# Legendary Hoaxer Alan Abel Really Is Dead This Time

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-hoaxer-alan-abel-really-is-dead-this-time/821569>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [September 19, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-hoaxer-alan-abel-really-is-dead-this-time/821569 "2018-09-19T06:05:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-hoaxer-alan-abel-really-is-dead-this-time/821569/1 "2018-09-19T06:05:45Z")

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Age 94. They’re pretty sure he is dead this time. [Obituary here](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/obituaries/alan-abel-dies.html). This is his second obituary of his they’ve run, after having to apologize for the first one, which turned out to be a hoax.

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**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-hoaxer-alan-abel-really-is-dead-this-time/821569/2 "2018-09-19T11:21:06Z")

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Response. Spoilered for language

[Did you see the body?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg4trPZFUwc)

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [September 19, 2018, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-hoaxer-alan-abel-really-is-dead-this-time/821569/3 "2018-09-19T12:02:29Z")

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Are you sure he was ever real? Maybe he was like Tony Clifton.

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**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\
**Post date:** [April 1, 2025, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-hoaxer-alan-abel-really-is-dead-this-time/821569/4 "2025-04-01T16:46:06Z")

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Reviving this because it is April Fools Day, and Alan Abel was the Grandmaster of the art form. Between his fake organization SINA (Society for Indecency to Naked Animals) to faking his own obituary several times, to setting up a press conference presenting a fake Watergate “Deep Throat”, to “Omar’s School For Beggars”, to appearing on the HBO documentary _Private Dicks: Men Exposed_ as the Guiness World Record Holder for being the man with the smallest penis etc…for all this he was one of my heroes when I was young, and I think he still is today.