Dead Pool 30th March 2025

Yesterday I was all worried that there were no notable deaths, the good old Flying Monkeys were released and now we have a few names at least!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

Richard Chamberlain, 90, American actor (Dr. Kildare, The Thorn Birds, Shōgun), complications from a stroke.
Young Scooter, 39, American rapper, drug overdose complicated by a gunshot wound.
David Childs, 83, American architect (One World Trade Center), complications from Lewy body dementia.
Denis Arndt, 86, American actor (Heisenberg, Basic Instinct, S.W.A.T.).
Bruce Glover, 92, American actor (Diamonds Are Forever, Walking Tall, Chinatown).

In Other News

Legendary crooner Johnny Mathis has announced his retirement from touring and live performing due to “age and memory issues.” The 89-year-old romantic singer, behind hits like “Wonderful, Wonderful” and “It’s Not For Me To Say,” was scheduled to continue touring throughout the summer. However, he has now canceled all concerts from June 2025 onwards. “As many of you may already be aware, Johnny Mathis is approaching his 90th birthday this year,” a statement shared from his Facebook account read. “So, it’s with sincere regret that due to Mr. Mathis’ age and memory issues which have accelerated, we are announcing his retirement from touring & live concerts. At this time, the 2025 Voice of Romance Tour dates will continue, with the final concert currently scheduled on May 18th 2025 in Englewood, New Jersey at the Bergen PAC,” the statement continued. “Johnny Mathis & his entire staff send their heartfelt gratitude to all Mathis Fans worldwide for your continued love & support of his music. It’s truly been ‘Wonderful, Wonderful,’” it concluded. Mathis’ final concert brings an end to an incredible singing career that has spanned over six decades. In that time, he’s recorded 73 studio albums, 10 of which are certified Gold for having sold 500,000 units each. In total, he’s gone on to sell more than 360 million records worldwide. His most popular album, Johnny’s Greatest Hits, was once the record holder for the longest-running album to chart on the Billboard 200. It remained on the chart for 490 weeks from its 1958 release until 1968. It was later dethroned by Pink Floyd’s 1973 album, The Dark Side of the Moon. In 2003, Mathis was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He’s also nabbed five nominations, with his first one being in 1960 for Best Vocal Performance Single Record Or Track, Male for his song “Misty.” Mathis is also known for his Christmas albums. In fact, his latest album, released in 2023, is titled Christmas Time Is Here and features covers of several holiday classics, including “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

The daughter of Dame Esther Rantzen has revealed that the cancer drugs that her mother was placed on last year are no longer working. The 84-year-old revealed in 2024 that her cancer was being kept at bay thanks to a new drug, which had left her feeling “much better” than she thought she would be. The broadcaster, who is best known for founding Childline, a telephone helpline for young people aged up to 18, has previously revealed that she has registered with the Swiss assisted dying clinic, Dignitas. Rantzen’s daughter, Rebecca Wilcox, said that the medication her mother was put “was an improvement”, but then admitted: “I really wish that was true but I don’t think that’s the case anymore.” Wilcox also revealed that Rantzen’s health is so poor that travelling to Dignitas is now out of the question. Both Rantzen and Wilcox are advocates of making assisted dying legal in the UK. The topic is the subject of a much-debated parliamentary bill which has this week been delayed by two years. Speaking of the delay, Wilcox explained: “I just wish that people understood that all the assisted dying bill is, is choice for people that want it. All it is, is giving you peace of mind and that peace of mind, I cannot tell you how powerful that would be right now for my mum. I’m a witness to the trauma of uncertainty, to the trauma of stress around what is going to happen. The fact that she doesn’t know how her death is going to happen, how the pain is going to progress, the exhaustion, the fatigue, what symptoms are going to come in. She is a person who has fought her whole life for other people, and she has no control now. Why can’t we give people like my mum with a terminal diagnosis, with no other choice, some choice as to when and how and where they die? Frankly, Dignitas is out of the window for us as well. You have to be relatively healthy to do that, if she had gone, she would have gone months before she would have died here.”

King Charles has been forced to cancel a string of engagements after being admitted to hospital. In a statement released on Thursday evening, Buckingham Palace said that following “scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer”, he had “experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital”. The monarch, 76, later returned to Clarence House, where he lives with Queen Camilla. “As a precautionary measure, acting on medical advice, tomorrow’s diary program will also be rescheduled”, the Palace added. While the Palace did not comment on the specific nature of the side effects, it’s understood not to be uncommon with cancer patients. Sources described the medical incident as a “most minor bump in a road that’s very much heading in the right direction”, but added that in order to “protect and prioritise his continued very positive recovery” he has “regretfully” cancelled engagements planned for Birmingham on Friday. The King was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February last year and has been undergoing treatment as an outpatient ever since. He was forced to cancel all public-facing duties for several weeks, but returned in April and has since travelled internationally – including to Australia last October – and hosted incoming state visits for international dignitaries, all while continuing his recovery. Just last week, the King visited the Pharmacy and Pharmacology department at Ulster University in Northern Ireland to learn about their groundbreaking cancer research. During his time there, he told fellow cancer patients: “What’s that Winston Churchill saying? Keep b****ring on.” The King added that, in regards to side effects, “you just have to push on, don’t you?” While it’s not clear what type of cancer the King has, it’s previously been reported that it was caught at a very early stage.

On This Day

1842 – Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long.
1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident.
2023 – Donald Trump becomes the first former United States president to be indicted by a grand jury.

Deaths