2026 [THEMED] Celebrity Death Pool

Continuing my streak of making a theme based on wordplay–even though I have never had someone die on my themed pools–I now present:

The Celebrity Meth Pool (Celibrities who have admitted to–or been credibly associated with–methamphetamine use.)

Andre Agassi
Delta Burke
Kevin Clash
Heidi Fleiss
Fergie
Jodie Sweetin
Demi Lovato
Lalaine Vergara-Paras
Stephanie Pratt
Jael Strauss
Jenna Jameson
Shaun Weiss
Robert Downey Jr.

Alternate:
Lindsay Lohan

Note: Fergie is singer/songwriter Stacy Ann Ferguson, most known for the Black Eyed Peas. Not Sarah Ferguson who was married to former Prince Andrew.

My Themed Death Pool for 2026

Theme: Former Race Car Drivers

1 A. J. Foyt 1935 former Indy race car driver
2 Donnie Allison 1939 former Nascar race car driver
3 Emerson Fittipaldi 1946 former Indy race car driver
4 Darryl Waltrip 1947 former Nascar race car driver
5 Harry Gant 1940 former Nascar race car driver
6 Jackie Stewart 1939 former F1 race car driver
7 Leonard Earle Wood 1934 former NASCAR crew chief, engine builder and co-founder of Wood Brothers Racing.
8 Mario Andretti 1940 former F1 & Indy race car driver
9 Michael Schumacher 1969 former F1 race car driver
10 Ned Jarret 1932 former Nascar race car driver
11 Richard Petty 1937 former Nascar race car driver
12 Rick Hendrick 1949 former Nascar race car driver & current team owner
13 Roger Searle Penske 1937 American auto racing team owner, businessman, and retired professional driver

Alt:
1 Rick Mears 1951 former Indy race car driver
2 Ricky Rudd 1956 former Nascar race car driver

Clean list:

A. J. Foyt
Donnie Allison
Emerson Fittipaldi
Darryl Waltrip
Harry Gant
Jackie Stewart
Leonard Earle Wood
Mario Andretti
Michael Schumacher
Ned Jarret
Richard Petty
Rick Hendrick
Roger Penske

Alt:

Rick Mears
Ricky Rudd

As last year, 2001 Diamondbacks

Rod Barajas
Jay Bell
David Dellucci
Steve Finley
Luis Gonzalez
Mark Grace
Randy Johnson
Damian Miller
Armando Reynoso
Reggie Sanders
Curt Schilling
Matt Williams
Tony Womack

Alternates:
Midre Cummings
Craig Counsell
Byung-Hyun Kim

Amthony Hopkins
Avram Hershko
Sarah Miles
Alex Ferguson
Andy Summers
Ben Kingsley
Diane von Furstenberg
Pius Ncube
Tim Matheson
Burton Cummings
Viktor Mikhailovich Afanasieyv
Tom Hamilton
Fermin Goytisols

James Remar
Jane Badler
Herman Tilke

MASH Cast - TV or Movie

Alan Alda
Mike Farrell
Jamie Farr
Gary Burghoff
Jeff Maxwell
G.W. Bailey
Elliot Gould
Robert Duvall
Fred Williamson
Tom Skerritt
Mike Altman
Loudon Wainwright III
John Schuck

I totally blanked on submitting a themed list last year. Back in the saddle!

Hollywood Scum
James Corden, jerk
Bill Cosby, rapist
Harvey Weinstein, rapist
Woody Allen, creep
Roman Polanski, rapist
Ezra Miller, loony creep
Ellen DeGeneres, jerk
Chevy Chase, jerk
Jared Leto, super creep
Katherine Heigl, jerk
Sean Combs, rapist
Gérard Depardieu, rapist

Clean List of Scum
James Corden
Bill Cosby
Harvey Weinstein
Woody Allen
Roman Polanski
Ezra Miller
Ellen DeGeneres
Chevy Chase
Jared Leto
Katherine Heigl
Sean Combs
Gérard Depardieu

Hello again!

My 2026 theme is The Pearly Gates, and I look forward to another goose egg year.

Barry Pearl
Bill Gates
David Gates
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe
Gareth Gates
Gates McFadden
Henry Louis Gates Jr
Kevin Gates
Pearl Aday
Pearl Charles
Pearl Lowe
Pearl Thusi
Robert Gates

Alts:
Josh Gates
Mae Martin
Raydon Gates

Barry Pearl - American actor
Bill Gates - American business man
David Gates - American singer-songwriter
Earl “The Pearl” Monroe - American basketball player
Gareth Gates - English singer-songwriter
Gates McFadden - American actor
Henry Louis Gates Jr - American professor and historian
Kevin Gates - American rapper
Pearl Aday - American singer
Pearl Charles - American singer-songwriter
Pearl Lowe - English fashion designer
Pearl Thusi - South African actress
Robert Gates - American intelligence analyst

Alt
Josh Gates - American television presenter
Mae Pearl Martin - Canadian comedian
Raydon Gates - Australian senior officer of the Royal Australian Navy

Clever!

Here’s to a “fab” 2026!

Paul McCartney
Ringo Starr
Richard Lester
Yoko Ono
Julian Lennon
Pete Best
Sean Lennon
Olivia Harrison
Dhani Harrison
Jane Asher
Patti Boyd Harrison
Zak Starkey
Jimmy Nicol

Alternates:

Jeff Lynne
Heather Mills
May Pang

A rerun of my 2025 list. No one ever really died on the show either.

Theme: Dark Shadows

  1. Kathy Cody: Hallie Stokes
  2. Katheryn Leigh Scott: Maggie Evans/Josette
  3. Alexandra Isles: Victoria Winters
  4. Nancy Barrett: Carolyn Stoddard
  5. Marie Wallace: Eve
  6. Kate Jackson: Daphne Harridge
  7. Jerry Lacy: The Reverend Trask
  8. Harvey Keitel: Uncredited Blue Whale Patron, Ep. 33
  9. Roger Davis: Peter Bradford
  10. David Selby: Quentin Collins
  11. Terry Crawford: Beth Chavez
  12. Jim Storm: Gerard Stiles
  13. David Henesey: David Collins

Alts:
14. Donna Wandrey: Roxanne Drew
15. Sharon Smyth: Sarah Collins

Clean list:

Kathy Cody
Katheryn Leigh Scott
Alexandra Isles
Nancy Barrett
Marie Wallace
Kate Jackson
Jerry Lacy
Harvey Keitel
Roger Davis
David Selby
Terry Crawford
Jim Storm
David Henesy

Alternates:

Donna Wandrey
Sharon Smyth

Only lost one of thirteen this year when Wink Martindale gave me nine points, so he’s being replaced by Pat Sajak for 2026. He seems like a nice guy IRL, so maybe my list will keep him going for at least another year. I was going to promote Joey Fatone – “Fat One” is right there in his name! – up from the alternates, but evidently he has lost a lot of weight (although it was due to plastic surgery, hmmm).

Game Show Hosts

Bill Anderson - Fandango
Tom Bergeron - Hollywood Squares
Drew Carey - The Price is Right
John Davidson - Hollywood Squares, The $100,000 Pyramid
Bob Eubanks - The Newlywed Game
Jeff Foxworthy - Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?
Steve Harvey - Family Feud
Richard Karn - Family Feud, Bingo America
Jane Lynch - Weakest Link, Hollywood Game Night
John O’Hurley - Family Feud
Pat Sajak – Wheel of Fortune
Ben Stein - Win Ben Stein’s Money
Marc Summers - Double Dare, History IQ

Alternates:

Brooke Burns - Master Minds, The Chase
Joey Fatone - Common Knowledge

Clean List:

Game Show Hosts

Bill Anderson
Tom Bergeron
Drew Carey
John Davidson
Bob Eubanks
Jeff Foxworthy
Steve Harvey
Richard Karn
Jane Lynch
John O’Hurley
Pat Sajak
Ben Stein
Marc Summers

Alternates:

Joey Fatone
Brooke Burns

Okay. I’m going with a geo-political theme this year.

Donald Trump, American felon
Benjamin Netanyahu, Indicted Israeli
Ban Sasse, Voted to convict Trump
Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas leader
Izz al-Din al-Haddad, Hamas military leader
Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran. Voice of god on Earth.
Mohammad Pokpour, Leader of Iran’s IRGC
Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Leader of the IRGC Air Force
Gholamreza Soleimani, Leader of Iran’s Basiji
Esmail Qaani, Leader of Iran’s Quds Force
Nicolás Maduro, Venezuelan dictator
Masoud Pezeshkian, Iranian president
Reza Pahlavi, Iranian crown prince

Alternate
Donald Trump Jr., American Crown Prince, Coke Enthusiast

Clean list:

Donald Trump
Benjamin Netanyahu
Ban Sasse
Khalil al-Hayya
Izz al-Din al-Haddad
Ali Hosseini Khamenei
Mohammad Pokpour
Amir Ali Hajizadeh
Gholamreza Soleimani
Esmail Qaani
Nicolás Maduro
Masoud Pezeshkian
Reza Pahlavi

My 2026 Themed List (NY Mets)

Ron Swoboda
Jerry Koosman
Jack Fisher
Bob Aspomonte
Joe Torre
Craig Swan
Nolan Ryan
Mickey Lolich
Bob Apodaca
Hank Webb
George Theodore
Al Weis
Larry Stahl

ALTS:

Ron Hunt
JC Martin

The bad boys and girls with bad guts.

David Irving
Scott Addams
Milo Yiannopoulos
Harvey Weinstein
Joseph James DeAngelo
Donald Trump
Asma al-Assad
Vladimir Putin
Victoria Jackson
Nicolás Maduro
President Isaias Afwerki
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Ayatollah Ebrahim Raisi

Theme: Hope I Die Before I Get Old 2 - Rock Stars

Andy Taylor
Steven Tyler
Bob Dylan
Glenn Tipton
Vivian Campbell
Glenn Hughes
Jimmy Page
Bill Ward
Peter Frampton
Ann Wilson
Linda Ronstadt
Bill Wyman
Neil Young

I haven’t had a themed list in a while. I noticed I had a few Aussies on my regular list so I give you….

Death Down Under

Magda Szubanski
George Lazenby
Damien Martyn
Lexy Thornberry
Alea O’Shea
Melanie Shilling
John Farnham
Paul Hogan
Geoffrey Rush
Bryan Brown
Vernon Wells
John Noble
Jack Thompson

Mostly thrown together at the last minute. I’ll be pissed if this one scores higher than my main list.

Well, I chose the wrong Canadians last year. A couple of changes this year:

The Canadians
Michael Sadler
Paul Henderson
Tommy Chong
Michael J Fox
Joni Mitchell
Krista Temple
Stephen Lewis
Robert Munsch
Catherine Wreford
Celine Dion
Jeanne Becker
Anne Cools
Jacques Gourde

Alternate
Dave Stanley Daoust
Gabriela Dabrowski

32 Participants this year, let the games begin!

Rank Player Score Picks(Unique) Theme
1 Baker 0 0 Dec 31 Birthdays
1 Bayaker 0 0 Game Show Hosts
1 Biotop 0 0 Dark Shadows
1 Captain_Lance_Murdoch 0 0 geo-political
1 Catamount 0 0 Hollywood Scum
1 Cazzle 0 0 The Pearly Gates
1 commasense 0 0 Destroyers of Democracy
1 CreaseMunky 0 0 Hope I Die Before I Get Old - Rock Stars
1 Dancer_Flight 0 0 Star Trek VII
1 DesertDog 0 0 2001 Diamondbacks
1 Dr.Girlfriend 0 0 The 14th Annual All-Star Sports Edition
1 GIGObuster 0 0 The bad boys and girls with bad guts.
1 GuanoLad 0 0 British Sitcom Stars
1 Happy_Lendervedder 0 0 Older People with ALS (OPALS)
1 Hoopy_Frood 0 0 The Celebrity Meth Pool
1 J-P_L 0 0 Former Race Car Drivers
1 Little_Nemo 0 0 Battle of the Network Stars
1 Loach 0 0 Death Down Under
1 Mahaloth 0 0 MASH Cast - TV or Movie
1 Pardel-Lux 0 0 German players in the 1966, 1970 and 1974 FIFA World Cups
1 phungi 0 0 Howard Stern Wack Pack Members
1 Railer13 0 0 Former NFL Head Coaches
1 Rebo 0 0 Still Living Match Game Celebrities
1 Reeses_Monkey 0 0 Close, But “Still” No Cigar
1 Registered_at_Last 0 0 The Canadians
1 RobotDevilDog 0 0 Back to the Future
1 silenus 0 0 Team Evil
1 smithsb 0 0 Middle East Troublemakers
1 Stephe96 0 0 Beatles
1 xizor 0 0 Crooners:
1 zadscmc 0 0 NY Mets

Did anyone have an Eastern European athletes theme? Because two of them have died this week.

Hungarian Olympic canoeist Miklos Dudas died at age 34 yesterday. And Brazilian (but he played in Russia) football player Alex Felipe died today at 32.

Points for me.