# Notable people about whom you might lose a bar bet about whether they were alive or dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245 "2009-06-28T04:22:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/1 "2009-06-28T04:22:45Z")
For me [Carol Channing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carol_Channing) [Jack Kemp](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kemp) [Ernest Borgnine](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000308/) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Captain\_Carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Carrot)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/2 "2009-06-28T04:26:22Z")
Jack Kemp died a month or two ago. John Glenn Sophia Loren Art Garfunkel ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/3 "2009-06-28T04:34:20Z")
> [@Captain\_Carrot](#): > > Jack Kemp died a month or two ago. > > John Glenn > > Sophia Loren > > Art Garfunkel I know, I normally would have said he was alive and lost the bet. Re Borgnine and Channing I’d have bet they were dead. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/4 "2009-06-28T11:31:29Z")
Well, considering that I actually lost money be being so sure Robert Palmer was still alive, I’ll say him. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/5 "2009-06-28T11:55:13Z")
In '05 I was visiting my mother and there was a game show on. The question listed some celebs and the trick was to decide who was alive or dead. I had not known (then) that Maclain Stevenson had passed on. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/6 "2009-06-28T12:02:19Z")
Up until yesterday, when I read the “Whose death would eclipse Michael Jackson’s” I would have put money on Walter Cronkite being dead. ---
**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:** [June 28, 2009, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/7 "2009-06-28T13:17:03Z")
Abe Vigoda. 😃 Actually, pretty much anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2009, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/8 "2009-06-28T14:44:41Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Abe Vigoda. 😃 I just mentioned him to a friend as someone that is still alive. I do not believe that she believed me. That man was ancient when I was a kid and I’m no spring chicken. ---
**Author:** ![poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@poker\_in\_the\_rear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poker_in_the_rear)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/9 "2009-06-29T03:14:54Z")
Abe Vigoda is alive [http://www.abevigoda.com/ffb.php](http://www.abevigoda.com/ffb.php) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/10 "2009-06-29T03:30:02Z")
> [@poker\_in\_the\_rear](#): > > Abe Vigoda is alive > [http://www.abevigoda.com/ffb.php](http://www.abevigoda.com/ffb.php) Yeah… we know. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/11 "2009-06-29T05:57:42Z")
Billy Mays. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/12 "2009-06-29T19:00:00Z")
I was unsure, as recently as this morning, whether or not Johnny Carson was still alive. Others: Kurt Vonnegut Neil Armstrong Either of the Smothers Brothers Gallagher (the comedian who, BTW, I didn’t know was alive until he did a show here in town a few weeks ago) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/13 "2009-06-29T19:01:54Z")
I had long since assumed that Werner Klemperer was dead. Then he was on The Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/14 "2009-06-29T19:09:01Z")
Jimmy Swaggert Rod Steiger Jeffrey Tambor Vivian Leigh ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-people-about-whom-you-might-lose-a-bar-bet-about-whether-they-were-alive-or-dead/501245/15 "2009-06-29T19:10:53Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > Up until yesterday, when I read the “Whose death would eclipse Michael Jackson’s” I would have put money on Walter Cronkite being dead. Yep, I thought Walter Cronkite had been dead for years.