My Kingdom For A Hearse

Four more names on the Reaper’s list this week, all of them unique hits:

Film

We start with 1970’s scream queen actress Angela Pleasence, who has reached the end of the film reel at the age of 84. The daughter of the first Blofeld actor Donald, she started out with a small role in 1973’s Hitler: The Last Ten Days before landing major roles in the likes of Symptoms, The Godsend and crucially From Beyond the Grave. Her portrayal of a witch in that one secured her final role as a pick for supernatural theme team If your Mansion House Needs Haunting just call…, for their first ten points of 2026.

Sport

The heartbreak of Scotland’s latest Six Nations campaign was obviously too much to bear for Ken Smith, a former flanker for the national side. He later served as the Chairman for Scottish Rugby Union and was awarded a CBE for his work. Now even in death he continues to represent my plucky wee homeland, as a member of theme team Jocks Away for their first nine points of the year.

As for Jim Whittaker,  I’m not really sure where to put mountaineering on here so I’m just lumping it as extreme sport and leaving it at that. His claim to fame is being the first American to climb Mount Everest, summiting in 1963 and getting a Hubbard Medal for doing so. His final ascent to above the clouds scores nine points for Free Fallers’.

Theatre

Our final curtain call this week belongs to Michael Campbell, who has tragically succumbed to MND at the age of just 35. His diagnosis three years ago led to an adaption of Shakespeare’s Richard III where the title character gets a similar diagnosis in adulthood rather than being deformed from birth, which won rave reviews and a top gong from the Stage Awards. After getting the news in February that he was in “year to live” territory, Campbell elected not to pursue any life prolonging treatment to better enjoy what time he had left with his family. A shining example of somebody making the best they could of a cruel hand, and one of the more poignant hits of the year to say the least, so I’ll sign off with his favourite quote:

“The most important things to do in the world are to get something to eat, something to drink and somebody to love you.”

It’s a simple mantra, but then those are always the ones where you can’t go wrong.

Scores