Dead Pool 3rd November 2024

With a couple of months left to go, anyone scoring a Big Three could clinch the top spot! So all to play for! Sounds like some of you are already working on your lists for 2025 too! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Paul Morrissey, 86, American film director (Flesh, Trash, Flesh for Frankenstein), pneumonia. 
• Teri Garr, 79, American actress (Tootsie, Young Frankenstein, Close Encounters of the Third Kind), complications from multiple sclerosis. 
• David Harris, 75, American actor (The Warriors, NYPD Blue, Brubaker), cancer.
• Denys Graham, 98, Welsh actor (The Dam Busters, Dunkirk, Zulu). 
• Greg Hildebrandt, 85, American illustrator and artist. 
• Janey Godley, 63, Scottish stand-up comedian and writer, ovarian cancer. 

In Other News

Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden was rushed to hospital after collapsing backstage following Saturday night’s live show. The Welsh dancer, 34, who recently battled breast cancer, fell ill at the show’s Hertfordshire studios shortly after performing with celebrity partner JB Gill. Paramedics were called to Elstree Studios after 9pm following reports of a medical emergency. A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service said: “We were called just after 9pm on Saturday to attend a medical emergency at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood. An ambulance was sent to the scene. One patient, an adult female, was transported to Barnet Hospital for further care.” The health scare came moments after Dowden and former JLS star Gill performed the Foxtrot to Toploader’s Dancing In The Moonlight, scoring 32 points and placing fifth on the leaderboard. A spokesperson for Dowden said: “Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution. She is feeling much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern. We request Amy’s privacy in matters of health is kindly respected.” The dancer, who returned to Strictly in September after a two-year break, has endured a challenging year. She was diagnosed with cancer just one day after returning from her honeymoon with dancer husband Ben Jones in 2023. Despite initial hopes that surgery would be sufficient treatment, doctors discovered a second type of cancer in June. Dowden subsequently underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy, while also battling a life-threatening case of sepsis during her treatment.  

The Toronto Zoo says its 52-year-old western lowland silverback gorilla, Charles, died Tuesday after the sudden onset of “significant health issues.” Charles had been a fixture at the zoo since its opening day in 1974. In a statement, the zoo described him as the “protective and wise leader” of its gorilla troop. “He will be dearly missed, and his memory will continue to inspire those who knew him to continue the fight against the extinction of this incredible, critically endangered species,” the zoo said. Charles was brought to Canada as an orphan from Gabon. Over his five decades at the zoo, he grew to weigh nearly 430 pounds and sired 10 offspring. He was also a grandfather to six gorillas. “His days were filled with moments of joy, quiet reflection, and family bonds — a testament to the complex social lives gorillas share,” the statement said. The zoo noted that despite his large size, Charles was afraid of toads. He also “despised” tall men because he saw them as rivals. Charles didn’t like when the donkeys or alpacas would walk past the gorilla enclosure, but never seemed to have a problem with dogs, the zoo added.  Late last week, zoo staff noticed Charles was “not his usual self,” the statement explained. He was moving more slowly and seemed to be breathing “a little quicker and harder.” Staff made a presumptive diagnosis of heart failure and, in consultation with subject matter experts, Charles was put on cardiac medication, the zoo said. He seemed to rally over the weekend and appeared to be doing well as of Tuesday morning. But in the afternoon, his health “deteriorated suddenly and quickly,” according to the zoo. The entire gorilla troop was able to see Charles before he passed to “say their goodbyes,” the zoo said. He died surrounded by his keepers. 

On This Day

• 1936 – Franklin D. Roosevelt is elected the 32nd President of the United States.
• 1957 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2. On board is the first animal to enter orbit, a dog named Laika.
• 1992 – Governor Bill Clinton defeats Republican President George H. W. Bush in the United States presidential election. 
• 2014 – One World Trade Center officially opens in New York City, replacing the Twin Towers after they were destroyed during the September 11 attacks.

Deaths

• 1926 – Annie Oakley, American entertainer and target shooter (b. 1860).
• 1954 – Henri Matisse, French painter and sculptor (b. 1869).
• 1998 – Bob Kane, American author and illustrator, co-created Batman (b. 1915).
• 2002 – Lonnie Donegan, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931).
• 2018 – Sondra Locke, American actress and director (b. 1944).

Last Meals

South Carolina death row inmate Richard Moore’s last words were ones of contrition after he was executed by lethal injection on Friday for the 1999 fatal shooting of a convenience store clerk.

Moore, 59, was put to death despite a broad appeal for mercy by parties that included three jurors and the judge from his trial, a former prison director, pastors and members of his family. He pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m.

Moore was convicted of killing James Mahoney, the Spartanburg clerk, in September 1999 and sentenced to death two years later.

Afterward prison spokeswoman Chrysti Shain read his last words at a news conference.

‘To the family of Mr. James Mahoney, I am deeply sorry for the pain and sorrow I caused you all,’ he said.

‘To my children and granddaughters, I love you and am so proud of you. Thank you for the joy you have brought to my life. To all of my family and friends, new and old, thank you for your love and support.’ 

His final meal was steak cooked medium, fried catfish and shrimp, scalloped potatoes, green peas, broccoli with cheese, sweet potato pie, German chocolate cake and grape juice.

Moore went into the store unarmed, took a gun from the victim when it was pointed at him and fatally shot him in the chest as the victim shot him with a second gun in the arm.

Moore´s lawyers asked Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to reduce his sentence to life in prison without parole because of his spotless prison record and willingness to be a mentor to other inmates.

They also said it would be unjust to execute someone for what could be considered self-defence and unfair that Moore, who was Black, was the only inmate on the state’s death row convicted by a jury without any African Americans.

But McMaster refused to grant clemency. In a letter, he did not give a reason why but said he reviewed all the items submitted by Moore´s lawyers and spoke to the victim’s family.

No South Carolina governor has reduced a death sentence, and 45 executions have now been carried out in the state since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to restart them nearly 50 years ago.

Unlike in previous executions, the curtain to the death chamber was open when media witnesses arrived. Moore’s last words had already been read by Lindsey Vann, his lawyer of 10 years. 

Moore had his eyes closed, and his head was pointed toward the ceiling. A prison employee announced the execution could begin at 6:01 p.m.

He took several deep breaths that sounded like snores over the next minute. Then he took some shallow breaths until about 6:04, when his breathing stopped. Moore showed no obvious signs of discomfort.

Vann cried as the employee announced the execution could start. She clutched a prayer bracelet with a cross. Sitting beside her was a spiritual advisor, his hands on his knees, palms up. Vann clutched a prayer bracelet with a cross.

Two members of the victims’ family were also present, along with Solicitor Barry Barnette, who was on the prosecution team that convicted Moore. They all watched stoically.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Dolph Lundgren (67), Kate Capshaw (71), Roseanne Barr (72), Lulu (76), David Schwimmer (58), Stefanie Powers (82), Toni Collette (52), Anthony Kiedis (62), Peter Jackson (63), Erica Cerra (45), Stephen Rea (78), Clémence Poésy (42), Fiona Dourif (43), Henry Winkler (79), Jessica Hynes (52), Winona Ryder (53), Rufus Sewell (57), Ben Foster (44), Richard Dreyfuss (77), Dan Castellaneta (67), Joaquin Phoenix (50), Annie Potts (72), Julia Roberts (57), Gwendoline Christie (46), Matt Smith (42), and Joanna Scanlan (63).