Al Jaffee
Ramona Fradon
Joe Sinnott
Barabra Walters
John Romita Sr.
Larry Lieber
Floyd Norman
Sal Buscema
Sergio Aragones
Jim Steranko
Dennis O’Neil
Robert Crumb
Glenn Fabry
Fatima Ali (4-9-89) Top Chef contestant
Kim Woo-Bin (7-16-89) Actor
Marieke Vervoort (5-10-79) Paralympics athlete
Greg Gilbert (12-7-77) Delays rocker
Fernando Ricksen (7-27-76) Dutch soccer star
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (7-28-71) ISIS leader
Leah Bracknell (7-12-64) Actor
John Andretti (3-12-63) Race car driver
Linda Nolan (2-23-59) Irish singer, actress
Johnathan Szeles (9-9-58) “The amazing Johnathan”
Johnny Clegg (6-7-53) South African singer/songwriter
Kamala (5-28-50) wrestler, real name James Harris
Kathleen Blanco (12-15-42) former Louisiana governor
Alternate:
Danny Delport (x/x/52) South African rugby player
Clean List:
Fatima Ali
Kim Woo-Bin
Marieke Vervoort
Greg Gilbert
Fernando Ricksen
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
Leah Bracknell
John Andretti
Linda Nolan
Johnathan Szeles
Johnny Clegg
Kamala
Kathleen Blanco
Len Dawson (KC Chief)
Alan Simpson (senator)
Frederick Forsyth (author)
Tony Dow (actor)
Ronnie Schell (actor)
Richard Bach (author)
The Iron Sheik ( pro wrestler)
John LeCarre (author)
Jo Anne Worley (actress)
Mel Renfro (Dallas Cowboy)
John Davidson (actor)
Ernest “Fritz” Hollings (senator)
Ken Osmond (actor)
Alternates:
George Welsh (football coach)
Leon Spinks (boxer)
Burt Ward (actor)
Clean list:
Len Dawson
Alan Simpson
Frederick Forsyth
Tony Dow
Ronnie Schell
Richard Bach
The Iron Sheik
John LeCarre
Jo Anne Worley
Mel Renfro
John Davidson
Ernest “Fritz” Hollings
Ken Osmond
Fatima Ali
Mel Brooks
Jimmy Carter
Beth Chapman
Dick Cheney
Tim Conway
Bill Cosby
Valerie Harper
Larry Nassar
Bob Newhart
Olivia Newton-John
Prince Phillip
Betty White
Just in case the Grim Reaper visits one of the above in the next 14 hrs:
Henry Kissinger
Dick Cheney
Jimmy Carter
Bob Newhart
Dawn Wells
William Shatner
Jim Brown
Willie Mays
Elgin Baylor
Bill Russell
Lou Holtz
Bill Cosby
Tim Conway
Betty White
Most are carry overs from last year.
Gotta go sometime.
Leah Bracknell
Mason Stajduhar
Johnny Clegg
Quincy Jones
Jo Dee Messina
Kim Wo-bin
Fernando Ricksen
Dingko Singh
Marie Veroort
Greg Gilbert
Dag Kittlaus
Holly Rowe
Larry Garza
Alternates
Wayne Smith
John Andretti
Charles Russell
Detailed list
Leah Bracknell, English actress
Mason Stajduhar, soccer player
Johnny Clegg, South African musician
Quincy Jones, American comedian
Jo Dee Messina, C&W Singer
Kim Wo-bin, South Korean model and actor
Fernando Ricksen, Dutch footballer
Dingko Singh, Indian boxer
Marie Veroort, paralymic athlete
Greg Gilbert, Frontman for the Delays
Dag Kittlaus, Cofounder, CEO of Siri
Holly Rowe, ESPN journalist
Larry Garza, Comedian
Alternates
Wayne Smith New Zeland rugby player and coach
John Andretti NASCAR racer
Charles Russell, mobster
I helped keep all 16 of last year’s aged picks alive for another full year, but they can’t all hold out for another year (although I hope they do!) I’ve added Mel Brooks, who was inexplicably left off last year’s list, and removed Peggy Dow from the alternates.
As I said last year, I’m playing the odds, not going for points, even though that strategy didn’t exactly pay off! The maximum I could get, if all of these wonderful actors dropped dead in early January, is 41. The first four are over 100 already. (They seem to be proving George Burns right when he said, “If you make it to 100, you’ve got it made, because very few people die past 100.”)
Norman Lloyd
Olivia de Havilland
Kirk Douglas
Marsha Hunt
Carol Channing
Betty White
Carl Reiner
Doris Day
Eva Marie Saint
Dick van Dyke
June Lockhart
Angela Lansbury
Mel Brooks
Alternates:
Sidney Poitier
Joe Turkel
Conrad Janis
Nobody from my 2018 list kicked the bucket this year, so I’m just going to roll 'em over to 2019. (I guess that’s the game I’m playing with my group of relatively young picks. High risk/high reward.)
Clean List
Heather Mack
Chief Keef
Lil Durk
Jereme Richmond
Louis King Johnson Jr.
Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar
Jeremiah Ratliff
Giuliana Rancic
Jesse Jackson Jr.
Jose Canseco
Melodie Gliniewicz
William Perry
Joe Walsh
No alternates… will take my chances that all the above 13 are still alive and valid picks! With Commentary. Current age (or thereabouts) in parentheses:
[ul]
[li]Heather Mack (22) – Co-perpetrator in the Bali suitcase murder case. Serving prison time in Indonesia.[/li][li]Chief Keef (23) – a/k/a Keith Cozart, perpetually troubled “drill” 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.[/li][li]Lil Durk (26) – a/k/a Durk Banks, another drill rapper from Chicago that seems to find annual trouble with gun charges. His manager was gunned down in 2015.[/li][li]Jereme Richmond (27) – Former University of Illinois basketball player frequently in trouble with the law.[/li][li]Louis King Johnson Jr. (31) – Chicago-based drill rapper better known as “King Louie” or “King L.” Shot in the head in December 2015.[/li][li]Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar (31) – Son of drug kingpin Joaquín Guzmán.[/li][li]Jeremiah Ratliff (37) – Defensive lineman fired from the Chicago Bears in October 2015 after bizarre behavior and outbursts. Committed DUI a couple years ago.[/li][li]Giuliana Rancic (44) – TV personality who has battled cancer on and off.[/li][li]Jesse Jackson Jr. (53) – Son of famed civil rights leader. Former Chicago Congressman. Has been battling bi-polar disorder and depression for several years.[/li][li]Jose Canseco (54) – Former baseball player with penchant for risky behavior.[/li][li]Melodie Gliniewicz (54) – Widow of Joe Gliniewicz, a cop from Chicago’s northwest suburbs who committed suicide (but staged things to appear as if he was killed in the line duty) to cover up fraud. Melodie is in trouble for her involvement in the scheme.[/li][li]William “The Fridge” Perry (56) – Former Chicago Bear.[/li][li]Joe Walsh (57) – Former congressman representing northern suburbs. Current talk radio blowhard in Chicago.[/li][/ul]
Shannen Doherty
Rip Torn
Roman Polanski
Selena Gomez
Vivian Campbell
Johnny Depp
Lil Wayne
Prince Philip
Ben Affleck
Don King
Judy Blume
Jerry Sandusky
Bam Margera
Almost forgot to do this! Didn’t have time to do much research, so kept a bunch from my list from last year and filled in the gaps left by the ones that shuffled off this year.
Clean list:
Bill Cosby
Jill Gascoine
Clive James
Valerie Harper
Ronnie Wood
Olivia Newton-John
Linda Nolan
Leah Bracknell
Artie Lange
Shannen Doherty
Demi Lovato
Pete Davidson
6ix9ine
Alternates:
Kevin Spacey
Albert Finney
With Comments:
Bill Cosby - good riddance if he goes
Jill Gascoine - holdover
Clive James - holdover, for the umpteenth time, I am making this guy immortal
Valerie Harper - holdover, this is the year, I feel it!
Ronnie Wood - holdover
Olivia Newton-John - holdover, looking rough for her
Linda Nolan - holdover
Leah Bracknell - holdover
Artie Lange - had him on my list several years ago, time to give him another chance
Shannen Doherty - holdover
Demi Lovato - this was a tough year for her
Pete Davidson - life ain’t Grande for poor ol’ Pete anymore
6ix9ine - the rapper also known as Daniel Hernandez
Alternates:
Kevin Spacey - hitting hard times, probably too big an ego to off himself, though
Albert Finney - very likely to die now that I’ve removed him from my main list for the first time in five years
With less than eight hours to go, these are the top 13 picks.
Jimmy Carter 24
Bill Cosby 17
Prince Philip 15
Olivia Newton John 14
Valerie Harper 14
Betty White 13
Donald Trump 11
Leah Bracknell 11
Mel Brooks 11
Ruth Bader Ginsburg 9
Henry Kissinger 8
Linda Nolan 8
Tim Conway 8
