A slightly shorter edition this week as we’re only just two weeks away from the 2019 finale. With this in mind I thought it prudent to remind you to get working on your lists and email them in. I’m not bothering with the forms this year, just email 13 names and state which of them is your Cert, Woman and Maverick to mail@thedeadpool.rip. The rules can be seen here. 

As always, try to think of those not-so obscure names and try to balance your list so it’s not full of dodgy Death Row inmates or Supercentenarian’s that might score you small and often but mostly might not score you at all. 

Feel free to ask any questions or if you need any obscure name judgements. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• René Auberjonois, 79, American actor (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, MASH, Benson), Tony winner (1970), lung cancer.  
• Marie Fredriksson, 61, Swedish singer-songwriter (Roxette) and musician, complications from a brain tumour.
• Nell Gifford, 46, British circus owner (Giffords Circus), cancer.  
• Juice Wrld, 21, American rapper (“All Girls Are the Same“, “Lucid Dreams“, “Bandit“).  
• Caroll Spinney, 85, American puppeteer (Sesame Street, Shalom Sesame, Follow That Bird), cartoonist and author.  
• Natalie Harrowell, 29, English rugby league player (Featherstone Rovers, national team).  
• David Bellamy, 86, English naturalist (Bellamy’s Backyard Safari) and author.  
• Danny Aiello, 86, American actor (Do the Right Thing, The Godfather Part II, Moonstruck).  
• Sheila Mercier, 100, English actress (Emmerdale).  
• Anna Karina, 79, Danish-born French actress (Little Soldier, A Woman Is a Woman, Alphaville), cancer 

In Other News 

Harvey Weinstein has been reduced to releasing a photo of himself in hospital in an attempt to distance himself from rumours he is faking illness ahead of trial. Some have accused the disgraced former film exec of trying to gain sympathy. Weinstein, 67, was in court last week using a walking frame to help him keep his balance – and it didn’t go down well online. The disgraced Hollywood boss is accused of five counts of rape and sexual assault. His trial commences in the New Year but he has moved to publicly cast aside suggestions he is putting it all on. Weinstein’s spokesman said he underwent a three-hour back operation in New York on Thursday. They added he needed to to fix the problem after injuries from a summer a car accident. His spokesman said. ‘Harvey has been in agony and underwent surgery on Thursday. We don’t know if he will need further surgeries. “The idea he is faking his illness is ridiculous.” The movie mogul’s trial is due to start on January 6. He could be jailed for life if convicted on all charges. Last week he reached out-of-court settlements with an unnamed number of people. Lawyer Donna Rotunno said last week that his health is getting worse. “Mr Weinstein’s health has been deteriorating since August when he had the unfortunate accident,” she said. “He had tried to manage the discomfort, but as the pain got worse and the various different courses of treatment failed to remedy the problem, he began to rely on a cane and a walker.  

Something very strange happened in November. You would be forgiven for not having noticed, after all, it was a month during which Prince Andrew, Duke of York ingloriously made royal history after being essentially banished from official duties over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He now has the highly dubious honour of being the first member of the family to walk away from their HRH responsibilities in 83 years when they are still fit and able-bodied. However, while this particular maelstrom was brewing, something else potentially momentous has been going on. Namely, the Queen has quietly taken a huge step back and nearly halved her workload. Like pretty much everything to do with the royal family, this was not by chance or circumstance. Instead, in November, she logged only 30 official events in contrast to November last year when she hit 50. Yes, she is a 93-year-old and has every right to perhaps pop her feet up a bit more and catch Coronation Street once in a while. But for a monarch whose life has been driven by a powerful sense of duty, this carries serious meaning. In recent weeks, with Prince Charles coming to the fore in the Andrew debacle and reportedly playing a decisive role in officially sidelining his little brother, so to have reports that he is preparing to assume the throne in all but name. While Buckingham Palace courtiers were quick to put down their china cups of Earl Grey and quash this rumour fast, it did highlight the issue of how practically the Queen will continue to reign as she pluckily works her way towards 100. 

On This Day

• 1890 – Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull is killed on Standing Rock Indian Reservation, leading to the Wounded Knee Massacre.
• 1914 – A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hōjō coal mine, in Kyushu, Japan, kills 687.
• 1941 – The Holocaust in Ukraine: German troops murder over 15,000 Jews at Drobytsky Yar, a ravine southeast of the city of Kharkiv. Jeremy Corbyn still hasn’t apologised for this.
• 1970 – Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully lands on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet.

Deaths

• 1890 – Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota tribal chief (b. 1831)
• 1944 – Glenn Miller, American bandleader and composer (b. 1904)
• 1966 – Walt Disney, American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (b. 1901)
• 2013 – Joan Fontaine, British-American actress (b. 1917)
• 2017 – Heinz Wolff, scientist and TV presenter (b. 1928)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Don Johnson (69), Helen Slater (55), Charlie Cox (36), Garrett Wang (50), Natascha McElhone (49), Miranda Hart (46), Ted Raimi (53), Vicki Michelle (68), Christopher Plummer (90), Jamie Foxx (52), Taylor Swift (30), Steve Buscemi (62), Dick Van Dyke (94), Robert Lindsay (70), Jennifer Connelly (49), Mädchen Amick (49), Bill Nighy (70), Sarah Douglas (67), Kenneth Cranham (75), Dionne Warwick (79), Connie Francis (81), Kenneth Branagh (59), Susanna Reid (49), Kirk Douglas (103), Judi Dench (85), John Malkovich (66), Michael Dorn (67), Beau Bridges (78), Donny Osmond (62), and Kim Basinger (66).

Well done to me! I finally scored with my list of Star Trek veterans with the sad passing of D.C. Fontana, however I missed out on Robert Walker though… I am a bit surprised that the media haven’t made more of her death as she was a trailblazer in her industry and that it’s the 40th anniversary of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Anyhow, less nerdiness, on with the show.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• D. C. Fontana, 80, American television writer (Star Trek, The Streets of San Francisco, The Waltons).  
• Robert Walker, 79, American actor (Ensign Pulver, The Ceremony, Star Trek).  
• Rosa Morena, 78, Spanish flamenco pop singer and actress, cancer.

In Other News 

John Barrowman has had a series of spinal injections after he was rushed to hospital with a neck injury. He said before the procedure that he was to have “some small needles then some very big ones put into my neck”. The star of Doctor Who updated fans on social media after he was taken to hospital in Bristol on Saturday. Barrowman, 52, had been due to start his ‘Fabulous Christmas Tour’ at the city’s Hippodrome that day, but the show was cancelled. He posted a short video on Instagram at 02:00am saying he would be having the injections at the base of the neck to help support the head. Obviously his ego has grown out of all proportions. He then posted an update to say the injections were finished and they were “a bit uncomfortable”. Barrowman said the injury had made it “impossible to sing and move” in an Instagram message to fans on Saturday afternoon. Such a shame that the NHS is available to anyone.  

Troubled TV star James ‘Arg’ Argent has reportedly been hospitalised after suffering a second drug overdose in just two months. It has been claimed paramedics rushed to his lavish Essex home on Wednesday evening, after worried pals feared the worst as the ex-TOWIE star has been missing for 48 hours. This health scare comes just months after TOWIE veteran Gemma Collins was forced to call 999 over fears her on/off boyfriend had collapsed while alone in his home. Arg was “disorientated” and “out of it”, but initially refused to get in the ambulance after medics decided he need to be hospitalised. The source told the publication: “Arg was disorientated and looked like he hadn’t eaten in days. “He has been in denial of how bad it’s got and convinced everyone he’s fine but that couldn’t be further from the truth- he’s been suffering with depression and has been in a bad place for years.” After failing to turn up at events booked into his schedule this week, fears for the state of his welfare began to grow. Having spent the night in hospital, Arg discharged himself as he had plans to fly to Belfast for a PA with former Westlife star Brian McFadden.

On This Day

• 1660 – A woman (either Margaret Hughes or Anne Marshall) appears on an English public stage for the first time, in the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare’s play Othello.
• 1963 – Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707, is struck by lightning and crashes near Elkton, Maryland, killing all 81 people on board.
• 1966 – The Greek ship SS Heraklion sinks in a storm in the Aegean Sea, killing over 200.
• 1969 – Olympic Airways Flight 954 strikes a mountain outside of Keratea, Greece, killing 90 people in the worst crash of a Douglas DC-6 in history.
• 1972 – United Airlines Flight 553, a Boeing 737, crashes after aborting its landing attempt at Chicago Midway International Airport, killing 45. This is the first-ever loss of a Boeing 737.
• 1980 – Former Beatle John Lennon is murdered in front of The Dakota in New York City.
• 1988 – A United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II crashes into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany, killing 5 people and injuring 50 others.
• 2010 – With the second launch of the SpaceX Falcon 9 and the first launch of the SpaceX Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.
• 2013 – Metallica performs a show in Antarctica, making them the first band to perform on all 7 continents.

Deaths

• 1980 – John Lennon, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
• 1983 – Slim Pickens, American actor (b. 1919)
• 2008 – Oliver Postgate, English voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
• 2016 – John Glenn, American astronaut and senator, first American to go into orbit (b. 1921)

Last Meals

THE FINAL HOURS OF JOHN LENNON December 8th, 1980. Five gunshots ring out in New York, ending the life of one of the world’s most influential musicians and sending millions of fans into mourning. John Lennon had been living quietly in the city and had just made his comeback after five years away from the studio. “John and I were gloriously happy in the first week of December,” his widow later recalled. “In our minds, we were a team – old soldiers.” So exactly what happened on that fateful day?

In the morning, John and Yoko leave their apartment and have breakfast at the Cafe La Fortuna, on West 71st Street. John eats Eggs Benedict and follows it with a cappuccino and Gitane cigarette. He then decides to get a haircut, after which the couple return to their sprawling 34-room apartment and welcome photographer Annie Leibovitz inside to undertake a photoshoot for Rolling Stone. Lennon wants to be photographed naked, clinging to a clothed Yoko. Leibovitz has no problem with that, and the photos are taken. The resulting picture makes the cover of Rolling Stone magazine weeks later. 

After the shoot, San Francisco radio producer Dave Sholin arrives to conduct what becomes John’s last interview. During the three-hour session, the musician poignantly says: “We’re either going to live or we’re going to die. I consider that my work won’t be finished until I’m dead and buried – and I hope that’s a long time.” Following the interview Sholin offers John and Yoko a lift to the recording studio. 

Outside the apartment, the pavement teems with office workers heading for the subway. Among them is Mark Chapman, 25, determined to kill Lennon, who he sees as a “phony” – a left-wing activist with a millionaire lifestyle. Despite the mild weather, Chapman wears thermal underwear, green trousers, a shirt and  sweater, and a long green overcoat, complete with a fake fur hat, gloves and a green scarf. A Charter Arms .38 snub-nosed revolver is concealed in the inside pocket of his coat. He hands John a copy of “Double Fantasy” to sign. John writes: John Lennon 1980. Handing it back, he looks his killer in the eye and asks: “Here, is that what you want?” before hopping into the car. John and Yoko then spend four-and-a-half hours working at The Record Factory. Before leaving the studio, Lennon enjoyed a corned beef sandwich with the plan to have a larger meal once he got home. 

The couple take a short limousine drive back to their apartment, however there is a vehicle parked directly in front of the entrance to the block, so John’s limo stops outside the building’s gateway and Yoko climbs out, followed by John carrying a tape recorder and cassettes. John stares at Chapman as he passes by and, as he moves off, the killer springs into action. As John walks by, Chapman says, “Mr. Lennon.” John starts to turn just as Chapman, dropping into a combat stance, pulls out the gun. The first two shots hit John in the back, spinning him around, while another two hit him in the shoulder. A fifth misses. Each bullet passes through the body and slams into a wood and glass windbreak behind him. As Chapman looks on in silence, Lennon staggers up the five steps into the building’s office, mumbling “I’m shot” before falling face-down. Night man Jay Hastings had been reading a magazine but, when John stumbles in, he hits the alarm button under the desk, summoning police. Yoko rushes to cradle her dying husband and screams for a doctor. Outside, Chapman removes his coat – so police will see he isn’t armed – and begins flicking through a copy of JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. Within two minutes, the street is full of sirens. As Chapman is cuffed, two officers hoist the musician on to their shoulders and place him in the back of a squad car. Jay remembers hearing John’s bones creak as they pick him up. As his partner runs red lights heading to St Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital Center, Officer James Moran turns and asks John, “Are you John Lennon?” As he slips away, John nods slightly and moans: “Yes.” It is the last thing he ever says.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Teri Hatcher (54), Dominic Monaghan (42), Nicki Minaj (36), David Harewood (53), C. Thomas Howell (53), Jeffrey Wright (54), Ellen Burstyn (87), Kristofer Hivju (41), Tom Hulce (66), Nick Park (61), Frankie Muniz (34), Margaret Cho (51), Marisa Tomei (55), Jeff Bridges (70), Tony Todd (65), Tyra Banks (46), Pamela Stephenson (70), Jay-Z (50), Brendan Fraser (51), Julianne Moore (59), Amanda Seyfried (34), Daryl Hannah (59), Jean-Luc Godard (89), Ozzy Osbourne (71), Paul Nicholas (75), Lucy Liu (51), Britney Spears (38), and Nelly Furtado (41).

With the sad passing of Clive James, quite a few of you have scored; Christine and Martin both had him down as their Cert, so 170 points each, and Debbie, Julie, Ashley, Shan and Julia also had him listed, so 70 points each also. Well done everyone! This has tightened the league table somewhat, who know what will happen in the next four weeks! Anyone at the top end of the table could win if one of their Big Three decide to succumb to the cold weather, it’s that close! And to anyone who’s a bit miffed about being at the bottom end of the table, don’t worry, I’m there too.    

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Nick Clifford, 98, American construction worker, last surviving Mount Rushmore carver.   
• Goo Hara, 28, South Korean singer (Kara) and actress (City Hunter), suicide.  
• Clive James, 80, Australian author (Cultural Amnesia), broadcaster (Fame in the 20th Century) and critic (The Observer), leukaemia.  
• Gary Rhodes, 59, English chef (Rhodes W1) and television personality (MasterChef, Local Food Hero), subdural haematoma.  
• Godfrey Gao, 35, Taiwanese-Canadian model and actor (The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Love is a Broadway Hit, Legend of the Ancient Sword), cardiac arrest.  
• Brad Gobright, 31, American rock climber, climbing fall.  
• Sir Jonathan Miller, 85, English humourist (Beyond the Fringe), television presenter, and theatre director, Alzheimer’s disease.  
• Lord Burgess, 95, American songwriter (“Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)“, “Jamaica Farewell“, “In Plenty and In Time of Need“).  
• Iain Sutherland, 71, Scottish musician (The Sutherland Brothers) and songwriter (“(I Don’t Want to Love You But) You Got Me Anyway“, “Sailing”, “Arms of Mary“).  
• Terry de Havilland, 81, British shoe designer.

In Other News

Music legend Tina Turner has spoken about turning 80 today, saying: “It’s like having a second chance at life.” The star has had a stellar 60-year career in which she has sold more than 200 million records. But in recent years the Queen of Rock and Roll has been dogged by ill health including a cancer fight and a kidney transplant. Tina said: “I’m 80. What do I think? How did I think I would be at 80? Not like this. “I look great. I feel good. I have gone through some very serious sicknesses that I am overcoming. It’s like having a  second chance at life. “I am happy to be an 80-year-old.” Tina suffered a mild stroke after marrying German music executive Erwin Bach, 63, in 2013 and had to learn to walk again. Three years later she was diagnosed with kidney failure and ­intestinal cancer. Doctors treated the cancer by removing part of her intestine, but her kidney problems got worse and she considered assisted suicide. But then Erwin gave her one of his own kidneys, and Tina had a successful transplant operation in April 2017. She said: “I know that my medical adventure is far from over. There’s always another test, another doctor’s appointment or biopsy to get through. 

Gray O’Brien has revealed on social media that he has been battling stage four tonsil  cancer. The 51-year-old former Coronation Street star posted a video of him finishing his treatment and revealed that he had been “devastated” by the diagnosis. The actor, who played crooked businessman Tony Gordon in Corrie between 2007 and 2010, said he discovered that he had cancer after visiting his doctor with swollen glands. This was in August and since then Gray has had 30 rounds of radiotherapy, which has been done over a six week period. The Glasgow-born actor shared news of his diagnosis on Twitter but there was light at the end of the tunnel as he also announced that he had finished his treatment. Gray said: “When I received the diagnosis of tonsil cancer I was of course devastated – it’s cancer. “My reason for waiting to ring the bell before I mentioned it publicly is because I wasn’t sure how strong I would be in coping with the treatment, indeed could I cope with the treatment? “This is only the treatment finished. I now have a long way to go with my recovery. “I have been advised it will get worse before it gets better, and I have no reason to doubt this. “As long as I take it a day at a time as I have up until this point I am looking forward to coming through the other side.” 

A tree surgeon was killed in a freak accident when he moved to avoid a falling trunk but was hit by a 16-stone branch from a neighbouring tree, an inquest has heard. Charley Purkiss-McEndoo, 27, was working in the North Yorkshire Moors National Park on May 23 this year, when the tragedy occurred. The highly regarded amateur rugby union player had felled a large oak tree before stepping to the side as it fell into what is known as ‘the safety zone.’ But in an unforeseeable tragedy, his textbook safety manoeuvre took him into the path of a falling branch from a neighbouring tree, an inquest heard. The branch belonged to a tree 20ft away which had rotted at its socket and was being held in place by the tree he was was felling as part of a five year forestry clearance plan on the estate. Mr Purkiss-McEndoo- described as a ‘wonderful, humble person’ and the ‘life and soul of his rugby team’ – had sent a text to his mother wishing her a happy birthday minutes before the tragedy. The inquest in Skipton found that he died an accidental death while following ‘correct safety procedures with correct safety equipment.’   

On This Day

• 1919 – Lady Astor becomes the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.  
• 1952 – The New York Daily News reports the news of Christine Jorgensen, the first notable case of sex reassignment surgery.   
• 1955 – American Civil Rights Movement: In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city’s racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to that city’s bus boycott. 
• 1990 – Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet 40 metres beneath the seabed.

Deaths

• 1135 – Henry I, king of England (b. 1068) 
• 1866 – George Everest, Welsh geographer and surveyor (b. 1790)  
• 1947 – Aleister Crowley, English magician, poet, and mountaineer (b. 1875)  
• 2007 – Anton Rodgers, British actor (b. 1933)

Last Meals 

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was a Russian mystic and self-proclaimed holy man who befriended the family of Tsar Nicholas II, the last monarch of Russia, and gained considerable influence in late imperial Russia. Born to a peasant family in the Siberian village of Pokrovskoye in the Tobolsk governorate, Rasputin had a religious conversion experience after taking a pilgrimage to a monastery in 1897. He has been described as a monk or as a “strannik” (wanderer, or pilgrim), though he held no official position in the Russian Orthodox Church. 

After traveling to St. Petersburg, either in 1903 or the winter of 1904–05, Rasputin captivated some church and social leaders. He became a society figure, and met the Tsar in November 1905. In late 1906, Rasputin began acting as a healer for Alexei, the Tsar and his wife Alexandra‘s only son, who suffered from hemophilia. At court, he was a divisive figure, seen by some Russians as a mystic, visionary, and prophet, and by others as a religious charlatan. The high point of Rasputin’s power was in 1915, when Nicholas II left St. Petersburg to oversee Russian armies fighting World War I, increasing both Alexandra and Rasputin’s influence. As Russian defeats in the war mounted, however, both Rasputin and Alexandra became increasingly unpopular. 

On 12 July 1914 a 33-year-old peasant woman named Chionya Guseva attempted to assassinate Rasputin by stabbing him in the stomach outside his home in Pokrovskoye. Rasputin was seriously wounded, and for a time it was not clear that he would survive. After surgery and some time in a hospital in Tyumen, however, he did recover. 

Having decided that Rasputin’s influence over the Tsarina had made him a threat to the empire, a group of nobles led by Prince Felix Yusupov, the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, and the right-wing politician Vladimir Purishkevich concocted a plan to kill Rasputin in December 1916, apparently by luring Rasputin to the Yusupovs’ Moika Palace. Rasputin was murdered during the early morning on 30 December 1916, at the home of Felix Yusupov. He died of three gunshot wounds, one of which was a close-range shot to his forehead. Beyond this, little is certain about his death, and the circumstances of his death have been the subject of considerable speculation.  

According to historian Douglas Smith, “what really happened at the Yusupov home on 17 December will never be known”. The story of Rasputin’s death that Yusupov recounted in his memoirs, however, has become the most frequently told version of events. According to Yusupov, he invited Rasputin to his home shortly after midnight and ushered him into the basement. Yusupov offered Rasputin tea and cakes which had been laced with cyanide. At first, Rasputin refused the cakes, but then began to eat them. To Yusupov’s surprise, Rasputin did not appear to be affected by the poison. Rasputin then asked for some Madeira wine (which had also been poisoned) and drank three glasses, but still showed no sign of distress. At around 2:30 am, Yusupov excused himself to go upstairs, where his fellow conspirators were waiting. Taking a revolver from Dmitry Pavlovich, Yusupov returned to the basement and, referring to a crucifix that was in the room, told Rasputin that he’d “better look at the crucifix and say a prayer”, then shot him once in the chest. Believing him to be dead, they then drove to Rasputin’s apartment, with Sukhotin wearing Rasputin’s coat and hat, in an attempt to make it look as though Rasputin had returned home that night. Upon returning to the Moika Palace, Yusupov went back to the basement to ensure that Rasputin was dead. Suddenly, Rasputin leapt up and attacked Yusupov, who – with some effort – freed himself and fled upstairs. Rasputin followed and made it into the palace’s courtyard before being shot by Purishkevich and collapsing into a snowbank. The conspirators then wrapped Rasputin’s body in cloth, drove it to the Petrovsky Bridge and dropped it into the Malaya Nevka River. 

News of Rasputin’s murder spread quickly, even before his body was found. An investigation was launched the next morning and his body was found under the river ice, approximately 200 meters downstream from the bridge. 

Rasputin was buried on the following day at a small church at Tsarskoye Selo. The funeral was attended only by the royal family and a few of their intimates. Rasputin’s wife, mistress, and children were not invited, although his daughters met with the Royal family at Vyrubova’s home later that day. His body was exhumed and burned by a detachment of soldiers shortly after the Tsar abdicated the throne in March 1917, in order to prevent his burial site from becoming a rallying point for supporters of the old regime. 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Ridley Scott (82), Ben Stiller (54), Mandy Patinkin (67), Billy Idol (64), Chadwick Boseman (42), Gemma Chan (37), Diane Ladd (84), Don Cheadle (55), Jeff Fahey(67), Karen Gillan (32), Ed Harris (69), Aimee Garcia (41), Judd Nelson (60), Martin Clunes (58), Armando Iannucci (56), Jon Stewart (57), Robin Givens (55), Bill Nye (64), Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (31), Tina Turner (80), Rita Ora (29), DJ Khaled (44), Christina Applegate (48), Bruno Tonioli (64), Sarah Hyland (29), Stephen Merchant (45), Conleth Hill (55), Billy Connolly (77), and Denise Crosby (62). 

Another week passes, another newsletter is produced. Another quiet week for us, no points to award, but plenty to read and time to remind you to start researching for 2020. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Brad McQuaid, 51, American video game designer (EverQuest, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes).  
• John Mann, 57, Canadian guitarist and singer (Spirit of the West), and actor (Underworld: Evolution).  
• Michael J. Pollard, 80, American actor (Bonnie and Clyde, Scrooged, House of 1000 Corpses), cardiac arrest.  
• Colin Skipp, 80, British actor (The Archers).  
• Olly Croft, 90, British darts administrator, founder of the British Darts Organisation. 
• Goo Hara, 28, South Korean singer (Kara) and actress (City Hunter). 

In Other News

Actress Jane Galloway Heitz, best known for portraying show choir head Lillian Adler in the high school musical series Glee, has died aged 78. Although not famous enough for a wiki mention, we thought she was worthy of a small recognition. She died of congestive heart failure in an Illinois hospital last week, her daughter Amie Richardson confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter. She also appeared in shows like ER, Grey’s Anatomy and The Big Bang Theory. Alongside her own acting, she helped to nurture the talents of a young Steve Carell (well known for the US Office and films such as Foxcatcher, The Big Short and The 40-year-old Virgin), as well as chat show host Stephen Colbert. Her casting also helped launch the careers of actors Richard Kind, who starred in Mad About You and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet. Stonestreet led the tributes, crediting Galloway Heitz for his success, while describing her as a “a great friend and mentor”.  

Sir Elton John has said he was terrified he would not live to see his children grow up and had to learn to walk again after he contracted an infection following surgery for prostate cancer. The superstar musician previously revealed in his autobiography Me that he was successfully treated for cancer two years ago but then became ill with an infection. Speaking to Graham Norton in the BBC programme Elton John: Uncensored, Sir Elton said he has had an “annus horribilis” as he struggled with his health. He said: “I was on stage in Vegas in a lot of pain, fluid had built up under my colon. “I did the show and was wearing nappies shortly after the operation. I thought ‘If only they knew right now that I’m pissing myself’. The singer added that he was rushed to hospital in London, where he was “24 hours from snuffing it”, and continued: “I had to learn to walk again. I was extremely sick. “I said: ‘Don’t let me die, I want to see my children grow up.’” He joked there is “very little of me left” after having his prostate removed and losing his hair.       

Sir Rod Stewart, 74, took to Instagram to tell fans he is “absolutely devastated” to have to pull out of the charity show in London. In view of his 347,000 followers, he wrote: “Due to a throat infection and on strict doctor’s orders, I’m absolutely devastated to say I’m unable to perform at the Royal Variety Performance, an amazing show which I love being a part of. He added: “It’s going to be a great evening with some fantastic talent and I’m very disappointed that I can’t be there to give my support. Many of the star’s loyal fans flocked to his post to send their well wishes to the star. One fan commented: “I hope you’re back to your best soon. We can’t have anything happen to that beautiful voice!” Rod is set to kick off his UK and Ireland tour later this week in Manchester ahead of his international tour next year. It is currently unknown if his throat infection will affect his tour. Back in September, Sir Rod Stewart opened up about his secret cancer battle as he issued a warning to others. “Guys, you’ve got to really go to the doctor,” he added. “Finger up the bum, no harm done.” 

TV comic John Bishop has revealed how a terrifying cancer scare left him “contemplating death”. The 52-year-old Liverpudlian was sent for an X-ray after suffering a prolonged cough three years ago. He explained: “I was told that unless I heard anything, I should regard everything as normal and the cough would go. “I heard nothing and gradually my chest cleared, so I thought no more about it. “Three months later I received a call saying the results of the X-ray had been misreported by one of the junior staff. His GP said he needed an emergency CT scan – “and something in his tone suggested it needing doing sooner rather than later,” said John. “So I organised a private CT scan at the local hospital. I spent a few hours alone thinking it could be the start of the end. “This is because a Google search of ‘shadows on lungs’ does not make you believe the prognosis will be good.” John, who has three sons with wife Melanie, says: “It was the first time I had seriously contemplated my own death. I was filled with sadness for all the things I’d miss – my family, my sons getting married, my parents, becoming a grandparent, laughing, blue sky days when you are so happy that you almost feel guilty to be so lucky. Football, music, films. “Death takes away everything, although this isn’t all bad. I suddenly realised I did not have to care any more about what Donald Trump did, if the ice caps were going to melt and the Brexit vote. “I had seen this before with people facing terminal illness. There is a sense of contentment and balance hard to explain. All that matters are those you love.” “The GP called me as soon as he had the results. I had shadows on both lungs but it was nothing sinister and was caused by increased bone mass in my sternum. “I put the phone down grateful for the life I had ahead of me. “I embraced Melanie and then on the radio in the background I heard Trump was saying global warming was a myth, and I started worrying again.” 

On This Day

• 1859 – Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species.
• 1962 – The influential British satirical television programme That Was the Week That Was is first broadcast.
• 1963 – Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy, is killed by Jack Ruby.

Deaths

• 1963 – Lee Harvey Oswald, American assassin of John F. Kennedy (b. 1939)
• 1991 – Freddie Mercury, Tanzanian-English singer-songwriter, lead vocalist of Queen, and producer (b. 1946)
• 2008 – Kenny MacLean, Scottish-Canadian bass player and songwriter (b. 1956)

Last Meals

Rather than concentrate on murderers and rapists, I thought it might be a nice change to concentrate on some famous people’s last meals for a change. Let’s begin with the one and  only Elvis Presley. 

Born Elvis Aaron Presley on January 8th 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, Elvis Presley came from very humble beginnings and grew up to become one of the biggest names in rock ‘n’ roll. Regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century, he is often referred to as the “King of Rock and Roll” or simply “the King”. In 1955 Presley began to develop a following with fans being drawn to his unusual musical style, provocative gyrating hips and good looks. That same year, he signed with RCA Records, a deal worked out by his manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Presley was on a roll, scoring his first No.1 single with “Heartbreak Hotel,” as well as his first No.1 album, Elvis Presley, and signing a movie contract with Paramount Pictures — all in 1956. Despite the uproar that his sexy dance moves caused, he also became a popular guest on a number of television variety shows. Soon, Presley was everywhere — on the radio, television and the silver screen — working as a musician and actor. His first film, Love Me Tender (1956), was a box office hit. Even a stint in the U.S. military couldn’t put a damper on Presley’s thriving career. 

After leaving the Army in 1960, Presley resumed his career and was soon back at the top of the charts with the soundtrack for his film GI Blues. He continued recording music and acting in such films as Blue Hawaii (1961), Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962) and Viva Las Vegas (1964). Though his films were often hit or miss with both critics and audiences, they brought in a profit and the soundtracks usually sold well. By the late 1960s, however, the enigmatic performer appeared to be losing his box office appeal.   

Around this time, Presley’s personal life seemed to be on an upswing. He and Priscilla married in 1967 and had a daughter, Lisa Marie, the following year. Unfortunately, this joyous time would not last. By the early 1970s, Presley’s marriage was falling apart. The couple divorced in 1973, and Priscilla received custody of Lisa Marie. Presley was also wrestling with other personal problems, including a growing addiction to prescription drugs; the once-thin rock star was battling a weight problem, and his destructive lifestyle caught up with him that autumn, when he was hospitalised for drug-related health  problems.

In the morning of August 16th, 1977, Presley died of heart failure, at the age of 42. It was later ruled that his death was related to his prescription drug use and it was rumoured that he’d died on the toilet eating a burger. However, the evening’s events were very different. Elvis had stayed up most of the night; he was restless. Between midnight and 6:00 a.m., he went to his dentist to have a cavity filled (he did this late at night to avoid the mobs), then he returned to Graceland and played racquetball with friends, talked over marriage plans with his 20-year-old fiancée, Ginger Alden, and belted out some gospel songs on the piano. Around sunrise, Ginger went to bed, but Elvis, still unable to sleep, ate one of his usual early-morning snacks: four scoops of ice cream and six chocolate chip cookies. After that, he went to bed, then got up a few hours later to go to the bathroom, where he suffered the fatal heart attack. Presley was buried on the Graceland property, near the gravesites of his mother, Gladys, father Vernon and grandmother Minnie Mae Hood Presley. 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Kelly Brook (40), Miley Cyrus (27), Michelle Gomez (53), Ricky Whittle (38), Scarlett Johansson (35), Mads Mikkelsen (54), Jamie Lee Curtis (61), Mark Ruffalo (52), Terry Gilliam (79), Goldie Hawn (74), Alexander Siddig (54), Björk (54), Carly Rae Jepsen (34), Liza Tarbuck (55), Ming-Na Wen (56), Sean Young (60), Bo Derek (63), Adam Driver (36), Jodie Foster (57), Meg Ryan (58), Terry Farrell (56), Robert Beltran (66), Chloë Sevigny (45), Owen Wilson (51), Linda Evans (77), Delroy Lindo (67), Alan Moore (66), Anthony McPartlin (44), Martin Scorsese (77), Rachel McAdams (41), Tom Ellis (41), Danny DeVito (75), Sophie Marceau (53), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (61), and RuPaul (59).

No movement in the table this week and with little over six weeks left to go, some of us are hoping that this cold weather will do the trick. I hope you’re all researching your lists for 2020 already and letting your friends know about our amazing little pool. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Frank Dobson, 79, British politician, MP (1979–2015), Secretary of State for Health (1997–1999).  
• Jean Fergusson, 74, British actress (Last of the Summer Wine, Coronation Street).  
• Terry O’Neill, 81, British photographer, prostate cancer.  
• Niall Tóibín, 89, Irish comedian and actor (Ryan’s Daughter, Far and Away, Veronica Guerin).

In Other News

Jimmy Carter has been admitted to hospital for brain surgery following a number of recent falls. The former US president was due to undergo surgery on Tuesday morning to relieve pressure on his brain caused by bleeding, his spokeswoman said. Rev Tony Lowden, Mr Carter’s pastor, said the Democratic leader had had ”a rough day” on Monday. “We just need the whole country to be in prayer for him,” he said. Mr Carter is resting comfortably Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, and his wife Rosalynn is with him, his spokeswoman added. The 95-year-old former peanut farmer has fallen at least three times in 2019, with one incident necessitating hip replacement surgery. On 6 October Mr Carter needed 14 stitches after a fall and on 21 October he fractured his pelvis. He is the oldest living president, surviving longer after leaving the White House than any former president in US history. 

Ariana Grande has reportedly been  struggling on tour in recent weeks. The 26-year-old posted a message to her Instagram Story on Saturday, revealing that she’s been battling an illness for several weeks! Not only that but her message indicates that her future tour dates in jeopardy until she’s feeling better. “Hi my loves so I’m still very sick. I’ve been sick since the last London show. I don’t know how it’s possible but my throat and head are still in so much pain. I sound okay I’m just in a lot of pain and it’s difficult to breathe during the show,” Grande wrote. “I just really don’t know what’s happening with my body right now and need to figure it out.” From there, the singer expanded on her condition throughout several videos. “Hi everyone so I have a quick health update, I just finished my show in Charlottesville and I’ve been sick since the last show in London,” the video showed. “I’ve been coughing and had this like crazy sinus infection thing that has not gone away for a really long time. I haven’t been able to really get better and tonight during the show tonight my head was really splitting and heavy and my glands really hurt and I’m trying to figure out what’s going on.” Grande added that she’ll be going to a doctor soon and hopes to learn more about her condition and prompt a speedy recovery. Fans are likely hopeful she goes sooner than later, with Grande adding to fears with her confusion over the illness. “I’m scared that I might have to cancel some things, so this is kind just a heads up of like I don’t know what’s happening with my body, and I’m really disappointed and freaked out of why I can’t get better because it’s been over three weeks at this point,” Grande revealed to her fans. Pneumonia? Tuberculosis? Pleurisy? Over-reacting to a slight cold?    

Dwayne Johnson has become the victim of another sick death hoax after a fake news story suggesting he’d died in a stunt accident went viral. The post purported to be from BBC News and featured the headline “Dwayne The Rock Johnson Dies at 47 after a terrible stunt attempted failed”. The link took social media users to a fake website rather than the legitimate BBC site and it horrified fans as it circulated online. The 47-year-old actor and wrestler has yet to comment on the hoax, but he has been active on social media since, so he is alive. This isn’t the first time The Rock has been a target for a death hoax. In 2011 and 2014, the Fast and Furious star was declared dead by online trolls. He responded to the 2011 rumours on his Facebook page, telling fans: “Rumours of my death are false. “I’m still ‘Bringin’ It’ 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year – including leap year!” In 2014, trolls circulated a fake story suggested Johnson had been killed in an accident on a movie set in New Zealand. The fake report declared: “Actor Dwayne Johnson died while filming a movie in New Zealand early this morning – June 10, 2014. “Preliminary reports from New Zealand Police officials indicate that the actor fell more than 60 feet to his death on the Kauri Cliffs while on-set.” However, the movie star was very much alive and well at the time and went on to make several shit films. 

On This Day

• 1558 – Elizabethan era begins: Queen Mary I of England dies and is succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth I of England.  
• 1603 – English explorer, writer and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh goes on trial for treason. It didn’t end well… 
• 1894 – H. H. Holmes, one of the first modern serial killers, is arrested in Boston, Massachusetts.  

Deaths

• 1796 – Catherine the Great, of Russia (b. 1729)  
• 1917 – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor and illustrator (b. 1840)  
• 1940 – Eric Gill, English sculptor and typeface designer (b. 1882)  
• 1968 – Mervyn Peake, English poet, author, and illustrator (b. 1911)  

Last Meals

Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or, more commonly, as H. H. Holmes, was an American serial killer. While he confessed to 27 murders, only nine could be plausibly confirmed and several of the people he claimed to have murdered were still alive. He is said to have killed as many as 200, though this figure is only traceable to 1940s pulp magazines. Many victims were said to have been killed in a mixed-use building which he owned, supposedly called the World’s Fair Hotel (informally called “The Murder Castle”. Besides being a serial killer, Holmes was also a con artist and a bigamist, the subject of more than 50 lawsuits in Chicago alone. 

One of Holmes’ early murder victims was his mistress, Julia Smythe. She and her daughter disappeared on Christmas Eve of 1891, and Holmes later claimed she had died during an abortion, though what truly happened to the two was never confirmed. Another likely Holmes paramour, Emeline Cigrande, began working in the building in May 1892, and disappeared that December. Another woman who vanished, Edna Van Tassel, is also believed to have been among Holmes’ victims. 

While working in Chicago, Holmes met and became close friends with Benjamin Pitezel. Holmes used Pitezel as his right-hand man for several criminal schemes; a district attorney later described Pitezel as “Holmes’ tool … his creature”. Holmes had an entrepreneurial spirit. Based on his former medical education and his connections, he was able to sell skeletons to medical labs and schools. “He, and his creature were accused of stripping the flesh off the bodies, dissecting them, and preparing the viable skeletons. The rest of the remains would be tossed in pits of lime or acid, effectively breaking down the remaining evidence. 

Whilst briefly incarcerated for the first time, on the charge of selling mortgaged goods in St. Louis, he struck up a conversation with a convicted outlaw named Marion Hedgepeth, who was serving a 25-year sentence for fraud. Holmes had concocted a plan to swindle an insurance company out of $10,000 (equivalent to $300,000 today) by taking out a policy on Pitezel and then faking his death. Instead, Holmes killed Pitezel by knocking him unconscious with chloroform and setting his body on fire with the use of benzene. As with all good plans, he became rather unstuck when he was forced to take on Pitezel’s children, who he later confessed to murdering by forcing them into a large trunk and locking them inside. He drilled a hole in the lid of the trunk and put one end of a hose through the hole, attaching the other end to a gas line to asphyxiate the girls. Holmes buried their nude bodies in the cellar of his rental house. Frank Geyer, a Philadelphia police detective assigned to investigate the disappearance of the missing children found the decomposed bodies of the two Pitezel girls in the cellar of the Toronto home. And thus Holmes’ murder spree finally ended when he was arrested after Hedgepeth informed the police of Holmes’ prior intentions. 

In October 1895, Holmes was put on trial for the murder of Benjamin Pitezel, and was found guilty and sentenced to death. By then, it was evident Holmes had also murdered the Pitezel children. Following his conviction, Holmes confessed to 27 murders in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Toronto, and six attempted murders. Holmes was paid $7,500 (worth $226,000 today) by the Hearst newspapers in exchange for his confession, which was quickly found to be mostly nonsense. Holmes gave various contradictory accounts of his life, initially claiming innocence and later that he was possessed by Satan. His propensity  for lying has made it difficult for researchers to ascertain the truth on the basis of his statements. 

On May 7, 1896, preceding his execution, Holmes was served boiled eggs, dry toast, and coffee as his last meal. He was then hanged at Moyamensing Prison, for the murder of Pitezel. Until the moment of his death, Holmes remained calm and amiable, showing very few signs of fear, anxiety or depression. Despite this, he asked for his coffin to be contained in cement and buried 10 feet deep, because he was concerned grave robbers would steal his body and use it for dissection. Holmes’ neck did not snap; he instead was strangled to death slowly, twitching for over 15 minutes before being pronounced dead 20 minutes after the trap had been sprung. In 2017, amid allegations Holmes had in fact escaped execution, Holmes’ body was exhumed for testing. Due to his coffin being contained in cement, his body was found not to have decomposed normally. His clothes were almost perfectly preserved and his mustache was found to be intact. The body was positively identified as being that of Holmes with his teeth. Holmes was then reburied.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Lisa Bonet (52), Missi Pyle (47), Maggie Gyllenhaal (42), Martha Plimpton (49), Beverly D’Angelo (68), Jonny Lee Miller (47), Petula Clark (87), Russell Tovey (38), Sandahl Bergman (68), Paul McGann (60), Gerard Butler (50), Whoopi Goldberg (64), John de Lancie (71), Jimmy Kimmel (52), Anne Hathaway (37), Ryan Gosling (39), Wallace Shawn (76), Max Grodénchik (67), Neil Young (74), Mariella Frostrup (57), Leonardo DiCaprio (45), Demi Moore (57), Stanley Tucci (59), Calista Flockhart (55), Taron Egerton (30), and Hugh Bonneville (56).