Dead Pool 11th October 2015

My goodness! What a week for deaths! Those evil flying monkeys have certainly been very busy!! Alas, even with so many household names on todays roster, nobody managed to score. But I have to add that Liz also scored last week with Denis Healey, I missed it because his name was misspelt. So in the interest of clarity for next year, please make sure you spell their names correctly, otherwise my search will miss you out. I do sympathise though, who the hell spells Dennis as Denis!!!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Larry Brezner, 73, American film producer (Good Morning Vietnam, Throw Momma From the Train, Ride Along).
• Henning Mankell, 67, Swedish author (Kurt Wallander), cancer.
• Jim Diamond, 64, Scottish singer-songwriter (“I Should Have Known Better”).
• Hugh Scully, 72, British television presenter (Antiques Roadshow).
• Gordon Honeycombe, 79, British newscaster, author and actor, leukemia.
• Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, 88, British politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1979–1983), Foreign Secretary (1983–1989), heart attack.
• Jerry Parr, 85, American Secret Service agent, extricated Ronald Reagan during assassination attempt, heart failure. 

In Other News

Sir Bruce Forsyth has suffered a fall at his home. The 87-year-old TV personality suffered cuts and a minor concussion but is otherwise unhurt. He underwent a series of scans and tests and was advised by doctors to have complete rest for at least a week. Forsyth had to pull out of hosting his BBC variety show Bruce’s Hall of Fame at London’s Dominion Theatre this weekend. The star was set to take to the stage alongside comedian Catherine Tate and Pointless presenter Alexander Armstrong, who will now take on the compere role. In a statement, Kalooki Pictures, who co-produce the show, said: “This morning, Sir Bruce Forsyth slipped and fell at his home resulting in facial abrasions and minor concussion. “He attended hospital and had a series of scans and tests all of which happily proved negative. However because of his injury, he has been told by doctors he must have complete rest for at least seven days.” Speaking after his fall, Forsyth said: “I was really looking forward to this show and working with such a talented cast, and I am really sad not to be part of it. It is now in the most capable hands of Alexander Armstrong and I would like to wish him, the guests and the whole production team good luck on Sunday.”

In the first of a new series on living with leukaemia, Clive James is surprised to find he’s still here! He writes: “A whole year ago I wrote a poem called Japanese Maple, which confidently stated that when the maple tree in my garden turned to flame in autumn, that would be the end of me. The poem was published in the New Yorker, at a time when the magazine’s paywall was temporarily out of commission, so a lot of people logged on. The poem went viral and attracted many sad assurances of fond farewell. Autumn came, the tree turned red and I was still here, steadily turning red myself as I realised that I had written myself into a corner. Winter arrived, there has been a whole other summer, and now the maple is just starting to do its flaming thing all over again, with me shyly watching.” Looks like he’ll be here for a good while yet!

Britain is the best place in the world to die, according to a new survey. Finally, some good news. Britons may have terrible weather, bad teeth, an underperforming rugby team, stupid telly, no style, a countryside that consists of car parks with puddles and cities so divertingly rubbish that they look as though they were devised by drunk chimps on a bet. The UK may, in short, be an awful place to live. But, according to a survey, the UK is the best place in the world in which to die. At least we’re good at something. So the next time you’re drinking a whiskey whilst watching Countdown, take heart that your body will be found and  dealt with accordingly as Britain does Death the best!

On This Day

• 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
• 1910 – Former President Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane. He flew for four minutes with Arch Hoxsey in a plane built by the Wright brothers at Kinloch Field.
• 1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 7, the first successful manned Apollo mission, with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn F. Eisele and Walter Cunningham aboard.
• 1975 – The NBC sketch comedy/variety show Saturday Night Live debuts with George Carlin as the host and Andy Kaufman, Janis Ian and Billy Preston as guests.
• 1982 – The Mary Rose, a Tudor carrack which sank on July 19, 1545, is salvaged from the sea bed of the Solent, off Portsmouth.
• 1984 – Aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes the first American woman to perform a space walk.
• 2001 – The Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection.

Deaths

• 1961 – Chico Marx, American actor and singer (b. 1887)
• 1963 – Jean Cocteau, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1889)
• 2000 – Donald Dewar, Scottish lawyer and politician, 1st First Minister of Scotland (b. 1937)
• 2007 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1915)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Dakota Johnson (26), Susan Sarandon (69), Liev Schreiber (48), Alecia Silverstone (39), Brian Johnson (68), Karen Allen (64), Bob Geldoff (64), Lena Headey (45), Kate Winslet (40), Jesse Eisenberg (32), Britt Ekland (73), Elizabeth Shue (52), Simon Cowell (55), Toni Braxton (48), Thom Yorke (7), Desmond Tutu (84), Vladimir Putin (63), Paul Hogan (75), Chevy Chase (72), Sigourney Weaver (66), Matt Damon (45), Bruno Mars (30), Rev. Jesse Jackson (74), Sharon Osbourne (63), Tony Shalhoub (62), Scott Bakula (61) and Sean Lennon (40).

Next Week peeps!