Dead Pool 5th July 2015

Afternoon all, a quick update on the happenings of last week, alas not a lot happened and without the death of Val Doonican, we would be in a terrible state. I’ll not waffle on, let’s get to the non-existent news!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Chris Squire, 67, English bass guitarist (Yes), acute erythroid leukemia.
• Matti Makkonen, 63, Finnish telecommunications engineer, inventor of the SMS.
• Kauto Star, 15, French-born British-trained racehorse, dual winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, euthanized.
• Bruce Rowland, 74, British rock drummer (Fairport Convention).
• Edward Burnham, 98, English actor (To Sir, with Love, 10 Rillington Place, Doctor Who).
• Leonard Starr, 89, American cartoonist (ThunderCats).
• Val Doonican, 88, Irish singer and television presenter.

In Other News

Former children’s television presenter John Noakes has been found after disappearing during a walk on the island of Mallorca early on Tuesday morning in 35C heat. The former Blue Peter presenter, who has Alzheimer’s disease, was taken to hospital after he was found in a field. When located, the 81 year old was found to have a weak heartbeat and was suffering from dehydration, but is expected to recover. Noakes, who joined Blue Peter in 1965, was known for both his adventurous physical exploits, including what was at the time the longest free-fall parachute jump by a British civilian, and his association with one of the show’s resident dogs, border collie Shep, which died in 1987.

Sonia Manzano, who has played Maria on the US children’s programme Sesame Street for more than four decades, is retiring. Manzano, 65, joined the show in  1971 and became a series regular in 1974, giving helpful advice to characters like Big Bird and Elmo. She was also a writer on the show, winning 15 Emmy Awards for her work. We all know what happens when active people retire don’t we Poolers…

Joni Mitchell did have an aneurysm in March but is able to speak, a friend who acts as her conservator has said. Leslie Morris’s update on the Canadian singer’s condition follows an interview with US musician David Crosby, in which he said she was still unable to speak. “The truth is that Joni is speaking, and she’s speaking well,” said Morris on Mitchell’s official website. “She is resting comfortably in her own home and she’s getting better each day. A full recovery is expected.” Mitchell, 71, was found unconscious in her Los Angeles home on 31 March and taken to hospital.

On This Day

• 1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
• 1841 – Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
• 1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
• 1946 – The bikini goes on sale after debuting during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris, France.
• 1948 – National Health Service Acts creates the national public health systems in the United Kingdom.
• 1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
• 1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
• 1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.

Deaths

For the first time ever, nobody of any importance, or I’d heard of, died on this day in the past!!!

Last Week’s Birthdays

Tom Cruise (53), Lindsey Lohan (29), John Cusack (49), Pamela Anderson (48), Mike Tyson (49), Debbie Harry (70), Dan Aykroyd (63), Mel Brooks (89), Kathy Bates (67), Katherine Jenkins (35), Gary Busey (71), Michael Phelps (30), Liv Tyler (38), Larry David (68), Ashley Tisdale (30), Cheryl Cole (32), Missy Elliott (44), Carl Lewis (54), Jerry Hall (59), Montel Williams (59) and Yardley Smith (51).

Next Week peeps!