Afternoon Poolers, another week passes but no more points awarded. You’d have thought that with these record breaking heatwaves we’ve been experiencing that someone of note would have kicked the bucket, but our bucket is empty yet again this week. We’re just about half way through the year and to be fair, most of us have scored, which is unusual in itself. But don’t worry if you have yet to score, a good Cert will get you at least halfway up the table.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Tim Hague, 34, Canadian mixed martial artist (UFC, WSOF, KOTC), brain haemorrhage from boxing match.
• Brian Cant, 83, British actor (Dappledown Farm) and television presenter (Play School), complications of Parkinson’s disease.
• Zoltan Sarosy, 110, Hungarian-born Canadian chess master.
• Virginia Moyano, 113, Argentine supercentenarian, nation’s oldest person, cardiac arrest.
• Prodigy, 42, American rapper (Mobb Deep), complications from sickle cell anemia.

In Other News

The Duke of Edinburgh has left hospital after being admitted as “a precautionary measure”. Prince Philip was treated at the private King Edward VII Hospital, in central London, for an infection arising from a pre-existing condition. A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman had said on Wednesday that the 96-year-old was in good spirits. We understands his condition is “not a cause for serious concern”. He had been with the Queen at Trooping the Colour on Saturday and the opening day of Royal Ascot on Tuesday. However, after being admitted to hospital on Tuesday evening, he missed Wednesday’s State Opening of Parliament, where his place was taken by the Prince of Wales, and a second day at Ascot. BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said that, given the duke was treated for a pre-existing condition, it is safe to assume he has been suffering from the recurrence of the bladder infection he suffered twice in 2012. Prince Philip has spent much of his life in good health, but he was treated for a blocked coronary artery in 2011 and the bladder infection the following year.

For the first time in 23 years, Ant and Dec could go their separate ways in the wake of Ant McPartlin’s battle with alcohol and prescription drugs – at least temporarily. With Ant currently getting treatment for his addictions at a rehab facility, ITV are thought to be giving him a year off work to recover fully – meaning the other half of the famous presenting duo, Declan Donnelly, could end up going solo for huge projects like I’m A Celebrity in November. An insider said that no decision has yet been taken about Ant’s work schedule for the next few months and that no-one at the broadcaster wants to rush him before he’s well again. Ant released a shock statement last weekend admitting to substance abuse as a result of a botched knee operation two years ago. The injury had left him hooked on the prescription painkiller Tramadol and using alcohol to numb the pain.

In another addiction story, Tiger Woods’s manager has confirmed the golfer has checked into rehabilitation as he seeks to handle medication issues linked to his recent arrest for driving under the influence. Woods was taken into custody by police in Florida on 29 May, having been found asleep at the wheel of his car by the side of the road. Police officials confirmed a breathalyser test as taken by Woods – who was disorientated and unsure of where he was – for alcohol consumption was blank, with the 14-time major champion later insisting upon an “unexpected reaction” to prescription medication. On Monday, Woods issued an update which read as follows: “I’m currently receiving professional help to manage my medications and the ways that I deal with back pain and a sleep disorder. I want to thank everyone for the amazing outpouring of support and understanding, especially the fans and players on tour.”

And finally, a Brazilian pilot who crash-landed into an Amazon river, saving the life of his passenger, has died after falling from a rescue helicopter. The single-engine plane managed to land on the river after an electrical fault. It submerged within seconds. Both pilot and passenger managed to escape and waited hours to be rescued in a hard to reach area in the jungle. When rescuers threw a rope for them to climb up, the pilot lost his grip, fell into the river and was dragged away. The 64-year-old pilot, Elcides Rodrigues Pereira, has been hailed as a hero after footage emerged of the dramatic crash landing, last Wednesday, in the northern state of Roraima. Mr Pereira and Ednilson Cardoso, a 28-year-old nursing technician, were on a health mission to visit a remote indigenous tribe. Mr Cardoso told local media that he had tied the rope around the pilot, who was tired, but he fell into the Catrimani river. The failed rescue operation was organised by the owners of the aircraft, and not by the authorities. Fire-fighters only managed to find the body of the pilot on Saturday.

On This Day

• 1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
• 1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
• 1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
• 1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

Deaths

• 1976 – Johnny Mercer, American singer-songwriter, co-founded Capitol Records (b. 1909)
• 1997 – Jacques Cousteau, French oceanographer and explorer (b. 1910)
• 2009 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (b. 1947)
• 2009 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, & actor (b. 1958)
• 2015 – Patrick Macnee, English actor (b. 1922)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Iain Glen (56), Peter Weller (70), Nancy Allen (67), Selma Blair (45), Joss Whedon (53), Frances McDormand (60), Duffy (33), Meryl Streep (68), Bruce Campbell (59), Kris Kristofferson (81), Lindsay Wagner (68), Stephen Chow (55), Tim Russ (61), Cyndi Lauper (64), Chris Pratt (38), Juliette Lewis (44), Lana Wachowski (52), Lana Del Rey (32), Nicole Kidman (50), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (28), John Goodman (65), Robert Rodriguez (49), Martin Landau (89), Danny Aiello (84), Olympia Dukakis (86), Miles O’Keeffe (63), Zoe Saldana (39), Aidan Turner (34), Kathleen Turner (63), Gena Rowlands (87), Sadie Frost (52), Paula Abdul (55), Richard Madden (31), Isabella Rossellini (65) and Paul McCartney (75).

Welcome all, a quiet week this week, no points scored and a dire lack of celebrity news. However we’ve managed to cobble together a little something worth reading, don’t ask how, we’re just brilliant here at Dead Pool Towers.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Sam Beazley, 101, British actor (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Johnny English).
• John G. Avildsen, 81, American film director (Rocky, The Karate Kid, Save the Tiger), Oscar winner (1977), pancreatic cancer.
• Anita Pallenberg, 75, Italian actress (Barbarella, Performance, A Degree of Murder).
• Helmut Kohl, 87, German politician, Chancellor (1982–1998), Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate (1969–1976).
• Stephen Furst, 63, American actor (Babylon 5, Animal House, St. Elsewhere), complications from diabetes.

In Other News

Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher died from sleep apnoea and “other factors”, the Los Angeles  County coroner says. Her death certificate said in January that the 60-year-old, best known for her role as Princess Leia, had suffered a cardiac arrest. But in a statement the LA coroner said the exact cause was unknown. Sleep apnoea is a common condition in which a person stops breathing during sleep, either for a few seconds or minutes. As well as listing sleep apnoea as a cause of death, the coroner’s statement cited other factors, including heart disease and drug use. In a statement released to People magazine after the coroner’s ruling, Fisher’s daughter Lourd said: “My mom battled drug addiction and mental illness her entire life. She ultimately died of it. “She was purposefully open in all of her work about the social stigmas surrounding these diseases.” Her manner of death would be listed as undetermined, the coroner’s statement said. Fisher had been on tour promoting her book The Princess Diarist when she was taken ill on a flight from London to Los Angeles on 23rd December. She never regained consciousness and died on 27 December at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre.

A Spanish bullfighter has died after being gored during a festival in southwest France. Ivan Fandino, 36, caught his feet in his cloak and fell to the floor, where he was gored by the bull. He suffered a lung injury and died on his way to hospital from a heart attack on Saturday, French media say. Fandino, who was taking part in the Aire-sur-l’Adour bullfighting festival near Pau, is reportedly the first matador to die in France in a century. The Basque-born matador had already taken part in a competition earlier in the day before he was injured. Photographs showed he was conscious, but bleeding heavily, as he was led away from the ring. Last July, bullfighter Victor Barrio, 29, became the first matador to die in Spain in 30 years after he was gored during an event being aired live on television. Fandino had been injured at least twice in previous events – once in 2015, when thrown into the air by a bull in Pamplona, Spain, but more seriously the year before when he was knocked unconscious in Bayonne, France.

A man who became the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls without a protective device has died after apparently trying the stunt again in an inflatable ball, police say. The body of American Kirk Jones was found 12 miles (19km) downriver weeks after the ball was found empty and spinning at the bottom of the falls. In 2003 he suffered only cuts and bruises after plunging over the falls. Mr Jones, 53, said afterwards that he would never try such a thing again. New York State Park Police told the Syracuse Post-Standard that Mr Jones’s body had been found on 2nd June in the Niagara River near the village of Youngstown at the mouth of Lake Ontario. Police confirmed it was the same man who had survived the falls 14 years previously. Det Sgt Brian Nisbet told the newspaper it was believed Mr Jones had tried to go over the falls in a large inflatable ball on 19th April. The ball was recovered, empty, by the Maid of the Mist boat near the foot of the falls. In 2003 Mr Jones was fined by a Canadian court for performing an illegal stunt and banned from the country. Although his family said he had jumped as a daredevil act, Mr Jones later said he had been trying to kill himself. He told reporters afterwards that he felt “very happy to be alive”. “I understand what I did was wrong,” he said at the time. “You will never see an action in Niagara waters with my name written on it again.” In an interview with ABC television he described going over the falls and being “sucked inside… the curtain of the falls and enveloped in it”. He said he remembered spiralling at great speed with “unbelievable” pressure on his head and then feeling pain as he hit a slab of granite at the bottom. He said he briefly lost consciousness but came to under water, swam to the surface and took his first breath.

On This Day

• 1429 – French forces under the leadership of Joan of Arc defeat the main English army under Sir John Fastolf at the Battle of Patay. This turns the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
• 1812 – The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom is signed by President James Madison, we’ve hated each other since. 
• 1815 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Waterloo results in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second and last time.
• 1858 – Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin’s own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory.
• 1873 – Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
• 1900 – Empress Dowager Cixi of China orders all foreigners killed, including foreign diplomats and their families. 117 years later, Theresa May will attempt the same feat. 
• 1928 – Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean (she is a passenger; Wilmer Stultz is the pilot and Lou Gordon the mechanic).
• 1940 – “Finest Hour” speech by Winston Churchill.
• 1983 – Space Shuttle program: STS-7, Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.

Deaths

• 1928 – Roald Amundsen, Norwegian pilot and explorer (b. 1872)
• 1980 – Terence Fisher, English director and screenwriter (b. 1904)
• 2007 – Bernard Manning, English comedian and actor (b. 1930)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jason Patric (51), Ken Loach (81), Arnold Vosloo (55), Courteney Cox (53), Ice Cube (48), Helen Hunt (54), Neil Patrick Harris (44), Jim Belushi (63), Yasmine Bleeth (49), Donald J. Trump (71), Boy George (56), Chris Evans (36), Stellan Skarsgård (66), Ally Sheedy (55), Tim Allen (64), Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen (31), Malcolm McDowell (74), Richard Thomas (66), Simon Callow (68), Kathy Burke (53), Steve-O (43), Richard Ayoade (40), Shia LaBeouf (31), Peter Dinklage (48), Hugh Laurie (58), Adrienne Barbeau (72) and Jane Goldman (47).

Welcome all to yet another  deadly points extravaganza!! With the sad death of Peter Sallis, we can award the following people 54 points, Abi, Doug, Gwyn, Paul G, Louise, Martin and Vic. Sarai was the only one to get Adam West, so 62 points to her. Well done all of us! We’ve passed the halfway point now and things are certainly looking like this year might break all point scoring records.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Peter Sallis, 96, English actor (Last of the Summer Wine, Wallace and Gromit, The Wind in the Willows).
• Andy Cunningham, 67, British magician, puppeteer and actor (Bodger & Badger), cancer.
• Cheick Tioté, 30, Ivorian footballer (Twente, Newcastle United, national team), heart attack.
• Glenne Headly, 62, American actress (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Dick Tracy), complications from pulmonary embolism.
• Sam Panopoulos, 82, Greek-born Canadian cook, inventor of Hawaiian pizza.
• Adam West, 88, American actor (Batman, Family Guy, Robinson Crusoe on Mars), leukemia.

In Other News

Richard Hammond, the former star of Top Gear, has been airlifted to hospital after being involved in a serious car crash in a Swiss mountain race, according to reports. Swiss media 20 Minuten reported that the 47-year-old Grand Tour co-host crashed the car on a road that was closed for the Bergrennen Hemberg race. It’s now been confirmed that Hammond suffered a fractured knee but no serious injuries. Photos from the scene show a wrecked car in flames, which were later extinguished by firefighters. Hammond – who was in Switzerland filming scenes of Amazon series The Grand Tour alongside Jeremy Clarkson – was seriously injured in a car crash in September 2006, many of us think he’s never been quite right since. The latest incident comes less than three months after Hammond was injured falling off a motorbike while filming in a remote part of Mozambique. A spokesperson for The Grand Tour stated: “Richard was conscious and talking, and climbed out of the car himself before the vehicle burst into flames. Clarkson described it as the “biggest” and “most frightening” crash he had ever seen, commenting in a Twitter post: “Thankfully, Richard seems to be mostly OK.”

Former child star Amanda Bynes has confirmed she’s returning to acting during her first interview in four years. The 31-year-old has been out of the limelight in recent times after going through a difficult period that saw erratic behaviour and social media postings, as well as brushes with the law. But now Amanda is happy, healthy and loving life and  the star said she’s three years sober and looking forward to a bright future. The biggest revelation was Amanda’s declaration that she’s returning to Hollywood, despite quitting the industry in 2010. For now, the actress is enrolled at Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, and is also hoping to release her own clothing line in the future. A stark change from being he actress who was released from a psychiatric facility in October 2014 after less than a month of treatment, and was then arrested for DUI in 2012, but avoided jail time by completing inpatient treatment and was placed on three years’ probation in early 2014. She was placed under the conservatorship of her mother Lynn in August 2013 after she set fire to a driveway, how.. what??

It has been confirmed that Stacy Keach suffered a heart attack onstage during the opening night performance of Pamplona at the Goodman Theatre, prompting a cancellation of the rest of the show’s run to allow him to recover. Keach took a moment to describe the experience “I felt like this great fog had come over me. It was the most bizarre moment of my entire career,” he said. He continued: “I was feeling no pain. The whole time, I was hoping that I was just in the middle of an actor’s nightmare, and then I would soon wake up and find myself back in the position where I knew what I was doing again.” It was originally reported that during the opening performance, Keach was getting lost in his monologue, “repeating large swaths of text three or four times and appearing confused and, for certain, far from his usual on-stage self.” Keach remains in the hospital, but is expected to be released from hospital on Tuesday and make a full recovery.

On This Day

• 1509 – Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.
• 1955 – Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports.
• 1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
• 1963 – Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.

Deaths

• 323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (b. 356 BC)
• 1936 – Robert E. Howard, American author and poet (b. 1906)
• 1979 – John Wayne, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
• 1998 – Catherine Cookson, English author (b. 1906)
• 1999 – DeForest Kelley, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Elizabeth Hurley (52), Jürgen Prochnow (76), Johnny Depp (54), Natalie Portman (36), Michael J. Fox (56), Eddie Marsan (49), Griffin Dunne (62), Nancy Sinatra (77), Kanye West (40), Liam Neeson (65), Karl Urban (45), Michael Cera (29), Helen Baxendale (47), Bear Grylls (43), Paul Giamatti (50), Robert Englund (70), Sandra Bernhard (62), Gianna Michaels (34), Mark Wahlberg (46), Mel Giedroyc (49), Angelina Jolie (42), Noah Wyle (46), Bruce Dern (81), Russell Brand (42) and Sean Pertwee (53).

Welcome all, another week passes by and yet more  celebrities kick the bucket. This week   we have the joy of handing out points, with the sad demise of John Noakes, Martin scores 67 points, well done that man. This week we also learn that actress Sondra Locke is 73 years old and looks younger than I do.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• John Noakes, 83, British television presenter (Blue Peter, Go With Noakes), Alzheimer’s disease.
• Manuel Noriega, 83, Panamanian dictator and military official, military ruler (1983–1989), complications from brain surgery.
• Reinhold Hanning, 95, German Waffen-SS concentration camp guard and convicted war criminal.
• Molly Peters, 75, British actress (Thunderball).
• Roy Barraclough, 81, British comedian (Cissie and Ada) and actor (Coronation Street).

In Other News

Australian singer and actress Olivia Newton-John has revealed she has again been diagnosed with breast cancer and will postpone a number of planned tour dates as she embarks on treatment. A statement posted to her official Facebook page said the star of Grease and Xanadu was reluctantly cancelling some upcoming performances in the US and Canada after receiving the diagnosis. “The back pain that initially caused her to postpone the first half of her concert tour, has turned out to be breast cancer that has metastasised to the sacrum,” the post stated. The statement said the singer, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992, would undergo treatment that included photon radiation therapy, as well as “natural wellness therapies”. Newton-John, 68, became an ardent supporter of breast cancer awareness and research after her initial battle with the disease. She underwent a partial mastectomy, chemotherapy and breast reconstruction at the time.

Golf star Tiger Woods was arrested on a drink-driving charge in Florida early on Monday morning, police say. Police recorded the arrest at 07:18 local time. The golfer was released a few hours later, records from Palm Beach County police show. The police record lists the charge as Driving Under the Influence (DUI). It specifies an unlawful blood alcohol level and says that he was released “on his own recognisance”, meaning he promised in writing to co-operate with future legal proceedings. The 41-year-old golfer has been recovering from recent back surgery and last blogged about his health on 24th May. He wrote that the surgery had relieved terrible pain and that he hadn’t “felt this good in years”. He said the outlook for a return to competitive golf was “positive” but that he was not in a “hurry”. “I want to play professional golf again but I’m not looking ahead,” he said. “I can’t twist for another two and a half to three months. Right now, my sole focus is rehab and doing what the doctors tell me. I am concentrating on short-term goals.” The mugshot shows a dishevelled Tiger Woods, bleary-eyed and unshaven – just the sort of image he would not want associated with himself in public. The picture will haunt him throughout these proceedings and beyond. This is someone who has put back together his public life after that epic fall from grace with all the news of the extramarital affairs that broke in 2009.

And finally, an Australian fisherman has described how a 200kg (440lb) great white shark leapt into his boat, knocking him over and lacerating his arm. Terry Selwood, 73, had dropped a line at his “usual spot” at Evans Head in New South Wales when the animal launched itself out of the water. He said the 2.7m (8.8ft) shark landed in the boat, which measured about 5m, and grazed him with its pectoral fin. Mr Selwood was rescued after radioing for help. “I was losing a fair amount of blood, I was stunned, I couldn’t register what happened and then I thought, ‘oh my God, I’ve got to get out of here,'” he told the media. “There I was on all fours and he is looking at me and I am looking at him, and then he started to do the dance around and shake and I could not get out quick enough.” Bill Bates, a member of Marine Rescue Evans Head, said his crew found Mr Selwood standing on the side of the boat covered in blood. “We offloaded the owner into our boat and gave him immediate first aid and stabilised the bleeding, it was a 5m boat so you can imagine there was no more room for people when the shark was in there.” The crew brought Mr Selwood to shore following the incident on Saturday, and he was taken to hospital. He has since gone home. New South Wales fishing authorities said the animal would undergo a post-mortem examination, which was standard practice for “any deceased shark in good condition”. “This enables us to take tissue and blood samples for ongoing science and research purposes,” a Department of Primary Industries spokeswoman said.

On This Day

• 1783 – The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon).
• 1784 – Élisabeth Thible becomes the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon. Her flight covers four kilometres in 45 minutes, and reached 1,500 metres altitude (estimated).
• 1896 – Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile, and gives it a successful test run.
• 1913 – Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of King George V‘s horse at the Epsom Derby. She is trampled, never regains consciousness, and dies four days later.
• 1940 – World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends: British forces complete evacuation of 338,000 troops from Dunkirk in France. To rally the morale of the country, Winston Churchill delivers, only to the House of Commons, his famous “We shall fight on the beaches” speech.

Deaths

• 1798 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and author (b. 1725)
• 1968 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (b. 1898)
• 1989 – Dik Browne, American cartoonist (b. 1917)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Imogen Poots (28), James Purefoy (53), Morena Baccarin (38), Dominic Cooper (39), Jewel Staite (35), Justin Long (39), Zachary Quinto (40), Liam Cunningham (56), Dana Carvey (62), Sally Kellerman (80), Amy Schumer (36), Morgan Freeman (80), Brian Cox (71), Jonathan Pryce (70), Rene Auberjonois (77), Heidi Klum (44), Alanis Morissette (43), Clint Eastwood (87), Colin Farrell (41), Brooke Shields (52), Lea Thompson (56), Tom Berenger (68), Sharon Gless (74), Colm Meaney (64), Stephen Tobolowsky (66), Duncan Jones (46), Keir Dullea (81), Jennifer Ellison (34), Leigh Francis (44), Annette Bening (59), Danny Elfman (64), Melanie Brown (42), Kylie Minogue (49), Gladys Knight (73) and Sondra Locke (73).

Welcome to a slightly pared down version of the newsletter.  Due to the events in Manchester recently, not so many celebrity stories graced the editorial pages. However, we do have points to award, namely 61 points to Jemm, Wendy & Millie for correctly predicting the sad loss of Sir Roger Moore.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Lisa Spoonauer, 44, American actress (Clerks).
• Kenny Cordray, 62, American guitarist and songwriter, shot.
• Sir Roger Moore, 89, English actor (The Spy Who Loved Me, The Persuaders!, The Saint), cancer.
• Jared Martin, 75, American actor (Dallas, War of the Worlds, Aenigma), pancreatic cancer.
• Gregg Allman, 69, American Hall of Fame singer-songwriter (“Ramblin’ Man“, “Midnight Rider“) and musician (The Allman Brothers Band).

In Other News

Kim Woo-Bin, the South Korean actor and model, has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, his talent agency SidusHQ confirmed in a statement on Tuesday. The Uncontrollably Fond star, who starred in breakout roles on KBS drama School in 2013 and 2013’s majorly popular The Heirs, is now battling nasopharyngeal cancer, a rare head and neck cancer that affects fewer than one in every 100,000 people in North America, although more common in parts of Asia, according to the American Cancer Society. He made the discovery after a hospital visit after reportedly feeling “abnormalities in his body.” Fortunately, Kim Woo-Bin seems to have found the cancer early, and has already begun treatment and radiation therapy. Kim Woo-Bin was set to start filming a new movie called Wiretap in July, but the film company confirmed that they’ll be pushing back the filming until he regains his health.

Actress Sarah Hyland has asked for privacy as she battles personal health issues that have been impacting her weight. The Modern Family star has appeared thinner of late, sparking concerns she may be suffering from an eating disorder, but the 26-year-old insists she’s struggling with an illness that has wreaked havoc on her body. “I haven’t had the greatest year,” Sarah wrote in a series of notes on Twitter on Wednesday. “Maybe one day I’ll talk about it, but for now I’d like my privacy.  “I will say that this year has brought a lot of changes and with that, physical changes. I have been told that I can’t work out, which, for me, is very upsetting.” Alluding to a medical diagnosis, the actress went on to reveal she has been forced to follow strict doctor’s orders. “I’ve basically been on bed rest for the past few months, I’ve lost a lot of muscle mass,” she shared. “My circumstances have put me in a place where I’m not in control of what my body looks like.” Sarah insists her weight loss is an unfortunate byproduct of the illness, adding she has been taking life-saving medication that has contributed to her extreme weight fluctuation.

On This Day

• 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.
• 1588 – The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port.)
• 1937 – Volkswagen (VW), the German automobile manufacturer is founded.
• 1951 – The British radio comedy program The Goon Show is broadcast on the BBC for the first time.

Deaths

• 1849 – Anne Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1820)
• 1972 – Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
• 1984 – Eric Morecambe, English actor and comedian (b. 1926)
• 2003 – Martha Scott, American actress (b. 1912)
• 2010 – Gary Coleman, American actor (b. 1968)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Joseph Fiennes (47), Paul Bettany (46), Jack McBrayer (44), Louis Gossett Jr. (81), Helena Bonham Carter (51), Pam Grier (68), Bobcat Goldthwait (55), Philip Michael Thomas (68), Lenny Kravitz (53), Stevie Nicks (69), Doug Jones (57), John C. Reilly (52), Alfred Molina (64), Jim Broadbent (68), James Cosmo (69), Gary Burghoff (74), Priscilla Presley (72), Tommy Chong (79), Bob Dylan (76), Eric Cantona (51), Joan Collins (84), Melissa McBride (52), Drew Carey (59), Ginnifer Goodwin (39), Naomi Campbell (47), Judge Reinhold (60), Noel Fielding (44), Belladonna (36) and Mr. T (65).