As the whole world is dying around us, or so we are led to believe, I still have no points to award you. However, to lighten things up a bit, Doug came up with an idea that I rather liked, so we’re going to go with it. If any of your listed die of COVID-19, you will get an extra 19 points! I don’t expect to be handing out many 19 point bundles, but who knows, this could be the end of times! Although, if this was the case Tom Hanks would have pegged it already? Perhaps it calls for a flight of evil monkeys?

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Roy Hudd, 83, English actor (The Blood Beast Terror, Up the Chastity Belt, Coronation Street) and comedian. 
• Stuart Whitman, 92, American actor (The Mark, The Comancheros, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines), skin cancer. 
• Roger Mayweather, 58, American boxer and boxing trainer, WBA super featherweight and WBC super lightweight champion.  
• Alfred Worden, 88, American astronaut (Apollo 15), stroke.  
• Peter Whittingham, 35, English footballer (Cardiff City, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers), complications of traumatic brain injury.  
• Kenny Rogers, 81, American singer (“The Gambler“, “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition  My Condition Was In)“, “Islands in the Stream“), songwriter and actor.

In Other News

Mike Tyson has said that he is looking forward to his own death because “living might be more complicated than dying to me”. Tyson, 53, is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweights in the history of boxing. He became the first heavyweight to hold the WBA, WBC and IBF belts and later became the lineal champion. However, he has a controversial past and in 1992, he was convicted of rape and sentenced to six years in prison. He was eventually released on parole after serving three years. Since his retirement from boxing he has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and, reflecting on both his career and his life in an interview with The Sportsman, Tyson said that he does not fear death. “From my experience, from what I believe, the more I know about not existing, the more willing I am to die,” he said. “Yeah [I look forward to it], I don’t fear it. Living might be more complicated than dying to me… because living takes a lot of courage. “Without the courage, you can’t handle living. Living is a journey; living is a struggle. People have everything and they still can’t do it, they struggle. “We take ourselves too seriously; we think we’re somebody. Who the fuck, we’re nothing! We come from shit; we think we’re special [but] fame is shit. “You find out you’re not [special]. You’re capable of going to jail, you’re capable of dying, you’re capable of being mistreated. “I don’t really expect bad things to happen to me, but when they do happen to me, I understand it and I’m able to handle it. I’ve handled bad stuff before, that’s been my life. I don’t trip over bad things, I know shit happens. When bad things happen, I will be still striving to do something. I won’t be discouraged.” Good old Mike! 

The Notably Newly Infected

Prince Albert II of Monaco: The 62-year-old reigning monarch confirmed he had tested positive for the virus on Thursday. 

Michel Barnier: The European Union’s chief negotiator for its future relationship with Britain after Brexit. 

Idris Elba: The British actor confirmed he had contracted COVID-19 on Twitter on Tuesday 17th March. 

Mikel Arteta: Arsenal’s head coach tested positive for the coronavirus and self-isolated in line with government guidelines.  

Kristofer Hivju: Games of Thrones star Hivju, who played the wildling warrior Tormund Giantsbane, self-isolated with his family after contracting the illness. 

Linda Lusardi: The actress and former model said she had “never felt this ill” after contracting the virus. 

Fiona Phillips: The former GMTV host said she had symptoms including a sore throat and dry cough but was “fine” and “not suffering”.

On This Day

• 1906 – The first England vs France rugby union match is played at Parc des Princes in Paris. 
• 1972 – In Eisenstadt v. Baird, the United States Supreme Court decides that unmarried persons have the right to possess contraceptives.  
• 1978 – Karl Wallenda of The Flying Wallendas dies after falling off a tight-rope suspended between two hotels in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  
• 1995 – Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov returns to earth after setting a record of 438 days in space.

Deaths

• 1772 – John Canton, English physicist and academic (b. 1718)
• 2001 – William Hanna, American animator, director, producer, and voice actor, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (b. 1910) 
• 2003 – Terry Lloyd, English journalist (b. 1952)

Last Meals

Oba Chandler was an American Serial Killer who was convicted and executed for the June 1989 murders of Joan Rogers and her two daughters, whose bodies were found floating in Tampa Bay, Florida, with their hands and feet bound. Autopsies showed the victims had been thrown into the water while still alive, with ropes tied to a concrete block around their necks. The case became high-profile in 1992 when local police posted billboards bearing enlarged images of the suspect’s handwriting recovered from a pamphlet in the victims’ car. Chandler was identified as the killer when his neighbour recognised the handwriting. This was the first use of billboards by law enforcement in the US. Billboards then became useful tools in searches for missing people. Against the advice of his attorneys, he testified in his own defence, saying he had met the Ohio women and had given them directions. Chandler said he never saw them again, except in newspaper coverage and on the billboards set up by authorities. Police originally theorised that two men were involved in the murders, but this was discounted once Chandler was arrested. Chandler was found guilty of the murders and was sentenced to death on November 4, 1994. He maintained his innocence and continued to pursue legal appeals while on Florida’s death row. During his seventeen years of incarceration until his execution, he was notable for not having a single visitor. On November 15, prior to his execution, Chandler requested two salami sandwiches on white bread with mustard, peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich on white bread, iced tea and coffee as his last meal. He was executed at 4:08 pm but declined to make a last statement before being injected but left a written statement with prison officials stating: “You are killing a innocent man today.” On February 25, 2014, investigators revealed that DNA evidence identified Chandler as the murderer of Ivelisse Berrios-Beguerisse, who was raped and strangled in Coral Springs, Florida, on November 27, 1990. Chandler was living two miles from her workplace and abandoned his apartment two days after murdering her, leaving everything including his furniture behind. So not so innocent after all… 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Lena Olin (64), Reese Witherspoon (43), William Shatner (88), Andrew Lloyd Webber (71), Gary Oldman (62), Rhys Darby (46), Matthew Broderick (58), Timothy Dalton (74), Sonequa Martin-Green (35), Jaye Davidson (52), Ruby Rose (34), Holly Hunter (62), Freema Agyeman (41), David Thewlis (57), William Hurt (70), Spike Lee (63), Carl Reiner (98), Harvey Weinstein (68), Bruce Willis (65), Ursula Andress (84), Glenn Close (73), Brad Dourif (70), Irene Cara (61), Rob Lowe (56), Kurt Russell (69), Gary Sinise (65), John Boyega (28), Alexandra Daddario (34), Alan Tudyk (49), Victor Garber (71), Jerome Flynn (57), Erik Estrada (71), and Jimmy Nail (66).

Ironically, even with all the scaremongering from the media, we are struggling to find dead people to list on the Dead Pool this week, and those who have died have died from other issues. Maybe next week eh? 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Max von Sydow, 90, Swedish-born French actor (The Seventh Seal, The Exorcist, Pelle the Conqueror).  
• Pete Mitchell, 61, English radio DJ and presenter (BBC Radio 2, Virgin Radio). 
• Michel Roux, 78, French-born British chef and restaurateur (Le Gavroche, The Waterside Inn), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.  
• Genesis P-Orridge, 70, English musician (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV) and performance artist (COUM Transmissions), leukaemia.

In Other News

Tom Hanks has urged fans to take care of themselves and each other in his latest Instagram post, after testing positive for Coronavirus this week. The actor and his wife Rita Wilson, both 63, are currently recovering from the disease in hospital isolation after falling ill while filming in Australia. The couple, who have been married for more than 30 years, had been Down Under filming for an upcoming Elvis Presley biopic Tom is starring in. On Sunday, Tom shared an update with fans as he and Rita remain in isolation. The Oscar winner shared a picture of his Vegemite on toast breakfast and a glass of water, hinting that he’s over the worst. He also included a little toy kangaroo and a cute koala bear in the picture in homage to those who have helped take care of him. Alongside the snap, he wrote: “Thanks to the Helpers. Let’s take care of ourselves and each other. Hanx” Fans responded to wish him and Rita well while others joked about the generous helping of spread on his toast. Earlier in the week, Tom and his wife Rita posed for a smiling selfie as they remained in isolation. Tom wrote: “Rita Wilson and I want to thank everyone here Down Under who are taking such good care of us. We have Covid-19 and are in isolation so we do not spread it to anyone else. “Remember, despite all the current events, there is no crying in baseball. Hanx” Hanks announced that the pair had contracted the virus in a statement, as they became the highest profile celebrities to have fallen ill with the virus. He wrote: “Hello, folks. Rita and I are down here in Australia. We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too. “To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for Coronavirus, and were found to be positive. “We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?” But what about Wilson??? 

Other celebrities who have contracted the Coronavirus? Well, let’s make a list…

• We obviously know of Tom Hanks and his wife as they were the first to go public. 
• Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 
• Quite a few NBA players that I won’t bother listing as barely any of us would know who they are.

And Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi tested positive. “I had the virus for the last couple of days, which I’ve recovered from,” Hudson-Odoi said in a video posted on social media. “I’m following the health guidelines and self-isolating myself from everybody for the week. I hope to see everybody soon and hopefully be back on the pitch very soon. Take care.”  And that’s about it so far, they all seem to be fairly healthy and will survive, shame that…  

Floyd Mayweather’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of his three children, Josie Harris, has been found dead in her car by police in California. She was 40 years old. Harris was found outside her home in Valencia, Los Angeles County, on Tuesday night. Authorities do not suspect foul play and are treating the case like a death investigation. Mayweather and Harris had a tumultuous relationship when they dated between 1995 and 2010. The boxing icon served two months in prison when he was convicted in 2010 of domestic violence against her. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said in a statement on Wednesday: ‘Homicide investigators have responded to the death of a woman. ‘The incident was reported Tuesday, March 10, 2020, at approximately, 10pm, on the 25,700 block of Oak Meadow Drive, Valencia. ‘The woman was pronounced dead at the scene. There is no additional information available at this time.’ Harris claimed that she was abused by Mayweather on six different occasions and was in the process of writing a book about domestic violence survivors when she died.     

On This Day

• 44 BC – The assassination of Julius Caesar.
• 1917 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicates the Russian throne ending the 304-year Romanov dynasty.
• 1990 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected as the first President of the Soviet Union.

Deaths

• 44 BC – Julius Caesar, Roman general and statesman (b. 100 BC)
• 1891 – Joseph Bazalgette, English engineer and academic (b. 1819)
• 1937 – H. P. Lovecraft, American short story writer, editor, and novelist (b. 1890)
• 1998 – Benjamin Spock, American paediatrician and author (b. 1903)
• 2003 – Thora Hird, English actress (b. 1911)
• 2014 – Clarissa Dickson Wright, English chef, author, and television personality (b. 1947)

Last Meals

A convicted killer sentenced to death for slaying three police officers took only one bite of his last meal before being executed by lethal injection. There was some hope death row inmate Nathaniel Woods’ execution may have been called off after the US Supreme Court granted a last minute stay, but this was lifted hours later. The 44-year-old dad had requested sweet potatoes, spinach, chicken patty and leg quarter, cooked apples, fries, two oranges and an orange-flavoured drink. However, he only had a bite of the chicken before leaving the rest of the meal untouched, according to a statement from Alabama Department of Corrections. Woods had made calls to his father, sister, daughter and mother, as well as friends, in the hours before his execution on Thursday evening at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore.

Woods was convicted for his part in what became known as the ‘deadliest day’ in the history of Alabama’s Birmingham Police Department in 2004. Officers Carlos Owen, Harley A. Chisholm III and Charles R. Bennett were shot dead by Kerry Spencer at an apartment in Birmingham where Woods was also present but didn’t pull the trigger. Prosecutors, however, said Woods had lured the three  law enforcers into the home where they were killed – but supporters claim the evidence against him doesn’t stack up. During his trial – in a practice abandoned by every other US state except Alabama – the jury could not even come to a unanimous decision on his sentencing, with two opposed to the death penalty. The decision to press on with the execution came after Alabama Governor Kay Ivey reviewed a letter from Woods’ legal team requesting a reprieve from the death sentence, but said she would allow the execution to proceed. In a lengthy statement, the governor said: “There is no evidence, and no argument has been made, that Nathaniel Woods tried to stop the gunman from committing these heinous crimes. “In fact, he later bragged about his participation in these horrific murders.” Alabama State Attorney General Steve Marshall agreed in a statement on Wednesday that Woods was “correctly found guilty and sentenced to death by a jury of his peers”. Woods became the first person executed in Alabama in 2020 and the 67th since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1976.

Last Week’s Birthdays

David Cronenberg (76), Will.i.am (44), Jamie Bell (33), Jaimie Alexander (35), Michael Caine (86), Billy Crystal (71), Quincy Jones (86), Annabeth Gish (48), William H. Macy (69), Aaron Eckhart (51), Liza Minnelli (73), Thora Birch (37), John Barrowman (52), Johnny Knoxville (48), Nancy Kovack (84), Olivia Wilde (36), Sharon Stone (62), Jon Hamm (49), Chuck Norris (80), Robert Llewellyn (64), Juliette Binoche (56), Freddie Prinze Jr. (44), and Aidan Quinn (61).

Nil points to award this week, just goes to show that the coronavirus isn’t that bad. Although, just to put the willies up some people, three politicians in Iran have died of Corvid-19, at least we can all agree that if it targets politicians, we will welcome the virus with open arms… 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Stefan Lindqvist, 52, Swedish footballer (Halmstad, IFK Göteborg, national team), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.  
• James Lipton, 93, American television host (Inside the Actors Studio), actor (Arrested Development) and writer (Guiding Light), bladder cancer.  
• CC, 18, American tabby cat, first cloned pet, kidney failure.  
• Barbara Martin, 76, American singer (The Supremes).  
• Alexey Sorokin, 97, Russian military officer and politician, Admiral of the Fleet (1988–1992) and Deputy (1989–1991).  
• David Paul, 62, American actor, producer, television personality and bodybuilder (The Barbarians, Double Trouble, Twin Sitters). 
• David Rainford, 51, British quiz contestant (Eggheads).  
• Matthew Watkins, 41, Welsh rugby union player (Newport, Scarlets, national team), pelvic cancer.

In Other News

A Ukrainian chess grandmaster once ranked eighth in the world and his teenage girlfriend, who also played professionally, have died. Investigators claimed the pair may have choked to death after inhaling nitrous oxide. Stanislav Bogdanovich, 27, and 19-year-old Alexandra Vernigora, both from the Odessa region, were found dead in their adoptive home of Moscow, according to industry publication chess-news.ru. The couple, who had been together for a year, were initially claimed to have been found alongside balloons used to inhale the gas, which is legally available in the country. However Russian broadcaster Ren TV, citing Russian investigators, later said the couple had been found with bags over their heads. The supply of  nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, was outlawed for recreational purposes in the UK in 2016 – however, the death rate associated with its use is relatively low. Between 2010 and 2016, 25 people were confirmed to have died as a result of inhaling the gas in Britain. Investigators reportedly said there was no evidence of foul play.   

Jared Leto has revealed he “nearly died” while rock climbing in Nevada. Leto shared photos and videos of the incident on Instagram, which occurred while he was climbing with Alex Honnold, who is famous for his free solo ascents. Leto and Honnold were climbing at the Red Rock canyon in Nevada when the actor “took a pretty good fall”. “Not to sound dramatic, but this is the day I nearly died,” wrote Leto in the Instagram caption. “Took a pretty good fall climbing with @alexhonnold at Red Rock. Looked up and within seconds the rope was being cut by the rock while I dangled some 600 ft in the air. “I remember looking down at the ground below. It was a strange moment – less fear, more matter of fact, and slightly melancholy. The adrenaline came after, when I got back on the wall. But we made it through and lived to see another day. “Overall it was actually quite fun. we continued climbing into the night…”    

Post Malone has spoken out to reassure fans that he is not taking drugs, after many expressed concerns for his health following bizarre live shows. The rapper, who is currently out on the second leg of his Runaway tour, was filmed stumbling across the stage, slurring his words and rolling his eyes back while performing. After fans took to social media to say they were worried he might be taking drugs, Malone used his concert in Memphis, Tennessee to deny these claims. “I’m not on drugs,” he told the crowd. “I feel the best I’ve ever fucking felt in my life. And that’s why I can bust my ass for these shows and fucking fall on the floor and do all that fun shit.” He added: “But for anyone that’s concerned here, I appreciate the love and the support, but I feel fucking fantastic and I’m not doing drugs.” 

On This Day

• 1618 – Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion.
• 1979 – Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time.
• 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying a total of 239 people, disappears en-route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Deaths

• 1723 – Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St. Paul’s Cathedral (b. 1632)
• 1930 – William Howard Taft, American lawyer, 27th President of the U.S. (b. 1857)
• 1971 – Harold Lloyd, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
• 2003 – Adam Faith, English singer (b. 1940)
• 2007 – John Inman, English actor (b. 1935)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Cynthia Rothrock (62), Micky Dolenz (74), Rachel Weisz (49), Bryan Cranston (63), Shaquille O’Neal (47), Tom Arnold (60), Alan Davies (53), Jolene Blalock (44), Eva Mendes (45), Dean Stockwell (83), Jake Lloyd (30), Matt Lucas (45), Paul Blackthorne (50), Fred Williamson (81), Aasif Mandvi (53), Penn Jillette (64), Murray Head (73), Catherine O’Hara (66), Patsy Kensit (52), Jessica Biel (38), Julie Bowen (50), Miranda Richardson (62), Charlie Brooker (49), Brian Cox (52), Bryce Dallas Howard (39), Daniel Craig (52), Rebel Wilson (40), Nathalie Emmanuel (31), Gates McFadden (71), Jon Bon Jovi (58), Chris Martin (43), and Alexander Armstrong (50).

Somewhat surprisingly, we’re not dishing out any points this week. Even though the oldest man on the planet has died and the last film star of the silent era also passed away. I’m expecting the following weeks to be busy with hordes of stars dying of Coronavirus, any bets on Jon Snow? 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Simon Warr, 66, British broadcaster & actor (That’ll Teach ‘Em), pancreatic & liver cancer.  
• Chitetsu Watanabe, 112, Japanese supercentenarian, world’s oldest living man.  
• Diana Serra Cary, 101, American actress (The Darling of New York, Captain January, The Family Secret).  
• Ben Cooper, 86, American actor (Johnny Guitar, Gunfight at Comanche Creek, Rebel in Town).  
• Clive Cussler, 88, American adventure novelist (Raise the Titanic!, Sahara) and underwater explorer, founder of the NUMA. 
• Katherine Johnson, 101, American mathematician (NASA). 
• Hosni Mubarak, 91, Egyptian military officer and politician, kidney failure.
• Michael Medwin, 96, English actor (Shoestring, Scrooge, The Army Game).  
• Sudhakar Chaturvedi, 122 (claimed), Indian Vedic scholar and courier.  
• Freeman Dyson, 96, British-born American physicist and mathematician (Dyson’s transform, Rank of a partition, Dyson series), fall.

In Other News

In what can only be described as an amazing case of Darwinism in action, three people have been killed after dry ice was poured into a swimming pool during a birthday party in Moscow. The victims had been celebrating the 29th birthday of Instagram influencer Yekaterina Didenko at a pool complex in the Russian capital. About 25kg of dry ice was tipped into the pool with the intention of creating a “visual effect” to impress guests. But people inside the pool reportedly instantly began to choke and lose consciousness. Several people were injured during the stunt, including Ms Didenko’s husband, 32-year-old Valentin Didenko, who is reportedly among the dead. The mother-of-two had earlier posted a video message telling her one million followers he had been rushed to intensive care. Dry ice, which is frozen carbon dioxide, produces a heavy vapour when put into water. The cause of the deaths is not yet known, but the vapour can cause an elevated level of carbon dioxide in blood when released in an inadequately ventilated space.     

Britain’s oldest man is now the oldest man in the world following the death of the previous record holder in Japan – but it’s not an achievement he seems too enamoured with. Born on 29th March 1908, Bob Wighton has been the oldest man in the UK since last summer and took the global title after Chitetsu Watanabe died aged 112 on Sunday – days after receiving a Guinness World Record certificate. Mr Weighton, who turns 112 next month, can now expect to receive a certificate of his own, although he says he takes no satisfaction from the milestone. “Well, I don’t really feel satisfied because it means someone else has died,” said the former teacher and engineer. Mr Weighton, who still lives in his own flat in Alton, Hampshire, said living to such an age was “not something I ever intended, wanted or worked for – it’s just one of those facts of life”. “It’s good genes I guess – taking things as they come instead of worrying about them for months”. Upon celebrating his 111th birthday last year, Mr Weighton put his long life down to “avoiding dying”. He said: “I have had the usual scares, flu, influenza, malaria, two or three operations; I ought to be dead but I am a survivor, if you like.”    

Prison bosses are reportedly worried about how to handle Harvey Weinstein while he is in jail, fearing he may commit suicide, or as it’s now called, doing an Epstein. Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault on Monday and officials at New York prisons are said to be concerned another high-profile inmate could take his own life. Billionaire Epstein hanged himself last August in his cell at Metropolitan Correctional Centre in Manhattan while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Now it is feared Weinstein may have to be kept in a private section of Rikers Island’s North Infirmary Command, which is for high-risk inmates, for his own safety. However, according to his attorney, Weinstein is as happy as can be — despite the looming possibility of nearly 30 years in prison. While Weinstein’s hospitalised at the moment due to chest pains, his attorney also doesn’t think his client will need extra protection from other inmates. Nothing like a bit of optimism. 

On This Day

• 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.
• 1953 – Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses; he dies four days later.
• 1983 – First collection of twelve Swatch models was introduced in Zürich, Switzerland.

Deaths

• 589 – David, Welsh bishop and saint
• 1244 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr, Welsh noble, son of Llywelyn the Great (b. 1200)
• 2006 – Jack Wild, Actor (b.1952)

Last Week’s Birthdays

John Turturro (62), Rae Dawn Chong (58), Mercedes Ruehl (71), Kate Mara (36), Adam Baldwin (57), Richard Coyle(47), Timothy Spall (62), Chase Masterson (56), Bill Duke (76), Michael Bolton (66), Téa Leoni (54), Jameela Jamil (34), Sean Astin (49), Lee Evans (56), Daniel Kaluuya (31), Edward James Olmos (73), and Dennis Waterman (72).

I’m not going to lie to you, this one is going to take a little while to read; I blame Nickie for sending too many stories… Luckily none of you chose Britain’s Oldest Living Person as she died last year, so any points you would have scored would have been nullified. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Frances Cuka, 83, British actress (Scrooge, The Watcher in the Woods, Snow White: A Tale of Terror).  
• Harry Gregg, 87, Northern Irish footballer (Manchester United), Munich air disaster survivor.  
• Kellye Nakahara, 72, American actress (M*A*S*H, Clue, 3 Ninjas Kick Back) and artist, cancer.  
• Larry Tesler, 74, American computer scientist (Apple Corps, Xerox), designer of cut, copy, and paste. 
• Heather Couper, 70, British astronomer and broadcaster, President of the British Astronomical Association (1984–1986).  

 In Other News

A daredevil pilot who believed the Earth was flat has been killed after his homemade rocket crashed shortly after take-off in California. “Mad” Mike Hughes, who hoped to prove the Earth was flat by going into space, died on Saturday near Barstow, California, after attempting to launch his steam-powered rocket for a new television series called Homemade Astronauts on the US Science Channel. In a statement, the Science Channel said: “Our thoughts & prayers go out to his family & friends during this difficult time. It was always his dream to do this launch & Science Channel was there to chronicle his journey.” A video of the launch, posted by a witness on Twitter, shows a parachute trailing behind the rocket immediately after take-off. The rocket is then depicted hurtling down to earth before crashing into the desert. With the help of his partner Waldo Stakes, Hughes wanted to reach 5,000 feet (1524m) in his rocket, according to space.com. Obviously nobody told him that commercial flights fly at 35,000 feet…  

Dame Julie Walters has revealed that she was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer 18 months ago. Walters said she had two primary tumours in her large intestine, and was so shocked when she was diagnosed that she thought doctors “must have made a mistake”. She was filming her new movie The Secret Garden when she was diagnosed. “I was still thinking, ‘That’s ridiculous, he must have made a mistake,’” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.” Walters described the reaction of her husband, Grant Roffey. “I’ll never forget his face,” she said. “Tears came into his eyes.” The actor said that while she had always been optimistic that she would recover, she worried about not coming round from anaesthetic after surgery. She said that she had “30cm taken out of my colon” in hospital. Walters had chemotherapy, which she said was “fine” and had not caused hair loss. She added: “I’ve just had a scan, and I know that I’m clear.”  

Larry Tesler, the mind behind cut, copy and paste has died aged 74. Tesler played a key role in the development of a range of Apple products, serving as VP of AppleNet and Apple’s Advanced Technology Group. Prior to this the computer scientist had a pioneering career in technology. After studying the subject at Stanford University he went on to work for the legendary R&D facility, Xerox PARC. However, Tesler’s crowning achievement was the invention of cut, copy and paste, a function that is now taken for granted in modern computers. Tesler is fondly regarded as an encapsulation of hippie and high-tech culture that helped create Apple as a company.  

Liverpool comedian, Jimmy Tarbuck, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The veteran comedian, 80, said that he is going to “try and beat it”. He said men can be too “shy” to get tested as he urged viewers: “All men out there watching, and all wives, get your husbands to go for the tests. I think after 50, just have a test, let them have a look at you. “You will be relieved and be with your families for extra years.” He added: “I feel great. I’m on the telly and I’m having a good time. Tarbuck said Sir Tom Jones has been his “mentor”, and had advised him to see a doctor when he told him about his symptoms. “Tom told me what was going to happen, all the tests,” Tarbuck said. He added: “Boys, go. It is embarrassing. The fella said to me ‘We’re going to give you the thumbs up’. I said ‘I hope not’. He roared laughing.” Tarbuck, who said the cancer has not spread, added: “I’m having injections and taking tablets and then I take a yearly cycle.”   

The oldest person in Britain has died at the age of 111, it was announced last Wednesday. Hilda Clulow passed away peacefully on Christmas Eve with her family and friends by her side at the care home where she was staying in Redditch, Worcestershire. She was born on March 15, 1908, when a loaf of bread cost just 1p and London hosted its first Olympic Games. Hilda lived through 27 prime ministers, five monarchs, and survived both world wars. The retired dress worker celebrated her 111th birthday with a 1940s-themed party last March. Speaking of her longevity on her previous birthday, Hilda said: “When you get to my age, it’s just a number isn’t it? “I’ve had a lovely day and seen lots of old photos, my memory isn’t quite what it was, but I don’t do too bad! The oldest person in the UK now is believed to be 111-year-old Bob Weighton who was born in Hull on March 29, 1908.

On This Day

• 1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.
• 1739 – At York Castle, the outlaw Dick Turpin is identified by his former schoolteacher. Turpin had been using the name Richard Palmer.
• 1927 – German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time.

Deaths

• 1821 – John Keats, English poet (b. 1795)
• 1848 – John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States (b. 1767)
• 1931 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (b. 1861)
• 1934 – Edward Elgar, English composer and academic (b. 1857)
• 1965 – Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian (b. 1890)
• 1976 – L. S. Lowry, English painter (b. 1887)
• 1995 – James Herriot, English veterinarian and author (b. 1916)

Last Meals 

The final words of a death row inmate who was executed for stabbing a child rapist to death in prison have been revealed. Nicholas Todd Sutton was given a death sentence after being convicted of murdering fellow inmate Carl Estep in 1985. The 58-year-old had eaten his last meal– fried pork chops, mashed potatoes with gravy, biscuits and peach pie with vanilla ice cream, saying in his last words that he hopes he does better in his next time.

Sutton – who choose to die by electric chair rather than lethal injection – also paid tribute to his faith in God. Supporters had been attempting to overturn his death sentence, arguing he was a changed man.  

He was originally locked up for killing his grandma, and later confessed to two more murders before stabbing Estep to death while in jail. In a statement, Sutton said: “I have made a lot of friends along the way and a lot of people have enriched my life. “They have reached out to me and pulled me up and I am grateful for that. “I have had the privilege of being married to the finest woman, who is a great servant to God. “Without her, I would not have made the progress that I have made. I hope I do a much better job in the next life than I did in this one. “If I could leave one thing with all of you, it is, don’t ever give up on the ability of Jesus Christ to fix someone or a problem. “He can fix anything. Don’t ever underestimate His ability. He has made my life meaningful and fruitful through my relationships with family and friends. “So, even in my death, I am  coming out a winner. God has provided it all to me.” 

Sutton is the fourth inmate the US to executed in 2020, and the first in Tennessee. He was in prison when he killed child rapist Estep back in 1985 and was sentenced to death in 1986 – serving 34 years on death row. During a guard shift change, Sutton and his accomplice Thomas Street entered Estep’s cell and stabbed him 38 times in the chest and neck with homemade knives. Inmates said Estep was a drug dealer behind bars and had sold the men “bad merchandise”. It is claimed the paedophile refused to refund their money, so the men stole his watch. But then he threatened to kill Sutton, leading to the murder in which four inmates saw the men enter his cell and heard screams. 

Sutton killed his grandmother Dorothy by knocking out and throwing her into a river in Tennessee’s Hamblen County. He was convicted of murder and then confessed to beating to death his high school friend John Large, 19, and fatally shooting Charles Almon, 46. Such a nice man! 

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