Dead Pool 4th January 2015

Dead Pool Background

Welcome all to the all new 2015 edition the Dead Pool! And what have we here? A point scorer already??? Yes, newcomer Sarai correctly guessed that Little Jimmy Dickens would pop his clogs in 2015 and lo he did. But not only does she score his normal points, she marked him as a Cert and got the first death of the year bonus which propels her to first place with 206 points!! Don’t you just hate beginners luck!?!?!

Anyhow, I’d like to also welcome the rest of the newbies, I think you already know what you’ve let yourself in for, and of course, to the regulars. Some of you have been taking part for years now, so I must be doing something right if you keep coming back for more! Anyhow, let’s get 2015 going…

Look Who You Could Have Had:

From 2014

In Other News 

bono

In a seriously good news story, U2 frontman Bono has said he may never play guitar again as a result of his bike accident last year. Millions of Apple fanboys are said to be in rapturous joy over the news. In an emotional post on the band’s website, the singer said: “Recovery has been more difficult than I thought … As I write this, it is not clear that I will ever play guitar again. The band have reminded me that neither they nor western civilisation are depending on this.” Which sort of implies that he hopes that Africa gives a shit. The singer underwent surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian hospital for an arm broken in six places and a broken eye socket after an accident in New York’s Central Park in November.

King Abdullah

Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah was hospitalised this week but is in a stable condition, the royal court has said. The king, believed to be around 90 years old, was admitted to the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh on Wednesday for checks. Examination revealed pneumonia, which required the provisional insertion of a tube on Friday evening. In recent years Abdullah’s advanced age and poor health have raised concerns about the country’s future leadership. Abdullah’s half-brother Salman, 77, is next in line to the throne, but at 77 he’s no spring chicken himself!

colored condomsTwo unnamed adult film actors have contracted HIV, with one most likely infecting the other during unprotected sex at a film shoot in Nevada where testing was less stringent than industry standards, officials said. One of the actors had previously tested negative for the virus that causes Aids before a pair of film shoots, but then began showing symptoms during the second shoot and was later found to be HIV-positive. The infections came amid a major decline in porn filming in Los Angeles after the 2012 passage of a law requiring porn actors to use condoms during filming. The number of porn filmmakers applying for shooting permits in the county declined from 485 in 2012 to 40 in 2013.

George BushFormer US President George Bush Sr has been released from hospital in Texas more than a week after being admitted suffering from a shortness of breath. The 90-year-old left Houston’s Methodist Hospital, and is now resting at home and is “grateful to the doctors and nurses for their superb care.” Bush, the oldest living former US president, was taken by ambulance to the hospital a week ago for what was described then as a ‘precaution’ after experiencing shortness of breath. His hospital stay included Christmas yet again, he’s now spent two out of three Christmases in hospital, which bodes well for many of you Poolers.

cristinaArgentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has cancelled her planned trips to Brazil and the Vatican after breaking her ankle on Friday. A spokesman said that Ms Fernandez had slipped on liquid spilled on the floor of her home in Patagonia, in southern Argentina. I reckon she spilt her wine… With her continued ill health and and now what seems to be a penchant for being accident prone, one wonders how long she will continue to survive.

SchumyFormer Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is now able to recognise his wife and two children, a year after he sustained severe head injuries in a skiing accident, a friend has said. Philippe Streiff, also a former Formula One driver, suggested in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper on Sunday that Schumacher might eventually walk again with the help of crutches. It was the most optimistic assessment since a doctor who had treated the multiple world champion in hospital in Grenoble told the media two months ago that he had made “some progress”. Streiff said that Schumacher “had yet to recover the power of speech” but was “nevertheless starting to recognise those close to him”.

On This Day

Deaths

2014 – In Memoriam by KoA

Yes, it was a rather unsuccessful year for us on the Dead Pool, but there were plenty of celebrities who passed away that we could have guessed. Some were tragically taken from us far too soon, others we cheered to the grave. Here are some of the famous faces that we now miss.

Untitled-1

Let’s take a look back on some of the biggest names to have died in 2014.

  • Eusébio, 71: Portuguese footballer, top goal scorer at the 1966 World Cup (January 25, 1942 – January 5, 2014)
  • Ariel Sharon, 85: 11th Prime Minister of Israel (February 26, 1928 – January 11, 2014)
  • Roger Lloyd-Pack, 69: British actor, best known as Trigger in Only Fools And Horses (February 8, 1944 – January 15, 2014)
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46: American actor (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014)
  • Shirley Temple, 85: American actress and diplomat (April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014)
  • Harold Ramis, 69: American writer, director and actor (November 21, 1944 – February 24, 2014)
  • Tony Benn, 88: British politician and diarist (April 3, 1925 – March 14, 2014)
  • Clarissa Dickson Wright, 66: English celebrity chef, notably for Two Fat Ladies, and TV personality (March 15, 2014 – March 15, 2014)
  • L’Wren Scott, 49: American fashion designer and model (April 28, 1964 – March 17, 2014)
  • Kate O’Mara, 74: English actress, best known for her role in Dynasty (August 10, 1939 – March 30, 2014)
  • Mickey Rooney, 93: American actor (September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014)
  • Peaches Geldof, 25: English TV presenter and model (March 13, 1989 – April 7, 2014)
  • Sue Townsend, 68: British novelist and playwright, best known for the Adrian Mole series (April 2, 1946 – April 10, 2014)
  • Gabriel García Márquez, 87: Colombian author – One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Love In The Time Of Cholera (March 6, 1927 – April 17, 2014)
  • Bob Hoskins, 71: British actor (October 26, 1942 – April 29, 2014)
  • H.R. Giger, 74: Swiss Oscar-winning surrealist artist, best known for designing the creature in the 1979 film Alien (February 5, 1940 – May 12, 2014)
  • Sir Jack Brabham, 88: Australian racing driver, triple Formula One world champion, race car designer (April 2, 1926 – May 19, 2014)
  • Malcolm Glazer, 85: American executive and sports franchise owner, including Manchester United (August 15, 1928 – May 28, 2014)
  • Rik Mayall, 56: English comedian, writer and actor, best known for The Young Ones (March 7, 1958 – June 9, 2014)
  • Casey Kasem, 82: Legendary American radio DJ – and the original voice of ‘Shaggy’ Rogers in Scooby-Doo cartoons (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014)
  • Patsy Byrne, 80: English actress, best known as Nursie in the Blackadder II TV series (July 13, 1933 – June 17, 2014)
  • Eli Wallach, 98: American actor, best known for being ‘The Ugly’ in The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014)
  • Bobby Womack, 70: American singer-songwriter (March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014)
  • Tommy Ramone, 65: Hungarian-born producer and drummer for The Ramones (January 29, 1952 – July 11, 2014)
  • James Garner, 86: American actor (April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014)
  • Robin Williams, 63: American actor and comedian (July 21, 1951 – August 11, 2014)
  • Lauren Bacall, 89: American actress (September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014)
  • Richard Attenborough, 90: British actor and film director, Baron Attenborough (August 29, 1923 – August 24, 2014)
  • Joan Rivers, 81: American comedienne, actress and television host (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014)
  • Richard Kiel, 74: American actor, best known as Jaws in James Bond films (September 13, 1939 – September 10, 2014)
  • John Bardon, 75: English actor, best known as Jim Branning on EastEnders (August 25, 1939 – September 12, 2014)
  • Ian Paisley, 88: British politician and First Minister of Northern Ireland, Lord Bannside (April 6, 1926 – September 12, 2014)
  • Sir Donald Sinden, 90: Veteran English actor (October 9, 1923 – September 12, 2014)
  • Lynda Bellingham, 66: Canadian-born British actress (May 31, 1948 – October 19, 2014)
  • Alvin Stardust, 72: English singer (September 27, 1942 – October 23, 2014)
  • Acker Bilk, 85: British jazz clarinetist (January 28, 1929 – November 2, 2014)
  • Rebekah Gibbs, 41: English actress, best known as Nina Farr in Casualty (March 17, 1973 – November 11, 2014)
  • Warren Clarke, 67: English actor (April 26, 1947 – November 12, 2014)
  • Mike Nichols, 83: German-born American director (The Graduate) and Oscar winner (November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014)
  • Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 88: 18th Duchess of Alba, Spanish aristocrat (March 28, 1926 – November 20, 2014)
  • Frankie Fraser, 90: Notorious British gangster (December 13, 1923 – November 26, 2014)
  • P.D. James, 94: English crime novelist, Baroness James of Holland Park (August 3, 1920 – November 27, 2014)
  • Mandy Rice-Davies, 70: British model, figure in the Profumo affair (October 21, 1944 – December 18, 2014)
  • Billie Whitelaw, 82: English actress, best known as the demonic nanny in the 1976 horror film The Omen (June 6, 1932 – December 21, 2014)
  • Christine Cavanaugh, 51: English actress, best known as the voice of ‘Babe’ the pig in the 1995 film Babe (August 16, 1963 – December 22, 2014)
  • Joe Cocker, 70: British singer (May 20, 1944 – December 22, 2014)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jude Law (42), Mel Gibson (59), Cuba Gooding Jr. (47), Anthony Hopkins (77), Val Kilmer (55), Tiger Woods (39), Sienna Miller (33), Denzel Washington (60), Jon Voight (76), Ted Danson (67), LeBron James (30), Ben Kingsley (71), Psy (37), Maggie Smith (80), Victoria Principal (65), Danny McBride (38), Dabney Coleman (83), Tia Carrere (48), Grandmaster Flash (57), Verne Troyer (46), Heidi Fleiss (49), Eliza Dushku (35), Tracey Ulman (55) and Stan Lee (92).

2015 League Table

[confidential]

Next week peeps!

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