Dead Pool 19th April 2026

Well, what do we have here?! Points!! With the passing of renowned zoologist Desmond Morris, I can award 52 points to myself, well done me! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Valerie Lee Shepard, 94, American actress (The Wizard of Oz, Our Gang).  
• Moya Brennan, 73, Irish folk singer (Clannad).  
• Ian Watson, 82, British science fiction author (The Jonah Kit, Chekhov’s Journey, Queenmagic, Kingmagic). 
• Joy Harmon, 85, American actress (Cool Hand Luke, Village of the Giants, Angel in My Pocket), complications from pneumonia. 
• Alexander Morton, 81, Scottish actor (Monarch of the Glen, Take the High Road, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt). 
• Andy Kershaw, 66, English broadcaster and radio DJ (BBC Radio 1), cancer. 
• Don Schlitz, 73, American songwriter (“The Gambler“, “Forever and Ever, Amen“, “When You Say Nothing at All“). 
• Nathalie Baye, 77, French actress (Every Man for Himself, Strange Affair, Catch Me If You Can), complications from Lewy body dementia. 
• Finnian Garbutt, 28, British actor (Hope Street), skin cancer. 
• Desmond Morris, 98, English zoologist (The Naked Ape), ethnologist and surrealist painter. 
• Patrick Muldoon, 57, American actor (Starship Troopers, Melrose Place, Days of Our Lives) and film producer), heart attack. 
• Van Hammer, 66, American professional wrestler (WCW). 

In Other News

With the death of Valerie Lee Shepard, see above, we are now left with one surviving Munchkin from The Wizard of Oz. Priscilla Montgomery Clark played a Munchkin child in The Wizard of Oz when she was nine years old. Now 96, she’s one of two surviving stars from the 1939 film. Along with Caren Marsh Doll — the oldest of the two at 107 years old (she just celebrated her birthday on April 6th, 2026). She served as Judy Garland’s stand-in and was notably the model for the iconic ruby slipper heel-clicking scene. Clark says by far she receives the most fan mail these days for her role as a Munchkin. For Oz, which experienced a deficit of female little people to portray Munchkins, Clark was one of a dozen talented young girls of typical height chosen from the Bud Murray Dance Studio in Los Angeles to fill out the cast of 124. The child actors worked on the set part of the day and were whisked away for their schooling the rest of the day. When the cameras rolled, some of the young girls were relegated to the background, however director Victor Fleming seemingly noticed Clark’s talent and infectious smile and placed her in key shots where she was clearly visible. “I never wanted to be an actress, I always loved dancing and that was a big part of my childhood,” says Clark. “I didn’t have an agent, but I was lucky to be cast in several films that miraculously have survived over time.” It’s not difficult to find her in the crowd, either: In the climax of the Munchkinland scene, when Glinda directs Dorothy to “follow the yellow brick road,” Clark can be seen next to the good witch briefly spiking the lens — a no-no in movie-making where the actor looks directly into the camera. “I never realised I did that until someone pointed it out many years later,” she admits. Today, Clark is a widow who struggles with a few health concerns but keeps a positive attitude and busy “surrounded by the love of my family.”  

Zayn Malik’s release day for his new album Konnakol didn’t exactly go as planned. The singer, 33, revealed that he’s on the mend from a mystery illness by sharing a photo from a hospital bed to his Instagram Stories last Friday, the same day as his album release. “To my fans – Thank you to all of you for your love & support now & always – been a long week and am still unexpectedly recovering,” he wrote atop the photo. “Heartbroken that I can’t see you all this week, I wouldn’t be in the place I am today without you guys and am so thankful for your understanding.” The “Die for Me” singer went on to thank his “incredible” hospital staff, including doctors, nurses, cardiologists and more. “You are all legends! Big big love xx z,” he wrote. Malik did not reveal a diagnosis or reason for his hospitalisation, and it remains unclear just how long he’s been hospitalised. A rep for Malik did not immediately return the Flying Monkeys request for comment. Malik is set to embark on his first solo headline arena tour later this year, which he’ll bring to North America starting in June and running through November. In announcing his new record, Malik described the title as “the act of creating percussive sounds with one’s voice but what it means to me lies somewhere much deeper.” Sounds… amazing?   

Social media influencer Clavicular has been rushed to hospital in Miami for a suspected overdose. No, none of the Flying Monkeys have heard of him either… The controversial streamer had been live-streaming on the site Kick on Tuesday when the broadcast suddenly ended. ‘Fans’ became concerned after video footage, appearing to show the influencer being carried into an ambulance by his security team, began circulating online. The ‘influencer’ confirmed on Wednesday that he had been released from hospital, writing on Twitter: “Just got home, that was brutal. All of the substances are just a cope trying to feel neurotypical while being in public, but obviously that isn’t a real solution. The worst part of tonight was my face descending from the life support mask.” He shared the statement alongside a photograph of himself with what appeared to be bloody marks on his face. During the livestream on Tuesday, Clavicular could be seen telling a woman: “Holy shit dude, I’m trying my best, but I’m fucking destroyed right now.” He then sat down in a bar with friends, with one asking him: “When did you last take blue?” as the influencer slumped over. The friend then asked if he wanted an “addy” – referring to the stimulant Adderall. The broadcast cut out shortly after that. Clavicular rose to fame within the manosphere circles as a so-called “looksmaxxer” – a viral trend where boys try to maximise their physical attractiveness. He’s become a popular figure among teenage boys, with Chloe Combi writing in The Independent that he has “a huge and growing Gen A boy following” thanks to his “belief that a young man’s highest priority is to be hot”. Personally I think he’s a cunt, and I will be listing him as a Maverick once James Corden turns 50! 

On This Day

• 1927 – Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.
• 1943 – Albert Hofmann deliberately doses himself with LSD for the first time, three days after having discovered its effects on April 16th an event commonly known and celebrated as Bicycle Day. 
• 1987 – The Simpsons first appear as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, first starting with “Good Night“. 
• 1993 – The 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidian building in Waco, Texas, US, ends when a fire breaks out. Seventy-six Davidians, including 18 children under age 10, died in the fire. 
• 2021 – The Ingenuity helicopter becomes the first aircraft to achieve flight on another planet.

Deaths

• 1824 – Lord Byron, English-Scottish poet and playwright (born 1788). 
• 1881 – Benjamin Disraeli, English politician, Prime Minister of the U.K. (born 1804). 
• 1882 – Charles Darwin, English biologist and theorist (born 1809).  
• 1992 – Frankie Howerd, English actor and screenwriter (born 1917).  
• 2004 – Norris McWhirter, English author co-founded the Guinness World Records (born 1925).

Last Week’s Birthdays

James Franco (48), Kate Hudson (47), Ashley Judd (58), Tim Curry (80), Hayden Christensen (45), Simu Liu (37), David Tennant (55), Rick Moranis (73), James Woods (79), Hayley Mills (80), Conan O’Brien (63), Jennifer Garner (54), Sean Bean (67), Rooney Mara (41), David Bradley (84), Anya Taylor-Joy (30), Sadie Sink (24), Ellen Barkin (72), Claire Foy (42), Emma Watson (36), Seth Rogen (44), Emma Thompson (67), Luke Evans (47), Maisie Williams (29), Sarah Michelle Gellar (49), Adrien Brody (53), Robert Carlyle (65), Anthony Michael Hall (58), Peter Capaldi (68), Peter Davison (75), Edward Fox (89), and Ron Perlman (76).

20th April 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 12th April 2026

No  disrespect to any of this weeks ‘notable’ deaths, however, I’ve never heard of any of them. Some bit part actors, barely more than extras, a nut job and a couple of outdoorsy types. One of them doesn’t even have a proper Wiki Page, I just added him to bulk out this weeks edition. Unsurprisingly, no points to award… 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Nick Pope, 60, British journalist and television personality (Ancient Aliens, UFOs Declassified), oesophageal cancer. 
• Michael Patrick, 35, Irish actor and writer (Game of Thrones, My Left Nut), complications from motor neurone disease
• Jim Whittaker, 97, American mountaineer (First American to climb Mount Everest). 
• Doug Allan, 74, Scottish wildlife photographer and cameraman. 
• Afrika Bambaataa, 68, American DJ and rapper (“Planet Rock“, “Looking for the Perfect Beat“, “Renegades of Funk“), prostate cancer. 
• Angela Pleasence, 84, English actress (Hitler: The Last Ten Days, Coronation Street, Doctor Who). 
• John Nolan, 87, British actor (Person of Interest, Terror, Batman Begins). 
• Asha Bhosle, 92, Indian playback singer (“Chura Liya Hai Tumne Jo Dil Ko“, “Dum Maro Dum“, “Piya Tu Ab To Aja“), multiple organ failure.

In Other News

GB News presenter Eamonn Holmes is “doing okay given the circumstances” after suffering a stroke, his eldest son Declan has confirmed. Declan Holmes added his father’s medical issue “came as a real shock”, and he thanked those who have sent messages of support, saying: “It means a lot to us as a family.” In a statement on Sunday, his son shared: “What happened came as a real shock, but dad is doing okay given the circumstances and we’re taking it one step at a time. I just wanted to share a quick message to say we hugely appreciate all the messages, it means a lot to us as a family. For now, we’re focused on him and keeping things steady around him. We’d really value a bit of privacy as we navigate it, and what lies ahead, but thank-you again for the support as it means so much to dad and the rest of the family.” GB News announced on Saturday that Holmes, 66, had suffered a stroke last week and was recovering in hospital. A spokesperson said Holmes “was taken ill last week and it was later confirmed he had suffered a stroke”. The statement added: “He is currently responding well to treatment. Eamonn has asked for privacy as he focuses on getting better. His colleagues and everyone at GB News wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming him back to the people’s channel when he is ready to return.” Alex Armstrong will present in his absence this week, the broadcaster added. Holmes, from Northern Ireland, who presents GB News Breakfast with his co-host Ellie Costello, is Britain’s longest-serving breakfast news presenter, with a career spanning more than 40 years. Holmes has long battled health issues after dislodging discs in his back which he said previously impinged on his sciatic nerve and affected the mobility of his right leg. He previously spoke about going through spinal surgery, a double hip replacement, and his struggles walking and using a mobility scooter. Holmes had two falls in May last year which seem to have taken place only weeks apart. The former This Morning host was taken to hospital after a first fall at his home, then fell from his chair live on-air. 

Hacks star Jean Smart has revealed she underwent a triple bypass heart procedure after experiencing chest pressure on set. Smart opened up about the heart procedure, confirming she underwent a triple bypass in 2023, a particularly frightening ordeal for her following the death of her husband, Richard Gilliland, from a heart condition. While filming a Season 3 episode of Hacks, Smart began experiencing pressure in her chest and fatigue, but she attributed it to a lack of exercise, she told the Flying Monkeys. “After several takes, I was like, ‘Did you get it? Was that enough?’ I was feeling a little tired. But I didn’t think anything of it,” Smart, 74, said. “I had gotten used to feeling a little pressure, like if I’d go up a couple of flights of stairs. But it would always just go away. And I would always think, ‘Jean, you’re in such crappy shape.’” Days passed with the Emmy winner still in discomfort. In the interview, she said the fear of leaving her 17-year-old son Forrest and 36-year-old son Connor without either of their parents was motivation to see a doctor. “I thought, ‘You haven’t seen your cardiologist in a long time. Don’t be stupid. Your kids just lost their dad!’” Smart thought she may just need a stress test – which detects how the heart functions during physical stress – but when her doctor returned her phone call, the physician urged her to go to the emergency room. She was in the middle of filming a scene at the time, so she waited until after the shoot to have her driver take her to the hospital. “It was so stressful. Her children had just lost their father, and I think she didn’t want to scare them, so they weren’t there,” Smart consulted three heart surgeons before undergoing the triple bypass. The fear set in after the procedure. “I wasn’t really scared until I woke up the next day, and I’m thinking about what they had to do. You start to feel so fragile,” she said. 

On This Day

• 1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of English and Scottish ships. 
• 1945 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes President upon Roosevelt’s death. 
• 1961 – The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first crewed orbital flight on Vostok 1. 
• 1981 – The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place: The STS-1 mission.

Deaths

• 1945 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S. lawyer, 32nd President of the U.S. (born 1882).
• 2001 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the smiley (born 1921).
• 2009 – Marilyn Chambers, American actress. 
• 2024 – Eleanor Coppola, American filmmaker (born 1936).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Claire Danes (47), Saoirse Ronan (32), Ed O’Neill (80), Milly Alcock (26), Jeremy Clarkson (66), Matt Ryan (45), David Harbour (51), Charlie Hunnam (46), Daisy Ridley (34), Haley Joel Osment (38), Steven Seagal (74), Peter MacNicol (72), Elle Fanning (28), Dennis Quaid (72), Kristen Stewart (36), Cynthia Nixon (60), Patricia Arquette (58), Robin Wright (60), Katee Sackhoff (46), Dean Norris (63), Russell Crowe (62), Jackie Chan (72), Francis Ford Coppola (87), Paul Rudd (57), Zach Braff (51), Michael Rooker (71), John Ratzenberger (79), Gina Yashere (52), and Billy Dee Williams (89).

12th April 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 5th April 2026

A quiet week for celebrity deaths, its almost like they’ve all gone on holiday! Unsurprisingly, no points to dish out, but we can all cross our fingers in hope that the White House will blow up with the GoP and the Trump family in attendance. I may have marked myself for assassination…. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Misua, 27, Filipino drag performer. 
• Alex Duong, 42, American comedian and actor (Blue Bloods, Dexter, Death Valley), septic shock. 
• Mary Beth Hurt, 79, American actress (The World According to Garp, The Age of Innocence, Interiors), complications from Alzheimer’s disease. 
• Dash Crofts, 87, American musician (Seals & Crofts) and songwriter (“Summer Breeze“, “Diamond Girl“), complications from heart surgery. 
• Suki Lahav, 74, Israeli violinist (E Street Band), singer, and lyricist

In Other News

The world’s oldest known tortoise, Jonathan, is still alive, contrary to a widely circulated social media post which has been revealed as a hoax. An account on Twitter that had purported to belong to Joe Hollins, a vet who has previously cared for Jonathan, posted that it was “heartbroken to share” that the tortoise had died on the island of St Helena at an estimated age of 193. Media outlets including the BBC, USA Today and Daily Mail published news reports about the post. “Jonathan the tortoise is very much alive,” Hollins has since told USA Today. “I believe the person purporting to be me is asking for crypto donations, so it’s not even an April Fool joke. It’s a con. To confirm – Jonathan is very much alive”, Nigel Phillips, the governor of St Helena, told the BBC via email. Jonathan’s exact age is unknown, but a photograph taken in 1882 shows that he was fully grown when he was first brought to the island – where he lived on the grounds of Plantation House, the official residence of the Governor of St Helena. Experts say this suggests he was about 50 years old by that time. Jonathan has lived through the reigns of at least eight British monarchs and met both George VI and the future Elizabeth II during their visit to the island in 1947. The giant tortoise was presented with a Guinness World Record certificate recognising him as the oldest known land animal in the world. 

An undertaker was accidentally crushed to death by a faulty coffin-lifting machine at a funeral parlour, an inquest has concluded. Sally Blundell, 58, was found trapped beneath the scissor lift of a mortuary trolley after it unexpectedly descended at a branch of the East of England Co-op Funeral Services in Swaffham, Norfolk. Ms Blundell had been working alone at the branch on 1st December 2023 when the incident occurred. The grandmother’s body was discovered after a member of the public reported that no staff were present for an 11am appointment to see a deceased relative. She tried to call the celebrant she had been dealing with and a message was passed to another branch, with a colleague from the Dereham branch attending and finding Ms Blundell dead. Jurors at the Norwich inquest returned a conclusion of accidental death. They recorded that Ms Blundell was last seen on CCTV at the funeral parlour at 9.46am and found dead at 12.06pm. The inquest was earlier told that there are no CCTV cameras in sensitive areas of the funeral parlour, where bodies are kept. Norfolk area coroner Yvonne Blake said that it was unclear why Ms Blundell had “inserted herself” in the device’s frame, though her glasses were found on the floor nearby. The medical cause of death for Ms Blundell, of Great Cressingham, was recorded as “contusion and compression of the chest by an external object”. Ms Blake told jurors that expert evidence presented to the inquest indicated a fault with the hydraulic scissor lift mortuary trolley. She said the fault was that the trolley “descended unexpectedly”. The East of England Co-op confirmed through barrister Dominic Kay that the chain no longer uses this specific type of trolley.  

Australian soap star Alea O’Shea is undergoing treatment for brain cancer. A GoFundMe page launched on Thursday for the 25-year-old “Home and Away” alum revealed that she recently underwent surgery for her diagnosis, which she publicly disclosed in November. “Over the past months, Alea has been bravely facing brain cancer and the many treatments that come with it,” the fundraiser’s description read. The page, which O’Shea’s friends started with her permission “after months of persuasion,” said her cancer journey “has been incredibly challenging” for the actress and her family. “Like many families navigating serious illness, they have discovered that a number of essential cancer treatments, therapy and procedures are not covered by private health insurance, creating a significant and ongoing financial burden.” The description stated that O’Shea has been helping other women facing cancer by starting her own fundraiser “to allow other young women without the funds to purchase high-quality wigs and feel good about themselves. Her generosity of spirit in the midst of such a difficult time has moved so many of us,” O’Shea’s friends shared. The page asked people to donate to “help ease the financial pressure of medical treatments and related expenses” in O’Shea’s cancer battle. The GoFundMe has raised over $82,700 from more than 600 donors as of Monday morning. O’Shea, starred as Darcy Callahan on Home and Away from 2011 to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2017.

On This Day

• 1951 – Cold War: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union.
• 1974 – Carrie, the first novel by author Stephen King, is published for the first time with a print run of 30,000 copies.
• 1999 – Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.

Deaths

• 1923 – George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English archaeologist (born 1866).
• 1964 – Douglas MacArthur, American general (born 1880).
• 1976 – Howard Hughes, American pilot, engineer, and director (born 1905).
• 1994 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1967).
• 2006 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (born 1940).
• 2008 – Charlton Heston, American actor, director, and political activist (born 1923).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Warren Beatty (89), John Astin (96), Céline Dion (58), Eric Clapton (81), Ewan McGregor (55), Christopher Walken (83), Daniel Mays (48), William Daniels (99), Annette O’Toole (74), Mackenzie Davis (39), Asa Butterfield (29), Ali MacGraw (87), Jesse Plemons (38), Pedro Pascal (51), Michael Fassbender (49), Emma Myers (24), Linda Hunt (81), Eddie Murphy 65), Alec Baldwin (68), Paris Jackson (28), Robert Downey Jr. (61), Hugo Weaving (66), Natasha Lyonne (47), Graham Norton (63), Lily James (37), Hayley Atwell (44), and Mitch Pileggi (74). 

5th April 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 29th March 2026

A few familiar faces among the dead this week, no points though, so perhaps the Flying Monkeys need to be released….  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Daphne Selfe, 97, British model.  
• Valerie Perrine, 82, American actress (Slaughterhouse-Five, Lenny, Superman), complications from Parkinson’s disease.  
• Ben Keaton, 69, Irish actor (Emmerdale, Casualty, Father Ted).
• Chip Taylor, 86, American singer and songwriter (“Angel of the Morning“, “Wild Thing“), cancer. 
• Leonid Radvinsky, 43, Ukrainian-American businessman (OnlyFans, MyFreeCams), cancer
• Mel Schilling, 53, Australian television presenter (Married at First Sight), colon cancer. 
• James Tolkan, 94, American actor (Back to the Future, Top Gun). 
• Mary Rand, 86, British track and field athlete, Olympic champion (1964). 
• Trevor Oakes, 79, British guitarist and songwriter, (Showaddywaddy). 

In Other News

Perez Hilton has revealed the mystery illness that sent him to the hospital for three weeks. On Monday, the 47-year-old blogger took to social media to share the news with his fans. ‘My stupidity landed me in the hospital for 21 days… It was the worst and best thing that’s ever happened to me,’ he began. Perez said he had the flu for a week and took his medication, but did not take the medication with food. ‘Because I have been taking all of this medication without food for a week, I developed an ulcer then a perforation and then Sepsis. People die of Sepsis.’ He also said he had intense stomach pain then could not walk causing him to have to be taken to the emergency room by ambulance. Hilton thanked the hospital that took care of him as he added he had ultrasounds before they could figure out the problem. ‘Finally after five days I ended up having laparoscopic surgery,’ he added. He also said the infection was very serious and he had fluid in his lungs which led to another major procedure. At that point he developed a heart problem. But the surgery was complicated as he developed another infection in the hospital, which he said was common. The star broke down in tears several times as he detailed he had many accidents after he started eating food following weeks on a feeding tube. And the worst part was a tube that was placed in him to suck up the infection and a Foley catheter. ‘That was intense,’ he added, as he said he lost ‘a lot of weight.’ ‘Now that I am home, I am not 100 percent,’ he also shared as he showed a pick line into his arm. ‘It’s like a scary IV with two lines, and one goes to my heart.’  

Barry Manilow is officially cancer-free months after revealing his diagnosis. “You just don’t even think about how fragile life is. And suddenly, you have lung cancer. But I’m still here,” Manilow, 82, told the Flying Monkeys on Tuesday, while detailing his health battle and recovery. He continued: “I’m still here. I’m not all here, there’s part of me that isn’t here,  they took out a part of me, and now I’ve got to figure out, ‘What do I do?’” Manilow originally announced in December 2025 that he was diagnosed with lung cancer and needed to undergo surgery to remove “a cancerous spot” on his left lung. He elaborated on Tuesday about how having an MRI for a separate issue with his hips led to his cancer being discovered. “If he hadn’t done that, man,” he said. “That doctor saved my life, because there’s no symptoms for what I had. I could go on, nothing hurt but they found the dot in my lung. They called me and said, ‘Could be cancer.’ That’s a bad word. ‘Not me. Fuck you. I can’t have cancer.’” Manilow recalled the moment he was told he had Stage I Lung Cancer. “They don’t even know how long I had this thing sitting on me. It could have been years,” he continued. “If it had gone any further, then I would be up shit’s creek. It just so happened that it hadn’t spread, and boy, oh boy, I thought I might be dying.” After his lobectomy, a procedure which removed part of his lung, Manilow spent seven days in the ICU. “I don’t remember it, thank goodness, because it was a nightmare,” Manilow shared of his hospital stay. “I’m one of the lucky ones. I don’t have to have chemo, radiation and all that stuff.” Manilow was forced to postpone concert dates while on the mend, noting that the experience has “really rocked him.” “But I’m getting stronger. It has really, really made me take stock of my life. This made me stop and think about: Have I done what I wanted to do, and have I made people happy? Have I been a good friend?” he concluded. “All of those cornball things that I’ve read for all of my life, I started to think about that, too. It really did stop me in my tracks. And the answers are yes. And as a matter of fact, there are more yeses than I ever thought.”  

Princess Michael of Kent, 81, is “bedridden” after suffering a stroke, according to the Flying Monkeys. Princess Michael, who is married to Prince Michael of Kent, a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth, has dealt with a number of health issues in recent years. After undergoing heart surgery in 2023, she broke both of her wrists in a fall down the stairs of her home at Kensington Palace. She was carrying an armful of overcoats at the time when the accident happened. Luckily, she fell into the coats, but broke multiple small bones. About her fall, she previously stated: “So many things that you rely on being able to do, like cleaning your teeth, are impossible.” “I can type with one finger on a mobile, but I can’t use a laptop. I am told that, after an accident like this, if you do one wrong movement on top of the unhealed bones, you are back where you started.” It’s been a difficult few years for the family, Princess Michael’s son-in-law, Thomas Kingston, took his own life at the age of 45 in February 2024. He died from a “catastrophic head injury” and a gun was found near his body at his parents’ home in the Cotswolds.

On This Day

• 1968 – The funeral of Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space, started in Moscow, with thousands of people in attendance. 
• 1974 – Terracotta Army was discovered in Shaanxi province, China.
• 2014 – The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales are performed.
• 2017 – Prime Minister Theresa May invokes Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union, formally beginning the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Deaths

• 1891 – Georges Seurat, French painter (born 1859). 
• 1912 – Robert Falcon Scott, English lieutenant and explorer (born 1868).
• 1982 – Carl Orff, German composer and educator (born 1895). 
• 2016 – Patty Duke, American actress (born 1946). 
• 2024 – Louis Gossett Jr., American actor (born 1936).
• 2025 – Richard Chamberlain, American actor (born 1934).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Brendan Gleeson (71), Lucy Lawless (58), Ed Skrein (43), Christopher Lambert (69), Marina Sirtis (71), Thaddea Graham (29), Eric Idle (83), Elle Macpherson (62), Nick Frost (54), Vince Vaughn (56), Julia Stiles (45), Dianne Wiest (78), Lady Gaga (40), Chris Barrie (66), Quentin Tarantino (63), Nathan Fillion (55), Julian Glover (91), Mariah Carey (57), Keira Knightley (41), Jennifer Grey (66), Martin Short (76), Jess Bush (34), Diana Ross (82), Lee Pace (47), Sarah Jessica Parker (61), Richard O’Brien (84), Elton John (79), Jessica Chastain (49), Alyson Hannigan (52), Tig Notaro (55), Jim Parsons (53), Lara Flynn Boyle (56), Kelly LeBrock 66), Michelle Monaghan (50), Amanda Plummer (69), and Joanna Page (49).

29th March 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 15th March 2026

A quiet week for us, no ‘mega stars’ pegged it, but a few familiar faces to mourn over, or maybe not for one of our notable deaths. Looks like prison is a dangerous place to be right now… 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Tommy DeCarlo, 60, American singer (Boston), brain cancer. 
• Jennifer Runyon, 65, American actress (Another World, Ghostbusters, Charles in Charge), cancer. 
• Jane Lapotaire, 81, English actress (Piaf, Love Hurts, Rebecca).
• Wendy Playfair, 99, Australian actress (Prisoner). 
• Phil Campbell, 64, Welsh guitarist (Motörhead). 
• Judy Pace, 83, American actress (Peyton Place, The Young Lawyers, Cotton Comes to Harlem). 
• John Alford, 54, British actor (Grange Hill, London’s Burning) and convicted sex offender. 

In Other News

Married At First Sight star and dating coach Mel Schilling has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. The TV star was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2023 and has now been told at the age of 54 that there is nothing more doctors can do. Mel quit MAFS Australia recently and has now revealed to fans that doctors had told her cancer had spread to the left side of her brain, which was causing her headaches and numbness – and that they couldn’t do anymore. She wrote in a lengthy and emotional post to her fans and friends: “In December 2023 I was diagnosed with colon cancer after a tumour the size of a lemon was discovered during a scan. “Terry,” as I called him, was successfully removed and I was initially given the all clear – that much many of you already know. Unfortunately, in late February 2024 during a routine scan, small nodules were discovered in my lungs. The cancer had metastasised and my world changed again in an instant. Over the past two years, while filming MAFS, I underwent 16 rounds of chemotherapy and was later told I was eligible for a ground-breaking clinical trial specific to my gene type, due to start in March 2026. Once again, my optimism soared that I might beat this thing.” Mel then tragically revealed she had been given more bad news and said she wasn’t sure how long she had left. She explained: “Over Christmas, however, I began experiencing blinding headaches and numbness down my right side. After many tests I was told the cancer had spread to the left side of my brain and, despite subsequent radiotherapy sessions, my oncology team have now told me there is nothing further they can do. Hearing those words changes everything. So that’s where I am now. My light is starting to fade — and quickly. But I am still here, still fighting, and surrounded by the most incredible love.” She added: “Simple tasks have become incredibly difficult and I am relying on my beautiful family to look after me. I honestly don’t know how long I have left, but I do know I will fight to my last breath and will be surrounded by the love and support of my people. At the outset of this journey, so many of you sent the most wonderful messages of support. They have meant more than I can ever properly express and have helped shape the mindset I’ve needed to keep fighting.” She concluded her post: “Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. If I could leave you with one thing, it would simply be this: if something doesn’t feel right, please get it checked out. It might just save your life. These two beside me are my everything.”  

A longtime TV host revealed on air that she was diagnosed with stage 2 lung cancer, despite having never smoked before. Mel McLaughlin, a 46-year-old sports broadcaster from Australia, tearfully made the health admission during a segment on Channel 7 with her colleagues, sharing the reason for her recent absence from work. “I was diagnosed with lung cancer in December. So that led to surgery. I had half my lung cut out,” she said. “It’s just very traumatic. It’s very triggering. It’s a lot of emotions.” McLaughlin said it was even more difficult coming to terms with her diagnosis and breaking the news to her family because her older sister Tara died in 2015 at age 39 from the same disease. Neither of them were smokers. “You don’t want to worry anyone,” she said. “In our family lung cancer meant death. We had one example and we lost her.” McLaughlin underwent surgery in January at Sydney’s North Shore Private Hospital to remove the tumour and half of her lung. She admitted that it was daunting being treated in the same hospital and ICU where she witnessed her sister suffer from the disease. “I cried and then I laughed because it’s like, is this a joke?” she said. It’s been weeks since her surgery and McLaughlin said her recovery has been “slow but good.” She recognised that she’s lucky because her disease was caught early, unlike her sister’s.  “I think that was my big sister. Maybe I got lucky. I don’t know. I definitely think  she’s with me,” she said. “That’s what they do, big sisters.” 

The best-selling author Jane Fallon, the longtime partner of comedian Ricky Gervais, shared that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer, though the disease was caught in a “very early stage thankfully” and “the prognosis is excellent. I had a routine mammogram a week before Christmas,” Jane wrote on Instagram. “I had no symptoms but the brilliant radiographer spotted something iffy & sent me for further tests & eventually a biopsy.” According to the 65-year-old, she’s since had “more mammograms, more biopsies and an MRI so they can pinpoint the problem area precisely.” “It’s been a lot, I’m not going to lie,” the TV producer said, “But, my surgery is scheduled for the week after next and I just want to get it over with now.” Jane assured fans she was receiving “incredible care” and that “all will be fine.” However, she did admit that she wasn’t interested in “engaging with much beyond audiobooks & jigsaws.” Giving her beloved cat Pickle a shoutout, she jokingly added, “Nurse Pickle wondering when lunch is.” Ricky hasn’t spoken publicly about Jane’s diagnosis, the couple have been together since 1982 after meeting at the University College London.

On This Day

• 44 BC – The assassination of Julius Caesar, the dictator of the Roman Republic, by a group of senators takes place on the Ides of March. 
• 1626 – A dam failure causes the sudden flooding of the mining city of Potosí in present-day Bolivia leading to the death of thousands and the massive release of toxic mercury into the environment.
• 1877 – First ever official cricket test match is played: Australia vs England at the MCG Stadium, in Melbourne, Australia.

Deaths

• 44 BC – Julius Caesar, Roman general and statesman (born 100 BC). 
• 1937 – H. P. Lovecraft, American short story writer, editor, and novelist (born 1890).
• 1998 – Dr Benjamin Spock, American paediatrician and author (born 1903). 
• 2003 – Thora Hird, English actress (born 1911).
• 2012 – Mervyn Davies, Welsh rugby player (born 1946). 
• 2014 – Clarissa Dickson Wright, English chef, author, & television personality (born 1947).
• 2025 – Wings Hauser, American actor (born 1947).

Last Week’s Birthdays

David Cronenberg (83), Eva Longoria (51), Judd Hirsch (91), Michael Caine (93), Jamie Bell (40), Billy Crystal (78), Harry Melling (37), William H. Macy (76), Aaron Eckhart (58), Lesley Manville (70), Jaimie Alexander (42), Liza Minnelli (80), Titus Welliver (64), Jodie Comer (33), Johnny Knoxville (55), Alex Kingston (63), John Barrowman (59), Bad Bunny (32), Jon Hamm (55), Olivia Wilde (42), Sharon Stone (68), Chuck Norris (86), Oscar Isaac (47), and Juliette Binoche (62). 

15th March 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 8th March 2026

As the whole world rejoices at the brutal death of Ian Huntley, only one of us saw fit to include him on our lists. Congratulations to Trish, who listed Huntley as a Cert, she cores 198 points! Sometimes wishful thinking works 😀  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Stephen Hibbert, 65, American actor (Pulp Fiction) and television writer (Late Night with David Letterman), heart attack. 
• Paul Conroy, 61, British photojournalist, heart attack
• Annabel Schofield, 62, Welsh-born American model and actress (Dallas), cancer
• Pockets Warhol, 33, Canadian capuchin monkey artist. 
• Mike Vernon, 81, English record producer (“Albatross“, “Hocus Pocus“). 
• Billy Leon Kearse, 53, American convicted murderer, execution by lethal injection. 
• Ian Huntley, 52, British murderer (Soham Murders), head trauma from an attack. 
• Jamie Dunn, 75, Australian puppeteer (Agro), voice actor and radio host.  

In Other News

Evil Dead star Bruce Campbell has shared a “shock” health update. The American actor and filmmaker posted the statement on his social media on Tuesday, revealing he has been diagnosed with a type of cancer that is “treatable” but not “curable”. “The good news is, I’m not gonna go into any more details,” Campbell wrote. “I’m posting this, because professionally, a few things will have to change — appearances and cons and work in general need to take a back seat to treatment.” The 67-year-old actor explained his priority is to get as well as possible so he can join the tour for his upcoming road-trip comedy Ernie & Emma about a widowed pear salesman’s journey to scatter his wife’s ashes. “There are several cons this year summer that I have to cancel,” Campbell confirmed. “Big regrets on my part. Treatment needs and professional obligations don’t always go hand-in-hand.” He emphasised the statement was not meant to elicit sympathy or advice but simply to set the record straight regarding his health. Despite the diagnosis, Campbell said he is determined to fight the cancer. “Fear not, I am a tough son-of-a-bitch and I have great support, so I expect to be around a while,” he said. “As always, you’re the greatest fans in the world and I hope to see you soon!”  

BBC star Finnian Garbutt has issued a heartfelt appeal to raise funds to support his wife and child after his death. The 28-year-old actor, best known for his role as PC Ryan Power in the Irish BBC drama Hope Street, was diagnosed with Stage 3 skin cancer, which has since spread to his neck. Just days after revealing he is now in the “last stages” of the disease, he has launched a GoFundMe campaign. At the time of writing, it had raised a whopping £27,500 so far. Finnian, who has also featured in Casualty, spoke candidly to Belfast Live about his diagnosis and confessed that his world had been “crashing down”. Disclosing that doctors warned him he might not survive, he revealed: “It was almost as if they accidentally had diagnosed me with cancer and were treating me by mistake. I was told I could die; my plastic surgeons had warned me about how ill I could be following surgery. “It kept being communicated to me that I was really sick, that I was one step away from being a terminal patient. I was just waiting to hear that I had tumours elsewhere throughout my body. I had already come to terms with the fact that I was going to die young. My defence mechanism was to expect the worst. I thought it was only going to be a matter of time.” Four years ago, Finnian discovered a lump behind his ear, initially believing it to be an ingrown hair. However, when his barber informed him that the lump had grown significantly, he received his devastating diagnosis. He subsequently underwent a gruelling 12-hour surgery to remove 75 lymph nodes from his face and neck. He concluded: “Unfortunately, the scans have shown that the cancer has progressed rapidly in my body and I am now entering the last stages of life. I’m putting this out there as it is really difficult to tell people individually and I hope now that it’s in the open I can enjoy the time with my amazing family and friends.”  

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi shared she was diagnosed with Stage I adenocarcinoma, a type of cervical cancer. A star of the MTV reality show Jersey Shore, which launched in 2009 and ran for six seasons, Snooki told her story through a TikTok video posted February 20th. She has updated fans about her health journey, including during doctors’ visits, in subsequent posts, using her platform to emphasise the importance of routine cancer screening. “I’m 38 years old, and I’ve been struggling with abnormal Pap smears for three or four years now, and now look at me,” Snooki said when announcing her diagnosis. “Instead of putting it off because I didn’t want to go because I was hurt and scared, I just went and did it. And it was there, cancer is in there. But it’s Stage I, and it’s curable. A lot of women go through it silently without anyone to talk to and they’re scared by themselves. And that was me until I decided to upload the video about what was happening with me,” Snooki said. 

On This Day

• 1910 – French aviator Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman to receive a pilot’s license.
• 1950 – The iconic Volkswagen Type 2 “Bus” begins production.
• 1979 – Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time.
• 2014 – In one of aviation’s greatest mysteries, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying a total of 239 people, disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The fate of the flight remains unknown.

Deaths

• 1723 – Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St. Paul’s Cathedral (born 1632).
• 1930 – William Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States (born 1857).
• 1996 – Jack Churchill, British colonel (born 1906). 
• 2003 – Adam Faith, English singer (born 1940). 
• 2007 – John Inman, English actor (born 1935). 
• 2020 – Max von Sydow, Swedish actor (born 1929).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Cynthia Rothrock (69), Micky Dolenz (81), Bryan Cranston (70), Rachel Weisz (56), Alan Davies (60), Shaquille O’Neal (54), Eva Mendes (52), Matt Lucas (52), Fred Williamson (88), Paul Blackthorne (57), Penn Jillette (71), Patsy Kensit (58), Brooklyn (Nepo) Beckham (27), Jessica Biel (44), Julie Bowen (56), Miranda Richardson (68), Charlie Brooker (55), Daniel Craig (58), Bryce Dallas Howard (45), Nathalie Emmanuel (37), Rebel Wilson (46), Ethan Peck (40), Gates McFadden (77), Jon Bon Jovi (64), and Chris Martin (49).

8th March 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 1st March 2026

Unbelievably, nobody scored this week. Surely one of us should have listed Ali Khamenei!!! With the dementia addled ginger nut in charge, this was surely on the cards! Anyhow, a missed opportunity for us, and the beginning of WWIII perhaps? Maybe this year could be the best scoring year ever! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Maxi Shield, 51, Australian drag queen (RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under), throat cancer. 
• Dan Simmons, 77, American science fiction and horror writer (Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Song of Kali), complications from a stroke.  
• Robert Carradine, 71, American actor (Revenge of the Nerds, The Big Red One, Lizzie McGuire), suicide by hanging.  
• Sondra Lee, 97, American actress (Hello, Dolly!, Peter Pan, Sunday in New York) and singer.
• Oliver “Power” Grant, 52, American executive producer (Wu-Tang Clan). 
• Jeff Galloway, 80, American Olympic runner, stroke. 
• Rob Grant, 70, English comedy writer and television producer (Red Dwarf). 
• Neil Sedaka, 86, American singer (“Breaking Up Is Hard to Do“, “Laughter in the Rain“) and songwriter (“Love Will Keep Us Together“). 
• Lorraine Bayly, 89, Australian actress (The Sullivans, Neighbours, Carson’s Law).  
• Ali Khamenei, 86, ayatollah, supreme leader (since 1989). Assassination by missile strike.

In Other News

A silverback western lowland gorilla has died days after he was moved to a new home. Jock, 42, who spent the majority of his life at Bristol Zoo Project’s Clifton site, had a number of known conditions, but his health deteriorated 10 days after his relocation to a site near Cribbs Causeway. Sarah Gedman, curator of mammals at Bristol Zoo Project, said the “difficult decision” to peacefully euthanise Jock is a “testament to the deep bonds between him and the people who cared for him”. He was one of the oldest silverbacks in the UK and was part of a troop of eight at the zoo. “Jock’s legacy at Bristol Zoo, as a leader, father, and ambassador for his species, will live on through the gorillas he helped raise and the countless people he inspired,” she added. “His life was a reminder of both the beauty and fragility of wildlife, and the importance of conservation efforts everywhere.” Jock arrived at Clifton’s Bristol Zoo Gardens in 2003 and was a central figure in the zoo’s troop throughout his time there. He fathered several infants both at the zoo and through the European co-ordinated breeding programme for Critically Endangered western lowland gorillas. The gorillas had been looked after by keepers at the Clifton site since its closure in 2022. Just under two weeks ago, they moved into a new purpose-built African rainforest enclosure at the site near Cribbs Causeway. Vets and zookeepers have continued to monitor the gorillas since the move, but say a full review is needed to determine the cause of Jock’s illness. “The remaining members of our gorilla troop are safe and in good health, and our dedicated veterinary and animal care teams are closely monitoring their welfare, as the troop adjusts to Jock’s absence. Our entire team of colleagues and volunteers are devastated by this news,” Gedman added. Jock’s species typically lives between 35 and 40 years in the wild and is classified as critically endangered, largely due to threats such as poaching and habitat loss.  

Soham killer Ian Huntley remains in a serious condition in hospital, two days after he was attacked with a metal bar by another inmate at a maximum security prison. Durham Constabulary confirmed on Saturday morning that his condition had not changed overnight. A spokesperson stated: “The 52-year-old man remains in hospital in a serious condition, there have been no changes overnight.” The assault took place in the jail’s workshop. According to reports, triple killer Anthony Russell allegedly shouted “I’ve done it, I’ve done it” after Huntley, 52, was repeatedly smashed over the head at HMP Frankland, Durham, on Thursday morning. The force declined to identify the suspect but said on Thursday that a man in his mid-40s had been detained in the prison, but had not yet been arrested. Former caretaker Huntley killed 10-year-olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman after they left a family barbecue to buy sweets in Soham, Cambridgeshire, on August 4 2002, then dumped their bodies in a ditch. Russell was sentenced to a whole life tariff in 2021 for the murders of Julie Williams, 58, and her son David Williams, 32, at separate flats in Coventry, and pregnant 31-year-old Nicole McGregor, who was found in woodland near Leamington Spa three days later. Russell also raped Ms McGregor. Thursday’s assault was the latest attempt on Huntley’s life and he was thought to have been kept under close observation to prevent similar attacks. In 2010, robber Damien Fowkes slashed him with a home-made weapon, causing a “severe, gaping cut to the left side of his neck” with a 7in (18cm) wound which required 21 stitches. Fowkes asked a prison officer: “Is he dead? I hope so.” He described Huntley as a “notorious child killer, both inside prison and in society in general”. Huntley is serving a life sentence with a recommendation that he serves at least 40 years for the Soham murders. 

Bhad Bhabie, real name Danielle Bregoli, has given a concerning update on her cancer as she told fans her doctor hadn’t given her good news. The rapper, 22,  announced in 2024 she’d been diagnosed with cancer after people started speculating about her weight loss and she wanted to head off the ‘worst narratives’ that were being whipped up around her. Now she’s posted an update on social media saying: “Bad news from my doctor yesterday, god has the last say so not my cancer.” She didn’t provide any further details on her condition. Back in November 2024 when she confirmed she had been diagnosed with cancer she had faced speculation over whether she had changed her eating habits or started taking weight loss drugs. However, Bregoli instead explained that her weight loss was as a result of treatment for cancer. “I’m sorry my cancer medicine made me lose weight,” she wrote on her Instagram story, before telling her millions of followers she was ‘slowly gaining it back’. Her mum Barbara also took aim at trolls who had suggested Danielle had been faking cancer, going on Instagram to tell them what was what. She wrote: “I pray to God one of your children never get cancer. I’ve had it twice. How dare you say my daughter’s faking this.” The mum also shared images of her own experience with cancer as she told people to ‘stop with your assumptions’. “For all those individuals commenting on cancer and cancer meds just bloating you this was me one year after my 1st diagnosis,” she had said as she shared a past image of herself. Bhad Bhabie first became famous at the age of 13 when she went on the talk show Dr Phil and became known as the girl who said ‘cash me outside’. She and her mum appeared on the episode titled ‘I Want to Give Up My Car-Stealing, Knife-Wielding, Twerking 13-Year-Old Daughter Who Tried to Frame Me for a Crime’. That’s quite a mouthful. Anyhow, Danielle said she hadn’t realised she’d become a meme as she was sent to a camp for troubled teens after her appearance on Dr Phil and was not thrilled to discover she was all over the internet. Speaking on the HighLowWithEmRata podcast, she said: “Imagine you get home from being in this fucking fucked up place for fucking six months and then you open your phone and go on Facebook and all you see is yourself, and you’re 13.”

On This Day

• 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials. 
• 1910 – The deadliest avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people.
• 1953 – Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses; he dies four days later.
• 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet’s surface. 
• 1998 – Titanic became the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.

Deaths

• 1244 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr, Welsh noble, son of Llywelyn the Great (born 1200).
• 2006 – Jack Wild, English actor (born 1952).
• 2024 – Iris Apfel,  American businesswoman, interior designer (born 1921).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Javier Bardem (57), Jensen Ackles (48), Ron Howard (72), Lupita Nyong’o (43), Dirk Benedict (81), Justin Bieber (32), John Turturro (69), Rae Dawn Chong (65), Kate Mara (43), Timothy Spall (69), Adam Baldwin (64), Bill Duke (83), Sean Astin (55), Anson Mount (53), Lee Evans (62), Edward James Olmos (79), Dakota Fanning (32), Emily Blunt (43), Josh Gad (45), Aziz Ansari (43), and Kelly Macdonald (50).

1st March 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 22nd February 2026

Quite a few notable deaths last week, however only Eric Dane was a point worthy passing. I can award Laura U, Lee U, Mark K, and Ian K 97 points each. Well done all of you!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Tom Noonan, 74, American actor (Manhunter, Synecdoche, New York, Damages). 
• Robert Duvall, 95, American actor (The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Tender Mercies). 
• Jane Baer, 91, American animator (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, The Black Cauldron). 
• Jesse Jackson, 84, American civil rights activist and politician. 
• Eric Dane, 53, American actor (Grey’s Anatomy, The Last Ship, Euphoria), complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.  

In Other News

Following multi-millionaire Eric Dane‘s death on Thursday, his friends and fans are weirdly donating their hard earned cash to his family as they grieve. Friends of Dane and wife Rebecca Gayheart’s family have launched a GoFundMe page to raise funds to help support their two teen daughters Billie and Georgie, after Eric died at age 53 following a recent ALS diagnosis. Seeking to crowdsource $250,000, the campaign has surpassed it as of today and is now heading toward $300k. “It is with profound sadness that we share the loss of Eric Dane after a hard-fought battle with ALS, leaving behind his devoted wife, Rebecca, and his two teenage daughters, Billie and Georgia, who were the centre of his world,” reads the statement in the GoFundMe page. They continued, “Any contribution, no matter the size, will help provide stability during this incredibly difficult time and in the future for Eric’s wonderful daughters. Thank you.” Dane and his family, allegedly worth around $7 million at the time of his death, really need your help, so if you feel like pissing on Eric Dane’s legacy by donating towards his family’s affluent lifestyle, please click on this link.  

Pulp Fiction actor Peter Greene, who was found lifeless in his Manhattan apartment on December 12th, died after accidentally shooting himself in the left armpit, The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City has determined. The Medical Examiner’s office confirmed to the Flying Monkeys that Greene’s cause of death was a gunshot wound “of left axilla with injury of brachial artery.” The wound caused extensive bleeding; the manner of death was determined by the ME as accidental. 60-year-old Greene was discovered in his Lower East Side apartment after a neighbour phoned the landlord and the police to conduct wellness checks. Neighbour’s had reported hearing Christmas music coming from Greene’s apartment nonstop for several days. The actor, born in Montclair, New Jersey, was candid about his past struggles with addiction, though he reportedly had been sober for at least a couple years at the time of his death.  

Alcoholic and general arsehole Shia LaBeouf was arrested in New Orleans early Tuesday morning after starting a fight end losing during the city’s Mardi Gras celebration. LaBeouf is facing two counts of battery and is accused of repeatedly using homophobic slurs while hitting multiple people and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon. The 39-year-old actor was reportedly involved in an incident shortly after midnight outside a bar in New Orleans’ French Quarter. In a video LaBeouf is shown receiving medical attention from paramedics. The New Orleans Police Department alleged that LaBeouf was causing a disturbance and becoming increasingly aggressive at a business on Royal Street. According to the police, a staff member attempted to remove LaBeouf from the business but said that the actor hit one man several times with closed fists. LaBeouf left but came back, allegedly becoming more aggressive. The police report said multiple people attempted to hold LaBeouf down but he was let up “in hopes that he would leave.” Police allege LaBeouf then resumed hitting the same man, then punched another person in the nose before he was held down until officers arrived. LaBeouf was taken to a hospital for unknown injuries and then arrested and charged. LaBeouf’s arrest comes after the actor went on an extended weekend bar crawl during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, employees of various establishments told the Flying Monkeys. “He is terrorising the city,” one bartender, who waited on LaBeouf last Thursday said. 

On This Day

• 1651 – St. Peter’s Flood: A storm surge floods the Frisian coast, drowning 15,000 people.
• 1797 – The last Invasion of Britain begins near Fishguard, Wales.
• 1974 – Samuel Byck attempts to hijack an aircraft at Baltimore/Washington International Airport with the intention of crashing it into the White House to assassinate Richard Nixon, but commits suicide after being wounded by police.
• 1997 – In Roslin, Midlothian, British scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly has been successfully cloned, all Welshmen rejoice!

Deaths

• 1987 – Andy Warhol, American painter and photographer (born 1928).
• 2002 – Chuck Jones, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (born 1912).
• 2012 – Frank Carson, Irish-English comedian and actor (born 1926).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Kyle MacLachlan (67), Drew Barrymore (51), Thomas Jane (57), Jeri Ryan (58), James Hong (97), Julie Walters (76), Nigel Planer (73), Sheila Hancock (93), Sophie Turner (30), Elliot Page (39), Kelsey Grammer (71), Tyne Daly (80), Charlotte Church (40), Miles Teller (39), Anthony Head (72), Rihanna (38), Cindy Crawford (60), Millie Bobby Brown (22), Benicio Del Toro (59), Jeff Daniels (71), Ray Winstone (69), Ophelia Lovibond (40), Leslie Ash (66), John Travolta (72), Molly Ringwald (58), Cybill Shepherd (76), Jeremy Allen White (35), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (45), Lou Diamond Phillips (64), Rory Kinnear (50), Rene Russo (72), Bonnie Wright (35), Paris Hilton (45), Dominic Purcell (56), Ed Sheeran (35), Elizabeth Olsen (37), Christopher Eccleston (62), LeVar Burton (69), Amanda Holden (55), The Weeknd (36), and John McEnroe (67).

22nd February 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 15th February 2026

Let’s kick off with some points! Congratulations to Abi, Dave and Lee, all three correctly predicted that Marie-Rose Tessier would die this year, 35 and 135 points awarded accordingly. We can also award 102 to Ian and Paula for the early demise of James Van Der Beek. Well done all! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Shelly Desai, 90, American actor (Men of a Certain Age, Here Comes the Boom, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia). 
• Andrew Ranken, 72, English drummer (The Pogues).
• Marie-Rose Tessier, 115, French supercentenarian. 
• Bud Cort, 77, American actor (Harold and Maude, Brewster McCloud, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou), pneumonia. 
• James Van Der Beek, 48, American actor (Dawson’s Creek, Varsity Blues, The Rules of Attraction), colorectal cancer.  
• Palmerston, 11–12, British cat, chief mouser to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (2016–2020). 

In Other News

A royal decorator who painted the Prince and Princess of Wales’ bedroom was found hanged after ‘King Charles’ reportedly criticised one of his paint jobs, an inquest has heard. Self-employed Chris Eadie, 63, had worked at the Sandringham estate for more than 30 years and took great pride in carrying out projects for the late Queen and later King Charles, Norfolk Coroner’s Court heard. His brother Mark Eadie said he had been left upset after being tasked with painting a pagoda over a Buddha in the gardens of Sandringham  House in colours requested by the King. Mark said his highly skilled brother felt the colours were ‘a bit garish’, but painted it exactly as instructed. However, the King was said to be unhappy with how it looked and ordered it be repainted. Father-of-two Mr Eadie dutifully stripped the structure and prepared it ready for new colours chosen by the King, only for the final painting work to be handed to another contractor, he said. Mark added: ‘After all that detailed preparation, someone else was given the job. He was devastated.’ The court heard that around the same time, Mr Eadie had begun losing weight and suffering from a lack of appetite, becoming convinced he might have cancer. Phone conversations with his brother revealed his mental health was deteriorating as his worries mounted over both his health and the declining amount of work at Sandringham. Mark said that his brother’s ‘perfectionism’ meant he was frequently appointed for ‘the top jobs’ within the Royal household, including painting William and Kate’s bedroom.But in recent years, he was said to have become deeply affected as work from the estate became less frequent following management changes and the introduction of new contractors. Mark told the hearing that his brother was a ‘talented perfectionist’ who lived for his work, and was immensely proud about carrying out jobs discreetly for the Royal family. He said: ‘My brother was absolutely brilliant at his job. He had incredible attention to detail and wouldn’t let anything go unless it was perfect. ‘He was loyal and wouldn’t talk about what he did, but I know he painted William and Kate’s bedroom and even met their children once in the garden. He said they were lovely.’ Mr Eadie’s partner Joanna described him as a loving father to his two sons who took huge pride in his career and his long service to the royals. But she said the reduction in work from Sandringham after decades of loyalty deeply upset him with the pagoda incident becoming a particular source of angst. Six weeks before his death she found him sitting in the dark at home and later feared he had been considering harming himself. In the days before he died, she told the hearing that he became unusually affectionate, something she now believes was part of saying goodbye. She found him dead in the garden of his home on the Sandringham estate on October 10th last year. PC David Norris of Norfolk Police told the inquest that Mr Eadie was found hanging in a small garden space between sheds. Paramedics attempted to resuscitate him after cutting him down but were unable to save him. Officers found a bottle of open spirits and a handwritten note inside the house. Mr Eadie apologised to loved ones in the note, writing: ‘Tell everyone I love them so much. I am sorry.’ Toxicology tests later showed only a small amount of alcohol in his system, along with raised levels of paracetamol, though not enough to have caused death. A post-mortem examination concluded he died by hanging. 

A Strictly Come Dancing star who left a suicide note saying the BBC ‘destroyed me’ after he was dropped from the show was ‘vulnerable to rejection both emotionally and professionally’, an inquest jury has concluded. Robin Windsor, a professional Latin and ballroom dancer who featured in four series from 2010 and 2013, took an overdose while staying at The Hoxton Hotel in Shepherd’s Bush, west London, on February 19th 2024. Windsor’s body was discovered by a receptionist after he failed to check out of his room – with police later finding two suicide messages. The first, to a friend, said: ‘This all really started when I lost my job on Strictly. The way they treated me destroyed me. It started me on the road I’m still on. All I wanted from life was to be happy. I loved my job more than anyone else.’ He went on to say he was permanently in a ‘dark place’ and couldn’t go on ‘living like this any more’. Windsor’s second note, to his ex-partner actor Ollie Augustin, said: ‘I need you to understand that this is not your fault.’ After two hours of deliberations, jurors at West London Coroner’s Court recorded Windsor’s death as suicide on Thursday, adding he was ‘vulnerable to rejection both emotionally and professionally’. The inquest, overseen by Dr Anton van Dellen, concluded Windor’s medical cause of death as a combination of consuming alcohol and drug gamma-butyrolactone (GBH).

On This Day

• 1933 – In Miami, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate US President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6th.
• 1952 – King George VI of the United Kingdom is buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
• 1961 – Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team along with several of their coaches and family members.
• 1970 – Dominicana de Aviación Flight 603 crashes into the Caribbean Sea after takeoff from Las Américas International Airport, killing 102, including members of the Puerto Rico women’s national volleyball team and lightweight boxer Carlos Cruz.
• 1971 – The decimalisation of the currencies of the United Kingdom and Ireland is completed on Decimal Day.
• 1992 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to 15 terms of life in prison.
• 2001 – The first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature.
• 2013 – A meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blows out windows and rocks buildings.

Deaths

• 1928 – H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1852).
• 1965 – Nat King Cole, American singer and pianist (born 1919). 
• 1988 – Richard Feynman, American physicist & academic (born 1918).
• 2020 – Caroline Flack, English actress and TV presenter (born 1979).
• 2023 – Raquel Welch, American actress and singer (born 1940).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jane Seymour (75), Matt Groening (72), Freddie Highmore (34), Simon Pegg (56), Andrew Robinson (84), Meg Tilly (66), Neal McDonough (60), Mena Suvari (47), Stockard Channing (82), Kim Novak (93), Robbie Williams (52), Hugh Dennis (64), Taylor Dearden (33), Josh Brolin (58), Christina Ricci (46), Michael Ironside (76), Maud Adams (81), Annette Crosbie (92), Arsenio Hall (70), Damian Lewis (55), Jennifer Aniston (57), Natalie Dormer (44), Elizabeth Banks (52), Chloë Grace Moretz (29), Laura Dern (59), Keeley Hawes (50), Robert Wagner (96), Philip Glenister (63), Tom Hiddleston (45), Michael B. Jordan (39), Joe Pesci (83), Rose Leslie (39), Ciarán Hinds (73), and Mia Farrow (81).

15th February 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 8th February 2026

A quiet week, would have gone by without mention unless the well loved John Virgo hadn’t bust an artery! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, 53, Libyan politician, shot. 
• Lamonte McLemore, 90, American singer (The 5th Dimension). 
• John Virgo, 79, English snooker player, ruptured aorta. 
• Fred Smith, 77, American bassist (Television, Blondie). 
• Blessed Geza, 82–83, Zimbabwean politician, cancer. 
• Brad Arnold, 47, American singer (3 Doors Down) and songwriter (“Kryptonite“, “Here Without You“), renal cell carcinoma.

In Other News

Coronation Street legend Beverley Callard has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The 68-year-old received the devastating news last month – just 20 minutes before starting her new job on Irish soap opera Fair City. Beverley has been told she will need surgery and radiotherapy. She is also returning to the UK this weekend for tests to check whether the cancer has spread. Beverley told the Flying Monkeys on Friday: “I’ve had some tests just before I left the UK, and literally, 15, 20 minutes before I was in my dressing room at Fair City, getting ready to go on, and I was quite nervous and thinking, ‘I hope everybody thinks I’m all right’, whatever. And my consultant rang me and said, ‘you’ve got to come back to the UK’. I said, ‘Well, I can’t possibly, I’ve just taken a new job’. I said ‘I’m away for a month’, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer.” Reassuring fans about her health battle, Beverley continued: “I’m fine, I’m absolutely fine. My head was a bit mashed for the first few days. It’s very early stages, and I am along with thousands of other women as well. I travel back to the UK tomorrow, just for a couple of weeks, they’re going to test lymph nodes and lymph glands and all that. But then I need an operation and some radiotherapy, and then I’m coming back to Fair City, so I will be back in just a few weeks.” Beverley quit her iconic role as Rovers Return landlady Liz McDonald in 2019 after 30 years on screen.  

Neil Young has cancelled his upcoming UK tour and other dates in Europe with rock band The Chrome Hearts. The Canadian-American singer, 80, apologised to fans in a post on his official website on Friday night. He said it is “not the time” to be playing live shows and said he had “decided to take a break”. Young was due to go on tour this summer with dates scheduled for locations including Manchester, Glasgow, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, and Cork. ‘I’m sorry to let you down’ A message posted to the Neil Young Archives website read: “I have decided to take a break and will not be touring Europe this time. “Thanks to everyone who bought tickets. I’m sorry to let you down, but this is not the time. “I do love playing live and being with you and The Chrome Hearts. Love, Neil. Be well.” The rocker celebrated his 80th birthday on Wednesday by taking a cruise around Oxnard, California, in his 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible, which boasts a rechargeable biodiesel-powered micro-turbine engine. Young made headlines last month when he gave access to his entire digital archive to the people of Greenland as a gesture of solidarity amid Donald Trump’s threats to annex the territory, which is part of Denmark. “I’m honoured to give a free year’s access to neilyoungarchives.com to all our friends in Greenland,” Young wrote on his website. “I hope my music and music films will ease some of the unwarranted stress and threats you are experiencing from our unpopular and hopefully temporary government.”  

Dame Esther Rantzen has said she does not have “much longer” to live because a drug she has been taking since 2024 has stopped working. Last week marked the third anniversary of the 85-year-old’s diagnosis with stage four lung cancer, and she told the Flying Monkeys: “To my astonishment, thanks to one of the new miracle drugs, I’m still here. Not for much longer. “The drug has stopped working now, and a scan next week will reveal how far my disease has spread.” Rantzen shared her health update as she made another passionate plea in favour of the assisted dying bill, which she has spent years campaigning for. The veteran TV star continued: “I’m definitely not going to live long enough to see the assisted dying bill become law. So if my life becomes unbearably painful and I long for a quick, pain-free death, I will have to go to Dignitas in Switzerland, alone. All I ask is that future generations be given the confidence and hope of a fast, pain-free death, when they need it most,” she wrote. The bill will make assisted dying legal in some circumstances in England and Wales. It passed the House of Commons in June 2025, but still needs to pass in the House of Lords – where more than 1,000 amendments have been tabled. A row has now unfolded with the bill’s supporters claiming opponents in the House of Lords are trying to delay the legislation so that there is not enough time for it to be passed before the current session of Parliament ends this spring. Rantzen first shared her lung cancer diagnosis in January 2023, and revealed a few months later that it had progressed to stage four. She said in 2024 that she had registered with the Swiss assisted dying clinic Dignitas, and has heavily criticised the fact that current UK law means family members could be prosecuted for accompanying a loved one to the Zurich facility. Last year, Rantzen said she knew her time left was “extremely limited”, adding: “So now I enjoy each day as it comes as an extra bonus. I am never bored, I even appreciate insomnia in my comfy bed listening to Radio 4 and the World Service. I live in a cottage in the New Forest and am extremely lucky to have a beautiful spring garden to admire.”

On This Day

• 1587 – Mary Queen of Scots is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
• 1924 – The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber takes place in Nevada.
• 1960   – The Hollywood Walk of Fame is founded.
• 1983 – Irish race horse Shergar is stolen and allegedly killed by gunmen in a ransom attempt by the Provisional IRA.

Deaths

• 1960 – Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect and engineer, designed the Red telephone box and Liverpool Cathedral (born 1880).
• 1998 – Enoch Powell, English politician, Secretary of State for Health (born 1912).
• 2007 – Anna Nicole Smith, American model and actress (born 1967).

Last Meals

Gee Jon was a Chinese national who was the first person in the United States to be executed by lethal gas. A member of the Hip Sing Tong criminal society from San Francisco, California, Gee was sentenced to death for the murder of Tom Quong Kee, who was a member of the rivalling Bing Kung Tong in Mina, Nevada. An unsuccessful attempt to pump poison gas directly into his cell at Nevada State Prison led to the development of the gas chamber. 

Gee Jon was born around 1895 in Canton to a Cantonese family. He immigrated to the United States between 1907 and 1908. He spent most of his life at San Francisco’s Chinatown in California, though he was recorded as having briefly lived in the Chinatown area of Stockton. Gee became a member of the Hip Sing Tong society, which dealt in narcotics and liquor. In 1922, territorial disputes with the Bing Kong Tong society led to the outbreak of hostilities. 

Gee Jon was ordered by Hip Sing officials to perform a gang hit on 74-year-old Chinese laundry proprietor Tom Quong Kee, a nominal member of the Bing Kong Tong, as well as the Four Brothers tong. Hughie Sing, a 19-year-old from Carson City, newly recruited to the Hip Sing Tong and Gee’s apprentice of two months, pointed Tom out as a target. They traveled to Mina from Reno on the 18th or 20th August, reportedly being seen by deputy sheriff W. J. Hammill asking about work at the local Palace Café. By then Hammill had heard rumours that the men he had seen were Tong members in town to kill Tom Quong Kee and were pretending to be job-seekers on their way to Tonopah as a cover.

On the night of August 27th 1921, Gee and Sing knocked on the door of Tom’s cabin, the former armed with a .38 caliber Colt revolver. When Tom answered the door in his pyjamas, Gee, who was standing behind Sing, killed the elderly man with two shots to the heart. Tom’s body was discovered the next morning by one of his friends, reporting his find to justice of the peace L. E. Cornelius, who in turn alerted Hammill. After finding two sets of footprints at the crime scene, Hammill made a possible link to the presence of two strangers he had seen the week before. Gee and Sing were apprehended the same day in Reno after Hammill phoned chief of police John Kirkley about two possible murder suspects driving back from Mina. Their arrests were considered unusual, as other Tong killings typically went unsolved, with at least three additional murders with suspected Tong involvement being reported by the end of August. During interrogation, Sing confessed to his role in the murder and implicated Gee as the one to fire the fatal shots, under the belief that this would lead to his immediate release from custody. 

In February 1922, both were convicted and sentenced to death in the District Court of Mineral County, Nevada. A bill authorising the use of lethal gas had passed the Nevada State Legislature in 1921, making Gee and Sing eligible to become the first people to be executed by this method. 

Sing’s sentence was commuted to life imprisonment because he was only nineteen years old and Gee had been the one to commit the shooting, also highlighting that unlike Gee, who was described as “an illiterate Chinese unacquainted with American customs”, Sing had been born in the United States, was educated at a bilingual grammar school and had cooperated with the authorities; he was released on parole in 1938. 

The California Cyanide Company of Los Angeles, California, was the only distributor of liquid cyanide in the western United States and refused to deliver it to Carson City over liability concerns. The poison was used to eradicate pests from citrus groves in California. Warden Denver S. Dickerson sent his assistant Tom Pickett to Los Angeles to personally pick up 20 lb (9.1 kg) of lethal gas, which was contained in a mobile fumigating unit that cost $700. Four guards who did not want to participate in the process had resigned. The officials first attempted to pump poison gas directly into Gee’s cell while he was sleeping, but without success because the gas leaked from the cell. A makeshift gas chamber was set up at the butcher shop of the prison, measuring eleven feet long, ten feet wide, and eight feet high. A small window next to the wooden chair allowed witnesses to look inside. A day before the execution, two cats were used to test the lethal effectiveness of the chamber. It was declared that the animals “died apparently instantly and without pain” in 15 seconds.   

Gee Jon was executed in the morning hours of February 8th 1924. The prior evening, Gee had a final visitation with two friends and a cousin, and made his last statement to a journalist, calling “gas all the same as rope or shoot’em gun” and had “no worry”. Gee, who had fasted for ten days before his execution date and weighed only 40.9 kg at this point, agreed to have a last meal, consisting of ham, eggs, toast, and a cup of coffee. A guard transporting Gee to the gas chamber reportedly muttered “Die like a man, Jon” to the inmate as he was tied onto a metal bench while the cyanide was being prepared. Gee wept as he was strapped into the chair until the captain of the guards told him to “Brace up!” Around a dozen attendees, including news reporters, public health officials, and representatives of the U.S. Army, served as witnesses to the execution, many of whom smoked cigarettes before and during the execution, believing that tobacco smoke would act “as protection against vagrant gas fumes that might drift their way”. 

At 9:40 a.m. the pump sprayed 1.8 kg of hydrocyanic acid into the chamber. The weather was cold and humid. Because an electric heater failed, the chamber was 11 °C instead of the ideal 24 °C, causing some of the acid to form a puddle on the floor. Gee turned his head to look for the source of the noise, then appeared to lose consciousness in about five seconds, with his head continuing to nod up and down for six minutes. During this time, an attending physician had declared Gee dead and encouraged attendees to examine him closely through the glass, only for Gee to jerk his head up again. He was completely motionless after ten minutes. Some of the witnesses momentarily thought they smelled the odour of almond blossoms, thought to be the odour of cyanide, leaking from the chamber. The warden had the witnesses cleared from the area. At about 10:00 a.m., a vent was opened, and a fan was turned on to discharge the poison gas. The prison staff waited for the remaining puddle of hydrocyanic acid to evaporate before cleaning up the chamber. Gee’s body was removed from the chamber at 12:20 p.m. and taken to the prison hospital. A group of seven doctors pronounced him dead but did not conduct an autopsy on the body out of concern that some remaining gas could be released. Gee was 29 years old when he died and his body was buried at the Carson City Penitentiary cemetery. 

Just after the execution, one of the physicians who examined Gee’s body, Dr. Delos A. Turner, a Major of the U.S. Veterans’ Bureau in Reno, asked for permission to perform medical experiments “in the interests of science.” Turner wanted to inject Gee’s corpse with camphor, believing that it would bring Gee back to life. Dickerson denied the request. Another physician professed his belief that Gee had not died by gas inhalation but due to “cold and exposure”. The disputed cause of death also caused concern for residents of Mineral County, some of whom feared that Gee “went to his grave in a state of suspended animation” and would haunt the area as a vengeful spectre. 

Newspapers reported overwhelmingly positive on the new execution method, citing witnesses who described Gee’s death as painless by their own judgement. However, the San Jose Mercury News printed, “One hundred years from now Nevada will be referred to as a heathen commonwealth controlled by savages with only the outward symbols of civilisation.” 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Mary Steenburgen (73), Nick Nolte (85), Seth Green (52), John Williams (94), John Grisham (71), Nabhaan Rizwan (29), Ashton Kutcher (48), James Spader (66), Deborah Ann Woll (41), Eddie Izzard (64), Chris Rock (61), Kevin Whately (75), Michael Sheen (57), Jennifer Jason Leigh (64), Christopher Guest (78), Charlotte Rampling (80), Tony Jaa (50), Cristiano Ronaldo (41), Gabrielle Anwar (56), Natalie Imbruglia (51), Aimee Lou Wood (32), Isla Fisher (50), Warwick Davis (56), Paul Mescal (30), Gemma Arterton (40), and Brent Spiner (77).

8th February 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 1st February 2026

We can dish out some points this week. With the execution of Charles Thompson, I can award 95 points to Julia and Abi, well done both! Always a brave punt going for Death Row inmates, but with the Republicans in charge they do like to murder their murderers and Wiki seems to be listing them again. Plus we all get to read about their crimes and last meals. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Bryan Loren, 59, American songwriter (“Do the Bartman“). 
• Charles Victor Thompson, 55, American convicted murderer, execution by lethal injection. 
• Catherine O’Hara, 71, Canadian-American actress (Schitt’s Creek, Beetlejuice, Home Alone). 
• Demond Wilson, 79, American actor (Sanford and Son, The New Odd Couple, Me and the Kid) and author, cancer. 

In Other News

Popular former BBC Radio DJ Andy Kershaw is “unable to walk” after being diagnosed with cancer that affected his spine. The presenter, 66, has been undergoing treatment including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, physiotherapy and “a lot of scans and painkillers”, his friend and podcast producer Peter Everett shared on Facebook this week. Kershaw, who hosted shows for Radio 1 and also co-presented the BBC’s TV coverage of Live Aid in 1985, was diagnosed last August. “Although we’ve not been able to put together any podcasts in the last six months, we are very grateful to all the patrons and supporters who have stuck with us,” Everett said. He then shared a message from Kershaw himself, who said: “I am in good spirits, feeling very positive and planning another podcast. I am determined not to die before Benjamin Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Ant’n’Dec. That should keep me going for a while.” Everett said the many messages of support and good wishes sent to Kershaw were “hugely appreciated”. Born in Rochdale, Kershaw – the brother of fellow broadcaster Liz Kershaw – grew up a fan of artists such as Bob Dylan and went to university with the aim of becoming a journalist. After arriving in London in 1984, where he secured a job as roadie and driver for singer-songwriter Billy Bragg, he was enlisted as a new presenter for BBC 2’s Whistle Test. He then got his own show on Radio 1 the following year, which he presented for 15 years before being sacked, as his website states, “to be replaced by another dance music programme”. Kershaw went on to work at Radio 3 while also making travel documentaries for Channel 4. He became a tabloid fixture in 2008 after his 17-year marriage ended over infidelity on his part, which he admitted to. His ex-wife, Juliette Banner, left him and obtained a court order to keep him away from their two children; Kershaw repeatedly broke the terms of the order and was imprisoned three times before going on the run. He ended up developing an alcohol dependency and was temporarily homeless: “Nobody, not even my allies within the serious media, bothered to look at what was really going on,” he told the Flying Monkeys at the time. “All I wanted to do was see my children, so why was I in jail? Why was I on the run? It was ridiculous, insane.”  

Ray J has revealed he believes he won’t live past this year as his heart is ‘done’ from years of drug and alcohol abuse. The singer, 45, was previously treated for pneumonia but in a recent update on Instagram, he confirmed things weren’t looking up. ‘2027 is definitely a wrap for me. This [gesturing to his heart] is black. This is, like, done,’ he told fans on the livestream. He shared that he ‘almost died’ while in hospital and admitted he had messed up by thinking he had ‘more weight’. ‘I thought I was big so I could handle all the alcohol, I could handle all the Adderall, I could handle all the drugs—but I couldn’t. It curved my time here,’ he explained. The Sexy Can I singer said over the weekend his heart was ‘only beating 25%’ but he had put a recovery plan in place. Before his health scare, Ray J — who has daughter Melody, seven, and son Epik, five, with estranged wife Princess Love — was taking 10 Adderall per day. He was also drinking ‘four or five bottles’, reasoning: ‘Ain’t nothing happening to me I’m indestructible. ’ Ray J rose to fame in the 00’s with hits like One Wish and Lil’ Kim collab Wait A Minute, however, he’s more well known for his sex tape with Kim Kardashian. Since then, he’s kept fairly out of the spotlight, appearing on the 2017 series of Celebrity Big Brother, where he walked off after a week. In 2020, he and Princess appeared in the first episodes of reality TV show The Conversation and two months later, she filed for divorce. He continued: ‘As long as I stay focused and stay on the right path, everything will be all right. My health is not OK, so I thank everybody for supporting and praying for me through everything I’ve been in the hospital.’ His family have rallied around him, including parents Sonja and Willie Norwood and his sister Brandy, who is also a singer. ‘Shoutout to my momma and daddy, and shoutout to Brandy for looking out for me. My sister paid my bills for me for the rest of the year. That’s crazy.’ The I Hit It First singer was hospitalised with pneumonia in 2021, initially assuming he had coronavirus, and so he was placed in the Covid wing. Calling his time in the wing ‘terrifying’, he stated: ‘I thought it was over. I started praying and knew God is good so I just kept praying.’ He was moved to a different ward and placed on oxygen, making a full recovery at the time.

On This Day

• 1964 – The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.
• 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
• 2013 – The Shard, the sixth-tallest building in Europe, opens its viewing gallery to the public.

Deaths

• 1851 – Mary Shelley, English novelist and playwright (born 1797). 
• 1966 – Buster Keaton, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1895).
• 1976 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist and academic (born 1901).
• 1988 – Heather O’Rourke, American child actress (born 1975). 
• 2019 – Jeremy Hardy, English comedian, radio host and panelist (born 1961).

Last Meals

Charles Victor Thompson was an American convicted double murderer who was sentenced to death in April 1999 for the murder of his former girlfriend, Glenda Dennise Hayslip and her new boyfriend, Darren Keith Cain, on April 30, 1998 in the Houston suburb of Tomball. Thompson was executed on January 28, 2026.

Thompson’s case gained nationwide attention following a November 2005 jail escape launching a manhunt that lasted 3 days; Thompson is, so far, the only American death row inmate to have successfully escaped a correctional facility in the 21st century.

On the evening of April 29, 1998, police were summoned to Hayslip’s apartment to resolve a domestic disturbance involving Thompson and Cain, who was Hayslip’s current love interest. Officers escorted Thompson from the premises, but he returned approximately three hours later, in the early morning of April 30, armed with a firearm.

Thompson gained entry to the residence by kicking in the front door, at which point he confronted Cain and Hayslip. Forensic evidence and witness statements established that Thompson fired four rounds into Cain’s neck and chest, resulting in immediate fatal trauma. Following the incapacitation of Cain, Thompson focused his attention on Hayslip. After reloading the weapon, he reportedly uttered a disparaging remark—”I can shoot you too, bitch”, before discharging a round into her face. The projectile entered through her cheek, causing catastrophic internal damage that included the destruction of her dentures and the near-total severance of her tongue. Despite these severe injuries, Hayslip survived the initial 

trauma and was transported via Life Flight to a hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery, was taken off life support days later and died.

After the shootings, Thompson fled the scene and disposed of the murder weapon in a nearby creek. He then traveled to the residence of Diane Zernia, a confidante to whom he described the shootings in detail. Following this confession, Thompson contacted his father, who facilitated his surrender to the authorities later that morning.

Following his arrest, Thompson stood trial in Harris County in 1999 on charges of capital murder. The death penalty was imposed throughout his trial.

While Thompson was in jail, he approached inmates Reid and Humphrey to arrange the murder of Diane Zernia, whom he correctly identified as the only witness capable of linking him to the homicides. Law enforcement, tipped off by Reid, orchestrated an undercover operation where Investigator Gary Johnson posed as a hitman. Johnson met with Thompson 

in a visiting booth and wore a wire to record their conversation. During this meeting, Thompson offered Johnson $1,500 to retrieve the murder weapon from Cypress Creek and to murder Zernia. Thompson displayed a hand-drawn map against the glass of the visitor’s booth depicting Zernia’s address and the weapon’s location, and he provided detailed descriptions of Zernia’s family and vehicles to facilitate the hit.

In November 3, 2005, he executed a brazen escape that exposed systemic negligence within the facility. Thompson had smuggled several items into his cell using a legal binder, which inmates are permitted to keep. These items included a handcuff key, a fake identification badge, and a set of civilian clothes consisting of khaki pants, a dark blue shirt, and white tennis shoes. Thompson later claimed that a sergeant had found a previous set of smuggled clothes but had merely confiscated them as contraband without reporting the incident to the district attorney’s office.

On the afternoon of November 3, Thompson was taken to a visitors’ room for what he claimed was a meeting with his attorney. Once alone, he slipped out of his handcuffs and changed out of his orange prison jumpsuit and into the smuggled civilian attire. Thompson then walked toward the exit, flashing his fake ID badge—which claimed he was a state investigator with the Attorney General’s office—to at least four jail employees. He bluffed his way past the final guards at the front door by walking calmly.

Thompson’s journey took him on a freight train to East Texas, where he stayed in an open boxcar, describing the experience as an “adventure” where he felt “dirty and happy”. He eventually reached Shreveport, Louisiana, where he stole a bicycle and used money obtained from “Good Samaritans” by posing as a Hurricane Katrina evacuee. His escape ended at a  pay phone outside a Shreveport liquor store. On November 6, 2005, acting on a tip, police found Thompson intoxicated while he was attempting to call friends overseas to arrange a wire transfer for a planned trip to Canada. Following his capture, Thompson was extradited back to Texas.

After exhausting his appeals, Thompson received his death warrant on September 11, 2025, scheduling him to be executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit on January 28, 2026. In an October 2025 interview, he stressed that he would continue to fight his death sentence, though he acknowledged that a stay was unlikely.

55-year-old Thompson was put to death by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit on January 28, 2026. He was pronounced dead at 6:50 p.m CT. In his final words, Thompson apologised to the victims’ families and asked for forgiveness. He went on to say that there were no winners and that it would create more trauma and victims after 28 years. 

Prior to his execution, Thompson ate a standard last meal of scrambled eggs, grape jelly, oatmeal, applesauce and biscuits for breakfast and fried chicken, pinto beans, sweet potatoes, carrots, sliced bread, swirl pudding along with beverages of punch and water for lunch.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Michael C. Hall (55), Sherilyn Fenn (61), Harry Styles (32), Minnie Driver (56), Jonathan Banks (79), Justin Timberlake (45), Olivia Colman (52), Christian Bale (52), Vanessa Redgrave (89), Phil Collins (75), Heather Graham (56), Katharine Ross (86), Tom Selleck (81), Marc Singer (78), Oprah Winfrey (72), Tim Healy (74), Elijah Wood (45), Will Poulter (33), Ariel Winter (28), Tom Hopper (41), Alan Alda (90), Alan Cumming (61), James Cromwell (86), Patton Oswalt (57), Bridget Fonda (62), Scott Glenn (87), Deep Roy (77),  and Ellen DeGeneres (68).

1st February 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 25th January 2026

Another pointless week flies by. Time to release the Flying Monkeys! The donations page will be open for another week, so if anyone feels benevolent, please do so by the end of next week. Thank you to everyone who has already donated, it is truly appreciated and does keep our Dead Pool going. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Norman Gifford, 85, English cricketer (Worcestershire, Warwickshire, national team). 
• Patsy King, 95, Australian actress (Prisoner, Homicide, Bellbird). 
• Valentino, 93, Italian fashion designer, founder of Valentino. 
• Tommy Wright, 81, English footballer (Everton, national team). 
• Rob Hirst, 70, Australian musician (Midnight Oil), pancreatic cancer. 
• Francis Buchholz, 71, German bass guitarist (Scorpions).
• Floyd Vivino, 74, American actor & comedian (Good Morning, Vietnam, Crazy People).
• Maurice Le Coutour, 111, French supercentenarian. 
• Yvonne Lime, 90, American actress (I Was a Teenage Werewolf, The Rainmaker).

In Other News

Bernadette Hunt, fondly remembered as Falcon from the legendary TV show Gladiators, left a significant sum to her family in her will after sadly losing her battle with cancer in 2023 at the age of 59. The surprising amount she bequeathed has now been revealed, with the formidable gladiator leaving her son and daughter a total sum running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. After debts and costs were deducted, Bernadette’s estate amounted to £293,000 from an original £444,000, according to probate documents seen by the Flying Monkeys. This means her children, Adam and Angel, received nearly £300,000 from her will. She had appeared in every series until its eventual cancellation. Regularly drawing in over 14 million viewers, the original cast quickly became household names, propelling stars like stern referee John Anderson and hosts Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu to fame. Throughout her time on Gladiators, Bernadette also appeared on International Gladiators from 1994 to 1995, and took part in three live performances. Her primary events included Joust, Powerball and Tilt. Queen’s iconic track Breakthru served as her signature tune during her time on the programme, and she enjoyed enormous popularity amongst viewers, with countless Gladiators enthusiasts calling her the ‘nicest Gladiator’. Prior to her television career, the Brighton-born star trained as both a ballerina and aerobics instructor. At 18, she secured a place at the London Contemporary Ballet School, but a back injury brought her ballet ambitions to an abrupt end. Following her exit from Gladiators in 1999, after the eighth series, Bernadette pivoted to a career as a personal trainer in Basingstoke. The tragic news of Bernadette’s passing was announced on 31st March. She is survived by her partner Mark and their two children, Angel and Adam.  

Derek Martin’s son, David Rapp, has died just days after the EastEnders star. Last week, we announced that the Charlie Slater actor had passed away, aged 92. Son David was with the actor when he died, a family friend confirmed in a statement. Now, BBB Talent Agency has confirmed to the Flying Monkeys that David has also sadly passed away. ‘Devastating news today. Just after losing his father. David has also passed away. The gentle giant whose heart was as big as he was. I couldn’t have wished for a better friend or workmate’, BBB Agency wrote on social media. ‘Rest in peace, David Rapp you will be missed! BBB HQ will never be the same.’ The news comes just under two weeks after EastEnders paid tribute to Derek, who starred as Charlie Slater from 2000 until 2011. ‘We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Derek Martin. From the moment he arrived, Derek’s portrayal of Charlie Slater instantly cemented him in the hearts of the audience, as the head of one of EastEnders most iconic families. Charlie would do anything for his family, and much like his character, Derek would do the same for those around him. Derek was deeply loved by all those that worked with him at EastEnders and will always be remembered with great fondness. Our love and thoughts are with his family and friends.’  

Alex Honnold has sensationally scaled one of the tallest skyscrapers on Earth with only a bag of chalk — with no ropes or safety gear, and survived to tell the tale! The American rock climber took one hour, 31 minutes and 43 seconds to complete the hair-raising stunt on Saturday evening. On Friday night, just minutes before Skyscraper Live was due to air on Netflix on Friday, it was announced that the special had been postponed due to wet weather conditions in Taipei. Fans of 40-year-old Honnold tuned in to watch the professional rock climber take on Taipei 101, the 1,667-foot, 101-story tower that dominates the skyline of Taiwan’s capital. Built in 2004, Taipei 101 features mostly glass curtain walls, with balconies near the top that taper to a pointed peak, a design inspired by the ridges on a stick of bamboo. It was once the world’s tallest building until the construction of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in 2010. Honnold is best known for his record-breaking ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in 2017, which was captured in the Oscar-winning documentary, Free Solo. He has noted that Taipei 101 was previously climbed by French urban climber Alain Robert — but with ropes. Honnold says he hopes his climb inspires people to use their time in “meaningful” ways. Speaking to the Flying Monkeys ahead of his daring climb, Honnold confirmed that were he to fall, it would have likely been fatal. “If something happens, I would die, though actually, on this particular building, that’s not even totally true because there are balconies every few floors,” he said of the 101-storied building. “The geometry of the building, the shape of the building is such that you actually could fall in tons of places and not actually die, which makes it in some ways safer than a lot of rock-climbing objectives.” 

On This Day

• 1890 – Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.
• 1996 – Billy Bailey becomes the last person to be hanged in the United States. 
• 2006 – Mexican professional wrestler Juana Barraza is arrested in connection with the serial killing of at least ten elderly women.

Deaths

• 1947 – Al Capone, American gangster and mob boss (born 1899).
• 1990 – Ava Gardner, American actress (born 1922).
• 2015 – Demis Roussos, Egyptian-Greek singer (born 1946).
• 2017 – John Hurt, English actor (born 1940).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Matthew Lillard (56), Mischa Barton (40), Kristen Schaal (48), Adrian Edmondson (69), Neil Diamond (85), Linda Blair (67), Phil Wang (36), Geena Davis (70), Martin Shaw (81), Rainn Wilson (60), Tom Baker (92), Katey Sagal (72), Rob Delaney (49), Tippi Hedren (96), Dolly Parton (80), and Michael Crawford (84).

25th January 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 18th January 2026

Alas, no points to award this week. We all seemed to have missed the 142 year old Nasser bin Radan Al Rashid Al Wadaei, it’s almost like nobody believes that he was that old, or perhaps nobody fancied just scoring eight points. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Derek Martin, 92, British actor (Law & Order, Eldorado, EastEnders). 
• Trevor A. Toussaint, 65, British actor (Hollyoaks). 
• Marcus Gilbert, 67, British actor (Army of Darkness, The Masks of Death, Rambo III), throat cancer. 
• Nasser bin Radan Al Rashid Al Wadaei, 142, Saudi longevity claimant. 
• Sheila Bernette, 94, English singer (The Good Old Days, The Black and White Minstrel Show) and actress (The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins). 
• Eddie McCreadie, 85, Scottish football player (Chelsea, national team) and manager (Chelsea). 
• Scott Adams, 68, American cartoonist (Dilbert), prostate cancer. 
• Kenny Morris, 68, English drummer (Siouxsie and the Banshees). 

In Other News

BBC presenter Reggie Yates has opened up about undergoing surgery after the discovery of a tumour over a year ago. The 42-year-old host shared a frank look into his secret health scare and admitted it was one of the “hardest moments of his life” as he initially chose to keep the operation secret. In a Substack post titled “New Year, Old Tumour”, Reggie opened up about his diagnosis, his fear around sharing the news, and his surgery to get the tumour removed. He explained that the tumour was found in his hand, but he had chosen to “hide and move on” from the experience of having the operation last year. It wasn’t until he reflected on the year alongside his wife that his feelings about it reemerged. “I got to the third item on my list and stopped,” he wrote. My pen had scribbled something I’d totally forgot. Or had I? In 2025, I’d endured one of the hardest moments of my adult life and overcome it. But for some reason, I’d chosen to bury it.” Reggie admitted that he had tried to repress the memory of discovering the tumour, revealing once it was found it took the team a week to find out if it was cancerous or not. “Like most men, my ‘concrete complex’ has existed almost as long as I have. A well held belief that invincibility is part of my DNA,” he said. “Minutes before surgery, I chose to fake the brave face. To be fair to myself, it’s hard not to crack dad jokes when you’re wearing compression socks and tiny paper panties.” Thankfully, the star is now on the mend – admitting his pride that he had gone from fearing he may lose the use of his hand in February, before releasing a book by the end of the year. 

Diary excerpts belonging to the ‘secret’ daughter of Freddie Mercury will be released following her death this week, her widower has revealed. On Thursday, it was announced that Bibi had died at the age of 48 after being diagnosed with a rare form of spinal cancer. Her widower Thomas said in a statement that she died ‘peacefully after a long battle with chordoma, a rare spinal cancer, leaving two sons aged nine and seven’. Bibi’s death comes just months after she was identified as the secret daughter of late Queen singer Mercury, in a book written by author Lesley-Ann Jones titled Love, Freddie. Bibi was previously publicly known only as ‘B.’ Following the family’s initial statement, Bibi’s widower has since revealed details of her final wishes as her health began to deteriorate last year.  ‘Her health began to fail this summer as we crossed the Andes Mountains on a holiday, she had decided in the last few months to gather the photos and excerpts from her father’s notebooks that supported what she had confided to Lesley Ann Jones in the book. The goal was to publish these elements in the fall of 2027. I will respect her wishes. She said that 2026 would be nothing but a big circus in the exploitation of what would have been her father’s 80th birthday and the 35th anniversary of his death. She dedicated the last months of her life to preparing the book and to preparing what is now the legacy of her children.’ He added: ‘It will be a book, a kind of photo album. My wife wanted all the proceeds from the sale of this photo album to be for the benefit of the paediatric oncology units.’ Thomas also claimed Bibi was ‘extremely affected’ by Mercury’s former fiancée Mary Austin denying any knowledge of her existence. He said that Bibi wrote to Austin’s business address many times over the years, but that the letters ‘remained unanswered.’ Bibi’s family announced her death in a statement, which said: ‘B is now with her beloved and loving father in the world of thoughts. Her ashes were scattered to the wind over the Alps.’ In May 2025, the late Bibi revealed she took a DNA test to confirm her paternity when, 34 years after the Queen star’s death, it was alleged he fathered a child after having a brief fling with a friend’s wife in 1976. In response to calls for DNA tests to be made public, author Jones wrote on social media: ‘To those “demanding” to see proof of a DNA test, otherwise they won’t believe it – please rest assured that the requisite verification was obtained, legal teams have been involved, but that such measures are private & not shared publicly. Thank you.’ 

A man who raised more than £420,000 by walking around his communal east London garden has died, aged 106. Dabirul Islam Choudhury OBE passed away in the early hours of Tuesday, January 13, at the Royal London Hospital. Inspired by Captain Tom, Dabirul, spearheaded a walking challenge aiming to reach 1.5 million steps worldwide. He raised the money by walking 970 laps of his garden in Bow, east London while he was fasting for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. Nearly £116,000 of the total  raised was donated to the NHS, while the remaining amount was divided between 30 charities in 52 countries as part of the Ramadan Family Commitment (RFC) Covid-19 crisis initiative. The RFC, who Dabirul was an ambassador for, is run by British-Bangladeshi television broadcaster Channel S. In 2020, he was made an OBE in the Queen’s birthday honours for his charitable efforts. Dabirul was born in 1st January 1920 in Bangladesh, then called British Assam. In 1957, Dabirul moved to England to study English Literature in London. Due to his education and command in the English language, he ended up as a community leader and settled in St Albans. His charity work was responsible for many community projects and raising money for the independence struggle of Bangladesh. Dabirul is an accomplished poet and has published over a thousand of his own poems. Dabirul also spends his time going to his local book clubs and poetry associations.

On This Day

• 1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrive at Botany Bay.
• 1967 – Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler”, is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment. 
• 1977 – Australia’s worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney, killing 83.

Deaths

• 1936 – Rudyard Kipling, English author and poet (born 1865).
• 1990 – Melanie Appleby, English singer (born 1966).
• 2009 – Tony Hart, English painter and television host (born 1925). 
• 2023 – David Crosby, American singer-songwriter (born 1941).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Dave Bautista (57), Kevin Costner (71), Mark Rylance (66), Isa Briones (27), Jim Carrey (64), Zooey Deschanel (46), Kelly Marie Tran (37), Lin-Manuel Miranda (46), John Carpenter (78), FKA twigs (38), James May (63), James Nesbitt (61), Dove Cameron (30), Natasia Demetriou (42), Claudia Winkleman (54), Eddie Hall (38), Jason Bateman (57), Kevin Durand (52), Mark Addy (62), Faye Dunaway (85), Grant Gustin (36), Natalia Dyer (31), Michael Peña (50), Ruth Wilson (44), Orlando Bloom (49), William B. Davis (88), Bill Bailey (61), and Pixie Lott (35).

18th January 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 11th January 2026

Quite a deadly week for the football community, far more footballers than I have listed here kicked their final ball. Plus we have seen the last of pseudoscience poster boy, Erich von Däniken. Perhaps we’ll hear less from the mad hatters claiming humans did not build the Pyramids, Stonehenge etc…  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Pa O’Dwyer, 40, Irish strongman. 
• Jayne Trcka, 62, American bodybuilder, fitness model and actress (Scary Movie). 
• Eva Schloss, 96, Austrian-British Holocaust survivor and memoirist.
• Terry Wharton, 83, English footballer (Wolverhampton Wanderers, Bolton Wanderers, Crystal Palace). 
• Martin Chivers, 80, English footballer (Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, national team). 
• Tony Field, 79, English footballer (Blackburn Rovers, Southport, Memphis Rogues). 
• Terry Yorath, 75, Welsh football player and manager (Leeds United, national team). 
• Molly Parkin, 93, Welsh painter, novelist and journalist. 
• T. K. Carter, 69, American actor (The Thing, Punky Brewster, Runaway Train). 
• Erich von Däniken, 90, Swiss author and ufologist. 
• Bob Weir, 78, American musician (Grateful Dead) and songwriter (“Sugar Magnolia“, “One More Saturday Night“), complications from cancer.  
• Tina Packer, 87, British actress (David Copperfield, Doctor Who) and stage director, co-founder of Shakespeare & Company. 

In Other News

Football legend Kevin Keegan has been diagnosed with cancer, his family has said. In a statement published on Wednesday, his family said the former England international was recently admitted to hospital for “further evaluation of ongoing abdominal symptoms”. “These investigations have revealed a diagnosis of cancer, for which Kevin will undergo treatment,” the statement continued. “Kevin is grateful to the medical team for their intervention and ongoing care. During this difficult time, the family are requesting privacy, and will be making no further comment.” The statement was released by Newcastle United, the club Keegan both played for and managed and remains closely associated with. Affectionately known as “King Kev”, he scored 204 goals in 592 appearances during an illustrious club career and 21 goals in 63 international caps. He began his playing career at Scunthorpe United before moving to Liverpool, where he won three First Division titles as well as two Uefa Cups, the FA Cup and the European Cup. The 74-year-old later had spells at Hamburg – where he won the Bundesliga, was twice named European Footballer of the Year, and reached the European Cup final – and Southampton before he joined Newcastle. He helped the Magpies secure promotion from the Second Division in his second season. He retired in 1984 before moving into management, returning to Newcastle in 1992. Newcastle sealed promotion to the Premier League in his first full season, and he later took charge of Fulham, England, and Manchester City before a second spell with Newcastle in 2008, his most recent managerial role. 

A grandmother in Wales who became an internet hit after being hoisted 10ft into the air by a shop’s shutters has died. Anne Hughes’ coat had got entangled in the electronic shutters as they were being opened and she was left dangling upside down. A CCTV video of the incident, which thankfully left her unscathed, was viewed more than 100 million times. Although initially somewhat embarrassed, Anne soon saw the funny side and ended up embracing her newfound fame. Now it’s emerged that she sadly passed away shortly before Christmas, after being diagnosed with cancer. A family friend said: ‘Anne was lovely and, luckily for her and everyone else, she had a good sense of humour. She quite enjoyed her moment of notoriety and she definitely saw the funny side. It’s sad that she’s gone but she has left us with a memory that will always bring a smile to people’s faces.’ Anne was working as a part-time cleaner at the Best One Shop in Tonteg when she was taken for the unexpected ride in March 2024. The video shows her waiting out the front of the store as shopkeeper Amir Akram – who is out of shot – begins opening the shutters. Anne’s coat then gets caught and the shutters start to lift her up. She tries to unhook herself but with no success and keeps rising – the whole time holding on to her shopping trolly. After hearing Anne’s cries Amir rushes out and manages to lower her safely down to the ground. The store later posted the video on its Facebook site, with the caption: ‘Don’t hang about like Anne, come down to best one to get the best deals!!! The only thing going up in this shop is our staff, not the prices!!’ Anne told the media at the time: ‘It could only happen to me. I was embarrassed, who wouldn’t be? But looking back I can see the funny side. And I’ve quite enjoyed the fame, people ask me for selfies next to the shutters.’ In honour of Anne and her unexpected adventure, a graffiti artist spray painted an image of the granny in her famous upside down position on the shop’s shutters. Although she took all the attention in her stride, Anne also wanted to get on with family life and turned down numerous appearances to appear on shows like Good Morning Britain and The Big Fat Quiz of the Year. 

BBC host Nick Owen has returned home after undergoing surgery after being diagnosed with kidney cancer. The 78 year old, who presents BBC Midlands Today, was hospitalised before  Christmas to undergo treatment. The news of his second cancer diagnosis comes a little under two years after he made a full recovery from prostate cancer. He returned to TV screens later in 2023. Nick has since admitted it had been a “tough” ordeal for the broadcaster and his wife following his most recent health announcement. The presenter also shared he was thankful he made it through the operation in a candid admission. He explained: “I am so relieved to have come through the operation after a traumatic time, especially after what my wife Vicki and our family went through when I had prostate cancer. It’s been tough, but things are picking up now.” Speaking about his recent treatment, Nick told the Flying Monkeys: “The NHS has been absolutely brilliant – from my GP, who was so thorough in getting me a diagnosis, to all the medics at Russells Hall Hospital. I am forever grateful.” Nick had been open about his prostate cancer treatment and encouraged men to get tested. Owen has been on screens for the past 50 years making his first appearance the very first Good Morning Britain in 1983, before forming one of the nation’s favourite on-screen partnerships with Anne Diamond on ITV and then for Good Morning with Anne and Nick on BBC One. 

On This Day

• 1922 – Leonard Thompson becomes the first person to be injected with insulin.
• 2003 – Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois’s death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.
• 2020 – Municipal health officials in Wuhan announce the first recorded death from COVID-19.

Deaths

• 2013 – Tom Parry Jones, Welsh chemist, invented the breathalyser (born 1935).
• 2014 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (born 1928).
• 2015 – Anita Ekberg, Swedish-Italian model and actress (born 1931).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jason Connery (63), Jemaine Clement (52), Evan Handler (65), J.K. Simmons (71), Joely Richardson (61), Imelda Staunton (70), James Acaster (41), Cynthia Erivo (39), Michelle Forbes (61), Amber Benson (49), Nicolas Cage (62), Jeremy Renner (55), Linda Kozlowski (68), Erin Gray (76), Lewis Hamilton (41), Rowan Atkinson (71), Eddie Redmayne (44), Kate McKinnon (42), Norman Reedus (57), Genevieve O’Reilly (49), Bradley Cooper (51), Robert Duvall (95), Clancy Brown (67), January Jones (48), and Vinnie Jones (61).

11th January 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »

Dead Pool 4th January 2026

We begin our year with a bang, barely three days in and Paul C correctly predicted that Sir Patrick Duffy would die. Well done that man! 95 points, which includes the ‘first death of the year’ bonus. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Victoria Jones, 34, American actress. 
• Ian Balding, 87, British horse trainer, father of Clare Balding. 
• Sir Patrick Duffy, 105, British politician, and president of the NATO Assembly. 
• Bret Hanna-Shuford, 46, American actor (Paramour, Amazing Grace, The Wolf of Wall Street), cancer. 

In Other News

As you may have seen on the Telegram Messaging Group, Nickie ran the lists through ChatGPT and we found the following: The top tier names for 2026 are; David Attenborough, Dick Van Dyke, Bruce Willis, Mel Brooks, Clint Eastwood, Tom Baker, Esther Rantzen, Chris Hoy, Michael Caine and Billy Connolly. The most popular Dead Certs this year include Dick Van Dyke, David Attenborough and Esther Rantzen. The most popular Women this year are Esther Rantzen, Ethel Caterham and Joan Collins and the most popular Maverick’s are Britney Spears and Katie Price, although I still feel everyone should be listing James Corden for just being a cunt. Attenborough & Van Dyke dominate across all categories however Esther Rantzen is the single strongest crossover name (Top-10 & Dead Cert & Woman). Doesn’t look like a promising future for Rantzen! 

Barry Manilow gave fans a health update on Friday. Weeks after revealing that a cancerous spot had been found in his left lung and he was undergoing cancer treatment, the “Copacabana” singer, 82, updated fans through an Instagram post. Sharing a selfie of himself wearing a green gown in a hospital bed, Manilow captioned his post, “Better Today!” In the comments section, Manilow’s backup singer, Melanie Taylor, showed some support, writing: “That’s my boss y’all! He’s making it through the rain! Love you B!” Manilow’s drummer, Matt Sorum, said, “Heal up Barry, much love.” Last month, the “Mandy” musician revealed in a statement on his Facebook page that he’d need to take a break from performing after the cancerous spot was found on his left lung. “As many of you know I recently went through six weeks of bronchitis followed by a relapse of another five weeks,” Manilow said at the time. “Even though I was over the bronchitis and back on stage at the Westgate Las Vegas, my wonderful doctor ordered an MRI to make sure that everything was OK. The MRI discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed. It’s pure luck (and a great doctor) that it was found so early. That’s the good news.” However, Manilow said the “bad news” was that he needed to have surgery to remove the spot. “The doctors do not believe it was spread and I’m taking tests to confirm their diagnosis. So, that’s it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns,” he explained. 

Grey’s Anatomy actor Steven W. Bailey is opening up about his rare health diagnosis. Bailey, 54, who appeared as Joe the bartender in more than 30 episodes of the long-running medical drama, said he has been diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disorder known as congenital myasthenia syndrome, or CMS. CMS is a group of rare hereditary conditions caused by a gene difference that results in muscle weakness, worsening a person’s physical ability. In a lengthy thread on Twitter on Friday, Bailey shared that he had been diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disorder known as congenital myasthenia syndrome. In his “open letter” on Twitter, he wrote that he had “spent years being cautious, private and quiet” about something that has been “shaping his life and work.” “That time is over,” he wrote. “It’s the darnedest thing, but it turns out I have a rather rare genetic neuromuscular disorder. Weird, right? It’s called Congenital Myasthenia Syndrome,” Bailey shared. According to the Flying Monkeys, CMS is a group of rare hereditary conditions caused by a gene difference that results in muscle weakness, worsening a person’s physical ability. “Any muscles used for movement can be affected, including muscles that control speaking, chewing and swallowing, seeing and blinking, breathing, and walking.” According to Bailey, he kept his medical struggles out of the public eye for several years “out of career caution, diagnostic uncertainty, and being private about such things,” but said he decided it was “time to stop” hiding his diagnosis. “CMS is a genetic disease that disrupts the communication between the brain and the muscle at the ‘nerve/muscle junction’… or whatever doctors call it,” he explained. “There are billions of these junction doodads in a body, and an increasing number of mine seem to be on the blink. Troublesome, little buggers — right? The result being that my hands, arms and legs tire quicker than they should, which makes them weaker than, well … anticipated,” he continued. “Sustained repetitive movements are particularly difficult and can cause my muscles to temporarily tighten and shut down.” Bailey joked that while his diagnosis has helped get him out of “doing the dishes and folding laundry in his household,” it has also increasingly hindered his ability to walk.

On This Day

• 1903 – Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy’s death. 
• 1959 – Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon. 
• 1972 – Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London. 
• 1990 – In Pakistan’s deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries. 
• 2007 –Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history. 
• 2010 – The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai.

Deaths

• 1961 – Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist & academic (born 1887). 
• 1965 – T. S. Eliot, American-English poet, playwright, and critic (born 1888). 
• 1967 – Donald Campbell, English racing driver & world speed record holder (born 1921). 
• 2011 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (born 1947). 
• 2024 – Glynis Johns, British actress and singer (born 1923). 
• 2024 – David Soul, American-British actor and singer (born 1943). 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Emma Mackey (30), Graham McTavish (65), Dafne Keen (21), Julia Ormond (61), Matt Frewer (68), Mel Gibson (70), Florence Pugh (30), Sarah Alexander (55), Victoria Principal (76), Cuba Gooding Jr. (58), Kate Bosworth (43), Frank Langella (88), James Remar (73), Anthony Hopkins (89), Ben Kingsley (83), Eliza Dushku (46), Tracey Ullman (67), Caity Lotz (40), Jude Law (54), Ted Danson (79), Jon Voight (88), Danny McBride (50), and Diego Luna (47).

4th January 2026 | Categories: 2026 | Leave A Comment »