2015

Dead Pool 25th January 2015

Dead Pool Background

A very busy week for deaths, as you may have surmised from the Klaxon e-mails. Alas nobody scored, so the league table remains the same for the time being. Without further ado…

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

TigerPoor old Tiger Woods, his career is in free fall and his love life in turmoil, but whilst trying to surprise his girlfriend Linsey Vonn at an Alpine Ski Competition, he manages to lose a tooth after being hit in the face by a camera! His agent later explained “During a crush of photographers at the awards’ podium, a media member with a shoulder-mounted video camera pushed and surged towards the stage, turned and hit Tiger in the mouth, his tooth was knocked out by the incident.” Oops! I bet that poor cameraman will be much poorer once the legal team get hold of him.

BrianVeteran actor Brian Blessed collapsed on stage with an apparent heart problem while playing King Lear – but, to the audience’s astonishment, returned to the stage 20 minutes later and  continued to act. The 78-year-old had just begun his lines at the start of the Shakespearean tragedy when he fainted, falling off a raised platform with his crown rolling to a halt at the front of stage. Fellow actor Noel White, playing the Earl of Kent, announced quietly “Ladies and gentlemen this is not part of the play. Is there a doctor in the house?” But after a brief inspection backstage and in the true spirit of “the show must go on”, Mr Blessed returned to the stage 20 minutes later to apologise to the final-preview audience for the interruption. He’s a tough old nut!

howard marksHoward Marks, the notorious former dope smuggler known as Mr Nice, has told the the media that he has been diagnosed with inoperable bowel cancer. Marks, 69, said this weekend. “It’s impossible to regret any part of my life when I feel happy and I am happy now, so I don’t have any regrets and have not had any for a very long time.” The cancer was diagnosed last autumn and Marks was told nothing could be done to stop the disease, which has now spread to his liver and lungs. As a drug smuggler in the 1980s, Marks had 43 aliases, 89 phone lines and 25 companies trading worldwide as fronts for money laundering. Sentenced to 25 years for drug smuggling, he was released in 1995, after seven years, for good behaviour. His 1996 autobiography, Mr Nice, sold more than a million copies and was made into a film starring fellow Welshman Rhys Ifans. Sounds like he’s not going to last…

PETER SUTCLIFFEPeter Sutcliffe aka The Yorkshire Ripper has been told he could lose what remains of his sight within a year. The murderer, who is already blind in one eye after a prison attack, was said to be “extremely upset” when he was told he has a severe condition linked to diabetes. Sutcliffe, now 68, killed 13 women (and attempted to kill seven more) between 1975 and 1980; he’s serving 20 life sentences at a high-security psychiatric hospital. Such shame that.

R.K.LaxmanAnother bad week for cartoonists; legendary Indian cartoonist RK Laxman, 94, is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering multiple-organ failure. Best known for his iconic “Common Man” character, he is credited with holding a mirror to Indian society with his satirical works targeting politicians. He’s currently in intensive care and on ventilator support.

Another failing cartoonist is Norm Breyfogle, who was one of the artists who changed Batman forever. He’s suffered a stroke that affected the left side of his body, including his drawing arm. His family is raising money to help pay his medical expenses, such a shame that he lives in the States where they couldn’t give a fuck about people who need medical help.

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jason Segel (35), Kevin Costner (60), Dolly Parton (69), Rainn Wilson (49), Neil Diamond (74), Emma Bunton (39), Katey Sagal (61), Geena Davis (59), Bill Maher (59), Buzz Aldrin (85), Jack Nicklaus (75), John Hurt (75), Rutger Hauer (71), Piper Laurie (83), Linda Blair (56), DJ Jazzy Jeff (50), Placido Domingo (74), Billy Ocean (65), Gil Gerard (72), Martin Shaw (70), Tom Baker (81), David Lynch (69), and Dave Bautista (46).

2015 League Table

[confidential]

Next week peeps!

25th January 2015 | Categories: 2015 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 18th January 2015

Dead Pool Background

Points! Yes!! Points!!! With the sad departing of Britain’s oldest person, Ethel Lang, Stu has managed to score 136 points as he had her sown as his Cert. Fair play to him. We seem to be doing better than last year already! Also this week, we have a contribution from Julia, so remember to show your appreciation and extol her talents unless you think you can do better and submit your own contribution next week. Most people who have contributed in the past will admit, this ain’t as easy as it looks…

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

Ruth RendellCrime writer Ruth Rendell is in a critical but stable condition after suffering a stroke. The 84-year-old, who also has a seat in the House Of Lords as a Labour peer, is best known for her series of novels featuring Chief Inspector Wexford. With more than 60 titles to her name, Rendell’s last book was The Girl Next Door, which came out last year. It was published along with a 50th anniversary edition of her debut novel From Doon With Death, which saw Inspector Wexford make his debut. In a statement released, the author is said to have experienced a “serious stroke” last week and is being looked after in hospital by her son. No doctors available?

Bullet proofIn what we can only call an act of Darwinism in action, a man who accidentally shot his friend dead while testing if his bullet-proof vest worked has been jailed. Philip Harper, 46, died from a gunshot wound to the chest after his friend Ian Catley shot him. Mr Harper had bought what he believed to be a bullet-proof vest from an army surplus store the day before, Cambridgeshire Police said. It obviously wasn’t as bullet-proof as they expected. Sentencing him to seven years in jail at Southwark Crown Court, Judge Jeffrey Pegden QC told Catley: “You shot Mr Harper at a distance of less than 20 feet, causing him catastrophic injuries and immediate death.” He should have added that he was a stupid cunt and could have quite easily tested the vest by shooting it without his friend inside it.

sausage scissorsA woman has been arrested after she reportedly chopped off her cheating husband’s penis, twice. The woman flew into a rage once she discovered her 32-year-old husband, father of five children, had been having an affair. His wife Feng, 30, found an image on his phone and in a rage grabbed a pair scissors and stormed into the room where he was sleeping, and attacked him. He was taken to hospital and emergency surgery was performed – but the wife returned to the hospital and cut it off for a second time, reportedly throwing it out of the window where it was lost. Doctors and police officers combed the area outside but failed to find the man’s missing member. They believed it may have been taken by a stray dog or cat. Yum yum!

On This Day

Deaths

Obituary by JuliaB

Ethel LangEthel Lang, quite literally, the last Victorian, has died. Mrs Lang was the only living British person to have been born during the reign of Queen Victoria and she lived to see six UK monarchs and 22 Prime Ministers. She was 114 years and 233 days. At age 22 she married young plumber William Lang and a year later the couple had a daughter, Margaret Bates, who is now 91 years old herself.

Her Grandmother lived till she was 92 and her great grandmother lived until she was 91. So, theoretically, if you shook her hand, you were 3 degrees of separation away from someone born in the late 17th, early 18th century!

The skilled cook regularly made her own bread and never smoked, rarely touching alcohol.

Her death means that 111-year-old Gladys Hooper, who lives on the Isle of Wight, is now Britain’s oldest person. Gladys will celebrate her 112th birthday on Dead Pool Sunday. (Hope she made it!) *Ed

It has left Jamaican Violet Brown, also 114 years of age, as the only surviving subject of Queen Victoria.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Faye Dunaway (74), Muhammad Ali (73), Howard Stern (61), Zooey Dechanel (35),  Kirstie Alley (64), James Earl Jones (84), Mary J. Blige (44), Melanie Chisholm (41), Jason Bateman (46), Michelle Obama (51), Jim Carrey (53), Kate Moss (41), Orlando Bloom (38), Betty White (93), Rush Limbaugh (64), Dave Grohl (46), LL Cool J (47), Carl Weathers (67), Mario Van Peebles (58), John Carpenter (67), James May (52), James Nesbitt (50), Jason Bateman (46), Mark Addy (51), Bill Bailey (50), John Sessions (62), Jason Connery (52), Evan Handler (54), Rod Stewart (70), and Traci Bingham (47).

2015 League Table

[confidential]

Next week peeps!

18th January 2015 | Categories: 2015 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 11th January 2015

Dead Pool BackgroundA very busy week for deaths, rather helped along by a couple of nutters in France. Also we saw the daughter of Zsa Zsa Gabor kick the bucket before her mother, much to the disappointment of many of you! There’s a long list of notables below, none of which we managed to score with.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

In Other News

AliBoxing legend Muhammad Ali has been discharged from a hospital after being admitted last month with a severe urinary tract infection. The three-time world heavyweight champion and cultural icon, is now back home after being discharged on Tuesday night, much to the disappointment of most of you! At 72, Ali’s health has been declining of late, it’s only a matter of time before you get a few points from him!

BennaudRichie Benaud is unlikely to make a hoped-for return to the commentary box for the Sydney Cricket Ground Test. The former Australian captain has not returned to the commentary box since a car crash left him with two crushed vertebrae 15 months ago and after he revealed that he was also undergoing treatment for skin cancer in early December. The 84 year old commentator has not been in touch with the Nine Network in Australia and they have now accepted he wouldn’t be turning up. Sounds a bit serious!

van den beekenA Belgian man serving a life sentence for rape and murder will not be allowed to have doctors end his life as he has requested, the justice minister says. Van den Bleeken will be moved to a new psychiatric treatment centre instead. Van den Bleeken, 52, was convicted in the 1980s of multiple sexual assaults and murder. He had argued that he preferred to die rather than spend the rest of his life in prison. “I’m in my cell 24 hours a day. That’s my life. I don’t feel human here. What do I have to do? Do I have to sit here and waste away? What’s the point in that?” The point sir, is that you are a fucking danger to society and you deserve to rot in jail, so stop trying to get out of it!

On This Day

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Kate Middleton (33), Nicolas Cage (51), Bradley Cooper (40), Robert Duvall (84), Diane Keaton (69), Stephen Hawking (73), Jimmy Page (71), David Bowie (68), Jeremy Renner (44), Julia Ormond (50), Pat Benetar (62), Marilyn Manson (46), Kenny Loggins (67), Rod Stewart (70), George Foreman (66), Lewis Hamilton (30), Michael Stipe (55) and Rowan Atkinson (60).

2015 League Table

[confidential]

Next week peeps!

11th January 2015 | Categories: 2015 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 4th January 2015

Dead Pool Background

Welcome all to the all new 2015 edition the Dead Pool! And what have we here? A point scorer already??? Yes, newcomer Sarai correctly guessed that Little Jimmy Dickens would pop his clogs in 2015 and lo he did. But not only does she score his normal points, she marked him as a Cert and got the first death of the year bonus which propels her to first place with 206 points!! Don’t you just hate beginners luck!?!?!

Anyhow, I’d like to also welcome the rest of the newbies, I think you already know what you’ve let yourself in for, and of course, to the regulars. Some of you have been taking part for years now, so I must be doing something right if you keep coming back for more! Anyhow, let’s get 2015 going…

Look Who You Could Have Had:

From 2014

In Other News 

bono

In a seriously good news story, U2 frontman Bono has said he may never play guitar again as a result of his bike accident last year. Millions of Apple fanboys are said to be in rapturous joy over the news. In an emotional post on the band’s website, the singer said: “Recovery has been more difficult than I thought … As I write this, it is not clear that I will ever play guitar again. The band have reminded me that neither they nor western civilisation are depending on this.” Which sort of implies that he hopes that Africa gives a shit. The singer underwent surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian hospital for an arm broken in six places and a broken eye socket after an accident in New York’s Central Park in November.

King Abdullah

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah was hospitalised this week but is in a stable condition, the royal court has said. The king, believed to be around 90 years old, was admitted to the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh on Wednesday for checks. Examination revealed pneumonia, which required the provisional insertion of a tube on Friday evening. In recent years Abdullah’s advanced age and poor health have raised concerns about the country’s future leadership. Abdullah’s half-brother Salman, 77, is next in line to the throne, but at 77 he’s no spring chicken himself!

colored condomsTwo unnamed adult film actors have contracted HIV, with one most likely infecting the other during unprotected sex at a film shoot in Nevada where testing was less stringent than industry standards, officials said. One of the actors had previously tested negative for the virus that causes Aids before a pair of film shoots, but then began showing symptoms during the second shoot and was later found to be HIV-positive. The infections came amid a major decline in porn filming in Los Angeles after the 2012 passage of a law requiring porn actors to use condoms during filming. The number of porn filmmakers applying for shooting permits in the county declined from 485 in 2012 to 40 in 2013.

George BushFormer US President George Bush Sr has been released from hospital in Texas more than a week after being admitted suffering from a shortness of breath. The 90-year-old left Houston’s Methodist Hospital, and is now resting at home and is “grateful to the doctors and nurses for their superb care.” Bush, the oldest living former US president, was taken by ambulance to the hospital a week ago for what was described then as a ‘precaution’ after experiencing shortness of breath. His hospital stay included Christmas yet again, he’s now spent two out of three Christmases in hospital, which bodes well for many of you Poolers.

cristinaArgentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has cancelled her planned trips to Brazil and the Vatican after breaking her ankle on Friday. A spokesman said that Ms Fernandez had slipped on liquid spilled on the floor of her home in Patagonia, in southern Argentina. I reckon she spilt her wine… With her continued ill health and and now what seems to be a penchant for being accident prone, one wonders how long she will continue to survive.

SchumyFormer Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is now able to recognise his wife and two children, a year after he sustained severe head injuries in a skiing accident, a friend has said. Philippe Streiff, also a former Formula One driver, suggested in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday that Schumacher might eventually walk again with the help of crutches. It was the most optimistic assessment since a doctor who had treated the multiple world champion in hospital in Grenoble told the media two months ago that he had made “some progress”. Streiff said that Schumacher “had yet to recover the power of speech” but was “nevertheless starting to recognise those close to him”.

On This Day

Deaths

2014 – In Memoriam by KoA

Yes, it was a rather unsuccessful year for us on the Dead Pool, but there were plenty of celebrities who passed away that we could have guessed. Some were tragically taken from us far too soon, others we cheered to the grave. Here are some of the famous faces that we now miss.

Untitled-1

Let’s take a look back on some of the biggest names to have died in 2014.

  • Eusébio, 71: Portuguese footballer, top goal scorer at the 1966 World Cup (January 25, 1942 – January 5, 2014)
  • Ariel Sharon, 85: 11th Prime Minister of Israel (February 26, 1928 – January 11, 2014)
  • Roger Lloyd-Pack, 69: British actor, best known as Trigger in Only Fools And Horses (February 8, 1944 – January 15, 2014)
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46: American actor (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014)
  • Shirley Temple, 85: American actress and diplomat (April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014)
  • Harold Ramis, 69: American writer, director and actor (November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014)
  • Tony Benn, 88: British politician and diarist (April 3, 1925 – March 14, 2014)
  • Clarissa Dickson Wright, 66: English celebrity chef, notably for Two Fat Ladies, and TV personality (March 15, 2014 – March 15, 2014)
  • L’Wren Scott, 49: American fashion designer and model (April 28, 1964 – March 17, 2014)
  • Kate O’Mara, 74: English actress, best known for her role in Dynasty (August 10, 1939 – March 30, 2014)
  • Mickey Rooney, 93: American actor (September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014)
  • Peaches Geldof, 25: English TV presenter and model (March 13, 1989 – April 7, 2014)
  • Sue Townsend, 68: British novelist and playwright, best known for the Adrian Mole series (April 2, 1946 – April 10, 2014)
  • Gabriel García Márquez, 87: Colombian author – One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Love In The Time Of Cholera (March 6, 1927 – April 17, 2014)
  • Bob Hoskins, 71: British actor (October 26, 1942 – April 29, 2014)
  • H.R. Giger, 74: Swiss Oscar-winning surrealist artist, best known for designing the creature in the 1979 film Alien (February 5, 1940 – May 12, 2014)
  • Sir Jack Brabham, 88: Australian racing driver, triple Formula One world champion, race car designer (April 2, 1926 – May 19, 2014)
  • Malcolm Glazer, 85: American executive and sports franchise owner, including Manchester United (August 15, 1928 – May 28, 2014)
  • Rik Mayall, 56: English comedian, writer and actor, best known for The Young Ones (March 7, 1958 – June 9, 2014)
  • Casey Kasem, 82: Legendary American radio DJ – and the original voice of ‘Shaggy’ Rogers in Scooby-Doo cartoons (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014)
  • Patsy Byrne, 80: English actress, best known as Nursie in the Blackadder II TV series (July 13, 1933 – June 17, 2014)
  • Eli Wallach, 98: American actor, best known for being ‘The Ugly’ in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014)
  • Bobby Womack, 70: American singer-songwriter (March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014)
  • Tommy Ramone, 65: Hungarian-born producer and drummer for The Ramones (January 29, 1952 – July 11, 2014)
  • James Garner, 86: American actor (April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014)
  • Robin Williams, 63: American actor and comedian (July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014)
  • Lauren Bacall, 89: American actress (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014)
  • Richard Attenborough, 90: British actor and film director, Baron Attenborough (August 29, 1923 – August 24, 2014)
  • Joan Rivers, 81: American comedienne, actress and television host (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014)
  • Richard Kiel, 74: American actor, best known as Jaws in James Bond films (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014)
  • John Bardon, 75: English actor, best known as Jim Branning on EastEnders (August 25, 1939 – September 12, 2014)
  • Ian Paisley, 88: British politician and First Minister of Northern Ireland, Lord Bannside (April 6, 1926 – September 12, 2014)
  • Sir Donald Sinden, 90: Veteran English actor (October 9, 1923 – September 12, 2014)
  • Lynda Bellingham, 66: Canadian-born British actress (May 31, 1948 – October 19, 2014)
  • Alvin Stardust, 72: English singer (September 27, 1942 – October 23, 2014)
  • Acker Bilk, 85: British jazz clarinetist (January 28, 1929 – November 2, 2014)
  • Rebekah Gibbs, 41: English actress, best known as Nina Farr in Casualty (March 17, 1973 – November 11, 2014)
  • Warren Clarke, 67: English actor (April 26, 1947 – November 12, 2014)
  • Mike Nichols, 83: German-born American director (The Graduate) and Oscar winner (November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014)
  • Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 88: 18th Duchess of Alba, Spanish aristocrat (March 28, 1926 – November 20, 2014)
  • Frankie Fraser, 90: Notorious British gangster (December 13, 1923 – November 26, 2014)
  • P.D. James, 94: English crime novelist, Baroness James of Holland Park (August 3, 1920 – November 27, 2014)
  • Mandy Rice-Davies, 70: British model, figure in the Profumo affair (October 21, 1944 – December 18, 2014)
  • Billie Whitelaw, 82: English actress, best known as the demonic nanny in the 1976 horror film The Omen (June 6, 1932 – December 21, 2014)
  • Christine Cavanaugh, 51: English actress, best known as the voice of ‘Babe’ the pig in the 1995 film Babe (August 16, 1963 – December 22, 2014)
  • Joe Cocker, 70: British singer (May 20, 1944 – December 22, 2014)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jude Law (42), Mel Gibson (59), Cuba Gooding Jr. (47), Anthony Hopkins (77), Val Kilmer (55), Tiger Woods (39), Sienna Miller (33), Denzel Washington (60), Jon Voight (76), Ted Danson (67), LeBron James (30), Ben Kingsley (71), Psy (37), Maggie Smith (80), Victoria Principal (65), Danny McBride (38), Dabney Coleman (83), Tia Carrere (48), Grandmaster Flash (57), Verne Troyer (46), Heidi Fleiss (49), Eliza Dushku (35), Tracey Ulman (55) and Stan Lee (92).

2015 League Table

[confidential]

Next week peeps!

4th January 2015 | Categories: 2015 | Leave A Comment »

Newer Entries »