# 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:** 57
**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 27, 2005, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1121 "2005-12-27T02:55:34Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > But if Long Time does manage to win the 2005 death pool with his list, I think we really need to alert the authorities. Hee Hee. Thanks all for bringing the error to my attention. I have posted my selections to the proper year. (I also managed to post my correction to the wrong thread first). I gotta take a refresher course in comprehension. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1122 "2005-12-28T17:23:40Z")
None of us had either of them, but this is as good a place to remember them in: Former Rep. Cooper Evans (R-IA) died on the 22nd, at the age of 81. Longtime Orioles player/coach Elrod Hendricks died on the 21st, of a heart attack. He was 64. ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1123 "2005-12-29T15:59:06Z")
my first foray into the world opf death prognistication: Ariel Sharon Ray Rhodes (football coach) Albert Hofmann Claude Levi-Strauss Abe Vigoda Kirk Douglas Micky Rooney Lady Bird Johnson Zsa Zsa Gabor Gerald Ford Ernest Borgnine Shelly Winters John Madden Alt: Henry Kissinger Alt: Sadaam Husein ---
**Author:** ![Avenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de0a6/32.png) [@Avenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avenger)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1124 "2005-12-29T16:01:49Z")
Is there a latest entry award? ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1125 "2005-12-29T16:02:07Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > my first foray into the world opf death prognistication: > > Ariel Sharon > Ray Rhodes (football coach) > Albert Hofmann > Claude Levi-Strauss > Abe Vigoda > Kirk Douglas > Micky Rooney > Lady Bird Johnson > Zsa Zsa Gabor > Gerald Ford > Ernest Borgnine > Shelly Winters > John Madden > > Alt: Henry Kissinger > Alt: Sadaam Husein Psst – **phungi** – you need to post this in the '06 thread. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1126 "2005-12-30T16:24:40Z")
[Bud Blake,](http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/12/30/obit.blake.ap/index.html) creator of the _Tiger_ comic strip, has died at the age of 87. Blake had worked as executive art director of an advertising agency before quitting to devote himself to cartooning. ---
**Author:** ![gaucho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@gaucho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaucho)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1127 "2005-12-31T15:24:30Z")
As 2005 draws to a close, let’s take a moment to congratulate the real winners- _the fans!_ ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1128 "2005-12-31T16:42:18Z")
> [@gaucho](#): > > As 2005 draws to a close, let’s take a moment to congratulate the real winners- _the fans!_ The real winners are the people on _my_ list. They shall all live a long and happy life. Ok I can’t guarantee happy but you ain’t dying if I pick you. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1129 "2005-12-31T23:52:31Z")
Rona Jaffe died yesterday in London while on vacation. I can’t find the link right now… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1130 "2006-01-01T01:15:54Z")
Will the listing of this years winners along with their winning corpses (corpsii?) Please don’t make me slog through all of this again? ---
**Author:** ![Wallflower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Wallflower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallflower)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1131 "2006-01-01T02:38:46Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Rona Jaffe died yesterday in London while on vacation. > > I can’t find the link right now… [Link](http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=1457976) ---
**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:** [January 1, 2006, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1132 "2006-01-01T05:22:58Z")
As promised, if I ended 2005 with a zero score, I would post a Top 10 List of The **Advantages of Having a Zero Score for the Previous Year’s Death Pool** : (A lot of this is predicated on the fact that you keep your 2005 list for 2006) 1. It’s easy to pick the 2006 list. Just roll over what you had for 2005 ! 🙂 2. Totally 100% guilt free about “causing” any celebrity death by the “jinx” of their being on your list. 3. And in relation to #9, you can feel lucky, blessed, maybe even annointed that your having those celebrities on your list actually _bestowed_ on them an almost certain year of good health. 4. No need to go searching for morbid stories or wondering to yourself “Hmm I wonder if the laboratory assistant to Nicole Kidman’s gynecologist has got Lou Gehrig’s Disease (aka ALS)” ? 5. No morbid “bandwagon” jumping when you see the SDMB membership thinks a celebrity is ready to go. (Lou Rawls anyone?) 6. By about April, you realize you’ve got a snowball in Hell’s chance of ever coming out a winner at the end of the year. Saves wear and tear on your nervous system, causes no ulcers and makes it much easier to sleep at night. 7. Not paying strict attention to celebrity deaths, or your SDMB Dead Pool score, allows you more time to live a _real_ life. 8. It’s easy to repress the desire to “snuff” a celebrity just to get a good score. (Which as we know is strictly against the rules). 9. You’ve got a zero score. In a way, you’ve achieved perfection. 10. Just think - ALL the celebrities on your list are now one year closer to their deaths!!! BWA-HA-HA !!! 😃 Happy 2006 Everbody !!! 🙂 I hope Larry Storch didn’t die at 11:55 pm, negating this whole damned list. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1133 "2006-01-01T08:20:35Z")
Wolf, you forgot one more advantage. 1. It’s easy to figure out what your maximum possible score would be. Just subtract 13 from last year’s maximum possible score. ---
**Author:** ![Spiff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiff/32/9852_2.png) [@Spiff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiff)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1134 "2006-01-01T17:19:25Z")
Character actor [Patrick Cranshaw](http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051230-020103-4305r) (Old School, Bubble Boy) died on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at age 86. I had him on my \*\*2006 \*\* Death Pool List. :smack: It’s a good thing I listed some alternates in addition to my 13 picks for 2006! ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1135 "2006-01-02T19:06:10Z")
[Richard DeAngelis](http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/01/02/DeAngelis-Obit.html) died on December 28. According to the handy-dandy spreadsheet (thanks whoever that was!) no one had him. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1136 "2006-01-02T21:25:23Z")
I’ve lost the linkie for the spreadsheet for 2005. Link, please. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1137 "2006-01-02T21:52:15Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > I’ve lost the linkie for the spreadsheet for 2005. > Link, please. I’d like that too. ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1138 "2006-01-02T21:57:48Z")
It’s here, somewhere in 23 pages of posts. In this very thread. Oh, very well. Give me a couple hours and I’ll quote the original post (see, I downloaded the thing then and it’s been sitting on my desktop ever since. Aren’t you sorry you didn’t download it then, too? 😃 ) Of course, you realize, that the original link won’t have the updates since – oh, wait, if you link to it now and download it now, it might be up-to-date. Or something. I’ll be back once I find it. My head hurts. ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1139 "2006-01-02T22:04:37Z")
> [@cazzle](#): > > I put together an Excel file that automatically calculates the scores. Those who are interested are welcome to [take a look](http://makeashorterlink.com/?J196327EB). > > This was a mammoth task and I worked on it for over 15 hours over a four day period. As hard as I tried to keep it accurate, I’m sure some errors have slipped in. If you find any, please let me know and I’ll fix them. The easiest way to check your own entry is to use the Auto Filter function and on your name, selected “Non-Blanks”. > > I worked out points using Wikipedia as a reference. While it’s possible that I’ve made mistakes, I took a lot of care to try to make sure they were right. If you think I’ve put the wrong number of points against an individual, could you please provide a link to a source with the correct age at death information. Typos do tend to slip in when you’re not looking. > > I hope this is useful to some. Took less time to find than I thought it would. (Secret Trick™: I went to the file on my desktop, clicked on properties and found the creation date. Hah!) And the download link says it was last updated Nov 26. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574/1140 "2006-01-03T20:07:05Z")
All righty… Since last I posted an update, the only celebrity anybody picked was Richard Pryor. All of these posters gain 35 points each and share the Final Hours Award: **ataraxy22 Carm6773 cazzle Club 33 CowPatty DeVena drewbert dwc1970 Earthman Etherman gatopescado GWVet hammos1 imthjckaz JavaMaven1 Jeep’s Phoenix katie1341 Kuizelemartz labtrash LilyoftheValley Long Time First Time Lsura melondeca MissTake Mr. Blue Sky Mona Lott psycat90 Scruloose Sean Factotum Sevo TeaElle trublmakr VunderBob WIGGUM** and **yellowval** I’m going to update the scoreboard and bring this year’s game to its Thrilling Conclusion this afternoon. Stay tuned… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=56) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2005/277574.md?page=58)