# The Celebrity Death Pool 2005 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** death-pool\ **Created:** [December 1, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574 "2004-12-01T21:22:00Z")\ **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, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1 "2004-12-01T21:22:00Z")
It’s time once again for the sickest thread on the board – the Celebrity Death Pool 2005! **The Rules:** **1.** You pick 13 celebrities whom you predict will die within the calendar year 2005. 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, 2004.** (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 Hilary Duff, Haley Joel Osment, and the kids from the _Harry Potter_ movies, _et al_ are invalid.) e. a registered member of the SDMB, 'cause that would be weird. f. political prisoners, 'cause we’re macabre but not THAT macabre. **4.** You can pick people who are age 100 or more but you won’t score 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 will 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 is 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 12-31-2004. If you do not submit a 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 valid 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. Some celebrities have common names or similar names. It is helpful to specify whether you’re picking Barbara Bush, the former First Lady or Barbara Bush, her granddaughter, to use examples from the past. 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 2005. The “Final Hours” Award: to be awarded to the poster or posters who pick the last listed celebrity to die in 2005. 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:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/2 "2004-12-01T21:49:05Z")
1. Richard Widmark 2. Elizabeth Taylor 3. Glenn Ford 4. Rosa Parks 5. Greg Louganis 6. Gerald Ford 7. James Whitmore 8. J.D. Salinger 9. Rosa Parks 10. Edwin Newman 11. Whitney Houston 12. Steve-O 13. Pope John Paul II ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/3 "2004-12-01T21:52:46Z")
Thank you **a35362**. You are my hero. Let me be the first to say: > [@](#): > > But nobody picked him. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/4 "2004-12-01T21:54:06Z")
**gobear** , you picked Rosa Parks twice. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/5 "2004-12-01T21:58:08Z")
Crap. OK, substitute Kathryn Grayson at #4. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/6 "2004-12-01T21:58:22Z")
> [@](#): > > f. political prisoners, 'cause we’re macabre but not THAT macabre. Is this new? Because I seem to remember past rules including just regular prisoners. Otherwise, it seems you could pick a bunch of people scheduled for the chair next year who have some sort of claim to fame. Howsabout “f. prisoners (political or otherwise)…”? ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/7 "2004-12-01T22:04:08Z")
Here we go! My picks are: 1. Chuck Yeager 2. Fidel Castro 3. Gerald Ford 4. Helen Thomas 5. Jimmy Carter 6. Elizabeth Taylor 7. John Paul Stevens 8. Pope John Paul II 9. Rosa Parks 10. Charlie Bell, fmr McD’s CEO 11. Walter Cronkite 12. William Rehnquist 13. Tammie Faye Bakker Resner ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/8 "2004-12-01T22:18:03Z")
I’m still holding out for the addition of the Derisive Laughter award, for those players who don’t score at all during the year. Of course to fend off a **Shirley Ujest** drive-by comment, I mean scoring in the game, not the bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/9 "2004-12-01T22:20:41Z")
From oldest to youngest: 1. Rosa Parks, civil activist 2. Gerald Ford, former US president 3. Thurl Ravenscroft, voice actor 4. Billy Graham, Christian evangelist 5. James Doohan, actor 6. John Paul II, Pope 7. James Stockdale, Adm. USN, ret. 8. Bob Barker, game show host 9. Charlton Heston, actor 10. Hugh Hefner, publisher 11. Imelda Marcos, politician 12. Fred Phelps, hatemonger 13. Stephen Hawking, physicist ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/10 "2004-12-01T22:22:05Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Is this new? Because I seem to remember past rules including just regular prisoners. Otherwise, it seems you could pick a bunch of people scheduled for the chair next year who have some sort of claim to fame. > > Howsabout “f. prisoners (political or otherwise)…”? Yes, this is a new rule. See **Captain Lance Murdoch** ’s suggestion at post #669 in this year’s thread. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/11 "2004-12-01T22:25:29Z")
And the scenario **Munch** describes is still covered by rule 7. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/12 "2004-12-01T22:32:27Z")
1. Elizabeth Taylor (actress) 2. Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake (former pro wrestler; real name Ed Leslie) 3. Pope John Paul II (really old Catholic guy) 4. Gerald Ford (really old ex-President guy) 5. Fidel Castro (really old Communist guy) 6. Lady Bird Johnson (really old Texan, wildflower enthusiast, former First Lady) 7. Kirk Douglas (actor) 8. Charlton Heston (actor) 9. George W. Bush (current president & therefore walking target) 10. Jake “The Snake” Roberts (pro wrestler; real name Aurelian Smith, Jr.) 11. Greg Louganis (Olympic gold medalist) 12. Roy Horn (ex-tiger enthusiast) 13. Stan Lee (really old Marvel comics legend) I went for mostly old, low-points folks this time. Naturally, this will be the year that a bus carrying Courtney Love, Ashlee Simpson and the Olsen Twins goes over a cliff. I believe this is my 666th post too, so good luck to me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/13 "2004-12-01T23:16:12Z")
1. The Pope 2. Elizabeth Taylor ☹ 3. Abe Vigoda 4. Karl Malden 5. Courtney Love 6. Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil) 7. Tom Brokaw 8. Elton John (Something just hasn’t been right with him lately.) 9. Fidel Castro 10. Rosa Parks 11. Bam Margera 12. Iyad Allawi 13. Bill Clinton ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/14 "2004-12-01T23:35:13Z")
1. Estelle Getty (actress) 2. Dan Fogleberg (singer) 3. William Rhenquist (Supreme Court Chief Justice) 4. Jerry Lewis (actor) 5. Ryan O’Neal (actor) 6. Kirk Douglas 7. Muhammad Ali 8. Bob Barker 9. Jim McKay (sportscaster) 10. Mary Tyler Moore 11. Prince Rainier of Monaco 12. Roy Horn (of Ziegfield and Roy) 13. Elton John ---
**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, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/15 "2004-12-01T23:44:25Z")
Well, I sucked in 2004…but here goes '05: 1. Fidel Castro 2. Abe Vigoda 3. John Forsythe (“Charlie’s Angels”) 4. Al Molinaro (“Odd Couple,” “Happy Days”) 5. Jackie Cooper (child actor & “Little Rascal”) 6. Harry Morgan (“M_A_S_H_”) 7. Gerald R. Ford 8. Edward “Ted” Heath (former UK PM) 9. E. Howard Hunt (Watergate co-conspirator) 10. Walter Cronkite 11. Pope John Paul II 12. Gordon Lightfoot 13. Ernest Borgnine ---
**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 1, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/16 "2004-12-01T23:44:50Z")
1. The Pope 2. Abe Vigoda (one day, I’ll be right) 3. Robert Blake 4. Shelley Long 5. Ace Frehley 6. Barbara Bush 7. Nancy Reagan 8. Tom Petty (c’mon, he looks dead) 9. Michael Moore 10. Richard Pryor 11. Macauley Culkin 12. Walter Cronkite 13. Neil Armstrong ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/17 "2004-12-02T00:03:21Z")
C’mon, now! Which Barbara Bush? You’re just teasing me. ---
**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, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/18 "2004-12-02T00:16:06Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > C’mon, now! Which Barbara Bush? You’re just teasing me. W’s ma, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/19 "2004-12-02T00:16:40Z")
1. The Pope 2. John Goodman 3. Richard Pryor 4. Muhammed Ali 5. Gerald Ford 6. George H. W. Bush 7. Danny DeVito 8. Bob Barker 9. Johnny Carson 10. Clint Eastwood 11. Gary Coleman 12. Tommy Chong 13. Joan Collins ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2004, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/20 "2004-12-02T00:22:48Z")
1. William Rehnquist 2. Steve Irwin 3. Joe Piscopo 4. Rosa Parks 5. John Larroquette 6. Loretta Swit 7. Jack Palance 8. James Garner 9. Al Pacino 10. Mary Kate Olsen 11. Pope John Paul II 12. Merle Haggard 13. George Jones [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=2)