# 2023 SDMB Celebrity Death Pool **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** death-pool\ **Created:** [December 1, 2022, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831 "2022-12-01T04:02:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 69
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1361 "2023-07-28T03:30:08Z")
My first list: 1. Pope John Paul II 2. Warren Zevon 3. Michael Jackson 4. Ronald Reagan 5. Gerald Ford 6. Madonna \<–ALIVE 7. Luciano Pavarotti 8. Jerry Lewis 9. Eli Wallach 10. Christopher Lee 11. Britney Spears \<–ALIVE 12. Larry King 13. Michelle Tractenburg \<–ALIVE I always used to put Michelle Tractenburg for non reason other than the huge boost of high points and a unique pick. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1362 "2023-07-28T03:38:37Z")
Ooh, old lists! My earliest (2001): Deanna Durbin (d. 2013) Jerry Lewis (d. 2017) Princess Margaret (d. 2002) Sean Connery (d. 2020) Richard Pryor (d. 2005) Liza Minelli Stephen Spielberg John Goodman Daniel Day Lewis Magic Johnson Duff McKagan Charlie Sheen Marilyn Manson ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1363 "2023-07-28T03:55:04Z")
Just to avoid a hijack, I do have an old(5 years) thread about our first Death Pool Lists and who remains alive. Might be fun to post to: > [@Post your oldest Death Pool list. Who's still alive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/post-your-oldest-death-pool-list-whos-still-alive/822735): > > What’s your first Death Pool list and is anyone still alive from it? If not that one, which one is the oldest that still has a survivor? My first list was 2003. That list is: Pope John Paul II Warren Zevon Michael Jackson Ronald Reagan Gerald Ford Madonna Luciano Pavarotti Jerry Lewis Eli Wallach Christopher Lee \*\*11. Britney Spears Larry King Michelle Tractenburg\*\* 15 years and I still have four people alive from it! I thought I participates in the years before, but I did not see my list … ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1364 "2023-07-28T10:27:17Z")
[Randy Meisner dies at 77](https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/27/entertainment/randy-meisner-death/index.html). ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1365 "2023-07-28T11:00:54Z")
> [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](#): > > Anthony Keidis (recovering heroin addict, who admits he will always be a heroin addict) That could simply be him acknowledging that he’ll always be in recovery, which is a sign of health in an addict. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1366 "2023-07-28T11:17:40Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Randy Meisner, one of the founders of The Eagles, has taken it to the limit one last time. I always thought it was great that he did a song about calculus. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1367 "2023-07-28T13:05:05Z")
I posted there. Here’s a handy tool to determine dead-or-alive. > **[Who's Alive and Who's Dead](https://www.whosaliveandwhosdead.com/search.asp)** > > A reference site to help you find out which famous people are alive and which are dead. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1368 "2023-07-28T13:15:46Z")
As did I. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1369 "2023-07-28T13:18:19Z")
> **[Bill Cunningham, Original Voice of 1960s Ken Doll, Dead at 96](https://www.tmz.com/2023/07/28/barbie-ken-bill-cunningham-voice-actor-doll-dead-dies/?adid=social-tw)** > > The world of "Barbie" is mourning the death of Bill Cunningham, the original voice of the famous Ken doll in the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1370 "2023-07-28T15:39:32Z")
It couldn’t tell me whether Lindsay Lohan was dead or alive - it didn’t have an entry for her. It missed some other names as well, but that was especially egregious. Googling was faster and more complete. (My first list was in 2014. 6 now dead, 7 still alive.) ---
**Author:** ![tuesdayweld](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@tuesdayweld](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tuesdayweld)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1371 "2023-07-28T15:54:04Z")
I put her on my list due to mental health instability, previous suicide attempts and threats, and loss of her young son to suicide in 2022. Still, wish I wouldn’t have won those points. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1372 "2023-07-28T16:24:03Z")
Comedian Ron Sexton, perhaps best known as the voice of character Donnie Baker on the _Bob & Tom Show_, [died unexpectedly](https://deadline.com/2023/07/ron-sexton-dead-comedian-donnie-baker-bob-and-tom-show-1235447919/) while on tour in Ohio at the age of 52. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1373 "2023-07-28T17:12:22Z")
From my 2008 list: Fidel Castro (died 2016) B.B. King (2015) David Crosby (2023) Amy Winehouse (2011) Loretta Lynn (2022) Estelle Getty (2008) Robert Byrd (2010) Stan Musial (2013) Georgia Frontierre (2008) Suzanne Pleshette (2008) Ethel Kennedy (still alive) Jimmy Carter (still alive) The fact that two of my picks from 25 years ago are still alive, and two others have died only in the last nine months helps explain why I don’t enter the pool anymore) ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1374 "2023-07-28T18:38:08Z")
“Damn it, Randy!” I used to listen to Bob and Tom on terrestrial AM radio back in their hey-day. A comedy nerd’s radio haven. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1375 "2023-07-28T18:45:52Z")
I just looked at my first list, which was pretty random. I scored that year on Baroness Ironpants; 5 others are gone, Gorby about a year ago and Bishop Tutu about 6 months before that. One person is on my current list and she is still around. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1376 "2023-07-28T22:01:46Z")
> **[Inga Swenson, Gretchen the Cook on ‘Benson,’ Dies at 90](https://variety.com/2023/tv/people-news/inga-swenson-dead-benson-1235682653/)** > > Actor and singer Inga Swenson, who played Gretchen the cook on the popular ’80s sitcom “Benson,” on Sunday in Los Angeles. Swenson died of natural causes, according to TMZ. She was 90. She was know… ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1377 "2023-07-28T22:30:24Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > [Inga Swenson Dead: 'Benson' Actor Was 90](https://variety.com/2023/tv/people-news/inga-swenson-dead-benson-1235682653/) Wow married for 70 years. ---
**Author:** ![McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McDeath_the_Mad)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1378 "2023-07-28T22:48:40Z")
True, but reading his Biography (Scar Tissue) he still has relapses and “goes on a run” as he calls it where he’ll wake up in wierd hotel room in a wierd city and not remember the previous 2 weeks. I wish him well, but he’s 1 hot shot away from infamy… MtM ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2023, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1379 "2023-07-28T22:57:52Z")
Inga Swenson also played the second and by far the best of Ben Cartwright’s three wives on Bonanza. I’ll always remember her as Hoss’s mom. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2023, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831/1380 "2023-07-29T02:31:43Z")
I have one great Inga Swenson/Gretchen Kraus memory from _Benson_. The two of them are arguing Kraus - Take your best shot Benson (Squaring up like a boxer) Hehheh! Kraus - Und den I take mine (Benson backs down immediately) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831.md?page=68) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2023-sdmb-celebrity-death-pool/975831.md?page=70)