# The Celebrity Death Pool 2006 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** death-pool\ **Created:** [December 1, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632 "2005-12-01T22:25:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 43
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/841 "2006-05-17T18:37:00Z")
[Lew Anderson,](http://www.startribune.com/484/story/437692.html) who was the final portrayer of Clarabell the Clown on the _Howdy Doody_ TV show, has died at the age of 84. Anderson was also known as a musician and bandleader. [Frankie Thomas,](http://www.startribune.com/484/story/437995.html) who played the title role in the _Tom Corbett, Space Cadet_ series of the 1950’s, was 85 when he passed away last week. [This page](http://www.startribune.com/484/story/435139.html) features short obituaries of Lou Carrol, who gave Richard Nixon the dog immortalized in Nixon’s “Checkers speech” of 1952; George Crile III, a producer for the _60 Minutes_ TV newsmagazine; Joan Diener, a Broadway actress famous for her roles in _Kismet_ and _Man of La Mancha_; Sue Kunitomi Embrey, who was interned at Manzanar during World War II and later fought to have the relocation camp for Japanese-Americans declared a National Historic Site; Bill Strode, who won two Pulitzer Prizes as a photographer for the _Courier-Journal_ of Louisville, Kentucky; and Johnnie Wilder Junior, who recorded such hits as _Boogie Nights_ and _Always and Forever_ as lead singer of the R&B band Heatwave in the 1970’s. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2006, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/842 "2006-05-18T01:02:14Z")
I have two: 1. Noted Broadway producer [Cy Feuer](http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/entertainment/gossip/14603264.htm), at 95. 2. Former Senator from Nevada [Chic Hecht](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Obit_Hecht.html), at 78. ---
**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:** [May 18, 2006, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/843 "2006-05-18T12:01:20Z")
We haven’t had a Notable Death in quite some time. I am guessing some big named star is going to shuffle off soon. IOW: we are due. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/844 "2006-05-18T12:08:48Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > We haven’t had a Notable Death in quite some time. I am guessing some big named star is going to shuffle off soon. You mean three big named stars. They always croak in threes, you know. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/845 "2006-05-18T21:08:08Z")
[Dan Ross,](http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060518/SPT03/605180321/1035/SPT) who set a Super Bowl record for receptions by catching 11 passes (two for touchdowns) in the Cincinnati Bengals’ 1982 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, has died at the age of 49. Ross also played for the National Football League’s Seattle and Green Bay franchises after starring as a collegian at Boston’s Northeastern University. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/846 "2006-05-20T18:16:38Z")
[Freddie Garrity](http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/20/britain.freddie/index.html), lead singer of the 1960’s group Freddie & The Dreamers, dead at 69. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2006, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/847 "2006-05-22T21:21:46Z")
[Andrew Martinez,](http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/21/BAGGUIVIRG1.DTL) who gained some measure of fame in the 1990’s as the school’s “Naked Guy” while a student at the University of California’s flagship Berkeley campus, has died at the age of 33. Martinez, who was in the Santa Clara County Jail after a January fight at a halfway house where he had been living, apparently committed suicide while awaiting trial on two counts of battery and one count of assault with a deadly weapon. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/848 "2006-05-23T16:02:35Z")
[Lloyd Bensten had died.](http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3882247.html?pleh) ---
**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:** [May 23, 2006, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/849 "2006-05-23T16:09:53Z")
Two of interest, though no one probably picked them: 1. WHO director [Lee Jong-wook](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Jong-wook), at 61. 2. Dancer/choreographer [Katherine Dunham](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Dunham), at 96. ---
**Author:** ![Minotaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Minotaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minotaurus)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/850 "2006-05-23T16:21:01Z")
> [@Wallflower](#): > > 1. Eddie Van Halen hmm the guitar player in Van Halen…??? until I saw this picture of him [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Eddie\_van\_halen.jpg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Eddie_van_halen.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/851 "2006-05-23T18:54:15Z")
> [@Minotaurus](#): > > > [@Wallflower](#): > > > > 1. Eddie Van Halen > > hmm the guitar player in Van Halen…??? > > until I saw this picture of him > [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Eddie\_van\_halen.jpg](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Eddie_van_halen.jpg) 😕 does this post belong in this thread? Eddie Van Halen is still alive (isn’t he?). ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/852 "2006-05-23T20:23:42Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > 😕 > does this post belong in this thread? Eddie Van Halen is still alive (isn’t he?). Only slightly, if that picture is at all telling. ---
**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:** [May 23, 2006, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/853 "2006-05-23T21:07:02Z")
Eddie is definately the crypt keeper in that picture. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/854 "2006-05-23T21:30:44Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Eddie is definately the crypt keeper in that picture. He looks like he’s going the Keith Richards route. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/855 "2006-05-23T22:11:05Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > He looks like he’s going the Keith Richards route. I know he went the cancer route a few years back, and I guess 30 years of rock + cancer = looking like death. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/856 "2006-05-25T14:43:56Z")
[Ian Copeland](http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/Music/05/25/obit.copeland.ap/index.html), '80s alternative bands and least famous of the Copeland Brothers, has passed. ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/857 "2006-05-25T17:59:31Z")
[Clifford Antone, 56; Austin Blues Club Owner Helped Launch Career of Stevie Ray Vaughan](http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-antone25may25,1,3443729.story?coll=la-news-obituaries) ---
**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:** [May 26, 2006, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/858 "2006-05-26T12:53:44Z")
[Reggae star Desmond Dekker dies of a heart attack](http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=musicNews&storyID=2006-05-26T105933Z_01_N26343887_RTRIDST_0_MUSIC-DEKKER-DC.XML)Age of 64. Best known for his song “The Israelites” but had many other great reggae and ska songs to his credit. R.I.P. Desmond. ☹ ---
**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:** [May 26, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/859 "2006-05-26T15:04:47Z")
> [@anyrose](#): > > 😕 > does this post belong in this thread? Eddie Van Halen is still alive (isn’t he?). Why wouldn’t it belong here? We had a Pope watch for what, two years? ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632/860 "2006-05-26T15:10:52Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Why wouldn’t it belong here? We had a Pope watch for what, two years? ok I’ve been mulling over in my mind a new pool for 2007 - Celebrity Relationship Death Pool - point system based on how many months the couple was together before the tabloids broke the news of “trouble” - I’ll have the details ironed out in plenty of time [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632.md?page=42) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2006/333632.md?page=44)