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Dead Pool 6th August 2017

Several prominent names have dropped this week, however no points scored. Rather a lot of juicy news too, in fact it was rather difficult to edit this issue down to the usual size, if only every week was the same!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Jeanne Moreau, 89, French actress (Elevator to the Gallows, The Lovers, Jules and Jim).
  • Jeffrey Brotman, 74, American businessman, co-founder of Costco.
  • Mariann Mayberry, 52, American actress (War of the Worlds, August: Osage County, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), ovarian cancer.
  • Goldy McJohn, 72, Canadian keyboardist (Steppenwolf), heart attack.
  • Robert Hardy, 91, British actor (All Creatures Great and Small, Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years, Harry Potter).
  • Hywel Bennett, 73, Welsh actor (The Virgin Soldiers, Shelley, EastEnders).

In Other News

TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson is being treated for pneumonia after being admitted to  hospital in Majorca. The 57-year-old was on a family holiday on the Spanish island when he was taken ill. He tweeted friend Jemima Goldsmith he was “in a wheelchair, connected up to tubes, in a hospital”, and also posted a picture of himself on Instagram. A spokesman for The Grand Tour confirmed the TV presenter was being treated for pneumonia. Clarkson is the second Grand Tour host to be admitted to hospital this year. Fellow Top Gear alumnus Richard Hammond, 47, was flown to hospital in Switzerland after crashing an electric super car in Switzerland in June. The car, which was being filmed for the latest series of The Grand Tour, burst into flames after Hammond escaped the wreckage. The presenter said he thought he was going to die during the incident, during which he became airborne and crashed after completing the Hemberg Hill Climb in Switzerland. He described the experience as “like being in a tumble dryer full of bricks going down a hill”.

Controversial columnist Katie Hopkins had to be rushed to hospital after being treated by paramedics at a train station. The reality TV star was left in agony after dislocating her shoulder while carrying a suitcase onto the platform. She had to be given emergency gas and air inside Paddington, west London, before being taken to nearby St Mary’s Hospital. Katie’s husband Mark Cross told the Sunday Mirror: “This is a legacy from her years with epilepsy. The staff at St Mary’s were brilliant and managed to get her patched up in a couple of hours.” The ex-Apprentice contestant Katie, 42, was her way to Heathrow to catch a flight to LA where she appeared as a guest speaker at the Politicon conference in Pasadena. Mark added: “I’m pleased to say Katie, although in a great deal of pain and doped-up, still made her flight.” Katie was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 19 and last year underwent brain surgery but surgeons failed to find her brain.

The Duke of Edinburgh met Royal Marines in his final solo public engagement before he retires from royal duties. The 96-year-old announced his retirement in May, after decades of supporting the Queen as well as attending events for his own charities and organisations. Prince Philip has completed 22,219 solo engagements since 1952. Prime Minister Theresa May took to Twitter to thank him for “a remarkable lifetime of service”. She added that she hoped he “can now enjoy a well-earned retirement”. While his diary of engagements will come to an end, Buckingham Palace has said the duke may still decide to attend certain events alongside the Queen in the future.

Martin Shkreli, the hedge fund manager turned pharmaceutical entrepreneur once dubbed “the most hated man in America”, has been found guilty on three of eight federal charges that he deceived investors in a pair of failed hedge funds. The jury of seven women and five men reached their verdict on the fifth day of deliberations after a month-long federal fraud trial. Shkreli, nicknamed “Pharma Bro” for his wilfully provocative behaviour, faces up to 20 years behind bars on the charges of securities fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Prior to the trial, Shkreli boasted he would be acquitted entirely because he was “so innocent” and jurors would apologise to him. Shkreli also faces a heap of civil lawsuits. Shkreli achieved notoriety in 2015 after the 34-year-old increased the price of a life-saving drug, Daraprim, used by people with Aids, by 5,000% overnight, shortly after his pharmaceutical startup bought the commercial rights to it. Let’s see how long he lasts if he gets put in jail.

On This Day

  • 1890 – At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair.
  • 1926 – Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
  • 1945 – World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb “Little Boy” is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.
  • 1991 – Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW debuts as a publicly available service on the Internet.

Deaths

  • 1623 – Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare (b. 1555)
  • 2005 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b. 1946)
  • 2009 – John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Bernard Lovell, English physicist and astronomer (b. 1913)

Last Week’s Birthdays

M. Night Shyamalan (47), Michelle Yeoh (55), Mark Strong (54), Loni Anderson (72), Lexi Belle (30), Kara Tointon (34), Billy Bob Thornton (62), Barack Obama (56), Evangeline Lilly (38), Martin Sheen (77), John Landis (67), Steven Berkoff (80), Sam Worthington (41), Kevin Smith (47), Edward Furlong (40), Joanna Cassidy (72), Jason Momoa (38), Sam Mendes (52), Michael Biehn (61), Wesley Snipes (55), Dean Cain (51), Emilia Fox (43), J.K. Rowling (52), Christopher Nolan (47), Arnold Schwarzenegger (70), Lisa Kudrow (54), Hilary Swank (43), Laurence Fishburne (56), Jean Reno (69), Richard Linklater (57), Carel Struycken (69), and Frances de la Tour (73).

Dead Pool 30th July 2017

Another pointless week, to be fair, I could walk past any of this weeks deceased and not notice them. However, they are all more famous than I am, so lets celebrate their demises by not scoring any points whatsoever! But, from reading this weeks news, we now know not to eat cherry stones as they have enough cyanide in three of them to kill you, so make sure you offer cherries to any celebrities you happen to meet, just on the off chance like..

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Clarence Matthews, 111, American supercentenarian, oldest living man in the US.
  • Michael Johnson, 72, American singer (“Bluer Than Blue”, “Give Me Wings”, “The Moon Is Still Over Her Shoulder”), songwriter and guitarist.
  • Barbara Sinatra, 90, American fashion model, showgirl and philanthropist.
  • Patti Deutsch, 73, American comedian and voice actress (The Smurfs, Match Game, Tattletales), cancer.
  • June Foray, 99, American voice actress (The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, Cinderella).
  • Rob Anker, 27, English dancer (Diversity), winner of Britain’s Got Talent (2009), car crash.
  • Charlie Gard, 11 months, British infant, subject of life support and parental rights case, MDDS.

In Other News

Troubled Ant McPartlin has been allowed on trips out of rehab after making progress on overcoming his addictions. The TV favourite, 41, shocked fans last month by telling the media of his substance abuse, prescription drugs and booze issues. But smiling Ant, who has had surgery to fix an injured right knee, has been on walks to a park and shops after four weeks staying inside the clinic. A source said: “He’s doing very well considering everything he’s been through and is happy at being allowed to leave the centre with one of the staff. He is in good spirits and on the road to recovery.” Ant admitted to being hooked on painkillers he took for knee pain. He also turned to substance abuse while depressed after years of being unable to conceive with wife Lisa. Ant checked into rehab after confessing to her and TV partner Declan Donnelly about his problems and is expected to remain at the clinic for up to three months. The source added: “Ant has had no visitors — not even Lisa or Dec. “It was judged best that he battled through this on his own. It has been very tough for him, but he really wants to get better and promised to do whatever that takes. There is still a way to go, but he is making real progress.”

Olivia Newton-John’s daughter Chloe Lattanzi has revealed that cannabis oil is helping her recover from cancer. Fans everywhere were devastated when the Grease star announced the return of her cancer in May, being forced to postpone her US and Canada tour as the cancer has now spread to other areas of her body. Olivia’s daughter, Chloe Lattanzi, revealed that her mother would be trying alternative courses of medicine – including cannabis oil to try and treat her, so in all likelihood she wont be around for our lists for 2018. Chloe, Olivia’s only child, owns a legal marijuana farm in Oregon with her fiancé, and discussed how effective the cannabis oil had been. She said: “She’s using it, it inhibits cancer cell growth. It’s an amazing plant and I’m much more for natural medicine than I am for traditional western medicine. “I think a combination of both is good. My mum and I more lean towards the natural remedies.” She said in a totally impartial way that didn’t promote her money making scheme over her mothers health.

And finally, just when you thought it was safe to go out at night once more, police in the US state of Maine have arrested a drunk, one-armed clown who was brandishing a machete. Corey Berry, 31, from the town of Hollis, was spotted walking down a road in a black hooded sweatshirt and a clown mask, holding the weapon. He had duct-taped the machete to his arm, which police say had been amputated. Worried residents began calling 911 at around 18:00 on Tuesday. Local media said Mr Berry ran off into the woods, where police struggled to apprehend him as further emergency calls came in. State Trooper Adam Schmidt said the clown was highly intoxicated, but cooperative. He told police he had been inspired by previous creepy clown sightings and was trying to play a prank. While sightings have died down this year, summer and autumn 2016 saw a wave of “killer clown” stunts that spread across the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

On This Day

  • 762 – Baghdad is founded by caliph Al-Mansur.
  • 1733 – The first Masonic Grand Lodge in the future United States is constituted in Massachusetts.
  • 1965 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
  • 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 Mission: David Scott and James Irwin on the Apollo Lunar Module Falcon land on the Moon with the first Lunar Rover.
  • 1975 – Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He is never seen or heard from again.
  • 2003 – In Mexico, the last ‘old style’ Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line.
  • 2006 – The world’s longest running music show Top of the Pops is broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show had aired for 42 years and as many as 30,000 children were fucked by the presenters.

Deaths

  • 1898 – Otto von Bismarck, Lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of Germany (b. 1815)
  • 2007 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1918)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Wil Wheaton (45), David Warner (76), Elizabeth Berkley (43), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (47), Taylor Schilling (33), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (40), Donnie Yen (54), Bryan Fuller (48), Kate Beckinsale (44), Jason Statham (50), Kevin Spacey (58), Sandra Bullock (53), Helen Mirren (72), Nana Visitor (60), Eve Myles (39), Mick Jagger (74), Matt LeBlanc (50), Iman (62), Lynda Carter (66), Anna Paquin (35), Summer Glau (36), Jennifer Lopez (48), Danny Dyer (40), Woody Harrelson (56), Daniel Radcliffe (28), Charisma Carpenter (47), Ronny Cox (79), Slash (52) and Selena Gomez (25).

Dead Pool 23rd July 2017

After a busy week for the flying monkeys, none of us managed to score a single point. Quite a few big names on the list this week, even a very good potential Maverick, if only we could predict the future somehow…

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Martin Landau, 89, American actor (Ed Wood, Mission: Impossible, North by Northwest), Oscar winner (1995).
  • George A. Romero, 77, American-Canadian film director and screenwriter (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Dead, Creepshow), lung cancer.
  • Harvey Atkin, 74, Canadian actor (Cagney & Lacey, Meatballs, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), cancer.
  • Chester Bennington, 41, American singer and songwriter (Linkin Park, Dead by Sunrise, Stone Temple Pilots), suicide by hanging.
  • John Heard, 72, American actor (Home Alone).
  • Pudsey, 11, British performing dog (Britain’s Got Talent, Pudsey: The Movie, Mr Stink), blood cancer.
  • Deborah Watling, 69, English actress (Doctor Who, Take Me High, The Invisible Man), lung cancer.

In Other News

British actor Paul Nicholls, 38, was found in agony at the base of Khun Si falls after a local spotted his abandoned rental motorbike. He was found partially submerged in a rock pool, semi-conscious and with hypothermia, unable to move to safety or find food. “I am lucky to be alive,” Nicholls said. “It took such a long time to find me. It’s an understatement to say it wasn’t a great situation … The problem was I couldn’t move to get out of there.” Nicholls said his kneecap was destroyed in the fall and would need a complete reconstruction. It took two hours for emergency services to get him to International Koh Samui hospital, and his medical bills will run into tens of thousands of pounds. Nicholls debuted in EastEnders in 1996 as Joe Wicks. He quit the soap a year later and has since worked on City Central, Holby City, Secret Diary of a Call Girl and Law & Order. He also acted in the 2004 film, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.

Veteran US Republican Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with brain cancer and is reviewing treatment options, according to his office. The options may include chemotherapy and radiation, his doctors said. The 80-year-old politician is in “good spirits” recovering at home. He thanked those who had wished him well and said he would be back soon. The tumour was discovered during a surgery to remove a blood clot from above his left eye last week. Tissue analysis revealed that a primary brain tumour known as glioblastoma was associated with the clot. “The senator’s doctors say he is recovering from his surgery ‘amazingly well’ and his underlying health is excellent.” Senior Republicans and Democrats wished him a speedy recovery, prompting Mr McCain to tweet his thanks. Glioblastoma is a particularly aggressive brain tumour, and increases in frequency with age, affecting more men than women.

You might want to pop over to Nickie’s blog to read this excellent post about our perception on who is is still alive or is actually dead. Each year at Dead Pool Towers we have to review each persons list because invariably there will be one or two already deceased celebrities on their lists. We also get shocked at times to find out that a celebrity is still alive, having been certain that they died twenty years ago, only to find they just retired and slipped back into obscurity like the rest of us.

On This Day

  • 1903 – The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
  • 1962 – Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program.
  • 1982 – Outside Santa Clarita, California, actor Vic Morrow and two children are killed when a helicopter crashes onto them while shooting a scene from Twilight Zone:The Movie.

Deaths

  • 1885 – Ulysses S. Grant, American general and politician, 18th President of the United States (b. 1822)
  • 1948 – D. W. Griffith, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1875)
  • 1966 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 1982 – Vic Morrow, American actor (b. 1929)
  • 1996 – Jean Muir, American actress (b. 1911)
  • 2002 – Leo McKern, Australian-English actor (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Amy Winehouse, English singer-songwriter (b. 1983)
  • 2012 – Sally Ride, American physicist and astronaut (b. 1951)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Willem Dafoe (62), Clive Standen (36), Rhys Ifans (50), Terence Stamp (79), Danny Glover (71), Louise Fletcher (83), Josh Hartnett (39), Diana Rigg (79), John Francis Daley (32), Gisele Bündchen (37), Benedict Cumberbatch (41), Jared Padalecki (35), Vin Diesel (50), Kristen Bell (37), Paul Verhoeven (79), Donald Sutherland (82), David Hasselhoff (65) and Alex Winter (52).

Dead Pool 16th July 2017

Another pointless week, in fact a rather slow news week too. Not that many deaths, and those who did kick the bucket were rather niche to say the least! Time to free the flying monkeys we feel.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Chuck Blazer, 72, American soccer administrator, informant for the 2015 FIFA corruption case, colorectal cancer.
  • Fresh Kid Ice, 53, American rapper (2 Live Crew).
  • Marie Josephine Gaudette, 115, American-born Italian supercentenarian and nun, nation’s oldest person.
  • Maryam Mirzakhani, 40, Iranian mathematician and academic, Fields Medalist (2014), breast cancer.

In Other News 

Ajax midfielder Abdelhak Nouri suffered “serious and permanent brain damage” after collapsing in a friendly match on Saturday. The 20-year-old had “cardiac arrhythmias” – heart rhythm problems – during the game against Werder Bremen. The club statement said the chances of recovery from the damage is nil. It added: “The diagnosis was made that a lot of his brain is not functioning. All this probably occurred due to a lack of oxygen supply.” On Monday, the club had said tests showed his “heart is functioning normally” and brain scans did not detect “any anomalies” – but new tests revealed the extent of the damage. The Amsterdam-born player was flown by helicopter to hospital in Austria – where the abandoned friendly match was being played.

Aretha Franklin has cancelled another scheduled performance due to ill health. The music icon was set to headline the second annual Martha’s Vineyard Concert Series at the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts on 19th August. However, undisclosed  health issues have caused Aretha to pull out of the show, with a representative for production company Innovation Arts & Entertainment confirming her cancellation. “The staff of MV Concert Series wishes Ms. Franklin a full recovery and holds out hope that we may someday host the Queen of Soul in concert on Island,” they said in a statement. Due to the late notice, concert organisers have not been able to find a replacement act and all purchased tickets for the Vineyard show have been refunded. Of late, the Respect hitmaker has also cancelled gigs in Chicago, Illinois and Toronto in Canada due to health concerns. In recent years, the 75-year-old has cut down on her performance schedule and in 2010, she had to cancel shows to undergo emergency abdominal surgery. She later revealed she had a tumour removed. Earlier this year, Aretha announced she will be retiring after her next album is released in September.

A couple tried to recreate an infamous scene from Dirty Dancing – and ended up in hospital. Andy and Sharon Price were left unconscious after their attempt failed and they collided, leading to a blue-light dash in an ambulance to A&E. The engaged pair had watched the 80s movie more than 30 times and wanted to do the famous lift on their big day. But practicing their moves in a pub garden wasn’t the best idea – Andy, 51, was knocked out cold and Sharon, 52, was bruised and severely winded. Jennifer Grey made leaping into the arms of Patrick Swayze so much easier, but for the Price’s it ended in drama. At first, their family members thought they were messing around, but realised it was serious and dialled 999. Sharon said doctors at Southmead Hospital in Bristol laughed when they discovered how they’d got their injuries. They’ve known each other for 18 months and plan to tie the knot later this year. But now, instead of dancefloor acrobatics, they’ll be settling for a “slow one” for their first dance instead.

On This Day

  • 1661 – The first banknotes in Europe are issued by the Swedish bank Stockholms Banco.
  • 1935 – The world’s first parking meter is installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
  • 1945 – Manhattan Project: The Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
  • 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11, the first mission to land astronauts on the Moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Kennedy, Florida.

Deaths

Last Week’s Birthdays

Will Ferrell (50), Phoebe Cates (54), Corey Feldman (46), Travis Fimmel (38), Diane Kruger (41), Brigitte Nielsen (54), Forest Whitaker (56), Jan-Michael Vincent (73), Celia Imrie (65), Jesse Ventura (66), Jackie Earle Haley (56), Matthew Fox (51), Harry Dean Stanton (91), David Mitchell (43), Harrison Ford (75), Patrick Stewart (77), Michelle Rodriguez (39), Anna Friel (41), Cheryl Ladd (66), Tamsin Greig (51), Bill Cosby (80), Stephen Lang (65), Sofía Vergara (45), Peter Serafinowicz (45), Chiwetel Ejiofor (40), John Simm (47) and Jessica Simpson (37).

Dead Pool 9th July 2017

Apologies for the lateness of this weeks edition, life got in the way. I’ll try not to let that happen again. Without further ado…

Look Who You Could Have Had:

  • Stevie Ryan, 33, American actress and comedian (Stevie TV), suicide by hanging.
  • Joe Robinson, 90, British actor (A Kid for Two FarthingsThe Loneliness of the Long Distance RunnerThor and the Amazon Women)
  • Carol Lee Scott, 74, English actress (Grotbags).
  • Ji-Tu Cumbuka, 77, American actor (RootsBlaculaMandingo)
  • Joan Boocock Lee, 95, British-born American voice actress (Spider-ManFantastic Four) and model, complications from a stroke
  • Nelsan Ellis, 39, American actor (True BloodGet on UpElementary), complications from heart failure.

In Other News

Oscar-winning actress Olivia de Havilland is very much alive and well as she is suing the makers of a television show which she says portrayed her as a “petty gossip”. De Havilland, who turns 101 on Saturday, filed a lawsuit against FX Networks and producer Ryan Murphy over the miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan. The drama explored the bad blood between the Hollywood screen legends Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. The actress, who appeared in 50 films, was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. In papers filed at the Los Angeles Superior Court, de Havilland – who was made a dame in the Queen’s birthday honours in June – said the show’s characterisation of her damaged her “professional reputation for integrity, honesty, generosity, self-sacrifice and dignity”. The Gone With The Wind star is asking a jury to consider the emotional distress caused by the show, as well as potential financial losses and the profits made from using her identity. De Havilland – the only person depicted in the series who is still alive – also said she was not consulted.

Sheila Michaels, an American feminist who brought the honorific “Ms” into mainstream use, has died aged 78. Ms Michaels did not invent the term, but is credited with rescuing it from obscurity after she saw it used in an address, thinking it was a typo. “Ms” did not convey a woman’s marital status, unlike the traditional options “Mrs” or “Miss”. “I had never seen it before: It was kind of arcane knowledge,” she said. Speaking to the New York Times in an interview last year for her own obituary, she said the honorific resonated with her, both as a feminist and as the child of unmarried parents. Years later, she brought it up casually, during a lull in conversation on broadcast radio – where it was heard by others, and began to attract attention, from there there was no stopping it. Ms Michaels leaves a legacy both minute and momentous: two consonants and a small dot – three characters that forever changed English discourse.

And finally, a story that could be classed as a mountainous molehill, a woman who shared a video of herself urinating on an American flag has asked that people stop targeting her family, saying they do not support her actions. Emily Lance received online threats of murder and rape after posting the video during Independence Day celebrations. Her account is no longer on Facebook but she previously posted that her father and his workplace had also been “targeted”, reports say. However, desecrating the US flag is not illegal due to strong freedom of speech laws. In the video, Ms Lance is seen standing over a toilet on which a US flag is draped, and urinating on it with the aid of a she-wee. She captioned it with: “F*** your nationalism. F*** your country. F*** your stupid f****** flag”. Later she made a plea for her opponents not to “take your anger out on the wrong people”, saying no-one in her family “agrees with my shenanigans”. “What don’t you people understand? You’re celebrating freedom while damning me for doing the same. You can’t have it both ways,” she said. President Trump declined to comment, even though we all know he is partial to a bit of female wee.

On This Day

Deaths

  • 1932 – King Camp Gillette, U.S. businessman, founded the Gillette Company (b. 1855)
  • 2002 – Rod Steiger, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2011 – Würzel, English guitarist (b. 1949)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Tom Hanks (61), Kelly McGillis (60), Fred Savage (41), Brian Dennehy (79), Courtney Love (53), O.J. Simpson (70), Kevin Bacon (59), Jaden Smith (19), Anjelica Huston (66), Jeffrey Tambor (73), Shelley Duvall (68), Jack Whitehall (29), Ringo Starr (77), Kate Nash (30), Eva Green (37), Sylvester Stallone (71), Geoffrey Rush (66), Kevin Hart (38), Burt Ward (72), Jennifer Saunders (59), 50 Cent (42), Edie Falco (54), RZA (48), Huey Lewis (67), Gina Lollobrigida (90), Neil Morrissey (55), Ronni Ancona (49), Tom Cruise (55), Kurtwood Smith (74), Yeardley Smith (53), Lindsay Lohan (31), Larry David (70), Jerry Hall (61) and Peter Kay (44).