# 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:** 25
**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, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/481 "2015-01-01T15:03:01Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > First pointless death of the year. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/482 "2015-01-01T15:34:14Z")
This seems like a good time to link to Wikipediaā€™s [Deaths in 2015](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2015) page. So far, itā€™s just got Karami. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/483 "2015-01-01T16:56:25Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Okay folks, sorry to do this, but at least four people have now challenged the status of Lauren Hill. Thatā€™s enough for me, after looking her up too. > > So Iā€™m going to go back and pick out the alternates for those who have selected her. > > Again, Iā€™m really sorry. Very good call. I would have thrown a flag too if my brain hadnā€™t confused her with the singer. > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > No, I am damn angry that we have sneaky, informing, last minute challenges rather than honest, made before everyone and in public challenges. > > A compromise: Announce challenges immediately upon receiving them, while keeping the sneaks names private, and in the case of within twelve hours of the deadline, give the accused 24 hours to find a replacement. I hope you are trying to whoosh. There were a bunch of posts right in the thread questioning it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/484 "2015-01-01T21:34:21Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Thanks to **Baker** for running this game! Here are links to the previous games going back to 2000. Oh dear. From my first list 15 years ago, all but one are still alive today. Michael Jackson, and if I remember correctly, I didnā€™t have him the year he did kick off. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Famous\_Burrito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_famous_burrito/32/3954_2.png) [@El\_Famous\_Burrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Famous_Burrito)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/485 "2015-01-01T22:11:10Z")
I posted my list with about 90 seconds to go last night, leaving no time for additional commentary. Hereā€™s my follow-up. This is my first time wading into the dead pool. I wanted to assemble a list that was not cribbed from other posters (I avoided reading the thread until this morning) and that skewed away from the particularly elderly. Hereā€™s my ā€œuncleanā€ list, with current age in parentheses: **Chief Keef** (19) ā€“ a/k/a Keith Cozart, perpetually troubled ā€œdrillā€ rapper from Chicago. For a while he was popping up in the local news about monthly for yet _another_ DUI, drug charge, shooting incident, etc. Mr. Keef seems destined for an early demise (unless a lengthy prison term intervenes, which I honestly think would be safest for him at this point). **Suge Knight** (49) ā€“ Rap impresario. Knight is a marked man. **Francis George** (77) ā€“ Recently retired Archbishop of Chicago who has long been battling illness. My only pick older than 70. **Kim Jong-un** (31) ā€“ North Korean dictator. Likely to kick it this year? No, but a boatload of points if he does get thrown to the dogs! **Rob Ford** (45) ā€“ Former mayor of Toronto. **Jim McMahon** (55) ā€“ Former Chicago Bears QB. His playing days have unfortunately caught up with him, and he has not looked good in recent appearances. **Paula Deen** (67) ā€“ Diabetic celebrity chef with a (presumably) unhealthy diet. **Nik Wallenda** (35) ā€“ Tightrope walker. His recent walk across the Chicago River put him on my map. Heā€™s apparently very good at what he does, but he also seems to be upping the difficulty on each subsequent stunt. **Chris Brown** (25) ā€“ Hip-hop star. Low likelihood, high payoff. **Jose Canseco** (50) ā€“ 'Roided up former baseball player with bad gun-sense. **Jerry Sandusky** (70) ā€“ Wishful thinking. **William ā€œThe Fridgeā€ Perry** (52) ā€“ Former Chicago Bear. **Aung San Suu Kyi** (69) ā€“ Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner. I fear she might go the way of Benazir Bhutto or Indira Gandhi. I hope not, but I canā€™t imagine the Old Boys Club in Myanmar being a particularly nice bunch. ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/486 "2015-01-01T22:26:14Z")
> [@candide](#): > > 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. At the rate her cancer is progressing, she probably wonā€™t be ā€œintelligibleā€ for too much longerā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![CAMJAY77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5fc32e/32.png) [@CAMJAY77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CAMJAY77)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/487 "2015-01-01T22:37:11Z")
Jeff Golub has died. Had him as a possible pick, then read this: The average age at symptoms onset is 63 and survival from onset averages 7 years with a wide variance. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2015, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/488 "2015-01-01T23:08:25Z")
> [@CAMJAY77](#): > > Jeff Golub has died. > > Had him as a possible pick, then read this: The average age at symptoms onset is 63 and survival from onset averages 7 years with a wide variance. I feel responsible for his death, I took him off my list too. ---
**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, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/489 "2015-01-01T23:09:46Z")
Whoa, what a way to start the game, points on the first day. **Itā€™s Not Rocket Surgery** will win the Opening Kickoff Award, with his unique pick worth forty one points. ---
**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 2, 2015, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/490 "2015-01-02T00:16:34Z")
> [@CAMJAY77](#): > > Jeff Golub has died. Damn. He was an excellent musician. ā˜¹ ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/491 "2015-01-02T00:17:49Z")
Whoo-hoo!.. erā€¦Iā€™m sorry for his passing. šŸ™‚ā˜¹šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/492 "2015-01-02T01:08:23Z")
Mario Cuomo has died. ā˜¹ ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/493 "2015-01-02T01:17:46Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > Mario Cuomo has died. ā˜¹ [Daily News article](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/mario-cuomo-new-york-governor-dead-82-article-1.2063258) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/494 "2015-01-02T01:40:56Z")
Now this is creepy. Two counted deaths in one day, and 1/1 at that. I wonder if I should try to determine what time they died, or just say the Opening Kickoff is a tie. PS, it is Little Pig who had Cuomo. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/495 "2015-01-02T01:51:01Z")
Iā€™m going to declare the Opening Kickoff a tie. As we say in the rule about not picking minors, weā€™re macabre, but not _that_ macabre. I looked around just a little and thereā€™s no way of telling just when each died, and I donā€™t care to dig for it. Nover thought something like this would ever come up. Iā€™d never heard of Golub, and while Iā€™d heard of Cuomo of course, I knew very little about the man. Iā€™m truly sorry for their families. ---
**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 2, 2015, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/496 "2015-01-02T02:23:18Z")
> [@CAMJAY77](#): > > Jeff Golub has died. > > Had him as a possible pick, then read this: The average age at symptoms onset is 63 and survival from onset averages 7 years with a wide variance. Didnā€™t know who he was but since there wasnā€™t a link, I decided to google. The first blurb mentioned him working with Brian Auger, and since we have an album of Brianā€™s, decided to check out Jeff further. Hereā€™s a link: [http://thejazzline.com/news/2014/11/jeff-golub-rare-brain-disease-psp/](http://thejazzline.com/news/2014/11/jeff-golub-rare-brain-disease-psp/) Hereā€™s another [http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/good-samaratins-save-blind-jazz-guitarist-falls-upper-west-side-subway-tracks-article-1.1152811](http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/good-samaratins-save-blind-jazz-guitarist-falls-upper-west-side-subway-tracks-article-1.1152811) ---
**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 2, 2015, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/497 "2015-01-02T02:27:11Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Now this is creepy. Two counted deaths in one day, and 1/1 at that. I wonder if I should try to determine what time they died, or just say the Opening Kickoff is a tie. > > PS, it is Little Pig who had Cuomo. Well, like someone said in the 2014 thread, deaths seemed to be way down in 2014 and that would likely mean that things would accelerate in 2015. I concur with your decision on Opening Kickoff. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2015, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/498 "2015-01-02T03:02:43Z")
Geez, this is going to be a complicated year, I can tell already. Prompted by a poster, Iā€™ve been looking for confirmation Jeff Golub is really dead. I havenā€™t found it on major news sites. Wikipedia says he has died, but people can, and have, messed with that. So far thatā€™s the only mention. Golubā€™s own website doesnā€™t have it. Help, anyone? I want to go to bed! Wah. Wait, I found this: [http://news.smoothjazznetwork.com/](http://news.smoothjazznetwork.com/) ---
**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:** [January 2, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/499 "2015-01-02T03:05:28Z")
Two _unique_ scores on the first day? Wow. I would say that **Itā€™s Not Rocket Surgery** should at least get his hand above **Little Pig** ā€™s on the trophy, on the basis of points. ---
**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 2, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993/500 "2015-01-02T03:15:59Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Iā€™d never heard of Golub, A very good Jazz guitarist. I had not considered the guitar to be a Jazz instrument until I heard Golub. I am very sad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/celebrity-death-pool-2015/705993.md?page=26)