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Sally Kirkland dead: Bruce Almighty star dies after a battle with dementia

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Actress Sally Kirkland has died at the age of 84 her spokesperson revealed in a sad statement. The star of Bruce Almighty is said to have died just days after entering a hospice.

Her spokesperson, Michael Greene said she died at 1:50pm on Tuesday morning at the hospice in Palm Springs.

It’s said she had been diagnosed with dementia a year ago and recently suffered ‘life-threatening infections.’ According to TMZ, her friend and former student Cody Galloway was by her side before her death, with her representative Michael Greene flying in in the days before she died.

Prior to her passing, friends organised a GoFundMe page to support her urgent care expenses. The fundraiser read: “As a result today, she finds herself facing a significant health crisis.






Michael Douglas and Sally Kirkland


Michael Douglas and Sally Kirkland
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Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)






Sally Kirkland during The 45th Annual Golden Globe Awards


Sally Kirkland during The 45th Annual Golden Globe Awards
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Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

“One that has not only affected her well-being but also requires urgent and quality medical care that she can no longer afford.”

It explained: “This past year Sally fractured her four bones in her neck, right wrist, and her left hip. While recovering she developed two separate life-threatening infections. The combination of these injuries and infections have required extensive hospitalizations and rehab beyond the 100 days insurance will cover.”

Sally was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for her role in the 1987 comedy-drama Anna. Since then, she has appeared in several hit projects including Revenge, Big Stan and The Sting.

In 2024, she appeared in Sallywood. The movie was based on a true story about a writer obsessed with meeting her.

Following news of her death, fans took to social media to express their devastation. One user shared a throwback image of the star and wrote: “Devastated to hear of Sally Kirkland’s passing.

“She was an indelible character actor and red carpet icon who was never anything short of memorable. Her awards season campaign for ANNA, a powerhouse performance all should see, will always be the greatest.”

Another user said: “RIP to Sally Kirkland, a true Oscar legend!” And a third wrote: “When Sally Kirkland won the Golden Globe she said, ‘Plot twist: I actually am the movie.’

“RIP to the queen of unexpected cameos, avant-garde vibe & every wild character that ever said ‘Did she just say that?!’ Gone to script that next scene in the sky.”

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Gaza struggles to identify bodies returned under ceasefire deal

As the remains of Palestinians killed in Israeli bombardments or those who died in Israeli jails grow, authorities in Gaza are struggling to identify many, forced to resort to burying them in mass graves.

Gaza’s health authorities recently buried 38 unidentified bodies received from Israeli custody in what they have designated the “Cemetery for the Unknown”.

Israel handed over the remains of 15 Palestinians to Gaza authorities on Monday as part of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire’s body exchange arrangement.

According to a medical source who spoke to the Wafa news agency, the Red Cross transferred the remains to Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis.

It was the 12th such exchange under the deal, with 315 bodies returned to Gaza so far. However, only 92 have been identified, with the process hampered by decomposition and insufficient forensic equipment.

Wafa reported that most of the recovered remains showed evidence of torture.

Meanwhile, the war in Gaza has resulted in more than 69,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the Ministry of Health, with thousands more missing and presumed dead beneath rubble.

Dame Jilly Cooper’s heartbreaking cause of death with children blindsided by tragedy

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Dame Jilly Cooper cause of death has been revealed following an inquest today.

The writer known for her “bonkbusters” including Riders, Rivals and Polo – suffered a fatal head injury during a fall at her Gloucestershire home. Dame Jilly was found by family at her home in Bisley at about 5pm on October 4.

Gloucestershire Coroners’ Court heard Dame Jilly was initially alert and transferred by paramedics to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, but her condition deteriorated. She died in hospital, with her family present, at 8.30am on October 5.

Just two days before, Jilly had visited the set of Rivals – the Disney+ adaptation of her hit novel Novel.

Katy Skerrett, senior coroner for Gloucestershire, reached a conclusion of accidental death and said Dame Jilly died as a result of a traumatic subdural haematoma.






Jilly Cooper at her home in Bisley, Gloucestershire
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Getty Images)

Speaking of the last time he saw Dame Jilly on sit prior to the tragedy, actor Alex Hassell, who played Rupert Campbell-Black, on Rivals said: “We’re all devastated. She was on set just the week before and, obviously, her voice and her character and her sense of creativity were such a huge driving force of the show in terms of the source material.

“She would okay everything, or we would hear that things have changed because she didn’t think that certain things characters do are quite right or representative of her view of the characters. But we also really want to honour her and try and do our best to keep making the show as good as possible.”

Last month it was revealed that Jilly had died unexpectedly at the age of 88 after a fall at home. Her children Felix and Emily said it had come as a “complete shock”.

Tributes were paid by avid readers including the Queen, who described Dame Jilly as a “legend” and a “wonderfully witty and compassionate friend to me and so many”.

Dame Jilly was a long-standing friend of Camilla, and the author based her fictional seducer and showjumping lothario Rupert Campbell-Black partly on the Queen’s ex-husband Andrew Parker Bowles.

Camilla said in a message released by Buckingham Palace: “Very few writers get to be a legend in their own lifetime but Jilly was one, creating a whole new genre of literature and making it her own through a career that spanned over five decades.






Queen Camilla and Jilly Cooper during a reception to mark the launch of the Queen's reading room medal at Clarence House in March 2025


Queen Camilla and Jilly Cooper in March 2025
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Chris Jackson/Getty)

“In person she was a wonderfully witty and compassionate friend to me and so many – and it was a particular pleasure to see her just a few weeks ago at my Queen’s Reading Room Festival where she was, as ever, a star of the show.

“I join my husband the King in sending our thoughts and sympathies to all her family. And may her hereafter be filled with impossibly handsome men and devoted dogs.” The message was signed “Camilla R”.

Dame Jilly was known for her steamy fiction focusing on scandal and adultery in upper class society.

Her hit titles included Riders, Rivals, Polo, Mount! and The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, along with her most recent work Tackle!

Her children Felix and Emily said in a statement: “Mum was the shining light in all of our lives. Her love for all of her family and friends knew no bounds.

“Her unexpected death has come as a complete shock. We are so proud of everything she achieved in her life and can’t begin to imagine life without her infectious smile and laughter all around us.”

Tanzania frees opposition leaders following deadly election protests

Police in Tanzania have released several senior opposition leaders detained following the deadly protests that followed last month’s disputed elections, according to the main opposition party, Chadema.

Four senior Chadema officials arrested last week for their alleged role in the protests were released on bail on Monday, the party said on social media.

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The unrest came when authorities cracked down on demonstrations against the re-election of President Samia Suluhu Hassan, who was declared the winner of the disputed election with nearly 98 percent of the vote.

Chadema vice chairman John Heche and deputy secretary-general Amani Golugwa were among those released.

Heche was arrested on October 22 and questioned on suspicion of terrorism, according to his lawyer. Golugwa had been arrested over the weekend.

Godbless Lema, a member of Chadema’s central committee, and Boniface Jacob, chairman of the party’s coastal region branch, were also freed.

There was no immediate announcement from the Tanzanian government regarding their release.

Alongside the detainment of the Chadema officials, prosecutors charged at least 145 people suspected of involvement in the countrywide protests with treason. More than 170 others have been charged with other protest-related offences.

‘A disgrace before God’

Chadema leader Tundu Lissu was charged with treason in April and remains behind bars.

His exclusion from the October 29 presidential ballot was a major trigger of the protests, which have plunged Tanzania into its biggest political crisis in decades.

Opposition forces and human rights activists have said security forces killed more than 1,000 people during the unrest.

The Catholic Church in Tanzania condemned the killings, saying the “country has lost its dignity”.

“Such acts … are a disgrace before God,” said Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa’ichi during a service at St Joseph’s Church in the capital, Dar-es-Salaam.

The government insists that the casualty numbers presented by the opposition are exaggerated, but it has not offered its own estimate.

Single-party rule has been the norm in Tanzania since the advent of multiparty politics in 1992. Hassan’s opponents have accused her government of suppressing dissent and widespread abductions of critics.

Observers from the African Union said the election was not in line with democratic standards. They documented incidents of ballot stuffing and other irregularities.

Hassan has defended the fairness of the election and rejected criticism of her human rights record.