# Some of the more obscure Celebrity Dead **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 15, 2000, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600 "2000-05-15T20:06:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Inky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7feea3/32.png) [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2000, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/1 "2000-05-15T20:06:35Z")
The inimitable Mr. Pants pointed this site out today- [http://www.neosoft.com/~davo/livedead/ldplain.htm](http://www.neosoft.com/%7Edavo/livedead/ldplain.htm) Celebrities dead and alive, with a few surprising ones… From “the Dukes of Hazzard” Denver Pyle (Uncle Jessie) and Sorrell Book (Boss Hogg)–both dead. Now, remember that classic Star Trek with two aliens, both had one side painted black and the other side painted white? I forget the gist of the oh-so subtle 60’s race relations subplot, but I do remember that in the end the two were trapped in some weird dimension, good vs. evil, doomed to wrestle around with each other for all eternity. That’s how I imagine the restless spirits of Boss Hogg and Uncle Jessie today --trapped in some parallel dimension, forced to enact the epic battle of good vs. evil, two doughy guys wearing white leotards and painted half white, half black wrasslin’ around. Oh admit it, you’ve had the same mental image. David Doyle, Bosley from Chalies Angels, dead (That’ll totally ruin the movie for me). Skip Stephenson, the guy with the Peggy Flemming hair on “Real People”, dead (why wasn’t this in the news!?) Scatman Crothers, the voice of “Hong Kong Fooey”, dead. Benny Hill, dead (Am I always the last one to hear?) George Peppard, Hannibal from “The A team” (there goes the reunion special). Donald Pleasence, the vaguely evil guy from “Warrior of the Lost World” (Megaweapon!!) We should start a Death Pool game going! ---
**Author:** ![LBJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecae2f/32.png) [@LBJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LBJay)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2000, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/2 "2000-05-15T23:04:13Z")
There are three very good obit pages that I consult regularly: “You’re Outta Here” at [http://www.cjnetworks.com/~roryb/outta.html](http://www.cjnetworks.com/~roryb/outta.html) features the very latest in celebrety death news. “The Celebity Death Pool” at [http://209.24.148.200/celebritydeathpool/index.html#The](http://209.24.148.200/celebritydeathpool/index.html#The) Celebrity Death is a great continuing game for the morbid-minded. But my favorite is “The Dead People Server” at [http://dpsinfo.com/](http://dpsinfo.com/) This site features alive, as well as dead celebs to answer those “I thought he was already dead” questions. And all the folks you mentioned have been dead for a while, as opposed to recent stiffs Hercules (Steve Reeves) and Peter Gunn (Craig Stevens). ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2000, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/3 "2000-05-16T00:02:05Z")
I think Leon “Gen Burkhalter” of “Hogan’s Heroes” (KLIIIIINK! VOT IS DA MEANINK OF DIS???) is still alive, and in his 90s by now. He “retired” to Austria (his original home) a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2000, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/4 "2000-05-16T15:46:34Z")
> [@](#): > > We should start a Death Pool game going! [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=20546](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=20546) ---
**Author:** ![cygnus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@cygnus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cygnus)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2000, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/5 "2000-05-16T17:03:56Z")
I could SWEAR I saw Mjr Burkhalter in a sketch on that SNL retrospective special (or whatever it was) that was on this past weekend. (I was a huge HH fan as a child and would like to think I’d know those Stalag 13 faces anywhere.) I don’t know what year the sketch was from (beer was being consumed and several things were going on at once in the viewing area), but it looked reasonably recent, and I thought, “Gee, he’s still alive! (at least at the time) And looking about eighty!” Can anyone else confirm or deny this? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2000, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/6 "2000-05-16T17:51:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > > Scatman Crothers, the voice of “Hong Kong Fooey”, dead. > > George Peppard, Hannibal from “The A team” (there goes the reunion special). > > \*\* I didn’t know Scatman Crothers did ole HK’s voice. Darn. I also didn’t know that Peppard died in 1994. Wow am I out of touch. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2000, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/7 "2000-05-16T17:57:31Z")
John Colicos died march 6th, 2000. Who was he? Count Baltar on Battlestar Galactica. Always liked him. ---
**Author:** ![LBJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecae2f/32.png) [@LBJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LBJay)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2000, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/8 "2000-05-16T18:06:38Z")
According to The Dead Peoples Server, which I mentioned previously, Leon Askin, aka Gen. Burkhalter is very much alive. However, since he was born in 1905, he’s definately getting up there. ---
**Author:** ![Inky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7feea3/32.png) [@Inky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inky_1)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2000, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/9 "2000-05-16T21:18:01Z")
Isn’t it sad that George Peppard won’t be remembered for his role in Breakfast at Tiffany’s nearly so much as his bieng a foil for Mr. T? ---
**Author:** ![GreenEyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f9ae1b/32.png) [@GreenEyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenEyes)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2000, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/10 "2000-05-16T21:53:21Z")
Ok, so call me morbidly curious… when and from what did Skip Stephenson die? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/11 "2000-05-17T13:25:15Z")
Skis Stephenson died over ten years ago from a heart attack. He was about 50. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/12 "2000-05-17T16:53:05Z")
The [Internet Movie Database](http://www.imdb.com/) is a good source for celebrety death data. I’m in the habit of going there whenever I watch a movie so I can get background information and read a cast list that’s sometimes impossible to see on the screen. I didn’t realize that Juliet Prowse had died in '96 until I watched _G.I. Blues_ a couple of days ago. If you’re interested in seeing who shares your birthday or who died/was married on a particular day they have an [On This Day](http://us.imdb.com/OnThisDay?day=13&month=May) section. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2000, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/some-of-the-more-obscure-celebrity-dead/19600/13 "2000-05-17T23:24:20Z")
Now, Paul Bartel, creator of “Eating Raoul” has died. Apparently of liver cancer. If you haven’t seen this movie, I recommend you do. Look for a young Robert Beltran portraying Raoul. He would go on to play Chakotay on Voyager.