# 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:** 26
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/501 "2005-02-08T12:29:25Z")
Wow, it has been a bad year so far for the music world. [muttering to self] I shoulda picked more musician-types. [/mts] ---
**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:** [February 8, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/502 "2005-02-08T16:38:06Z")
Pixar animator [Dan Lee](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4233129.stm), who designed Nemo has died at the ripe, old age of 35. No, I didn’t have him. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/503 "2005-02-09T07:41:48Z")
[Doobie Brothers drummer Keith Knudsen dies at age 56.](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/02/08/state/n173044S39.DTL) Man, if I’m a member of an old classic rock band, I’m out making sure my life insurance is up-to-date… ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/504 "2005-02-09T12:34:33Z")
How does a 56-year-old man die of pneumonia in 21st century America? Did Knudsen have AIDS or something? ---
**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:** [February 9, 2005, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/505 "2005-02-09T14:35:24Z")
Happened to Jim Henson, at the ripe old age of 53, back in 1990. Apparently, some types of pneumonia are super duper double-plus nasty. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/506 "2005-02-09T15:00:03Z")
> [@Max Torque](#): > > Happened to Jim Henson, at the ripe old age of 53, back in 1990. Apparently, some types of pneumonia are super duper double-plus nasty. Well, and Henson was a workaholic who wouldn’t take time off, and then wouldn’t go to the doctor, and was too far gone (IIRC) by the time they got him to the emergency room. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/507 "2005-02-09T15:42:57Z")
> [@Max Torque](#): > > Happened to Jim Henson, at the ripe old age of 53, back in 1990. Apparently, some types of pneumonia are super duper double-plus nasty. I thought he died of a staph infection. Does staphylococcus invade the lungs? ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/508 "2005-02-09T17:21:33Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > How does a 56-year-old man die of pneumonia in 21st century America? Did Knudsen have AIDS or something? I came pretty close when I was 26. There are some really nasty viral types out there, and if you let it go long enough thinking it’s just a really bad cold, you can die. ---
**Author:** ![uglybeech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/82dd89/32.png) [@uglybeech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/uglybeech)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/509 "2005-02-09T17:27:23Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > Pixar animator [Dan Lee](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4233129.stm), who designed Nemo has died at the ripe, old age of 35. > > No, I didn’t have him. Why not? ---
**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:** [February 9, 2005, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/510 "2005-02-09T23:18:30Z")
> [@cbawlmer](#): > > I came pretty close when I was 26. There are some really nasty viral types out there, and if you let it go long enough thinking it’s just a really bad cold, you can die. Sounds similar to my brother-in-law. By the time he was sick enough to realise he needed help, he was too sick to do anything about getting it. After about a week he managed to drag himself to a phone, and he called his mother and she took him to the hospital where he was told he had the worst case of pneumonia they’d seen. He was about 28 at the time. The following week, one of his old friends died of pneumonia in almost identical circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/511 "2005-02-09T23:31:56Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > Sounds similar to my brother-in-law. By the time he was sick enough to realise he needed help, he was too sick to do anything about getting it. After about a week he managed to drag himself to a phone, and he called his mother and she took him to the hospital where he was told he had the worst case of pneumonia they’d seen. He was about 28 at the time. The following week, one of his old friends died of pneumonia in almost identical circumstances. That’s what’s so dangerous. It sneaks up on you quickly, and it doesn’t occur to you that it’s deathly serious since you’re young and generally healthy. For me, I started feeling a little sniffly on Wednesday and by Sunday I was in the emergency room, half dead. The ER doctor thought I had spinal meningitis at first and wanted to do a spinal tap. I was in the hospital for four days and wasn’t able to work full time for a month after. They should do PSAs about pneumonia. I don’t think most people realize how easily it can happen and KILL you. ---
**Author:** ![Squonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squonk)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2005, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/512 "2005-02-09T23:39:09Z")
> [@zoog](#): > > [Doobie Brothers drummer Keith Knudsen dies at age 56.](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/02/08/state/n173044S39.DTL) > > Man, if I’m a member of an old classic rock band, I’m out making sure my life insurance is up-to-date… Especially if you’re a drummer (Knudsen, Capaldi, and the guy from Jefferson Airplane). It reminds me of _Spinal Tap_. ---
**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:** [February 10, 2005, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/513 "2005-02-10T14:29:03Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > I thought he died of a staph infection. Does staphylococcus invade the lungs? The news at the time said pneumonia, and Wikipedia says it was bacterial pneumonia. As I recall from my copy of **Jim Henson: The Works** , from the onset of symptoms to death was a matter of days, and the symptoms weren’t that different from a bad cold. ---
**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:** [February 11, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/514 "2005-02-11T04:40:40Z")
> [@Squonk](#): > > Especially if you’re a drummer (Knudsen, Capaldi, and the guy from Jefferson Airplane). It reminds me of _Spinal Tap_. If the drummers keep going, then it looks good for me because I have Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones. ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/515 "2005-02-11T05:01:30Z")
> [@Max Torque](#): > > The news at the time said pneumonia, and Wikipedia says it was bacterial pneumonia. As I recall from my copy of **Jim Henson: The Works** , from the onset of symptoms to death was a matter of days, and the symptoms weren’t that different from a bad cold. I thought it was pretty “common knowledge” that Henson had PCP. ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/516 "2005-02-11T15:25:13Z")
Athur Miller, dead at 89. No substantive link yet. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/517 "2005-02-11T15:41:01Z")
> [@NotWithoutRage](#): > > I thought it was pretty “common knowledge” that Henson had PCP. PCP? You mean Angel Dust, or something else? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![NotWithoutRage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NotWithoutRage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NotWithoutRage)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/518 "2005-02-11T15:47:32Z")
> [@VunderBob](#): > > PCP? You mean Angel Dust, or something else? 😕 [PCP](http://aids.about.com/cs/conditions/a/pcpguide.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/519 "2005-02-11T17:26:17Z")
**Sternvogel** and **Saitou** had Arthur Miller! ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2005, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/520 "2005-02-11T17:38:48Z")
With the death of Arthur Miller, **Saitou** and **Sternvogel** leap nimbly on to the scoreboard with eleven points each! Congratulations! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=25) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=27)