dates on his current tour after abandoning a Sacramento performance at the weekend. He had performed just three songs on Saturday night, before embarking on an unscripted rant, criticising Facebook, Jay Z and Hillary Clinton. He criticised Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg for failing to give him $53m (£42.5m) to get out of debt and said he was hurt that Jay Z failed to visit his family after last month’s robbery. West then appeared to suggest that Jay Z employed hit men, saying: “Jay Z, I know you got killers, please don’t send them at my head.” “Get ready to have a field day, press, because the show’s over,” he said, as he dropped his microphone and walked out. His promoter, Live Nation, has announced refunds for all tickets from the show.
The former British middleweight champion Nick Blackwell was in a “stable condition” in hospital last night after he was taken ill having reportedly been involved in a sparring session. Blackwell had retired from competitive boxing after recovering from being put into an induced coma following March’s fight against Chris Eubank Jnr, where he collapsed shortly after being stopped. The 26-year-old from Trowbridge was found to have suffered a bleed on the skull following that fight, but woke without requiring an operation and made encouraging progress. Although Blackwell had his boxer’s licence removed by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) after his ordeal, he retained a trainer’s licence. The BBBofC general secretary, Robert Smith, confirmed on Saturday evening that Blackwell was in hospital. “We are investigating this matter and it will be fully looked into, but it is very early days. We understand that Blackwell was sparring some time this week and he has undergone a procedure. We don’t know exactly what the procedure was yet. We have spoken to a number of people about this and we will be putting the full facts together.”
On This Day
- 176 – Emperor Marcus Aurelius grants his son Commodus the rank of “Imperator” and makes him Supreme Commander of the Roman legions.
- 1835 – James Pratt and John Smith are hanged in London; they are the last two to be executed for sodomy in England.
- 1895 – At the Swedish–Norwegian Club in Paris, Alfred Nobel signs his last will and testament, setting aside his estate to establish the Nobel Prize after he dies.
Deaths
- 1852 – Ada Lovelace, English mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1815)
- 1895 – Alexandre Dumas, French novelist and playwright (b. 1824)
- 1934 – Baby Face Nelson, American criminal (b. 1908)
- 1978 – Harvey Milk, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Irvin Kershner, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Ken Russell, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
- 2011 – Gary Speed, Welsh footballer and manager (b. 1969)
- 2014 – P. D. James, English author (b. 1920)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Miley Cyrus (24), Mark Ruffalo (49), Goldie Hawn (71), Joe Binden (74), Scarlett Johansson (32), Jamie Lee Curtis (58), Christian Applegate (45), Tina Turner (77), Sarah Hyland (26), Bo Derek (60), John Larroquette (68), Rita Ora (26), Bjork (51), Boris Becker (49), Carly Rae Jepsen (31), Terry Gilliam (76), Billy Jean King (73), Natasha Bedingfield (35), Peter Facinelli (43) and Ming-Na Wen (53).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 20th November 2016
Afternoon all, welcome to spot the dead celebrity week. Maybe I’m being a little cruel and uneducated, but fuck me, who are these people? Six more weeks to go and all to pay for.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Leon Russell, 74, American Hall of Fame musician (The Wrecking Crew) and songwriter (“Tight Rope“).
- Lisa Lynn Masters, 53, American actress (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Girl in the Book, Gossip Girl), apparent suicide by hanging.
- Sharon Jones, 60, American singer (Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings), pancreatic cancer.
- Yevgeni Lazarev, 79, Russian-American actor (Iron Man 2, The Sum of All Fears, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare), cardiac arrest.
In Other News
Restaurant critic AA Gill has revealed he has been diagnosed with the “full English” of cancers. The illness prompted his engagement to his partner of 23 years, Nicola Formby, with whom he has two children. Doctors found he had cancer, which has spread from his lungs to other parts of his body, after he went for an X-ray when people noticed he had lost weight. Gill, 62, who is having chemotherapy, said he does not “feel cheated” and has been “very lucky” in his life. The columnist, who is restaurant and TV critic for the Sunday Times, told the paper: “I’ve got an embarrassment of cancer, the full English. “There is barely a morsel of offal not included. I have a trucker’s gut-buster, gimpy, malevolent, meaty malignancy.” Doctors found he had a smoking-related cancer which had spread from his lungs – despite him giving up smoking 15 years ago. The illness has meant he is unable to ride a bike because one tumour affects his balance and he has been banned from flying because he cannot risk infections. Gill told readers of his column he was revealing his diagnosis because chemotherapy can alter the way things taste, adding: “If ever things start tasting like licked battery terminals, I’ll tell you.” Gill said he had visited a private doctor and paid for his own X-rays, but wanted to go back into the NHS because of the “connection it brings”. He told the newspaper: “My father would say he didn’t want to die in the trench, and I don’t want to die in a trench in Harley Street.”
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson has told how she feared she was going to die when doctors revealed she had a brain tumour. The 44-year-old former “It girl” has received treatment for the non-malignant growth in her pituitary gland since January and said it had now cleared. She told the media: “I went to the doctors to talk about my latest blood test results when I got back from skiing in January. I said: ‘What does this mean? Can you translate it?’ And the doctor said: ‘As I suspected, you have a brain tumour’.” “I got terribly frightened. I started thinking, ‘I’m going to die, I’m going to die. I’ve only got a couple of weeks to live.’ Stuff like that.” Palmer-Tomkinson, who has battled drug problems in the past, also said the blood tests found she was suffering with an auto-immune disease which had caused tiredness, joint pain and acute anaemia. So nothing to do with cocaine then..
An 89-year-old Canadian has made headlines for digging his own grave. “I love digging,” Jimmy Kickham, from Prince Edward Island, told CBC News, saying he feels pride in his personal project. Mr Kickham, who owns a construction business, has been digging graves and trenches for more than 60 years. “One day I just thought I’d do my own if I lived to be 90,” Mr Kichkam explained. He is in good health but turns 90 on Thursday. “I love digging. Just one of those things that gets into your system. It’s just work. Money. No matter what they wanted dug, I could do it,” he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Mr Kichkam still works on most days, using the same earth mover that he bought 45 years ago. Eric Gallant, a maintenance worker for the St Alexis church in Rollo Bay, said he had never come across anything like it. “It’s something else. That’s one of a kind, I figure,” he said. “The only thing that’s missing is his casket.” “And me!” Mr Kickham quipped.
On This Day
- 1947 – The Princess Elizabeth marries Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, who becomes the Duke of Edinburgh, at Westminster Abbey in London.
- 1985 – Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released.
- 1990 – Andrei Chikatilo, one of the Soviet Union‘s most prolific serial killers, is arrested; he eventually confesses to 56 killings.
- 1992 – In England, a fire breaks out in Windsor Castle, badly damaging the castle and causing over £50 million worth of damage.
- 1998 – The first module of the International Space Station, Zarya, is launched.
Deaths
- 1910 – Leo Tolstoy, Russian author and playwright (b. 1828)
- 2006 – Robert Altman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Peter Dimmock, English sportscaster and producer (b. 1920)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Rachel McAdams (38), Owen Wilson (48), Jodie Foster (54), Prince Charles (68), Meg Ryan (55), Jimmy Kimmel (49), Danny DeVito (72), Whoopi Goldberg (61), Larry King (83), Maggie Gyllenhaal (39), Linda Evans (74), Martin Scorsese (74), Gerard Butler (47), Anni-Frid Lyngstad (71), Beverly D’Angelo (65), Calvin Klein (74), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (58), Lauren Hutton (73), Martha Plimpton (46), RuPaul (56), Delroy Lindo (64), Sophie Marceau (50), Missi Pyle (44), Chad Kroeger (42) and Condoleezza Rice (62).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 13th November 2016
Good afternoon all, welcome to yet more deadly hilarity! Again, no points to award, we’re not doing so well considering celebrities are dying like flies this year!!!
So, let’s talk about next year! You now have seven weeks remaining to research and submit your new list. Sounds like a lot of time, but remember how long it took you to get around to watching that box set? Yeah…
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Leonard Cohen, 82, Canadian singer-songwriter (“Suzanne“, “Hallelujah“, “First We Take Manhattan“), poet and novelist (Let Us Compare Mythologies, Beautiful Losers).
- Julie Gregg, 79, American actress (The Godfather, The Happy Time, Batman), cancer.
- Sir Jimmy Young, 95, British radio personality (Radio 2) and singer (“Unchained Melody“, “The Man from Laramie“).
- Robert Vaughn, 83, American actor (The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Magnificent Seven, Hustle), acute leukemia.
In Other News
Jill Gascoine is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s, her heartbroken husband has revealed. Actor Alfred Molina said his wife’s prognosis was “bleak” and that she was in latter stages of the disease. Gascoine, 79, is best known for her role ITV’s The Gentle Touch which ran from 1980 to 1984 and, at its height, was regularly watched by 18 million viewers. The actress also played a recurring role in the hugely popular 1970s drama The Onedin Line. Molina, who is 16 years younger than his wife, told The Radio Times: “Not everyone can approach Alzheimer’s with the bravery that Terry Pratchett showed.” Molina added: “Every Alzheimer’s case is unique unto itself – the only thing that unites them all is the outcome is always the same. Ultimately, you end up on the same path.”
Joyce Frost, who appeared as the “Old Woman” on BBC Radio 2’s Steve Wright in the Afternoon, has died. Frost, from Dagenham, east London, died “peacefully and pain free” last week, Wright announced on his Wednesday show. The Old Woman, a regular on the show, discussed the news and once presented the “factoids” slot – listing quirky facts – with Hollywood star Will Smith. Wright praised her as “a complete natural on the air” and said she had been a “lovely, lovely person”. On Wednesday’s show, Wright told listeners she had been “very opinionated and witty” and always cheeky, funny and charming. He added: “It’s a sad loss, thank you for being the Old Woman with us Joyce and we’ll miss you very much.”
Sir Bruce Forsyth’s wife has thanked the public for the support the couple have received during the entertainer’s recuperation from surgery. “We’ve had so many wonderful letters and phone calls and good wishes for him,” said Lady Wilnelia Forsyth. Earlier this month, Lady Forsyth said the 88-year-old was still having “a bit of a problem moving”. “He’s in incredible shape mentally but he gets very tired,” she said. Speaking on ITV on Thursday, Lady Forsyth said it had been “very hard” for her husband to be convalescing, having been “active until just recently”. Sir Bruce has not been seen in public of late, having been too frail to attend the funerals of close friends Ronnie Corbett and Sir Terry Wogan. “With a little bit of luck he should be back,” said the 1975 Miss World winner. “I don’t expect him to go tap dancing, he’s not doing that at home, but he loves show business.” Sir Bruce underwent keyhole surgery last year after doctors discovered he had two aneurysms following a fall at his Surrey home.
On This Day
- 1002 – English king Æthelred II orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St. Brice’s Day massacre.
- 1841 – James Braid first sees a demonstration of animal magnetism, which leads to his study of the subject he eventually calls hypnotism.
- 1947 – The Soviet Union completes development of the AK-47, one of the first proper assault rifles.
- 1974 – Ronald DeFeo, Jr. murders his entire family in Amityville, Long Island in the house that would become known as The Amityville Horror.
Deaths
- 1770 – George Grenville, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1712)
- 1903 – Camille Pissarro, Virgin Islander-French painter (b. 1830)
- 1973 – Lila Lee, American actress (b. 1901)
- 1974 – Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist (b. 1946)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Sally Field (70), Ethan Hawke (46), Thandie Newton (44), Rebecca Romijn (44), Emma Stone (28), Maria Shriver (61), Joni Mitchell (73), Tinie Tempah (28), Gretchen Mol (44), Matthew Rhys (42), Tara Reid (41), Jack Osbourne (31), Gordon Ramsay (50), Lou Ferrigno (65), Tracy Morgan (48), Stanley Tucci (56), Demi Moore (54), Calista Flockhart (52), Leonardo DiCaprio (42), Wallace Shawn (73), Neil Young (71), Ryan Gosling (36) and Ann Hathaway (34).
The Last Word
“There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is God’s messenger.”
- Saddam Hussein December 30, 2006 – Executed by hanging
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 6th November 2016
Good afternoon everyone, another edition hits the press, alas no points and some very obscure deaths. With eight weeks to go, we’re beginning to wonder if we peaked too early on in the year.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Curly Putman, 85, American songwriter (“Green, Green Grass of Home“, “D-I-V-O-R-C-E“, “He Stopped Loving Her Today“).
- Max Alexander, 63, American comedian and actor (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Trainwreck, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2), head and neck cancer.
- Kay Starr, 94, American singer (“Wheel of Fortune“, “The Rock and Roll Waltz“), complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
- John Carson, 89, English actor (Doomsday, Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter, Doctor Who)
In Other News
US actor Val Kilmer has denied he has cancer, following Michael Douglas’s claim that his former co-star is ill. “I love Michael Douglas but he is misinformed,” the Top Gun and Batman Forever star wrote in a Facebook post. Douglas claimed that Kilmer was “dealing with” throat cancer – the same ailment that Douglas was diagnosed with in 2010. Kilmer, however, said he was “rehabbing steadily” from “a swollen tongue” and had “no cancer whatsoever”. “The last time I spoke to [Douglas] was almost two years ago, when I asked him for a referral for a specialist to get a diagnosis for a lump in my throat,” wrote the 56-year-old. “I ended up using a team at UCLA and have no cancer whatsoever,” he continued. Following Douglas’s comments, it was reported that he had been reluctant to seek medical treatment due to his Christian Science faith. He added: “Some fans have mistakenly thought my silence about my personal issues meant that somehow I wasn’t being responsible to my health, because of my reliance on prayer and Love. “Nothing could be further from the truth… Being healthy and having the respect of my peers and love from my family, friends, peers and fans is a DAILY source of inspiration, for which I am so grateful.” Kilmer’s post follows a number of Facebook messages last year in which he assured fans he had “no tumour or infection of any kind”.
US whistleblower Chelsea Manning attempted suicide for a second time last month, her lawyers say. Her legal team declined to give details but said prison conditions contributed to her fragile mental state. Manning was sentenced to 14 days in solitary confinement in September for charges relating to her attempt to kill herself in July. The transgender army private, born Bradley Manning, is serving a 35-year sentence for espionage. In July, the former intelligence analyst attempted to take her own life after what lawyers said was the Army’s refusal to provide appropriate health care. She later went on hunger strike which ended after the military agreed to provide her with gender dysphoria treatment. Her lawyer Chase Strangio described her treatment in a letter, quoted by the AP news agency, as “demoralising”, adding that it was an “assault on her health and humanity”. “She has repeatedly been punished for trying to survive and now is being repeatedly punished for trying to die,” wrote Mr Strangio.
David Van Day, a former member of pop duo Dollar, is “doing fine” after suffering a heart attack, his spokesman has said. The singer was taken to a hospital in Essex over the weekend after suffering chronic chest pain for several days. The 59-year-old was later moved to St Bartholomew’s Hospital in central London for treatment. A representative told the BBC that Van Day has “had a stent fitted to a main artery”. Van Day’s spokesman said the singer “should be leaving for home soon” following the operation but will need to rest for the next month. He tweeted: “Thanks for all the kind and positive messages I’ve had today. I’m hoping to make a speedy recovery.” Van Day, together with Canadian-born Thereza Bazar, made up Dollar – a pop duo who had a string of chart hits in the late 1970s and 1980s, including Mirror Mirror and Give Me Back My Heart.
Singer Michael Buble and his wife Luisana Lopilato have said they are “devastated” after their three-year-old son Noah was diagnosed with cancer. The Canadian star broke the news on his Facebook page. He did not give any details about the type of cancer although we strongly believe its cancer of the ear. He said he and Lopilato, a model and actress, were giving up work commitments to concentrate on “helping Noah get well”. His statement said: “We are devastated about the recent cancer diagnosis of our oldest son Noah who is currently undergoing treatment in the US. “We have always been very vocal about the importance of family and the love we have for our children. Luisana and I have put our careers on hold in order to devote all our time and attention to helping Noah get well. “At this difficult time, we ask only for your prayers and respect for our privacy.” Let’s hope the little nipper gets better, the burden of bing Buble’s son is enough for one child to bear.
And finally, a quick mention to Herbert Howe, who died last month after a brave battle with cancer. Alas he wasn’t famous enough for our needs, i.e. no Wiki page or a listing on the deaths page, but I’m sure you’ll recognise those teeth!
On This Day
- 1944 – Plutonium is first produced at the Hanford Atomic Facility and subsequently used in the Fat Man atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
- 2012 – Tammy Baldwin becomes the first openly gay politician to be elected to the United States Senate.
Deaths
- 1893 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and critic (b. 1840)
- 2004 – Fred Dibnah, English engineer and television host (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Clive Dunn, English actor (b. 1920)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Henry Winkler (71), Peter Jackson (55), Vanilla Ice (49), Anthony Kiedis (54), Toni Collette (44), Jenny McCarthy (44), K.D. Lang (55), David Schwimmer (50), Rosanne Barr (64), Dolph Lundgren (59), Anna Wintour (67), Loretta Swit (79), Ralph Macchio (55), Matthew McConaughey (47), Laura Bush (70), Louise Redknapp (42), Robert Patrick (58), Bryan Adams (57), Tilda Swinton (56), Tatum O’Neal (53), Sam Rockwell (48) and Famke Janssen (52).
The Last Word
Adolf Hitler – April 29th 1945 – Hitler committed suicide, with is wife Eva Braun, in an underground bunker in Berlin. The last lines of Hitler’s suicide note reads as follows:
“I myself and my wife – in order to escape the disgrace of deposition or capitulation – choose death. It is our wish to be burnt immediately on the spot where I have carried out the greatest part of my daily work in the course of a twelve years’ service to my people.”
Next week peeps.
Dead Pool 30th October 2016
Another week passes and so do a few celebrities. Alas no points to award and with little over two months left to go things are still tight at the top of the leader board. Maybe some of you realise now how hard it is to have a successful list. A lot of research and time can be spent finalising a winning list, so as I said, with little over two months to go, get yourself researching for 2017!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Sheri S. Tepper, 87, American science fiction author.
- Pete Burns, 57, English singer-songwriter (Dead or Alive), cardiac arrest.
- Jimmy Perry, 93, English actor and screenwriter (Dad’s Army, It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Hi-de-Hi!).
- Bobby Vee, 73, American pop singer (“Rubber Ball“, “Take Good Care of My Baby“, “The Night Has a Thousand Eyes“) and actor, Alzheimer’s disease.
- Takahito, Prince Mikasa, 100, Japanese royal, cardiac arrest.
In Other News
Rick Parfitt has quit Status Quo after 50 years following his recent heart attack. The 68-year-old ‘died’ for several minutes after suffering a huge heart attack in Turkey in June, and it’s now been confirmed that he has stopped touring on health grounds. The Rocking All Over The World guitarist will be replaced by Ritchie Malone for the band’s current arena tour. In an statement, the band said: ‘Status Quo today confirm that Rick Parfitt will indeed, as previously reported, step back from his regular touring commitments with the band. This is for reasons of health, following his recent heart attack. ‘Status Quo would, however, like to make it completely clear that – contrary to some inaccurate reports this week – Rick’s connection with and within the band of course remains intact and that he will continue to be involved with future non-touring commercial activities of the band.’ In an interview with Classic Rock, he said: ‘I do wish Richie Malone all the best. He’s a fucking good little player and it must be all of his dreams come true.’
Bad news if you’re a Catholic, the ashes of the cremated cannot be kept at home, scattered or divided among family members, the Vatican has announced in new guidelines. The two-page instruction by the Vatican’s department on doctrine said ashes of the dead must be kept in “sacred places” such as cemeteries. It also stressed that the Roman Catholic Church still preferred burials over cremations. The Vatican allowed cremation in 1963 but has always frowned on the practice, they much rather you rot instead. The Vatican said it was issuing the new guidelines to counter “new ideas contrary to the Church’s faith”. The guidelines reiterated that Catholics who chose to be cremated “for reasons contrary to the Christian faith” must be denied a Christian funeral. Nice bunch of people these Catholics.
And finally, in what can be classed as a Darwinian moment, a US college student has crashed into a police car while taking a topless selfie behind the wheel, say officials. Miranda Rader, 19, rear-ended the patrol vehicle while sending nude photos to her boyfriend through the social media app Snapchat. The accident on Wednesday in Bryan, about 100 miles (160km) north of Houston, caused the airbag to deploy. The Texas A&M University student also had an open bottle of wine in a cup holder by her, according to police. The officer whose car had been hit approached Ms Rader to find she had an “unclasped brassiere” and was trying to put on her blouse. The arresting officer wrote in an affidavit: “I asked her why she was not dressed while driving and she stated she was taking a Snapchat photo to send to her boyfriend while she was at a red light.” She was arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and released from jail on Thursday morning on a $2,000 (£1,600) bail bond. No one was injured in the incident.
On This Day
- 1925 – John Logie Baird creates Britain’s first television transmitter.
- 1938 – Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of H. G. Wells‘s The War of the Worlds, causing anxiety in some of the audience in the United States.
- 1944 – Anne and Margot Frank are deported from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they die from disease the following year, shortly before the end of WWII.
- 1960 – Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
- 1961 – Nuclear testing: The Soviet Union detonates the hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba over Novaya Zemlya; at 50 megatons of yield, it remains the largest explosive device ever detonated, nuclear or otherwise.
- 1974 – The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman takes place in Kinshasa, Zaire. Ali wins by KO in the eighth round, regaining the title of World Heavyweight Champion and causing Foreman´s first professional defeat.
Deaths
- 1979 – Barnes Wallis, English scientist and engineer, invented the Bouncing bomb (b. 1887)
- 2015 – Al Molinaro, American actor (b. 1919)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Ang Lee (62), Weird Al Yankovic (57), Cat Deeley (40), Ryan Reynolds (40), Bill Wyman (80), F. Murray Abraham (77), Kevin Kline (69), Tila Tequila (35), Nancy Cartwright (59), Katy Perry (32), Wayne Rooney (31), Cary Elwes (54), Seth McFarlane (43), Jon Heder (39), Hillary Clinton (69), John Cleese (77), Simon LeBon (58), Kelly Osbourne (32), Charlie Daniels (80), Annie Potts (64), Julia Roberts (49), Joaquin Phoenix (42), Bill Gates (61), Kate Jackson (68), Dan Castellaneta (59), Rufus Sewell (49) and Winona Ryder (45).
The Last Word
“Yes, a bullet-proof vest.” – James W. Rodgers
- Asked if he has any last requests before facing a firing squad.
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 23rd October 2016
Welcome to this weeks edition of the Dead Pool, where more renowned horses have died than famous people.
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Junko Tabei, 77, Japanese mountaineer, peritoneal cancer
- Raine Spencer, Countess Spencer, 87, British socialite and politician.
- Steve Dillon, 53, English comic book artist (Preacher, The Punisher).
- Rough Quest, 30, British racehorse, winner of the 1996 Grand National.
- Moscow Flyer, 22, Irish racehorse.
- Monarchos, 18, American thoroughbred racehorse and stallion.
In Other News
Edward Furlong has been spotted looking unrecognisable more than two decades after he shot to fame and became one of Hollywood’s hottest pin-ups. The actor has been pictured at a shopping mall in Los Angeles this week, and he looks a world away from the fresh-faced young man who captured the hearts of fans across the globe. Edward, now 39, looked tired as he walked around the shops with a female friend. He wore a T-shirt, which appeared to be inside out, with frayed jeans and he kept his long hair off his face with a pair of Aviator-style sunglasses. The former movie star carried a plastic carrier bag and appeared preoccupied as he trudged around the mall. He shot to fame playing young John Connor in 1991 blockbuster Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and went on to become one of Tinseltown’s hottest properties. The actor landed roles in movies such as American Heart, American History X and Detroit Rock City, and cemented his place as a Hollywood heartthrob. His popularity waned after the 1990s and he has won less lucrative roles in recent years. Edward also suffered a slew of personal problems including a well-documented battle with drink and drug addiction. He has also served time in jail following numerous brushes with the law, and has been treated in rehab. Next years Maverick anyone?
The latest episode in the serial adventurer Leonardo DiCaprio’s continuous brush with death has been revealed. The Titanic actor ended up being saved by his friend the actor Edward Norton after his oxygen tank began leaking on a diving expedition in 2010. Leonardo found himself unable to breathe and had to share Norton’s tank. Now, we at Dead Pool Towers have never dived, but we assume that you have a visual regulator that tells you how much oxygen you have left, so DiCaprio nearly died of stupidity as he could have easily resurfaced if he knew what he was doing. The hapless DiCaprio also recounted his various near-misses before explaining earlier this year he has nearly died three times. The 41 year old’s list involves an emergency plane landing after he witnessed “the entire wing explode in a fireball,” a great white shark entering his cage in South Africa and his parachute becoming knotted during a skydive.
And finally, a man may have cooked and eaten parts of a police officer’s corpse after strangling him, a court has heard. Stefano Brizzi, 50, is accused of murdering PC Gordon Semple, who had served with the Metropolitan police for 30 years, on 1st April after inviting him round for drug-fuelled sex, as you do. Brizzi admits dismembering and disposing of the 59-year-old police officer’s body, but claims his death was an accident and denies murder. At the Old Bailey on Friday, the prosecutor Crispin Aylett QC said Semple’s DNA was recovered from Brizzi’s oven, a cooking pot and chopsticks found in the flat. Additionally, possible bite marks were found on a rib in the kitchen dustbin and a leg bone showed signs of heat damage, he said. “It could be seen that the handle of the oven was bloodstained. Inside the oven, there was a pool of fat and grease,” Aylett told the jury. “This was found to contain a DNA profile that matched that of Gordon Semple.” One can only assume he tried to make a pulled pork, perhaps a stir-fry.
On This Day
- 1707 – The first Parliament of Great Britain meets.
- 2002 – Moscow theater hostage crisis: Chechen terrorists seize the House of Culture theatre in Moscow and take approximately 700 theatre-goers hostage.
- 2012 – After 38 years, the world’s first teletext service (BBC‘s Ceefax) ceases broadcast due to Northern Ireland completing the digital switchover.
Deaths
- 1915 – W. G. Grace, English cricketer and physician (b. 1848)
- 1950 – Al Jolson, Lithuanian-American actor and singer (b. 1886)
- 1957 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founded Christian Dior S.A. (b. 1905)
- 1984 – Oskar Werner, Austrian-German actor (b. 1922)
- 2001 – Josh Kirby, English illustrator (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Alvin Stardust, English singer and actor (b. 1942)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Angela Lansbury (91), Suzanne Somers (70), Tim Robbins (58), Michael McKean (69), George Wendt (68), Eminem (44), Wyclef Jean (47), Jean-Claude Van Damme (56), Zac Efron (29), Martina Navratilova (60), Pam Dawber (65), John Lithgow (71), Evander Holyfield (54), Viggo Mortensen (58), Snoop Dogg (45), Dannii Minogue (45), Judge Judy (74), Carrie Fisher (60), Ken Watanabe (57), Christopher Lloyd (78), Catherine Deneuve (73) and Jesse Tyler Ferguson (41).
The Last Word
“I do not believe in my death.” – Salvador Dali (1904-1989)
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 16th October 2016
At last, after a long drought of nothingness, we have points to award! Well done to Julia, Wombat and Mark for guessing that Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej would pass away this year, 62 points each, but Martin gets 162 for having him as a Cert, which also gives us a new points leader! Shockingly, we all missed out on Hilda Ogden, perhaps like me you thought she’d died years ago!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Gary Dubin, 57, American actor (The Partridge Family, The Aristocats, Diamonds Are Forever), bone cancer.
- Patricia Barry, 93, American actress (All My Children, The Guiding Light, Days of Our Lives).
- Robert Bateman, 80, American songwriter and record producer (“Please Mr. Postman“), heart attack.
- Bhumibol Adulyadej, 88, Thai monarch, King (since 1946), world’s longest-serving head of state.
- Jean Alexander, 90, English actress (Coronation Street, Last of the Summer Wine).
In Other News
The death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand means Queen Elizabeth II has become the world’s longest-reigning living monarch. The Queen became monarch at the age of 25 on the death of her father King George VI on 6 February 1952. Now 90, she has reigned for 64 years, eight months and ten days, or considerably more than two thirds of her life. Before his death on Wednesday at the age of 88, the Thai king had chalked up more than 70 years and four months on the throne. The Queen has a comfortable margin over the next longest-serving monarch, the Sultan of Brunei. Hassanal Bolkiah can boast 49 years and twelve days on the throne of the tiny, oil-rich Asian state, having ascended the throne on 4th October 1967. The wealthy Sultan is a car enthusiast, reportedly owning a private collection of up to 5,000 luxury sports cars. Qaboos bin Said al-Said has been Sultan of Oman since 1970, when he overthrew his father in a coup, giving him 46 years, 2 months on the throne so far. Prince Charles, incidentally, holds a world record of his own – as the longest-waiting heir apparent, surpassing his great-great-grandfather Edward VII who waited for more than 59 years for Queen Victoria to die. Her impressive stint is dwarfed, however, by the reign of Sobhuza II of Swaziland, whose period on the throne, from 1899 to 1982, overlapped with both the reign of Queen Victoria and the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. Having sired around 210 children by 70 wives in that time, he had more than 1,000 grandchildren at the time of his death.
Singer Janet Jackson has officially confirmed she is expecting her first child, at the age of 50. Speculation about her pregnancy surfaced in April when she postponed her ‘Unbreakable’ tour, saying she wanted to focus on planning a family with her husband, Wissam al-Mana. She was recently spotted in London shopping for baby essentials. A source close to the Jackson family said: “She is super excited about her pregnancy and is doing extremely well. She actually feels very good about everything.” Janet Jackson is far from the only famous face to give birth later in life. Oscar-winning Halle Berry had her second child at 47, three years ago, and John Travolta’s wife Kelly Preston gave birth to her third child at 48.
A giant panda believed to have been the oldest ever kept in captivity has died at the age of 38, officials say. The death of Jia Jia, whose age in human terms was more than 100 years, was announced by the Hong Kong theme park where she lived. Her condition had worsened rapidly in recent weeks and she had lost her appetite, according to local reports. She was put down by vets at Ocean Park, where she had lived since 1999. A Hong Kong government spokesman thanked the park for providing Jia Jia with care and support and added that it was “saddened” by the news. Born in 1978 in the wild in Sichuan, China, Jia Jia was given to Hong Kong in 1999 to mark the semi-autonomous city’s handover by Britain two years earlier. Pandas normally live to around 20 years of age in the wild, and 25 in captivity.
And finally, a father has claimed his 25-year-old son was brutally murdered and eaten by inmates during a month-long riot at a Venezuelan prison. Juan Carlos Herrara told local media his son, Juan Carlos Herrera Jr, was stabbed, hanged, dismembered and then eaten at the Táchira Detention Center. Mr Herrara’s son was jailed in 2015 for robbery and had become caught up in the prison mutiny, which reportedly began on the 8th September when eight visitors and two guards were taken hostage over extreme overcrowding in the jail. According to reports, 350 men had been crammed into the detention centre, which has a capacity of 120. Speaking to reporters on Monday, after a visit to the prison three days after the mutiny had subsided, Mr Herrara said: “One of those who was with him when he was murdered saw everything that happened. “My son and two others were taken by 40 people, stabbed, hanged to bleed, and then Dorancel butchered them to feed all detainees,” referring to the notorious Dorancel “people-eater” Vargas – jailed in 1999 for cannibalism. “The inmate with whom I spoke to told me that he was beaten with a hammer in order to force him to eat the remains of the two boys. “I beg you to give me at least one bone so we can bury him and relieve some of this pain.” An anonymous police source confirmed to the media that two inmates were missing following the riots.
On This Day
- 1793 – Marie Antoinette, widow of Louis XVI, is guillotined at the height of the French Revolution.
- 1834 – Much of the ancient structure of the Palace of Westminster in London burns to the ground.
- 1923 – The Walt Disney Company is founded by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Disney.
- 1975 – Rahima Banu, a two-year-old girl from the village of Kuralia in Bangladesh, is the last known person to be infected with naturally occurring smallpox.
- 1984 – The Bill debuts on ITV, eventually becoming the longest-running police procedural in British television history.
Deaths
- 1793 – Marie Antoinette, Austrian wife of Louis XVI of France (b. 1755)
- 2001 – Etta Jones, American singer-songwriter (b. 1928)
- 2007 – Deborah Kerr, Scottish actress (b. 1921)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Tony Shalhoub (63), Scott Bakula (62), David Lee Roth (62), Joan Cusak (54), Jane Krakowski (48), Emily Deschanel (40), Daryl Hall (70), Stephen Moyer (47), Hugh Jackman (48), Paul Simon (75), Sacha Baron Cohen (45), Sammy Hagar (69), Roger Moore (89), Cliff Richard (76), Lori Petty (53), Steve Coogan (51), Ralph Loren (77), Dominic West (47), and Sarah Ferguson (57).
The Last Word
“Is it the Fourth?” – Thomas Jefferson, U.S. President, died. July 4th, 1826
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 9th October 2016
Welcome all, another edition hits the press and again we struggle to know who these celebrities are. In the case of one of our demises, this quote was rather apt. “Rod Temperton is proof that it is possible to be hugely talented and successful, whilst also completely avoiding the limelight”. Ah well, onwards and 6ft downwards…
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Rod Temperton, 66, English keyboardist (Heatwave) and songwriter (“Rock with You“, “Give Me the Night“, “Thriller“), cancer.
- Joan Marie Johnson, 72, American singer (The Dixie Cups), heart failure.
- Brock Yates, 82, American automotive journalist (Car and Driver) and screenwriter (Smokey and the Bandit II, The Cannonball Run), Alzheimer’s disease.
- Steve Byrd, 61, English guitarist (Gillan, Kim Wilde), heart attack.
In Other News
More than £40,000 has been raised in 24 hours to fund pioneering cancer treatment for former Emmerdale star Leah Bracknell. The award-winning actress has been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer and is in a race against time to raise £50,000. Her partner Jez Hughes launched an online appeal on Thursday to raise cash for cutting edge immunotherapy in Germany that they hope will give her a fighting chance to beat the disease. The 52-year-old actress, who played Zoe Tate in the ITV soap from 1989 to 2005, was diagnosed with the condition five weeks ago, as she prepared to return to the stage in a comedy show. In an emotional post about her condition, the mother-of-two – the first British soap character to come out as a lesbian – described how she had been enjoying life as a ‘fit and healthy’ yoga teacher when her world was ‘unexpectedly turned on its head’. Writing on her fundraising page, Leah vowed to fight the cancer with ‘a glass half full’, describing how her priority was ‘to defy expectation’.
The Scottish nurse who was treated for Ebola in 2014 is expected to spend a second day in a Glasgow hospital despite testing negative for the disease. Pauline Cafferkey, 40, was taken to the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital under police escort on Thursday morning after becoming unwell. She is in a stable condition and medics say there is no danger to the public. This is the fourth time Ms Cafferkey has been in hospital since returning to the UK from Sierra Leone two years ago. On Thursday, NHS Greater Glasgow said: “Pauline Cafferkey was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital this morning under the care of the Infectious Diseases Unit. “Due to Ms Cafferkey’s past medical history, appropriate precautionary measures were taken whilst further investigations were carried out. “We are pleased to report that tests for the Ebola virus are negative. She remains in a stable condition in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. We want to repeat our previous reassurance that there is no risk to the public.”
US reality TV star Kim Kardashian West was robbed at gunpoint at a luxury residence in Paris by at least two men dressed as police officers, her publicist and police say. A box containing jewellery worth up to €6m (£5.2m; $6.7m) was among items taken, a police spokesman said. The concierge led the gunmen to the residence where they tied Kardashian West up in the bathroom, police said. A spokeswoman for the star said she was “badly shaken but physically unharmed”. The mother-of-two – who became a household name thanks to the reality series Keeping up with the Kardashians – has now left France, flying out of a Paris airport aboard a private jet. A police source has told the BBC the attack was carried out by five men, wearing police-style jackets, who forced the building’s overnight security guard to show them where Kardashian West was staying. Once inside, one of the men put a gun to her head while they robbed her of jewellery including a ring worth €4m, then tied her up and locked her in a bathroom while they escaped.
The UKIP MEP involved in an altercation with Steven Woolfe has said he “categorically did not” throw a punch at his colleague. Mike Hookem acknowledged he and his colleague had a “scuffle” in the European Parliament but insisted that he did not hit him. “I am innocent,” he told the BBC. “I never threw a punch. I never assaulted him. I will stand my corner.” UKIP’s Steven Woolfe will be kept in hospital for a further 48 hours. Thursday’s incident is being investigated by UKIP and the European Parliament, where it has been announced the inquiry will be led by Conservative MEP Sajjad Karim. There have been varying descriptions of what happened during what UKIP called an “altercation” and Mr Hookem told BBC Radio Humberside only he and Mr Woolfe knew precisely what went on. Mr Woolfe, among the favourites to be the party’s next leader, collapsed after their exchange and was taken to hospital. The 49-year old had a precautionary scan which revealed there was no blood clot on his brain although he is to remain under observation for a further 48 hours in Strasbourg “as a precaution”.
On This Day
- 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
- 1967 – A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia.
- 2012 – Members of the Pakistani Taliban make a failed attempt to assassinate an outspoken schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai.
Deaths
- 1974 – Oskar Schindler, Czech-German businessman (b. 1908)
- 1988 – Felix Wankel, German engineer, invented the Wankel engine (b. 1902)
- 1995 – Alec Douglas-Home, British cricketer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1903)
- 2006 – Paul Hunter, English snooker player (b. 1978)
- 2015 – Geoffrey Howe, Welsh lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1926)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Sting (65), Annie Leibovitz (67), Donna Karan (68), Chubby Checker (75), Roy Horn (72), Gwen Stefani (48), Neve Campbell (43), Sean William Scott (40), Clive Owen (52), Fred Couples (57), Lena Headey (43), Susan Sarandon (70), Armand Assante (67), Liev Schreiber (49), Alicia Silverstone (40), Christoph Waltz (60), Steve Miller (73), Karen Allen (65), Bob Geldof (65), Kate Winslet (41), Jesse Eisenberg (33), Guy Pierce (49), Britt Ekland (74), Simon Cowell (57), Toni Braxton (49), Thom York (48), Paul Hogan (77), Chevy Chase (73), Sigourney Weaver (67), Matt Damon (46), Brun Mars (31), Jesse Jackson (75) and Kristanna Loken (37).
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 2nd October 2016
Welcome my morbid minions, to a jam-packed edition full of nothing. No points to be shared, no stories to be told. The evil flying monkeys must be flown, as nothing seemed to have happened last week. So expect some big names falling by Wednesday, it has been ordained! I only wish Tony Curtis had died, again…
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Arnold Palmer, 87, American Hall of Fame professional golfer.
- Jean Shepard, 82, American honky tonk singer-songwriter (“A Dear John Letter“, “Slippin’ Away“), Parkinson’s disease.
- Herschell Gordon Lewis, 87, American film director (Blood Feast, Two Thousand Maniacs!).
- Karam Chand, 110, British supercentenarian, co-holder of the world’s longest marriage.
- Shimon Peres, 93, Polish-born Israeli statesman, President (2007–2014), Prime Minister (1977, 1984–1986, 1995–1996), Nobel Laureate (1994), stroke.
- Ann Emery, 86, British actress (Rentaghost, Billy Elliot, Julia Jekyll and Harriet Hyde).
In Other News
SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced his plan on Tuesday to launch manned missions to Mars by 2022. One small problem: you might die. Musk admitted that the chances of dying on the first trip – which will have about 100 passengers, with tickets likely to be $500,000 – were “quite high”. And even if that first mission is a success, the risk of fatality will remain a definite possibility for those who sign on to the second mission, and the third, and the fourth… “There’s no way around it… Are you prepared to die? If that’s okay, you’re a candidate for going,” said Musk. Are you willing to go on a trip that could cost you your life? Hell Yes!
Researchers from Spain have found that a tendency to bump off members of the same species is particularly common among primates, and have estimated that around 2% of human deaths at the origin of our species were down to such lethal spats. “What it is saying, in the broadest terms, is that humans have evolved strategies for solving problems with violence,” said Mark Pagel, professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Reading, who was not involved in the research. Writing in the journal Nature, the team of researchers from four Spanish institutions sought to unpick the evolutionary contribution to lethal human violence by looking at how commonly a range of different mammals kill members of the same species. To do so, they examined the evolutionary family tree of mammals, looking at data from more than 1,020 species, as well as 600 human populations stretching as far back in time as the Stone Age, drawing on evidence from human remains found in archaeological excavations. The results revealed that for the ancestor of all mammals, around 1 in every 300 deaths was down to lethal violence between members of the same species. But, the authors note, for evolutionary ancestors of the primates and apes, the figures were higher.
If you take Benjamin Franklin at his word, death is coming. The good and the bad, the young and the old, the in-the-middle: as far as we know, none will live forever. The idea of an eventual death is something that was widely accepted as “true” long ago, but, like many things, it must be updated to suit the modern day. It’s time to accept that when death does come for us, it will be at the hand of our smartphone. And isn’t that comforting? It’s a fitting death: death by smartphone. What used to kill people? Horses, probably. Unlike what you might think, the way we will die by smartphone will not vary. At least not by much. Sure, there will be those who follow a smartphone game off of a cliff, or walk into traffic looking at a map, or lie down on the ground, close their eyes, and refuse to ever get up again because of Twitter. But the rest of us will die when our phones explode. Boom!
On This Day
- 1919 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed.
- 1925 – John Logie Baird performs the first test of a working television system.
- 1950 – Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published.
- 1959 – The Twilight Zone premieres on CBS television.
Deaths
- 1985 – Rock Hudson, American actor (b. 1925)
- 1998 – Gene Autry, American actor, singer, and guitarist (b. 1907)
- 2006 – Tamara Dobson, American actress (b. 1947)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Mark Hamill (65), Michael Madsen (58), Heather Locklear (55), Will Smith (48), Catherine Zeta-Jones (47), Olivia Newton John (68), Linda Hamilton (60), Jim Caviezel (48), Serena Williams (35), Wilford Brimley (82), Meat Loaf (69), Gwyneth Paltrow (44), Avril Lavigne (32), Naomi Watts (48), Bam Margera (37), Hillary Duff (29), Dita von Tesse (44), Jerry Lee Lewis (81), Ian McShane (74), Johnny Mathis (81), Monica Bellucci (52), Julie Andrews (81), Zack Galifanakis (47) and Jimmy Carter (92).
The Last Word
“Don’t die like I did.” – George Best, the Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team.
- Best died as a result of a lung infection and multiple organ failure caused by years of alcoholism.
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 25th September 2016
Due to the lack of notable deaths this week, we have a bare bones edition of The Dead Pool. Who said everybody seemed to by dying this year??
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Charmian Carr, 73, American actress and singer (The Sound of Music), complications from dementia.
- Curtis Hanson, 71, American film director and screenwriter (L.A. Confidential, 8 Mile, Wonder Boys), Oscar winner (1998).
- Bill Nunn, 63, American actor (Do the Right Thing, Spider-Man, Sister Act), cancer.
In Other News
We start this week with the sad news that Monty Python star Terry Jones has been diagnosed with a severe variant of dementia. The 74-year-old is suffering from primary progressive aphasia, which affects his ability to communicate. As a result, Jones “is no longer able to give interviews”, his spokesman said. The news was confirmed as Bafta Cymru announced the Welsh-born comedian is to be honoured with an outstanding contribution award. The National Aphasia Association describes primary progressive aphasia as a neurological syndrome in which language capabilities become slowly and progressively impaired. “It commonly begins as a subtle disorder of language, progressing to a nearly total inability to speak, in its most severe stage,” their website states. Jones, who is from Colwyn Bay in north Wales, was a member of the legendary comedy troupe with Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin and the late Graham Chapman. He directed Monty Python’s Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life and co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Gilliam.
A lawyer for Michael Schumacher has told a court in Germany that the former Formula 1 world champion “cannot walk” following his skiing injury. Felix Damm was detailing the extent of Schumacher’s injuries in a lawsuit against German magazine, Bunte. The magazine had reported last Christmas that the seven-time world champion could walk again. But Mr Damm said that Schumacher, 47, “cannot walk” more than two and a half years after the accident. Bunte had quoted a source at the end of last year as saying that Schumacher could manage some steps with the help of therapists and could raise an arm. At the time, Schumacher’s agent, Sabine Kehm, released a statement denying the story, saying: “Unfortunately we are forced by a recent press report to clarify that the assertion that Michael could move again is not true. “Such speculation is irresponsible, because given the seriousness of his injuries, his privacy is very important. Unfortunately they also give false hopes to many involved people.” Schumacher suffered a head injury in a skiing accident in France in 2013. He was placed in a medically induced coma for six months before being transferred to his home in Switzerland to continue his treatment. Very little is known of the sports icon’s recovery as his family has strongly protected his privacy.
What do you do to someone who has already tried to commit suicide? Well, a military prison disciplinary board has seen fit to sentence US whistleblower Chelsea Manning to 14 days in solitary confinement. She will serve seven days, with another seven suspended, for charges relating to her attempt to kill herself in July. She ended a hunger strike last week, after the military agreed to provide her with gender dysphoria treatment. The army private, born as Bradley Manning, is serving a 35-year sentence for espionage. Last July, the former intelligence analyst attempted to take her own life, after what lawyers said was the Army’s refusal to provide appropriate health care. She was found guilty on Thursday by prison officials in Leavenworth, Kansas, of “conduct which threatens” for her suicide attempt. She also was convicted of having “prohibited property” – the book “Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy” by Gabriella Coleman. Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2013, after being found guilty of espionage for her role in leaking diplomatic cables and battlefield reports to Wikileaks, the anti-secrecy group. The leak of more than 700,000 documents and videos was one of the largest breaches of classified material in American history.
On This Day
- 1956 – TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system, is inaugurated.
- 1983 – Maze Prison escape: Thirty-eight republican prisoners, armed with six handguns, hijack a prison meals lorry and smash their way out of the Maze prison. It is the largest prison escape since World War II and in British history.
- 1992 – NASA launches the Mars Observer, a $511 million probe to Mars, in the first U.S. mission to the planet in 17 years. Eleven months later, the probe would fail.
Deaths
- 1984 – Walter Pidgeon, Canadian-American actor (b. 1897)
- 1987 – Mary Astor, American actress (b. 1906)
- 2012 – Andy Williams, American singer (b. 1927)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Frankie Avalon (76), Jada Pinkett Smith (45), Lance Armstrong (45), Jeremy Irons (68), Twiggy (67), Jimmy Fallon (43), Sofia Loren (82), Kristen Johnson (49), Stephen King (69), Bill Murray (66), Ethan Coen (59), Faith Hill (49), Ricki Lake (48), Alphonso Ribeiro (45), Luke Wilson (45), Liam Gallagher (44), Nick Cave (59), Joan Jett (58), Andrea Bocelli (58), Scott Baio (56), Tom Felton (29), Julio Iglesias (73) and Bruce Springsteen (67).
The Last Word
“Is it not meningitis?”– Louisa May Alcott, an American novelist and poet best known as the author of the novel Little Women.
- Alcott had been in ill health for many years and took a turn for the worse after she visited her father. She did not have meningitis. She may have died of mercury poisoning, the after-effect of an earlier treatment for typhoid fever.
Next week peeps!
Dead Pool 18th September 2016
Nil points to dispense this week, but reading through the news we could have quite easily scored quite a lot, here’s hoping for next week!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Alexis Arquette, 47, American actress (The Wedding Singer, Pulp Fiction, Lords of Dogtown).
- Domingos Montagner, 54, Brazilian actor, drowning.
- Edward Albee, 88, American playwright (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, A Delicate Balance).
- Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, 95, Italian banker and politician, President (1999–2006) and Prime Minister (1993–1994).
- W. P. Kinsella, 81, Canadian writer (Shoeless Joe), assisted suicide.
In Other News
The veteran BBC foreign correspondent John Simpson has told how he nearly died earlier this month from a severe allergic reaction that caused kidney problems. The 72-year-old was rushed to Oxford’s John Radcliffe hospital on 8th September after experiencing what he described as a “rare and deadly allergic reaction”. Simpson had complained of feeling ill and a doctor who came to his house diagnosed him as suffering from food poisoning and dehydration and sent him to hospital, where his condition rapidly declined. Doctors found he had suffered an allergic reaction to medication, which caused kidney problems. “It was like a perfect storm. There was a whole chain of events that meant their was an overreaction on the kidney side which made him seriously ill,” his wife said. Simpson, who has reported from war zones around the world for more than four decades, described the episode as “terrifying” and thanked the staff in the ICU “who saved my life”.
Rolf Harris is reportedly being treated in hospital for suspected blood poisoning. The Australian-born artist, 86, is serving a near six-year sentence at Stafford prison for historic sex abuse. Our source said, “Harris was treated like any other prisoner in the circumstances. He was escorted from Stafford by prison officers and has been monitored at all times. He is likely to return to jail shortly.” Blood poisoning, also known as sepsis, is triggered by an infection or injury and can be potentially life-threatening if left untreated. In November 2015, we reported that Harris, who is diabetic, had been taken to hospital and fallen ill after eating chocolate and sweets in prison.
US Democratic party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton kept her pneumonia diagnosis from most of her staff, according to reports, choosing to tell only family and close aides. Mrs Clinton was reportedly concerned that news of the illness would be exploited by her opponents. She was diagnosed on Friday and advised to rest, but continued campaigning. Her team was forced to go public with the diagnosis on Sunday when she left a 9/11 memorial early, appearing weak. Speaking to CNN late on Monday, Mrs Clinton said she was feeling “so much better”. She also told the broadcaster that she had not disclosed her pneumonia diagnosis, saying: “I just didn’t think it was going to be that big a deal.” The US presidential candidate said she had ignored a doctor’s “wise” advice to rest for five days. She said she hoped to be back on the trail in “the next couple of days”. The Democratic nominee acknowledged she had lost her balance during Sunday morning’s health scare, but said she did not faint. “I felt dizzy and I did lose my balance for a minute, but once I got in (the van), once I could sit down, once I could cool off, once I had some water, I immediately started feeling better,” she said.
Former Israeli President Shimon Peres is in intensive care after suffering a serious stroke, medical officials say. Doctors at the Sheba Medical Centre near Tel Aviv, where he is being treated, said Mr Peres, 93, was “in a critical condition but stable”. Mr Peres’ son-in-law and personal physician said there was “no imminent threat to his life”, adding that he had a “pretty good chance of survival”. Dr Rafi Valden said Mr Peres was responsive – he had squeezed his hand. There was “certain optimism” after doctors “lessened the dose of sedation”, he said, adding the former president was being sedated and ventilated again to let his brain recover. “We were happy to see that he was reactive, he was responsive,” Dr Valden told journalists. Doctors had earlier said the stroke had caused “lots of bleeding”. In January, he underwent successful minor surgery at the same hospital after suffering a small heart attack.
And finally, imagine if Ken Barlow aka William Roache managed to drown on the set of Coronation Street. Well, this is what has happened in Brazil! Brazilian soap opera star Domingos Montagner drowned in a river where the crew had been recording scenes for the country’s most popular soap opera. Montagner played the leading role in Velho Chico, a soap opera named after the Sao Francisco river where he died. The 54-year-old had gone for a swim with an actress after a day of shooting in the north-eastern state of Sergipe. She said he had been dragged away by the river’s strong currents. The actress, Camila Pitanga, cried for help but local people failed to act initially as they believed the drowning was a scene in the soap opera. Authorities said there was little that anyone could have done. In the soap opera, Montagner played a farmer who often fought off local gunmen. In one of those clashes, he was shot multiple times and appeared to drown in the same Sao Francisco river, but reappeared weeks later, alas we doubt he will make a return this time as four hours after the incident, rescue teams found Montagner’s body trapped in rocks at a depth of 18 metres (59 feet) and some 300 metres (984ft) from where he was last seen. His body will be taken by plane to Sao Paulo, where his funeral will be held on Saturday.
On This Day
- 1793 – The first cornerstone of the Capitol building is laid by George Washington.
- 1809 – The Royal Opera House in London opens.
- 1870 – Old Faithful Geyser is observed and named by Henry D. Washburn during the Washburn–Langford–Doane Expedition to Yellowstone.
- 1906 – A typhoon with tsunami kills an estimated 10,000 people in Hong Kong.
- 1974 – Hurricane Fifi strikes Honduras with 110 mph winds, killing 5,000 people.
- 1977 – Voyager I takes first photograph of the Earth and the Moon together.
Deaths
- 1949 – Frank Morgan, American actor, The Wizard of Oz (b. 1890)
- 1970 – Jimi Hendrix, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1942)
- 2004 – Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Brian De Palma (76), Virginia Madsen (55), Moby (51), Harry Connick Jr (49), Ian Holm (85), Linda Gray (76), Ben Folds (50), Stella McCartney (45), Sam Neill (69), Tommy Lee Jones (70), Oliver Stone (70), Prince Harry (32), David Copperfield (60), Mickey Rourke (64), Cassandra Peterson (65) and Baz Luhrmann (54).
The Last Word
“I’m not afraid of death. I’m going home”. – Patrick Swayze
Next week peeps!
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