Dead Pool 10th August 2025

What a week!! With the passing of James Whale, I can award 76 points to Julia, Dave J & Abi and 176 points to Ian & Debbie as they both had him listed as a Cert. But not only that, I can award 53 points to Fiona for correctly guessing that Jim Lovell would die this year. Well done everyone! We now have a new points leader!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

Norman Eshley, 80, English actor (George and Mildred, See No Evil, Brookside), cancer.
Kelley Mack, 33, American actress (The Walking Dead), glioma.
Loni Anderson, 79, American actress (WKRP in Cincinnati, All Dogs Go to Heaven).
Dame Stella Rimington, 90, British intelligence officer, director general of MI5 (1992–1995).
Frank Grimes, 78, Irish actor (A Bridge Too Far, Strumpet City, Coronation Street).
Jane Morgan, 101, American singer (“Fascination“, “The Day the Rains Came“, “Two Different Worlds“).
Brandon Blackstock, 48, American talent manager (Kelly Clarkson), cancer
James Whale, 74, British radio personality (Radio Aire, Talksport, talkRADIO) and television presenter, kidney cancer.
Jim Lovell, 97, American astronaut (Gemini 12, Apollo 8, Apollo 13).

In Other News

A driver going 283 mph trying to set a land speed record during a racing event at Utah’s famed Bonneville Salt Flats died last Sunday after he lost control of his rocket-like vehicle called the Speed Demon, organisers said. Driver Chris Raschke lost control about two and a half miles into a run and was treated by medical professionals at the scene, but died from his injuries, according to the Southern California Timing Association, which has organised the popular land-speed racing event known as Speed Week since the late 1940s. For decades, the flat, glasslike white surface of Bonneville has drawn drivers from all over seeking to set new land speed world records and motorcycle and car fans to watch. A remnant of a prehistoric lake-bed, the salt flats that are about 100 miles west of Salt Lake City have also been a backdrop for movies such as Independence Day and The World’s Fastest Indian. “Motorsports is inherently a dangerous sport,” said Dennis Sullivan, a car builder and racer who set a land speed record in his 1927 Model T street roadster and serves as president of the Utah Salt Flats Racing Association. “People get hurt. People get killed. That’s just the nature of the sport. It doesn’t happen a lot.” The last racing death Sullivan recalled at the flats came in 2016 when Sam Wheeler, a renowned land speed motorcycle racer, crashed at 200 mph when the high-performance bike he was testing fish-tailed and went airborne. Raschke, 60, was the driver of a streamliner – a long, narrow, aerodynamic car made to run at high speeds – known as the Speed Demon. He had worked in motor sports for more than four decades.

An American big game hunter was gored to death by a buffalo he was stalking in South Africa. Millionaire ranch trader Asher Watkins, 52, was on safari last Sunday with a tracker when he was killed. The 1.3 tonne animal charged out of the brush and hit Mr Watkins, killing him almost instantly. Watkins was a keen hunter who posted regularly on social media showing his kills. Hunter Hans Vermaak on behalf of CV Safaris, who organised the expedition, said: “It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts we confirm the tragic death of our client and friend Asher Watkins from the USA. “On Sunday, while on a hunting safari with us in South Africa’s Limpopo Province, Asher was fatally injured in a sudden and unprovoked attack by an unwounded buffalo. He was tracking it together with one of our professional hunters and one of our trackers. This is a devastating incident, and our hearts go out to his loved ones. We are doing everything we can to support the family members who are here with us and those back in the United States as they navigate this tragic loss.” CV Safaris said he was killed on his second day hunting by an unpredictable and aggressive bull. The firm warns people on its website: “No species on the planet has a more fearsome reputation than a Cape Buffalo. Responsible for several deaths and many injuries to hunters each year. Cape Buffalo can weigh up to 1.5 tons, they are up to 11 feet long and 5ft 6in tall, and their horns are joined by a solid lump of bone across the forehead. They are unpredictable and aggressive, and their only predators are humans and lions.

A raging camel attacked its owner before brutally biting his head off. Sohanram Nayak was desperately attempting to recapture his camel, after it had escaped from its pen, when the animal snapped and turned on him. The Flying Monkeys reported the camel picked its owner up by his neck and slammed him on the ground before “chewing his head” off. The horrifying incident occurred in February close to the village of Bikaner in Rajasthan, India. Authorities said the camel broke free from where it was tied up after spotting another camel passing by, becoming agitated. After the decapitation, Nayak’s family members and locals from the village set about exacting their revenge on the camel. The mob got it under control before reportedly tying it to a tree and hitting it with sticks. A grim video of the animal being beaten went viral on social media. The beating resulted in the camel’s death. Officials in Rajasthan actually made camels one of their official state animals in 2014 as part of a wider bid to protect them, with their numbers dwindling. A Camel Bill was also introduced in 2015, making the killing of camels punishable with up to five years in prison.

On This Day

1969 – A day after murdering Sharon Tate and four others, members of Charles Manson’s cult kill Leno and Rosemary LaBianca.
1977 – In Yonkers, New York, 24-year-old postal employee David Berkowitz (“Son of Sam”) is arrested for a series of killings in the New York City area over the period of one year.
2018 – Horizon Air employee Richard Russell hijacks and performs an unauthorised takeoff on a Horizon Air Bombardier Dash plane at Seattle–Tacoma International Airport in Washington, flying it for more than an hour before crashing the plane and killing himself.

Deaths

1932 – Rin Tin Tin, American acting dog (born 1918).
2008 – Isaac Hayes, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor (born 1942).
2019 – Jeffrey Epstein, American financier (born 1953).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Antonio Banderas (65), Rosanna Arquette (66), Eric Bana (57), Bill Skarsgård (35), Anna Kendrick (40), Sam Elliott (81), Gillian Anderson (57), Rhona Mitra (49), Melanie Griffith (68), Audrey Tautou (49), Dustin Hoffman (88), Charlize Theron (50), Michael Shannon (51), Harold Perrineau (62), Sasha Calle (30), David Duchovny (65), Tobin Bell (83), M. Night Shyamalan (55), Michelle Yeoh (63), Geri Horner (53), Mark Strong (62), Billy Bob Thornton (70), Meghan Markle (44), Lee Mack (57), and Barack Obama (64).