# 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:** 53
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1041 "2005-11-21T02:47:14Z")
[Harold Stone,](http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051120/NEWS06/511200512/1005/ENTERTAINMENT) who played the father of David Birney’s character in the _Bridget Loves Bernie_ sitcom, has died at the age of 92. Stone’s film career included appearances in _The Harder They Fall_, _Spartacus_. and _The Greatest Story Ever Told_. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2005, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1042 "2005-11-22T04:58:44Z")
Well I guess celebrities die in three’s as they say. Harold J Stone, Link Wray and now [Pamela Duncan](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0242056/). Sure she might have appeared in “Attack Of The Crab Monsters”, but she was the star of a much underappreciated film - “the Undead”. ---
**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:** [November 22, 2005, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1043 "2005-11-22T15:10:41Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > Well I guess celebrities die in three’s as they say. Harold J Stone, Link Wray and now [Pamela Duncan](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0242056/). > > Sure she might have appeared in “Attack Of The Crab Monsters”, but she was the star of a much underappreciated film - “the Undead”. She’s finally gone to SLEEEEEEEEEEEEP! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Avenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Avenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avenger)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1044 "2005-11-24T18:02:41Z")
[Last few hours for George Best.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4465456.stm) ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2005, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1045 "2005-11-24T20:16:06Z")
[Chris Whitley](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/24/BAGBNFTHK31.DTL&type=music) has checked out. ---
**Author:** ![BadBadger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@BadBadger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BadBadger)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1046 "2005-11-25T13:22:39Z")
> [@Avenger](#): > > [Last few hours for George Best.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4465456.stm) [George died](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4380332.stm) a short time ago. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1047 "2005-11-25T14:34:51Z")
[Pat Morita](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051125/ap_on_en_mo/obit_morita) died. Wax on, wax off. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1048 "2005-11-25T14:52:55Z")
Wait! I think I had him! Could I be saved from virginity so close to the end? (runs off to check) No longer a virgin. But that sucks ☹ I loved Pat Morita… ---
**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:** [November 25, 2005, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1049 "2005-11-25T14:55:04Z")
Looks like it was a unique pick for me, too… Wow. ---
**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:** [November 28, 2005, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1050 "2005-11-28T15:51:55Z")
What if we had a rule for next year saying that for someone to qualify as a celebrity their death must be reported by at least one of the following news sources? This would end any challenges when someone croaks. [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/) [BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/) [MSNBC](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/) [CBS](http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/home/main100.shtml) [CBC](http://www.cbc.ca/) [ABC (Australia)](http://www.abc.net.au/news/) [ABC (USA)](http://abcnews.go.com/) These are all non-local news outfits that report news from around the world. None of them run paid obits. None require subscriptions. If we had this rule in place in 2005 few, if any, of the celebs people scored with would have been disqualified. If your person doesn’t get mentioned by _any_ of these sources you would have to wonder. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1051 "2005-11-28T16:03:10Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > What if we had a rule for next year saying that for someone to qualify as a celebrity their death must be reported by at least one of the following news sources? This would end any challenges when someone croaks. There isn’t any way to know when making a list whether a person’s death will be reported by any of those outlets. Sure, plenty of them are _likely_ to report it, but you can’t know for sure. Have we really had many challenges over this anyway? ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1052 "2005-11-28T16:06:22Z")
> [@Captain Lance Murdoch](#): > > What if we had a rule for next year saying that for someone to qualify as a celebrity their death must be reported by at least one of the following news sources? This would end any challenges when someone croaks. > > [CNN](http://www.cnn.com/) > [BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/) > [MSNBC](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/) > [CBS](http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/home/main100.shtml) > [CBC](http://www.cbc.ca/) > [ABC (Australia)](http://www.abc.net.au/news/) > [ABC (USA)](http://abcnews.go.com/) > > These are all non-local news outfits that report news from around the world. None of them run paid obits. None require subscriptions. If we had this rule in place in 2005 few, if any, of the celebs people scored with would have been disqualified. > > If your person doesn’t get mentioned by _any_ of these sources you would have to wonder. I agree, but think we could shorten the list - do we really need all those American channels? I would be happy with just CNN. And to resurrect an issue discussed previously that may be contentious given that it would invalidate one of the **Captain** ’s picks (Ivan Noble), I think someone should not be regarded as a celebrity purely because their upcoming death is newsworthy. For example, [Craig Alden](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/4474958.stm), should he die, will be reported on the BBC site, but this does not make him a celebrity. Terri Schiavo would be another example. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1053 "2005-11-28T16:51:45Z")
So the argument here is really over what constitutes a celebrity? I really don’t see a problem with the way we’ve done things all along. Terry Schiavo ended up being famous, and fame and celebrity are virtually synonymous, aren’t they? I’m a little baffled that there’s any controversy. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1054 "2005-11-28T17:22:43Z")
Oh, I don’t think the rules should change at all. Half the fun is seeing who other people consider “celebrities.” (The other half is seeing the “Why don’t they die already?” celebrities.) ---
**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:** [November 28, 2005, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1055 "2005-11-28T21:02:09Z")
I agree about the dubious nature of the celebrity “status” on some people’s lists. For example, some time ago a Doper (I forget which one) chose a golfer’s _caddy_ for one of their picks. The caddy did die that year and maybe the “Doper” chose that person due to his ailment - ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). If that’s the case should we check the health status of anyone remotely connected to a celebrity? I’ll admit I picked Magic Johnson for his much-publicized health problem - but it’s not as if I were choosing Mary Lou Retton’s accountant or Russell Crowe’s orthodontist. Then again, I have zero points this year, so maybe I’m just a sore loser. Heck, I think I’ll write up a Top Ten List for MPSIMS concerning the _advantages_ of a zero death pool score. Geez I hope someone on my list doesn’t die and ruin the whole thing for me. By the way, no one has mentioned that Keith Andes has passed away. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1056 "2005-11-28T22:36:08Z")
Put me in as another who thinks the rules should stay just the way they are now, no changes. This whole game will fall apart if we try to define “celebrity” too closely. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1057 "2005-11-28T23:12:53Z")
I think that If they use questionable celebrities, they’ll have to forefit all of their prize money. That should be the only punishment. Well, the other punishment may be the respect and admiration of your fellow dopers. While I knew of an obscure Tasmanian minister who had been diagnosed with cancer, I decided not to run with him because he would have only a limited news reach. On the other hand, Nurse Carmen would only be newsworthy in the Twin Cities metro area. But I had alterior motives that most dopers could recognize for picking her. So I guess each person has to make their rules. One of my rules this year will be that I will pick noone who’s name begins with “minister of” or “terminal patient”. All others are wide open. I know I already have a couple on my list for next year that will make CNN only if it is a slow newsday. As was my list this year. does anyone know if that tasmanian due kicked it? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1058 "2005-11-29T00:53:41Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > I agree about the dubious nature of the celebrity “status” on some people’s lists. For example, some time ago a Doper (I forget which one) chose a golfer’s _caddy_ for one of their picks. That must have been Bruce Edwards, Tom Watson’s caddy. I don’t follow golf and I know his name. I consider that “celebrity.” ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1059 "2005-11-30T00:02:05Z")
What exactly are the rules defining ‘celebrity’? I have someone picked for my list for 2006’s game, but he’s not internationally famous. His death will definitely make local news, and the national news, to some extent. He’s sort of famous, but not world-wide, ‘everyone knows who he is’ kind of famous. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1060 "2005-11-30T05:26:36Z")
[Stan Berenstain,](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/29/AR2005112901210.html) the writer/cartoonist most famous for the hundreds of “Berenstain Bears” books he co-wrote with wife Jan, has died at the age of 82. (linked site requires free registration) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=52) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=54)