# 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:** 11
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/201 "2004-12-19T14:39:07Z")
…keep the ones who cheated death last year, replace the ones who didn’t. That way I’m assured that I will get points from every person on my list. They can’t live forever! Gerald Ford, oldest ex-prez (b. 1913) Lilian Jackson Braun, author who writes about cats (b. 1916) Billy Graham, famous rev (b. 1918) Mickey Spillane, author (b. 1918) Pope John Paul II, popular choice (b. 1920) Jesse Helms, embarrassment (b. 1921) John Glenn, astronaut/politician (b. 1921) Lee Iacocca, former automotive boss-type person (b. 1924) Dick Van Dyke, actor (b. 1925) Anne Rice, gothy nut (b. 1941) Stephen Hawking, physicist (b. 1942) Keith Richards, walking corpse (b. 1943) John Goodman, actor (b. 1952) ALTERNATES Kirk Douglas, “Spartacus” (b. 1916) James Doohan, “Scotty” (b. 1920) Jerry Lewis, muscular dystrophy pledgeathon spokesman (b. 1926) ---
**Author:** ![GWVet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/65b543/32.png) [@GWVet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GWVet)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2004, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/202 "2004-12-19T15:46:08Z")
1. James Brown 05/03/1933 2. Mickey Rooney 09/23/1920 3. Chuck Yeager 02/13/1923 4. Rosa Parks 02/04/1913 5. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. 11/11/1922 6. Abu Musab al Zarqawi ?/?/1966 7. George S. Irving (voice of the Heat Miser) 01/11/1922 8. Joseph Wapner 11/15/1919 9. Sir Edmund Hillary 07/20/1919 10. Jan-Michael Vincent 07/15/1944 11. Elizabeth Taylor 02/27/1932 12. Dick Clark 11/30/1929 13. Andy Dick 12/21/1965 Alternates: A1. Barbara Feldon 03/12/1932 A2. Umberto Eco 01/05/1932 I sure hope putting Zarqawi on my list doesn’t keep him safe. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/203 "2004-12-20T00:39:44Z")
Courtney Love Viktor Yushchenko William Rehnquist Bob Newhart Mary Kate Olsen Macaulay Culkin Nick Nolte Tracey Gold Dick Clark Dick Cheney Michael Moore Fidel Castro Anna Nicole Smith ---
**Author:** ![Typically\_Sunday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Typically\_Sunday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typically_Sunday)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/204 "2004-12-20T03:09:05Z")
1.The Pope 2. Gerald Ford 3. Courtney Love 4. Dick Cheney 5. Dick Clark 6. Dan Rather 7. James Brown 8. Steve-O 9. Rosa Parks 10. Mary-Kate Olsen 11. Andy Griffin 12. Oral Roberts 13. Whitney Houston ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/205 "2004-12-20T04:32:29Z")
Well, I guess I’ll replace the 1 person who died (Ronald Reagan) with a new choice - the “gifted” and “multi-talented” Jan Murray LOL 1. Lady Bird Johnson 2. Ervin ‘Magic’ Johnson 3. Jerry Lee Lewis 4. Jerry Lewis 5. Jayne Meadows 6. Art Linkletter 7. Ann B. Davis 8. William Shatner 9. Barbara Billingsley 10. Larry Storch 11. Professor Irwin Corey 12. Don Knotts 13. Jan Murray (born 1917) ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/206 "2004-12-20T16:28:43Z")
The selection for my first participation: 1. **Pope John Paul II** (He’s simply _got_ to croak some time soon. If, during 2005, it is discovered that he’s been dead since 1996 and the Cardinals have been controlling his preserved corpse with puppet strings for nine years, how does that work with the rules? Do we get the points?) 2. **George W Bush** (Tecumseh’s curse won’t be denied again.) 3. **Michael Moore** (He’s overweight, generally unhealthy, and keeps making a bunch of people with guns very angry. Plus, he’s worth a shitload of points. That’s a winner in my book.) 4. **Stephen Hawking** (If this guy isn’t the current world record holder of longest survival with ALS, I’d like to know who is.) 5. **Paul Newman** (Doesn’t look too hot these days.) 6. **Roger Moore** (Ditto.) 7. **Peter Mayhew** (Tall people die young, they say.) 8. **John Goodman** (John Candy was both slimmer and younger when he bought it.) 9. **Paris Hilton** (Dying is about the only thing she _hasn’t_ done for publicity, so it’s probably on her 2005 agenda.) 10. **Kurt Vonnegut** (I’d be really sad to see him go, but he is getting up there in years.) 11. **Ron Kovic** (He’s 58 years old and has spent 35 of them in a wheelchair paralyzed from the chest down; it must be his time soon.) 12. **John Wayne Bobbitt** (People seem to get violent around him.) 13. I was going to pick me, because if I die during 2005 I want _something_ for it and the seventy-plus points I’d provide would probably get me the victory, but then I read the “No Dopers” rule. So I’ll just say **Carl XIV Gustaf** , King of Sweden, and let it be with that. You never know, some crazy republican could turn up with a rifle or something. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/207 "2004-12-20T17:36:36Z")
Just so you know, **Priceguy** , lots of doctors think that Stephen Hawking was misdiagnosed. People with ALS just don’t live as long as he has. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/208 "2004-12-20T22:13:12Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Just so you know, **Priceguy** , lots of doctors think that Stephen Hawking was misdiagnosed. People with ALS just don’t live as long as he has. I’ve been wondering about that. So what the hell does he have? ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2004, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/209 "2004-12-23T01:53:32Z")
1. Pope John Paul II 2. Jack Palance - believe it or not 3. Lady Bird Johnson - oh…and it’s her birthday today too! 4. Gerald Ford 5. Billy Graham 6. Margaret Thatcher 7. Richard Pryor 8. Rosa Parks 9. Art Linkletter 10. Boris Yeltsin - all that vodka’s gotta catch up to him eventually 11. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn - he’s lived a long, sometimes rough life. 12. Jerry Lewis 13. Abe Vigoda ---
**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 24, 2004, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/210 "2004-12-24T13:02:48Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > 1. Pope John Paul II - May 18, 1920 > 2. Richard Pryor - December 1, 1940 > 3. Scott Weiland - October 27, 1967 > 4. Doris Day - April 3, 1924 > 5. Elizabeth Taylor - February 27, 1932 > 6. Courtney Love - July 9, 1964 > 7. Angela Lansbury - October 16, 1925 > 8. Peter Falk - September 16, 1927 > 9. John Goodman - June 20, 1952 > 10. Margaret Thatcher - October 13, 1925 > 11. Nancy Reagan - July 6, 1921 > 12. Don Adams - April 13, 1926 > 13. Charles Manson - November 12, 1934 Please replace #13 - Charles Manson with Larry Hagman. Sorry to be a nuisance. ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/211 "2004-12-24T13:25:16Z")
Well, here goes nothing: **Leslie Neilson** (Actor - b. _02/11/26_) **Carol Burnett** (Acress - b. _04/26/33_) **Bob Denver** (Actor - b. _01/09/35_) **Gordie Howe** (Fmr. Hockey Player - b. _03/31/28_) **Walter Mondale** (Fmr. US VP - b. _01/05/28_) \*\*Margaret Thatcher \*\* (Fmr. UK PM - b. _10/13/25_) **Dick Cavett** (Fmr. TV Host - b. _11/19/36_) \*\*Larry King \*\*(TV Host - b. _11/19/33_) **Neil Armstrong** (US Astronaut - b. _08/05/30_) **Osama Bin Laden** (Terrorist - b. _07/30/57_) **Dr. Ruth Westheimer** (Sexual Health Consultant - b. _06/04/28_) **Tom Bosley** (Actor - b. _10/01/27_) **MC Hammer** (Rapper - b. _03/30/62_) And if somebody should kak before the 1st (or my research proves faulty) substitute: **James Burrows** (Director / Producer - b. _12/30/40_) _My strategy:_ On the whole I went for quantity points over age points and tried to pick people nobody else has thought of but are likely to not see '06. ---
**Author:** ![Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@Long\_Time\_First\_Time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Long_Time_First_Time)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2004, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/212 "2004-12-24T22:42:42Z")
Original list: 1. Pope John Paul II 2. Tom Lehrer 3. Richard Pryor 4. Oliver North 5. Hulk Hogan 6. Rosa Parks 7. Walter Cronkite 8. Ed Bradley 9. Dick Clark 10. Fidel Castro 11. John Madden 12. John Wooden 13. Fifty Cent Please replace Fifty Cent with Hank Stramm. Thanks!! ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/213 "2004-12-25T02:38:04Z")
Ah, another year, another chance to be morbid: 1. Queen Elizabeth II 2. Ernest Borgnine 3. Larry King 4. Joan Rivers 5. Pope John Paul II 6. Jason Mewes 7. Margot Kidder 8. George H. W. Bush 9. Helen Thomas 10. Muhammad Ali 11. Sylvia Browne 12. Luciano Pavarotti 13. Kurt Vonnegut ---
**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 25, 2004, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/214 "2004-12-25T03:22:07Z")
Johnny Oates has died. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/215 "2004-12-25T19:38:15Z")
Yes, **booklover** and **_deva_** , want to specify another name in place of Johnny Oates? ---
**Author:** ![Kuizelemartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e19b73/32.png) [@Kuizelemartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kuizelemartz)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2004, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/216 "2004-12-26T04:44:04Z")
1. The Pope 2. Estelle Getty 3. Jerry Lewis 4. Richard Pryor 5. Tammy Faye Baker-Whatever 6. Keith Richards 7. Farrah Fawcett 8. Anna Nichole Smith 9. Andy Dick 10. Whitney Houston 11. 50 Cent guy 12. Larry Hagman 13. Mike Tyson Alternates Macauly Culkin ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2004, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/217 "2004-12-26T16:10:28Z")
First timer here too. Good luck, everyone! 😉 1. Liz Taylor 2. Pope John Paul II 3. Lindsey Lohan 4. Bernie Mac 5. Courtney Love 6. Dick Clark 7. Jerry Lewis 8. Muhammad Ali 9. Rosa Parks 10. Wilford Brimley 11. Arthur C. Clarke 12. Ursula Andress 13. Prince Phillip ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2004, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/218 "2004-12-26T17:24:00Z")
1. The Pope 2. Michael Foot 3. Margaret Thatcher 4. Hubert Green 5. Tammy Faye Bakker 6. James Doohan 7. Charlie Bell 8. Ronnie Biggs 9. Scott Hamilton 10. Norodom Sihanouk 11. William Rehnquist 12. Larry Hagman 13. George Best ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2004, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/219 "2004-12-26T17:35:09Z")
Hope no one had Reggie White. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2004, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/220 "2004-12-26T20:09:26Z")
Doesn’t look like it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=12)