Zsa Zsa Gabor
George HW Bush
Billy Graham
Beverly Cleary
Stan Lee
Harlan Ellison
Robert Silverberg
Jimmy Carter
Bob Dole
Hugh Downs
I. M. Pei
John Paul Stevens
Joseph Wapner
Alts:
Joan Fontaine
Carl Icahn
Helmut Kohl
Joan Fontaine died a year ago.
If you guys wouldn’t tell them these things, the rest of us would get more points!
Since being on my deathpool list guaranteed immortality to last year’s Opry picks, I’ll use it again this year, since I like these guys (and maybe it will pull Little Jimmy Dickens through).
Little JimmyDickens
Loretta Lynn
LeroyVanDyke
Lorrie Morgan
Charley Pride
Jean Shepard
Ricky VanShelton
Don Everly
Roy Clark
Bobby Bare
Mel Tillis
Willie Nelson
RandyTravis
Bill Anderson
William Lee Golden
Patty Loveless
I take it “Jean Shepard” is not a misspelling for “Jean Shepherd.”
Celine Dion
Don Cherry
Rob Ford
Sorry for my error 
Here’s my list for 2015:
Fidel Castro
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Loretta Lynn
Pope Emeritus Benedict
Hugh Hefner
Gordie Howe
Keith Richards
John Glenn
George H.W. Bush
Don Rickles
Billy Graham
Abe Vigoda
Muhammad Ali
Alternates:
Jerry Lewis
Debbie Reynolds
Omar Sharif
Nope. That’s her Opry listing.
You know that Don Rickles is still alive?
Good boy, you get a cookie!
I’m making an edit to my list - swapping Michael Douglas in for Matt Lauer, and moving Matt Lauer to my alternates. Updated clean list and alternates:
Clean list:
Oprah Winfrey
Michael Douglas
Lindsey Lohan
Bill Cosby
Morgan Freeman
James Earl Jones
Edward James Olmos
Terry Pratchett
Jean Auel
Dick Cheney
George H.W. Bush
Fidel Castro
Queen Elizabeth II
Alternates:
Matt Lauer
Pope Benedict XVI
Tamora Pierce
Judy Blume
Bobby Bowden
Ryan Buell
Valerie Harper
Marilyn Horne
Don Imus
Johnny Manziel
Morrissey
Mehmet Öz
Sidney Poitier
Stefanie Powers
Matt Roloff
Stuart Scott
Alternates
Scruff Connors
Charlotte Rae
Curtis Sliwa
This is my first time participating, and I’m looking forward to keeping an eye on those I’ve chosen. But other than Andrew 21’s list, this thread just makes me feel old.
And here’s my list for 2015; resemblances to the unfulfilled prophecies from my 2014 list are not coincidental.
- Fidel Castro, former Cuban leader
- Helmut Schmidt, former Chancellor of Germany
- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- Charlie Sheen, American actor
- Yuri Cordeiro, professional wingsuit pilot
- Walter Scheel, former President of Germany
- Ron Paul, former POTUS candidate
- Diego Maradona, former Argentine football (soccer) player
- James Watson, American scientist, co-discoverer of the molecular structure of DNA
- Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Emeritus
- Hosni Mubarak, former President of Egypt
- Dominic Barton, Canadian business consultant, global managing director of McKinsey
- George Harrison, British singer, former Beatle
Clean list:
Fidel Castro
Helmut Schmidt
Prince Philip
Charlie Sheen
Yuri Cordeiro
Walter Scheel
Ron Paul
Diego Maradona
James Watson
Joseph Ratzinger
Hosni Mubarak
Dominic Barton
George Harrison
George H W Bush
Sam Simon
Valerie Harper
Jerry Lewis
Dick Cheney
Rob Ford
Artie Lange
Hank Aaron
Courtney Love
Stephen Hawking
Alternates:
Ed Asner
Dick Van Dyke
Fidel Castro
Umm…
I just meant that the author Jean Shepherd is dead, who was the person who came into my head when I saw the name. I didn’t know there was a similarly-named singer.
OK, that was embarrassing, thanks for point it out. I replace George with Ringo and arrive at the following clean list:
Fidel Castro
Helmut Schmidt
Prince Philip
Charlie Sheen
Yuri Cordeiro
Walter Scheel
Ron Paul
Diego Maradona
James Watson
Joseph Ratzinger
Hosni Mubarak
Dominic Barton
Ringo Starr
See, here’s a thing. I’m painfully aware that, on my first go, I got 0 points. Nothing, zip, nada. So I picked up my old list again, intending to wipe it clean and start from fresh. But, dagnabbit - I feel like it could be the year for most of these people. So, maybe I’m not really bad at this - maybe I’m just playing a long game.
So here we go:
- Sophia Loren - actress
- Clive James - writer and broadcaster
- Ian Brady - murderer
- Terry Pratchett - writer
- Bob Dylan - musician
- Bruce Forsyth - “entertainer”
- Diana Ross - singer
- Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- Harvey Weinstein - film producer
- John Glenn - astronaut
- Lech Walesa - Polish leader etc
- Val Kilmer - actor
- Charlie Sheen - actor
Alternates:
Lindsay Lohan
Queen Elizabeth II
Nancy Reagan
Clean List:
Sophia Loren
Clive James
Ian Brady
Terry Pratchett
Bob Dylan
Bruce Forsyth
Diana Ross
Prince Philip
Harvey Weinstein
John Glenn
Lech Walesa
Val Kilmer
Charlie Sheen
Alternates:
Lindsay Lohan
Queen Elizabeth II
Nancy Reagan
Nah, I’m just really bad at this.
Okay, people, less than two days to go.
I’m leaving for work now and when I get back I expect to see some list!!!
Cracks the whip
Barbara Bain
Chevy Chase
Charlie Daniels
Aretha Franklin
Ervin ‘Magic’ Johnson
Steve Lawrence
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Rush Limbaugh
Jayne Meadows
Pat Robertson
William Shatner
Larry Storch
Alternates
Alan Alda
Gene Simmons
Jo Anne Worley