# The Celebrity Death Pool 2004 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** death-pool\ **Created:** [December 1, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359 "2003-12-01T22:29:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/1 "2003-12-01T22:29:28Z")
It’s time once again for the sickest thread on the board – the Celebrity Death Pool 2004! **The Rules:** **1.** You pick 13 celebrities whom you predict will die within the calendar year 2004. If any of your celebrities dies, you score 100 points minus their age at death. Whoever has the most points at the end of the year wins the undying admiration of the SDMB. 😃 **2. All picks must be time- and date-stamped by midnight Chicago time, Dec. 31st, 2003.** (For you furriners, that’s U.S. Central time, which is six hours behind Greenwich.) **3.** Valid picks must **not** be: a. already dead b. a fictional character c. non-human d. under age 18 at death (This means that the Olsen twins, Haley Joel Osment, and the kids from the _Harry Potter_ movies are invalid.) e. a registered member of the SDMB, 'cause that would be weird. **4.** You can pick people who are age 100 or more but you won’t score any points for them. See the “Quantity Not Quality” Award below. **5.** If we are uncertain about the celebrity’s age at death, we will go with the higher age (lower score). **6.** Your picks must specify a name: listing “anybody from the cast of [your most hated TV show]” as a pick will be ignored. **7.** Persons under sentence of death will be valid for scoring points only if they die by means other than official execution. **8.** Any poster who kills or otherwise contributes to the death of any celebrity mentioned in this thread will be disqualified. It’s just a game, people. The only exceptions to this rule would be deaths caused by those posters serving as members of the police or armed forces of any country, in the line of duty. **9. Editing your choices: be careful!** You can make changes to your list before the end of the year, but it has to be clear which names are your final choices. If any of your picks dies before the end of the year, you may submit a substitute by 12-31-2003. If you do not submit another name, I will submit the rest. You can have no more than 13 picks. If you pick more than 13, or if any of your picks is otherwise invalid, I may ask for clarification; otherwise I will submit the first 13 names on your list. We have no rule about submissions having to be unique, despite claims of “copying” anyone else’s list. Sharing news of celebrities in ill health and whatnot are up to individual posters. We have no rule about valid SDMB memberships (disqualifying members who have been banned). Spelling counts! Please try to spell celebrities’ names correctly so I can find them on the list if they die. If the celebrity uses a stage name or is commonly known by a nickname, it is helpful to have the person’s “real” name listed as well. Some celebrities have common names or similar names. It is helpful to specify whether you’re picking “George Herbert Walker Bush” or “George W. Bush,” to use examples from this year’s picks – not just “George Bush.” If you pick “the Pope” I’ll assume you mean “Pope John Paul II,” but it is helpful to be more specific. Additional awards: The “Quantity Not Quality” Award: to be awarded to the poster or posters who pick the greatest number of celebrities who died, regardless of their actual point value. The “Inside Track With the Grim Reaper” Award: to be awarded to the poster or posters who pick a celebrity that no one else picked. The “Opening Kickoff” Award: to be awarded to the poster or posters who pick the first listed celebrity to die in 2004. The “Final Hours” Award: to be awarded to the poster or posters who pick the last listed celebrity to die in 2004. Remember, it’s easy to come up with a list of really old celebrities, but you likely won’t score many points with their deaths. Many players prefer to pick people who are known to be ill, or who engage in self-destructive behavior, or who are just tempting Fate. My thanks to **Little Nemo** who created this perennial thread and its rules, which I am essentially copying. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/2 "2003-12-01T23:08:46Z")
Aw, what the hell…I’ll try. Now, understand, I don’t follow celebs too much, so I’m kinda guessing here: Gimmes: 1. Richard Pryor 2. The Pope Old dudes that may go at any time: 1. Harry Morgon 2. Bob Newhart (that would be a shame!) 3. James Garner (he ain’t lookin’ so good) 4. Peter O’Toole Dudes who are asking for it: 1. Alex Yoong (with his mad driving skills, I surprised hes still with us!) 2. Travis Pastrana (accidents happen) 3. Jeff Gordon (dangerous job, his) Wild cards: 1. Michael Jackson (he might “off” himself in jail) 2. Liam Gallagher (maybe during a drunken punch-up?) 3. 50 Cent and 13. Eminem (those guys all like to shoot each other up) I should get extra points for showing my hand first! 😃 * * * She told me she loved me like a brother. She was from Arkansas, hence the Joy! ---
**Author:** ![Rodd\_Hill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/3ab097/32.png) [@Rodd\_Hill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodd_Hill)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/3 "2003-12-01T23:36:42Z")
All right: did poorly in '03, with only Idi Amin kicking off…so here’s to more in '04! 1. Pope John Paul 2 2. Gerald Ford 3. Fidel Castro 4. Augusto Pinochet 5. Henry Kissinger 6. Gordon Lightfoot 7. Dennis Hopper 8. Suge Knight 9. Kim Jong Il 10. Courtney Love 11. Maureen O’Hara 12. Robert Downey Jr. and just in case he does implode, 1. Michael Jackson ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/4 "2003-12-01T23:49:19Z")
Ronald Reagan Christopher Reeve Walter Cronkite Queen Elizabeth II Michael Jackson Saddam Hussein Osama bin Laden Johnny Carson Keith Richards Fidel Castro Marlon Brando Andy Griffith Don Knotts ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/5 "2003-12-01T23:49:20Z")
This’ll be my first formal participation in the Death Pool. I’m picking a lot of long shots in the hope they’ll pay off. ENTERTAINERS 1. Martin Landau 2. Kirk Douglas 3. Rodney Dangerfield PUBLISHER 4. Hugh Hefner MUSICIAN 5. Pete Townshend AGING FITNESS GURU 6. Jack LaLanne POLITICAL FIGURES 7. Kim Jong Il 8. Pope John Paul II 9. Ronald Reagan 10. William Rehnquist RELATIVE LONG SHOTS 11. Yaphet Kotto 12. Sammy “The Bull” Gravano 13. Robert Downey Jr. To the best of my knowledge, they’re all alive at present. ---
**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/6 "2003-12-02T00:47:07Z")
I have been waiting for this all year. POLITICAL FIGURES 1. Yasser Arafat 2. Jean Bertrand Aristide - President of Haiti 3. Pope John Paul 4. Saddam Hussein 5. Osama Bin Laden ENTERTAINERS 6… Elizabeth Taylor 7. Scott Weiland 8. Gabriel Garcia Marquez 9. John Goodman BUSINESS 10. Roy Disney 11. Sam Walton SPORTS 12. John Madden 13. Ralph Friedgen (Coach of Maryland) As with everything I like the longshots. ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/7 "2003-12-02T01:46:43Z")
The Gimmes: 1. Pope John Paul II 2. Ronald Reagan The “Under the Guns”: 1. Osama Bin Laden 2. Saddam Hussein 3. Paul Bremer 4. Yasser Arafat The Dangerous Jobs: 1. Kevin Harvick 2. Alain Robert (That French spiderman guy) The Random Tragedys 1. George Steinbrenner 2. Jackie Chan 3. Bob Barker The Political Section 1. Hugo Chavez (Venezuela) 2. Boris Yeltsin (Just seems ready) ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/8 "2003-12-02T02:04:34Z")
Whooooooo! _It’s the most morbid tiiiime of year…_ I’ve been working on my DP2004 list in my head for months, so now I have to decide which person(s) I shall give the gift of life too this year. \*\* a35362 \*\* You totally rock for doing this and doing such a great job in your inaugural run this year. ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/9 "2003-12-02T02:19:36Z")
**Sports** _Arnold Palmer Joe Paterno_ **Entertainment** _Charlton Heston Marlon Brando Courtney Love Scott Weiland (of Stone Temple Pilots) Don Knotts Michael Jackson \* **Politics** \* Ronald Reagan Dick Cheney Kim Il-Sung_ **Just Damn Old** \* John Paul II The Queen Mother (of the UK)\* ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/10 "2003-12-02T02:24:11Z")
whoops - that’s Kim Jong-Il not Kim Il-Sung, sorry! KTM ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/11 "2003-12-02T02:45:51Z")
HOPEFULS 1. Lee Boyd Malvo (since his trial isn’t over yet does it count if he gets the death penalty? I’ll pick him anyway, prison justice can be harsh.) 2. Saddam Hussein 3. Fred Phelps YA PLAY WITH FIRE… 4. Andrew Fastow (Enron) 5. Michael Kopper (Enron) 6. David Myers (Worldcom) 7. Dennis Kozlowski (Tyco) 8. Mark Swartz (Tyco) FEAR THE REAPER 9. Ronald Reagan 10. Queen Elizabeth II RANDOM PICKS 11. Sean Connery 12. Mary Tyler Moore 13. Carol Burnett ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/12 "2003-12-02T02:52:46Z")
**Krebnar the Magnificent** : the Queen mother died last year ---
**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:** [December 2, 2003, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/13 "2003-12-02T02:59:07Z")
No particular category: 1. The Pope 2. Kenny “The Snake” Stabler (and he’s my favorite quarterback, too) 3. Dick Cheney 4. Andy Griffith 5. Abe Vigoda (then the jokes will stop) 6. Robert Downey, Jr. 7. Phil Donahue 8. Dale Earnhardt, Jr 9. Dan Rather 10. Bill Wyman 11. Iggy Pop 12. Gary Coleman 13. Magic Johnson ---
**Author:** ![eman77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f04885/32.png) [@eman77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eman77)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/14 "2003-12-02T03:09:06Z")
1. Ronald Reagon 2. Pope John Paul 3. Richard Pryor 4. Magic Johnson 5. Osama Bin Laden 6. Saddam Hussein 7. Marlon Brando 8. Charlton Heston 9. Fay Wray 10. Kirk Douglas 11. Henry Kissinger 12. Gerald Ford 13. Jack Lalane ---
**Author:** ![cadolphin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c37758/32.png) [@cadolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cadolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/15 "2003-12-02T03:21:04Z")
1. Fay Wray 2. Ronald Reagan 3. Lady Bird Johnson 4. Rosa Parks 5. Abigail Van Buren 6. Pope John Paul II 7. Rose Marie 8. Doris Day 9. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross 10. Tom Laughlin 11. Greg Louganis 12. Richard Pryor 13. Kim Jong Il ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee7513/32.png) [@Mona\_Lott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lott)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/16 "2003-12-02T04:07:45Z")
1 Barbara Bush 2 Ronald Reagan 3 Pope John Paul 2 4 Gerald Ford 5 Johnny Carson 6 Elizabeth Taylor 7 Michael Jackson 8 Marlon Brando 9 Lady Bird Johnson 10 Walter Cronkite 11 Richard Pryor 12 James Garner 13 Nancy Reagan ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/17 "2003-12-02T05:00:14Z")
A combination of “possibles”, “wild cards” and “wishful thinking”, all of whom will be happy to hear they’re on the least accurate Dead Pool List in existance, and thus have a 92.3% chance of surviving 2004. 1. Ronald Reagan 2. Steve Irwin 3. Joe Piscopo 4. Arnold Schwarzenegger 5. John Larroquette 6. Loretta Swit 7. Jack Palance 8. James Garner 9. Al Pacino 10. Ashton Kutcher 11. Jodie Sweetin 12. Merle Haggard 13. George Jones ---
**Author:** ![Ms\_Macphisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b487fb/32.png) [@Ms\_Macphisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms_Macphisto)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/18 "2003-12-02T05:07:55Z")
1. Pope John Paul II 2. Ronald Reagan 3. Michael Jackson 4. Mike Tyson 5. Prince Philip 6. Walter Cronkite 7. Stephen Hawking 8. Augusto Pinochet 9. Gordon Lightfoot 10. Robert Downey Jr. 11. Justin Timberlake 12. Anne Rice 13. Christopher Lee (hopefully not!) ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/19 "2003-12-02T06:03:45Z")
1. Andy Rooney 2. Ozzy Osbourne 3. Sharon Osbourne 4. Ronald Reagan 5. Bob Banfield (an older local news guy; they always send him out where the worst possible conditions abound) 6. Dick Cheney 7. Fidel Castro 8. Michael Jackson 9. Kirk Douglas 10. Roy Horn 11. Eminem 12. Maya Angelou 13. Paris Hilton ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2003, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/20 "2003-12-02T07:00:14Z")
Thanks GIGO - totally spaced that. Sorry **a35362** , I’m totally throwing off your thread. Many apologies. Could you change that to Saddam? :smack: KTM [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359.md?page=2)