# Celebrity Death Pool 2015 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** death-pool\ **Created:** [December 1, 2014, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993 "2014-12-01T02:10:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![Dusty\_Rose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ba8739/32.png) [@Dusty\_Rose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dusty_Rose)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/421 "2015-01-01T00:04:59Z")
This is basically comprised of the survivors from my last two lists. Lots of survivors to choose from, unfortunately, I think I only got one hit last year! Happy Birthday Baker! Valerie Harper Muhammad Ali George H.W. Bush Nancy Reagan Fidel Castro Dick Cheney Daisy Berkowitz Gordie Howe Mary Tyler Moore Sam Simon Little Jimmy Dickens Jerry Lewis Abe Vigoda Alternates: Bob Barker Barbara Bush ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/422 "2015-01-01T00:12:16Z")
I considered keeping the Notorious R.B.G on my list (since that seems to guarantee continued existence), but I decided to change things up this year. She’s still on the list as an alternate; maybe that confers health benefits as well. Tommy Chong B.B. King Richard Simmons Sam Simon Terry Pratchett Valerie Harper Bret Michaels Amanda Bynes Scott Stapp Rob Ford Rev. Billy Graham Pat Robertson Phyllis Schlafly alternates: Ruth Bader Ginsburg George H. W. Bush Shia LaBeouf ---
**Author:** ![1b3bz18c9ed269201](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/58956e/32.png) [@1b3bz18c9ed269201](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1b3bz18c9ed269201)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/423 "2015-01-01T00:20:00Z")
> [@RobotDevilDog](#): > > After years of watching from the sidelines, I’ve decided to finally take the plunge. So I registered and am making this my first post ever! > > Muhammad Ali (boxer) > Billy Connolly (actor/comedian) > Valerie Harper (actor) > James Harris (wrestler, aka “Kamala”) > Lauren Hill (college basketball player) > Gordie Howe (hockey legend) > Wilko Johnson (musician) > Jim Kelly (football player) > Mary Tyler Moore (actor) > Gino Odjick (hockey player) > Jake Roberts (wrestler, aka “The Snake”) > Stuart Scott (sportscaster) > Sam Simon (“Simpsons” writer/producer) > > Alternates: > Glen Campbell (singer) > Darren Daulton (baseball player) > Pele (soccer great) > Clean List: > Muhammad Ali > Billy Connolly > Valerie Harper > James Harris > Lauren Hill > Gordie Howe > Wilko Johnson > Jim Kelly > Mary Tyler Moore > Gino Odjick > Jake Roberts > Stuart Scott > Sam Simon > > Alternates: > Glen Campbell > Darren Daulton > Pele I think Lauren Hill is only a celebrity because she is dying. You might have to put in one of your alternates. ---
**Author:** ![Kitten\_Mitten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@Kitten\_Mitten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitten_Mitten)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/424 "2015-01-01T00:29:55Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Geez, if you can’t figure out the theme of this list you don’t know your history. Back in the day Dad was concerned about the astronauts leaving the earth’s orbit because he thought that once they did that their souls would leave their bodies. Thankfully, the small step for man and giant leap for mankind came safely home. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/425 "2015-01-01T00:34:46Z")
And now for my sure-fire survivors! Fancy list: 1 Clarke Carlisle (ex PFA chairman) 2 Jules Bianchi (F1 driver) 3 Caroline Aherne (actress) 4 Fidel Castro (Cuban) 5 King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia 6 George HW Bush (former President ) 7 Joost van der Westhuizen 8 Sam Simon (director) 9 Kim Jong-un (NK dictator) 10 Pope Emeritus Benedict 11 Stuart Scott (sportsman) 12 Lauren Hill (the basketball player with cancer) 13 Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Alternates Raul Castro Terry Pratchett. Dick Cheney Plain: Clarke Carlisle Jules Bianchi Caroline Aherne Fidel Castro (Cuban) King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia George HW Bush Joost van der Westhuizen Sam Simon Kim Jong-un Pope Emeritus Benedict Stuart Scott Lauren Hill Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Alternates Raul Castro Terry Pratchett. Dick Cheney I’m expecting Lauren Hill to be excluded and therefore Raul Castro to join the list, but others have her so I don’t want to miss out. ---
**Author:** ![candide](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@candide](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/candide)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/426 "2015-01-01T00:37:06Z")
I think Lauren Hill is known only because she is sick and happens to play sports. The Death Mistress has final say, of course, but in my reading of the rules, she is intelligible. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/427 "2015-01-01T00:37:46Z")
Keeping most of my list from last year: King Bhumibol Adulyadej Barbara Bush Fidel Castro Olivia De Havilland Zsa Zsa Gabor Billy Graham Valerie Harper Orrin Hatch Empress Michiko Prince Philip Antonin Scalia Gloria Vanderbilt Lil Wayne and, should any of them not make it until midnight: Beatrix of the Netherlands Ruth Bader Ginsburg ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/428 "2015-01-01T00:42:19Z")
Okay folks, sorry to do this, but at least four people have now challenged the status of Lauren Hill. That’s enough for me, after looking her up too. So I’m going to go back and pick out the alternates for those who have selected her. Again, I’m really sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Registered\_at\_Last](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bc79bd/32.png) [@Registered\_at\_Last](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Registered_at_Last)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/429 "2015-01-01T00:45:47Z")
First off … HAPPY BIRTHDAY **BAKER**!!! and thanks again for being our Mistress of Death. Here is my list for this year (unless I rewrite it later tonight 😉 ) Bryan Murray Helen Fawkes Jean Doré Steve Hayner Dave Benton Gino Odjick Ion Trewin Christy Dignam Ahmad Givens Daisy Berkowitz Martin Crowe Sam Simon Stuart Scott Rob Ford Clive Derby-Lewis Ryan Buell ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/430 "2015-01-01T00:50:12Z")
Wilko Johnson is [reporting](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29727632) that he’s been cured of his cancer. ---
**Author:** ![Kitten\_Mitten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@Kitten\_Mitten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitten_Mitten)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/431 "2015-01-01T01:09:58Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Okay folks, sorry to do this, but at least four people have now challenged the status of Lauren Hill. That’s enough for me, after looking her up too. > > So I’m going to go back and pick out the alternates for those who have selected her. > > Again, I’m really sorry. Baker, you shouldn’t be sorry at all! I, for one, was appalled that posters would have selected her due to her imminent departure, being only 19 with a terminal illness and known only for that which is in direct contradiction of the rules. She is on a Div III team and I am positive that absolutely no one on this board would have heard of her except for her illness. The first poster to list her said that she only came to said poster’s attention within the last 3 days. Well, I’ve known of her for several months and only because of her terminal illness. My sister is a huge women’s college basketball fan who can tell you about numerous women’s college basketball players, both current and past, and she never heard of this young lady until she came to prominence this fall due to her diagnosis of an inoperable brain tumor. Thank you Baker for enforcing the rules even though that may be a somewhat noxious task. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/432 "2015-01-01T01:16:17Z")
I’m beginning to think I need to open that bottle of champagne now, instead of waiting for later. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/433 "2015-01-01T01:16:54Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Okay folks, sorry to do this, but at least four people have now challenged the status of Lauren Hill. That’s enough for me, after looking her up too. > > So I’m going to go back and pick out the alternates for those who have selected her. > > Again, I’m really sorry. That is vile and tacky at 7:00 on New Year’s Eve, when folks are going to parties and can’t make changes. I think challenges should be made in public, in a timely manner so that players have time to defend themselves and make considered, reasoned changes. Sneaky, cowardly, hall monitor, crossing guard informers, the lot of them. When were the challenges made, and what is wrong with her? From Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > Lauryn Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer–songwriter, rapper, producer, and actress. She is best known for being a member of the Fugees and for her solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Were it not the last moment, I would have time to register this complaint in a polite and timely manner. I apologize to Baker, but this appears to show the complaining players and sneaky, nit picking and not sportsman like, as the paint ball gun players who revel in winning because they can afford a $500 machine gun. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/434 "2015-01-01T01:17:50Z")
> [@Kitten\_Mitten](#): > > Thank you Baker for enforcing the rules even though that may be a somewhat noxious task. I wish I could give you extra points!😛 Maybe I’ll send you some special cookies recipes instead. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/435 "2015-01-01T01:19:55Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > That is vile and tacky at 7:00 on New Year’s Eve, when folks are going to parties and can’t make changes. I think challenges should be made in public, in a timely manner so that players have time to defend themselves and make considered, reasoned changes. > > Sneaky, cowardly, hall monitor, crossing guard informers, the lot of them. > > When were the challenges made, and what is wrong with her? > > From Wikipedia: > > Were it not the last moment, I would have time to register this complaint in a polite and timely manner. > I apologize to Baker, but this appears to show the complaining players and sneaky, nit picking and not sportsman like, as the paint ball gun players who revel in winning because they can afford a $500 machine gun. No, the players are choosing a basketball player with the same name. And all but one have done it publicly. Sorry to you for the misunderstanding, **carnivorousplant**. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/436 "2015-01-01T01:20:25Z")
**flytrap** , Lauren Hill and Lauryn Hill are two completely different people, and Baker is right to exclude the basketball player. The singer is healthy and not on anyone’s list, that I noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/437 "2015-01-01T01:21:16Z")
Thrilled that Lauren Hill is out. Thank you for enforcing the rules, Baker. For posterity: [ol] [li] **Valerie Harper** (8/22/1939) - American Actress[/li][li] **Bob Benmosche** (5/29/1944) - American CEO[/li][li] **Sam Simon** (6/6/1955) - American TV creator[/li][li] **Sally Waters** (c. 1960) - American civil rights plaintiff [/li][li] **Dave Benton** (c. 1963) - American newscaster[/li][li] **Gino Odjick** (9/7/1970) - Canadian hockey player[/li][li] **Joost van deer Westhuizen** (2/20/1971) - South African rugby player[/li][li] **Oren Miller** (c. 1973) - American parenting blogger[/li][li] **Sirajuddin Haqqani** (c. 1973) - Afghan militant[/li][li] **Kjell Lindgren** (1/23/1973) - American astronaut[/li][li] **Omar Treviño Morales** (1/26/1974) - Mexican druglord[/li][li] **Pete Doherty** (3/12/1979) - English musician [/li][li] **Pete Frates** (12/28/1984) - American viral fundraiser[/li] [/ol] Alternates: **George H.W. Bush** - ex pres **Abe Vigoda** - why not? Clean list: Valerie Harper Bob Benmosche Sam Simon Sally Waters Dave Benton Gino Odjick Joost van deer Westhuizen Oren Miller Sirajuddin Haqqani Kjell Lindgren Omar Treviño Morales Pete Doherty Pete Frates ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/438 "2015-01-01T01:21:38Z")
**Baker** , don’t apologize to that troublemaker. he lives to stir up controversy. He doesn’t even use Google! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kitten\_Mitten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b782af/32.png) [@Kitten\_Mitten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitten_Mitten)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/439 "2015-01-01T01:25:27Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I wish I could give you extra points!😛 > > Maybe I’ll send you some special cookies recipes instead. I’d be happy to swap cookie recipes with you. Making cookies with my daughter for Christmas is one of my favorite things to do for Christmas! Although most of ours are pretty well known. Our favorite is thumbprint cookies right out of the old Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook like Mom used to make back in the '60’s. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/440 "2015-01-01T01:39:28Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > **Baker** , don’t apologize to that troublemaker. he lives to stir up controversy. He doesn’t even use Google! 😉 Oh, I think the **plant** was whooshing me. He’s fun, even if the chocolate hasn’t got here!😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993.md?page=23)