# 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:** 16
**Author:** ![Earthman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9dc877/32.png) [@Earthman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthman)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/301 "2004-12-31T15:12:02Z")
1. James Brown 2. James Doohan 3. Geraldine Ferraro 4. Gerald Ford 5. Shelley Long 6. Liza Minelli 7. Michael Moore 8. Mary Kate Olsen 9. Pope John Paul II 10. Richard Pryor 11. William Rehnquist 12. Mickey Rooney 13. Margaret Thatcher Alternate: Whitney Houston ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/302 "2004-12-31T15:40:44Z")
This years choices to pass beyond the rim… John Paul II—His boss will want a ‘close the door’ meeting soon POTUS Jimmy Carter—he don’t look too good… POTUS Gerry Ford—Missing the liebrary opening was a bad sign… Fidel ‘El Jefe’ Castro—it’s a waiting game… Don Kent—Massachusetts weather forcaster, did forcast for Pilgrims on Plymouth landing… Leona Helmsley—Karma is waiting in the wings… CJ William Reinquist—not the best prognosis in the world. Rosa Parks—circleing the drain. ‘Uncle’ Walter Cronkite----should not check out any long books from the library. Sentor Ted Kenedy—whos liver, like his Olds, will take a long drive off a short bridge… Whitney Houston—who will give her handlers the slip someday… Courtney Love—Train wreck in progress ‘Grandpa’ Al Lewis—you never know… Of course, this will insure another year for all. So many worthy targets, so few slots in the pool. ---
**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 31, 2004, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/303 "2004-12-31T15:48:20Z")
1. Ruben Studdard 2. Dick Button 3. Annette Funicello 4. Mike Tyson 5. Courtney Love 6. Tara Reid 7. Bob Uecker 8. Dick Clark 9. Michael Jackson, King of Pop 10. Liza Minnelli 11. Scott Peterson 12. Ron Santo 13. William Rehnquist Should any of the above expire before midnight, Lindsay Lohan is my alternate. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/304 "2004-12-31T16:14:31Z")
1-Chuck Yeager 2-Fidel Castro 3-Gerald Ford 4-Helen Thomas 5-Jimmy Carter **6-Louis Farrakhan** , replacing Liz Taylor 7-John Paul Stevens 8-Pope John Paul II **9-Richard Pryor** , replacing Rosa Parks (She’s a gimme, but not worth many points) 10-Charlie Bell, fmr McD’s CEO 11-Walter Cronkite 12-William Rehnquist **13-Tammie Faye Bakker Messner** (name correction) ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/305 "2004-12-31T17:01:01Z")
This list is a joint production of **SpoilerVirgin** and **psychobunny**. 1. Gary Cole (to avoid any confusion, we do mean [Gary Cole](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0170550/), not Gary Coleman) 2. Ruben Studdard 3. Courtney Love 4. Elizabeth Taylor 5. Dana Carvey 6. Tammy Faye Messner 7. Fidel Castro 8. David Letterman 9. Mary-Kate Olson 10. Dick Clark 11. Viktor Yushchenko 12. Liza Minelli 13. John DeLorean Alternate: Jimmy Carter ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/306 "2004-12-31T17:53:06Z")
Here’s my initial entry: William Rehnquist Osama bin Laden Pope John Paul II Margaret Thatcher Fidel Castro Kirk Douglas James Doohan B.B. King Dick Clark Viktor Yuschenko Gerald Ford Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Slash (guitarist for Velvet Revolver) And in case one of the above doesn’t last another 12 hours or so, one alternate: George Carlin And since we are down to the wire on 2004, I would like to get one point of clarification regarding the rules. For purposes of Celebrity Deaths, what constitutes the beginning of 2005?. If Dick Clark can’t bear watching Regis in Times Square and passes at 12:01 tomorrow morning Eastern Time, does that count as a 2005 Death? Or is it still a 2004 Death because it’s only 11:01 in Chicago? I assume the latter, but this point does not seem to be specified in the Official Rules. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/307 "2004-12-31T17:59:49Z")
**Einmon** , who is Maradona? Did you mean Madonna? As I write this at 12:05 p.m. Chicago time, you have just under 12 hours to get in your picks (or changes). You have to have your submissions in by midnight Chicago time. However, if Dick Clark (or anyone else) dies after midnight in whatever time zone he or she is in, it’s good for 2005. Twelve hours, people. Ticka-ticka-ticka… ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/308 "2004-12-31T18:04:00Z")
> [@a35362](#): > > **Einmon** , who is Maradona? Did you mean Madonna? > > As I write this at 12:05 p.m. Chicago time, you have just under 12 hours to get in your picks (or changes). You have to have your submissions in by midnight Chicago time. However, if Dick Clark (or anyone else) dies after midnight in whatever time zone he or she is in, it’s good for 2005. > > Twelve hours, people. Ticka-ticka-ticka… [Diego Armando.](http://www.diegomaradona.com/ingles/iindex.html) ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/309 "2004-12-31T18:11:15Z")
Okay, gotcha. ---
**Author:** ![Avenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Avenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avenger)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/310 "2004-12-31T18:16:31Z")
1. George Best 2. Pope John Paul 2 3. Hamid Karzai 4. Hugo Chavez 5. Bill Clinton 6. Ozzy Osbourne 7. David Bowie 8. James Brown 9. Bobby Robson, ex-England football manager. 10. Silvio Berlusconi 11. Pete Doherty, of The Libertines 12. Maggie Thatcher 13. Whitney Houston. Sub in case any of these are already dead or croak in the next few hours: Queen Elizabeth 2. ---
**Author:** ![GWVet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/65b543/32.png) [@GWVet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GWVet)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/311 "2004-12-31T18:22:04Z")
To avoid causing undue confusion (and thus work for **a35362** ) here is my FINAL list for 2005: 1. **James Brown** b. 05/03/1933 2. **Mickey Rooney** b. 09/23/1920 3. **Chuck Yeager** b. 02/13/1923 4. **Rosa Parks** b. 02/04/1913 5. **Kurt Vonnegut Jr.** b. 11/11/1922 6. \*\*Abu Musab al Zarqawi \*\* b. ?/?/1966 7. **George S. Irving** (voice of the Heat Miser) b. 01/11/1922 8. **Joseph Wapner** b. 11/15/1919 9. **Sir Edmund Hillary** b. 07/20/1919 10. **Jan-Michael Vincent** b. 07/15/1944 11. **Elizabeth Taylor** b. 02/27/1932 12. \*\*Dick Clark \*\* b. 11/30/1929 13. **Richard Pryor** b. 12/1/1940 Alternate: A1. \*\*Liza Minnelli \*\* b. 03/12/1946 ---
**Author:** ![Sevo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sevo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevo)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/312 "2004-12-31T18:28:46Z")
Huh…strange. I posted my list last night and this morning I can’t find it. Guess the hampsters got it. Well, once again the Sevo-tastic 2005 dead pool: 1. William Hubbs Rehnquist 2. James “Scotty” Doohan 3. Italian tenor Giuseppe di Stefano 4. New Brunswick Premiere Louis Robichaud 5. Pope J.P. II (If Shirley Ujest picks an immortal, so will I) 6. Elizabeth Taylor (CHF bad…) 7. Composer/Musician Toti Fuentes 8. Former U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro 9. Comedian Richard Pryor 10. Jan Micheal Vincint – Wheelchair bound in Mississippi = bad. 11. Mike Tyson – Overweight + sedatives + “Dying can’t be worse than living” = bad. 12. Anna Nicole Smith – Benzos + Depression + Marilyn Monroe worship = bad. 13. Allegra Versace – Baaad Anorexia = bad. Alternate (for the next eleven hours: 14. Former Pres Gerald Ford ---
**Author:** ![Stage\_Manager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stage_manager/32/7267_2.png) [@Stage\_Manager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stage_Manager)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/313 "2004-12-31T18:41:20Z")
My list: 1. Dick Clark 2. Stephen Sondheim 3. Tammy Faye Bakker Messner 4. Dolly Parton 5. Michael Jackson 6. William Rehnquist 7. James Doohan (a gimme) 8. Queen Elizabeth II 9. Gerald Ford (former US President) 10. Leonard Nimoy 11. William Shatner (one goes, the other will follow…trust me) 12. Burt Reynolds 13. John Davidson (former talk show host) Alternate: Mikhail Baryshnikov ---
**Author:** ![Pablito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@Pablito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pablito)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/314 "2004-12-31T20:40:41Z")
1 Pope John Paul II (duh) 2 Courtney Love (rock star, wife of Cobain) 3 Nelson Mandela (S. Africa pol) 4 Arnold Palmer (former golf great; favorite of retirees in FL) 5 Steve Stills (formerly of CSNY, CSN, Buffalo Springfield) 6 Ludacris (rapper) 7 Dr. Dre (rapper) 8 Larry Flynt (porn pub) 9 Idi Amin (former dictator of Uganda) 10 J.D. Salinger (reclusive writer) 11 Betty Ford (former first lady) 12 Johnny Carson (former talk show host) 13 Kalidh Alawi (I think that name is distinctive enough that further idenfication is unnecessary) alt: Dick Cheney (the reason that GWB is one heartbeat away from the Presidency) Pablito ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/315 "2004-12-31T20:44:03Z")
Dude, Idi Amin has been having a second retirement in Hell since August 16, 2003. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/316 "2004-12-31T20:48:18Z")
1. The Pope. Come on, man. 2. Abe Vigoda 3. Merle Haggard 4. Queen Elizabeth II 5. Gerald Ford 6. Ladybird Johnson 7. William Rhenquist 8. Courtney Love 9. Scott Peterson 10. Axl Rose 11. Paris Hilton 12. Fred Phelps 13. Johnny Carson No doubt my very selection of them will keep El Papa and Abe Vigoda in the shining apple of health in the year to come. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/317 "2004-12-31T20:57:52Z")
I’m pretty sure I checked to make sure everyone on the list was still alive… [ol] [li]Pope John Paul II[/li][li]Ray Bradbury[/li][li]Zsa Zsa Gabor[/li][li]Billy Graham[/li][li]Paul Harvey[/li][li]Lady Bird Johnson[/li][li]C. Everett Koop[/li][li]Lindsay Lohan[/li][li]Prince Phillip[/li][li]Augusto Pinochet[/li][li]Prince Rainier of Monaco[/li][li]Margaret Thatcher[/li][li]Jane Wyman[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/318 "2004-12-31T21:04:35Z")
**Pablito** , gimme another name. Nine hours to go…ticka ticka ticka ticka… Happy New Year Moscow! ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/319 "2004-12-31T21:08:33Z")
OK, I’m making a few modifications: 1. Robert Mugabe (President of Zimbabwe) to replace Nancy Reagan 2. Rick Derringer 3. Anna Nicole-Smith 4. Annette Funicello 5. Karl Malden 6. Michael Stipe 7. Bruce Dern 8. James Garner 9. Alex Karras 10. Winnie Mandela (Nelson’s ex-wife, and infamous in her own right) to replace Rush Limbaugh 11. Pat Morita 12. James Hong 13. Geoffrey Palmer Whoa. I already had Anna Nicole Smith on my list. How’d I manage that?? ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2004, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/320 "2004-12-31T21:39:56Z")
I’m just under the wire, but here goes… Sharon Osbourne (Ozzy’s wife) O. J. Simpson Robin Williams John Madden (former NFL coach and Monday Night Football commentator) Cher Arnold Schwarzenegger (heart probs, you know) Saddam Hussein (suicide) Bill Clinton Larry King Luther Vandross ☹ Harrison Ford (too much partying) Dan Ackroyd Sean Connery [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=17)