# 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:** 10
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/181 "2003-12-24T08:47:24Z")
[ul]1. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 2. Kirk Douglas 3. Saddam Hussein 4. Ronald Reagan 5. Pope John Paul II 6. Debbie Reynolds 7. Liz Taylor 8. Phyllis Whitney 9. Estee Lauder 10. Julia Child 11. Jimmy Breslin 12. Mary Tyler Moore 13. Dave Brubeck[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/182 "2003-12-24T17:23:23Z")
'Nother first timer, giving this a shot: 1. **Pope John Paul II** - Buddy of Methuselah. 2. **Ronald Reagan** - Ex-Prez, bed-wetter. 3. **Jeff “The Drunk” Curro** - Last year it was **Hank The Angry Drunken Dwarf**. Jeff is this year’s dead Wack-Packer. 4. **Tony Hawk** - Skateboarder, video game character. Will forget he’s not as young as he used to be, and make an impromptu attempt to impress some local kids. Hilarity ensues. 5. **Pam Anderson** - Human Cartoon Part 1, Hepatitis C sufferer. 6. **Artie Lange** - Howard Stern sidekick and tub of goo. Stakes his life on the Patriots in the Super Bowl, Satan collects after the Rams win. 7. **Ralphie May** - _Last Comic Standing_ contestant and tub of goo. Drops after one too many fritters. 8. **Sally Struthers** - Actress, beggar, tub of goo. Chokes to death. 9. **Ruben Studdard** - _American Idol_ and tub of goo. Killed by assorted gangs of Claymates, Clayniacs, and the like. Possibly beheaded with a claymore. 10. **Reverend Donald Wildmon** - American Family Association founder and better judge of what’s right for you than you are. Killed by divine justice. 11. **Robbie Knievel** - Will outdo his father, succeeding in killing himself instead of just coming close like 'ol dad. 12. **Wellington Mara** - New York Giants owner. Ancient. Won’t be able to go on after: A) a 4-12 season, and B) Ernie Accorsi screws up great draft positioning with bad picks. 13. **Paris Hilton** - Human Cartoon Part 2. Too much fame, not enough brains. Gets wasted, steals car, gets splattered all over Manhattan. (sha-doobie) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Zamboni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Zamboni)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/183 "2003-12-24T18:50:35Z")
1. Pope John Paul II 2. Ronald Reagan 3. David Blaine 4. Michael Jackson 5. Jimmy Carter 6. Gerald Ford 7. Dick Cheney 8. Dan Rather 9. Wayne Newton 10. George Steinbrenner 11. Pamela Anderson 12. Tommy Lee (Motley Crue Drummer) 13. Justin Timberlake I barely scored this year. I think this is a better list. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/184 "2003-12-24T19:43:00Z")
Without having checked anyone else’s picks yet: 1. Pope John Paul II 2. Billy Graham 3. Alonzo Mourning (basketball player) 4. Nick Nolte 5. John Goodman 6. Gordon Lightfoot 7. Jerry Lewis 8. Tony Randall 9. Blake Edwards 10. Lynn Redgrave 11. Scotty Moore (guitarist) 12. Gerald Ford 13. Ronald Reagan ---
**Author:** ![JavaMaven1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cab0a1/32.png) [@JavaMaven1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JavaMaven1)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/185 "2003-12-24T20:10:42Z")
1. Scott Weiland (lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots, junkie) 2. Adam Ant ('80’s singer, has been recently hospitalized for depression) 3. Shane McGowan (lead singer of The Pogues, that alcohol is going to catch up with him soon enough) 4. Shirley MacLaine (She’s no spring chicken) 5. Shirley Temple Black (Again, she’s getting old, too) 6. Julia Child (up there, too. _Kills_ me to write that. Love her.) 7. Ernest Borgnine 8. Richard Pryor (he’s running low on steam, ain’t he?) 9. Judi Dench 10. Franco Zeffirelli (Italian Director) 11. Joel Grey (famous for his role as the emcee in _Cabaret_ 12. Mickey Rooney 13. Olivia de Havilland ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/186 "2003-12-25T15:43:26Z")
Disclaimer: To those on the list, I’m not actually rooting for your death. Also, I did not read the other entries other than what jumped at me scrolling down the last page. My 13: 1- Dick Cheney, vice president and war profiteer- doesn’t get to the Wizard in time for a new heart. 2- Al Kaline, baseball great and battery magnate (what, you’ve never heard of al kaline batteries?)- heart attack 3- Keith Richard, rock star and chemical testing lab- goes drug free for a day and system goes into shock 4- Roseanne, minor TV star and national irritation- complications from a fall which coincidentally triggers massive earthquake. 5- OJ Simpson, double murderer- knifes self in kitchen accident. 6- Gerald Ford, former president and comic inspiration for Chevy Chase- head injuries from old injury playing football without a helmet. 7- Rush Limbaugh, egomaniacal talk show host and noted drug addict- gets bad stuff from pusher. 8- Dale Earnhardt Jr., race car driver and son of the cult hero of the Elvis velvet set- racing accident. 9- George W. Bush, fraudulently elected president- chokes to death on gift box of pretzels. 10- George Steinbrenner, shipbuilder, Yankee owner, and national irritation- fires himself and dies in poverty. 11- Bobby Knight, basketball coach and immature bully- dies of injuries when histhrown chair lands on his head. 12- Richard Dawson, geme show host and kissing bandit- contracts fatal communicable disease by kissing one too many women. 13- Jimmy Carter, former president and all around good guy, the last moral man to inhabit White House- chokes on a peanut. ---
**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 25, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/187 "2003-12-25T17:40:57Z")
**Shirley’s Annual Gift Of Life 2004: The Electric Bugaloo** Usually, I go for the Quantity over Quality, but this year, having nothing to lose, I’ve actually decided to spice things up by adding politicians. Yet, trying to be a points whore, I still have a few gimmes. And for your dining and dancing pleasure, I will guesstimate how they will die. 1. \*\*Lee Malvo. \*\* Convicted Murderer. Killed in prison by a lifer. 2. **Yassar Arafat.** Scary guy in picnic table cloth. Heart attack a/o cancer. 3.\*\* John Allen Mohammed. \*\* Convicted murderer. Killed in prison before he is executed. 1. \*\*Pope John Paul II. \*\* Old Age. In March, before Easter. 2. **Thurl Ravencroft.** Voice of Tony the Tiger and the original Eeyore voice. Old Age. 3. \*\*Leon Askin. \*\* Old Age. General Burkhart on Hogan’s Heroes. 4. \*\*Prince Ranier. \*\* He’s not looking so good. In the summer after his youngest does something really stupid again. 5. \*\*Pervez Musharraf \*\* President of Pakistan. Assasinated. In April. 6. \*\* Fay Wray\*\*: King Kong’s lady. Hold over for the past three years. Taking over Katherine Hepburn’s spot. 7. \*\*Ronald Reagan \*\* Former President. Old age. Fall 2004, to cut into the election jibber jabber nicely. 8. \*\*Osama bin Laden \*\* Googly-eyed lunatic. bombed somewhere in the back hills of Afghanistan. Summer. 9. \*\*Lady Bird Johnson. \*\* Former First Lady. Old age. In the summer when the flowers are in bloom. 10. \*\* Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. \*\* Death & Dying author has terminal cancer that has lasted longer than previously anticipated. **Alternates** in the unlikely event that any of my picks die in 2003, here are my top Alternates: 1. \*\*Carlos Ponti \*\* aged husband of Sophia Loren. 2. **Yvonne DeCarlo** Lilly Munster. 3. **Marcel Marceau** If a mime dies in the woods, will anyone care? 4.\*\*Francis Crick \*\* co-founder of DNA. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/188 "2003-12-26T21:19:19Z")
Five days left, folks… **cazzle** , to answer your question: we just go with as many valid picks as we have. Thanks again for all your hard work. ---
**Author:** ![Etherman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/958977/32.png) [@Etherman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Etherman)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/189 "2003-12-27T04:13:30Z")
Ok here are my picks for the year: 1 Micheal Jackson - He’ll off himself, or someone will get him in prison. 2 Pope John Paul - This one’s an easy one 3 Ronald Reagan - Ditto 4 Ozzy Osbourne - Although he damn near managed it early 5 Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim - Iraqi Interm council President 6 Richard Pryor - He’s hung on for quite a while 7 Neil Simon - Didn’t lookk well last I heard 8 George Clinton - Drug overdose or self destruction 9 Mohammed Ali - He’s hung on a long time too 10 Charlton Heston - How old is he now anyway? 11 Marlon Brando - Ditto 12 Pervez Musharraf - Pakistani President. Survived a couple attempts already. 13 Walter Cronkite - He’s gettin’ up there too ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/190 "2003-12-27T06:15:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by a35362 \* > \*\*Five days left, folks… > > **cazzle** , to answer your question: we just go with as many valid picks as we have. Thanks again for all your hard work. \*\* Allow me to clarify… [**gobear**](http://www.the-becketts.net/deathpool/#11) has inadvertently chosen 15 people for his list instead of 13. If he doesn’t nominate which two he wants to get rid of before Jan 1, will we randomly eliminate two of them, or will we just get rid of the last two he added? I figure it’s best to have this sorted out before the game starts, otherwise he has two chances more than anyone else, and any hits he does score will be up for dispute. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/191 "2003-12-28T23:05:56Z")
We’ll go with his first 13 names. Three days left, folks… ---
**Author:** ![Flymaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c4cdca/32.png) [@Flymaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flymaster)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/192 "2003-12-29T00:54:38Z")
Just as a check: IF saddam hussein is tried, convicted, and executed before the end of 2004, I get points, right? He was NOT under a legal death sentence when I picked him. ---
**Author:** ![bowler\_girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7993a0/32.png) [@bowler\_girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bowler_girl)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/193 "2003-12-29T03:14:04Z")
1. Pamela Anderson 2. Jared “Subway Guy” Fogle 3. Whitney Houston 4. Annette Funicello 5. Jerry Lewis 6. Steve Irwin 7. Ruben Studdard 8. Larry King 9. Meat Loaf 10. Mike Tyson 11. Dick Button 12. Liza Minelli 13. Martha Stewart ---
**Author:** ![tolyri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@tolyri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tolyri)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/194 "2003-12-29T03:31:33Z")
Okay, repeating last years list, with two new entires replacing the ones I actually got right. 1. Scott Weiland (one of these days…) 2. Ronald Reagan (sad, but I see it coming) 3. Charles Manson (what comes around goes around) 4. Whitney Houston (again, one of these days…) 5. Ringo Starr (I think Paul will be the last one standing) 6. Betty Ford (I think she’s the oldest first lady left) 7. Rodney Dangerfield (no respect) 8. Abe Vigoda (how old is this guy?) 9. Casey Kasem (I’ve picked Dick Clark for too long) 10. Mohammed Ali (from here down, they’re all old and sick) 11. Annette Funicello 12. Richard Pryor 13. Gene Wilder ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/195 "2003-12-29T03:44:23Z")
> [@](#): > > _ **Originally posted by Flymaster** _ > Just as a check: IF saddam hussein is tried, convicted, and executed before the end of 2004, I get points, right? He was NOT under a legal death sentence when I picked him. This is just MHO, but… The rule says that anyone under penalty of death only counts if they die by means other than official execution. It does not suggest that they have to be under sentence of death at the time they were selected, merely at the time of their death. Also, being aware that Saddam Hussein is going to undergo a trial, one possible outcome of which is a death sentence, it’s not as though you’re being potentially cheated out of points by an unforseen circumstance. You know at the time of nomination that one of your picks possibly faces the death penalty in the future, and you can choose to take that risk or reject it and choose again. I assume the same rule would apply if (for example) Robert Downey Jr was arrested, tried and immediately executed in a foreign country for possession of narcotics, even though that seems a much more remote possibility at the time of nomination. This is, after all, the ultimate game of chance. ---
**Author:** ![IrreverentTone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@IrreverentTone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IrreverentTone)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/196 "2003-12-29T03:59:38Z")
1. Larry King 2. Pope John Paul II 3. Ronald Reagan 4. Michael Jackson 5. Kirk Douglas 6. Walter Cronkite 7. Zsa Zsa Gabor 8. Tiger Woods 9. Courtney Love 10. Suzanne Somers 11. Florence Henderson 12. Ashleigh Banfield 13. Ozzy Osbourne Alternate: Barbara Walters ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/197 "2003-12-29T04:05:36Z")
Well, I’m pretty certain that I picked 13 at a time, so I’m not very happy with **Cazzle** ’s insinuations. Here are my 13 picks for 2004 13. Al Lewis (Grandpa Munster) 12. Luise Rainier (1937 Academy Award winner) 11. Scott Weiland 10. Pope JP II (kinda obligatory at this point) 9. Tony Randall (old) 8. Rosa Parks (really old) 7. Shirley Temple (old) 6. Glenn Ford (old) 5. Ronald Reagan (old and terminally ill) 6. Harvey Korman (old and washed up) 5. Saddam Hussein (one can hope, can’t one?) 4. John Goodman (obese and middle-aged) 3. Olivia d’Havilland (Good God, she was Melanie in “Gone With the Wind”!) 2. Larry Kramer (HIV+ writer and activist) 1. Jack Williamson (\>90 SF author) ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/198 "2003-12-29T04:07:30Z")
Crap, that should be 1. Al Lewis (Grandpa Munster) 2. Luise Rainier (1937 Academy Award winner) 3. Scott Weiland 4. Pope JP II (kinda obligatory at this point) 5. Tony Randall (old) 6. Rosa Parks (really old) 7. Shirley Temple (old) 8. Glenn Ford (old) 9. Ronald Reagan (old and terminally ill) 10. Harvey Korman (old and washed up) 11. Mickey Rooney (old) 12. John Goodman (obese and middle-aged) 13. Olivia d’Havilland (Good God, she was Melanie in “Gone With the Wind”!) 14. Larry Kramer (HIV+ writer and activist) 15. Jack Williamson (\>90 SF author) ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/199 "2003-12-29T04:19:10Z")
1.Manson (Charles) been predicitng this for years.Just feel it. 2.Chris Kattan (snl curse) 3.George W.Bush my man Dick Greogry thinks he’s not going to finish his term,can’t mean anything else, unless he’s raptured 4.Ray Romano I dunno 5.Nancy Reagan 6.Dick Cheney 7.Johnny Carson 8.Liz Taylor 9.Barbara Walters 10.one of the Dixie Chicks 11.Ed Asner 12.Tom Jones 13.Keith Richards ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359/200 "2003-12-29T04:23:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by notfrommensa \* > \*\*1. Magic Johnson (How long has he had HIV?) > \*\* He announced it in Nov. of 1991. The longer he lives,the more pwa will have hope! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2004/216359.md?page=11)