# The Celebrity Death Pool 2007 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** death-pool\ **Created:** [December 2, 2006, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620 "2006-12-02T22:07:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 52
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1021 "2007-07-31T21:03:39Z")
I thought I was gonna goose-egg this year - then two in rapid succession - I’m hoping for a decent year now. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2007, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1022 "2007-07-31T21:38:03Z")
[QUOTE=cbawlmer] Zindler’s death has been big news here in Houston, but I wasn’t sure it was notable enough for this contest. He did have a character based on him in _Best Little Whorehouse in Texas_ – does that qualify him as a celebrity? [/QUOTE] There are no rules for determining celebrity. From the OP: > [@](#): > > We have no rule about what constitutes “celebrity,” because it makes our heads hurt to think about this. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2007, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1023 "2007-07-31T22:47:15Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] There are no rules for determining celebrity. [/QUOTE] The rule of thumb, however, is that the deceased generates a wire story when they assume room temperature. The Chicken Ranch killer qualifies… ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1024 "2007-08-02T17:44:26Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] [Former 49ers coach Bill Walsh dead at 75](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070730/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_obit_walsh;_ylt=Augqvg8MJ1HuivcsZSiiI30E1vAI) [/QUOTE] Cherry-popped! (And possibly uniquely.) I feel weird. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1025 "2007-08-02T17:53:04Z")
[QUOTE=jsc1953] Cherry-popped! (And possibly uniquely.) [/QUOTE] Nope. \*\*Rico \*\* & \*\*zoog \*\* also have Bill Walsh. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1026 "2007-08-02T19:28:20Z")
It was with a heavy heart that I report that one of the two legendary Irish singers on my list has passed away. Shane MacGowen is still alive and kicking, but [Tommy Makem](http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/02/obit.makem.ap/index.html) has heard the pipes, the pipes a-calling. From glen to glen. And down the mountainside. He was 74. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2007, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1027 "2007-08-03T01:29:09Z")
[QUOTE=NurseCarmen] It was with a heavy heart that I report that one of the two legendary Irish singers on my list has passed away. Shane MacGowen is still alive and kicking, but [Tommy Makem](http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/02/obit.makem.ap/index.html) has heard the pipes, the pipes a-calling. From glen to glen. And down the mountainside. He was 74. [/QUOTE] I was going to link to the story then thought, “Why bother? I’m sure no one picked him.” I should have know better. ---
**Author:** ![Rachm\_Qoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@Rachm\_Qoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachm_Qoch)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1028 "2007-08-03T02:19:12Z")
[QUOTE=Loach] I was going to link to the story then thought, “Why bother? I’m sure no one picked him.” I should have know better. [/QUOTE] I only had him as an alternate. I should have known better. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1029 "2007-08-03T02:42:41Z")
[QUOTE=Rachm Qoch] I only had him as an alternate. I should have known better. [/QUOTE] Oh come on. You only get credit for 13. Stop rubbing it in. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1030 "2007-08-03T03:09:33Z")
Holy crap! Chauncey Bailey, editor of the Oakland (California) Post, was [gunned down this morning.](http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,291894,00.html) It appears to have been a deliberate hit. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1031 "2007-08-03T12:14:10Z")
Have we had any recent updates of the scores lately? ---
**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:** [August 3, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1032 "2007-08-03T13:42:17Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] Have we had any recent updates of the scores lately? [/QUOTE] **Rachm Qoch** is in the lead, everyone else is a distant second. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1033 "2007-08-03T14:51:54Z")
[QUOTE=SpazCat] **Rachm Qoch** is in the lead, everyone else is a distant second. [/QUOTE] How does that qualify as an “update”? Sky is blue, grass is green. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2007, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1034 "2007-08-03T17:35:43Z")
[QUOTE=NurseCarmen] It was with a heavy heart that I report that one of the two legendary Irish singers on my list has passed away. Shane MacGowen is still alive and kicking, but [Tommy Makem](http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/02/obit.makem.ap/index.html) has heard the pipes, the pipes a-calling. From glen to glen. And down the mountainside. He was 74. [/QUOTE] Well damn, that one saddens me. I can’t count how many times my father took the family to see Tommy Makem and the Clancy Brothers at the Garden State Arts Center – their music was a staple around the house when I was a child. _Oh we’re off to Dublin, in the Green in the Green, Where the helmets glisten in the sun, And the tans they flew like lightning to The rattle of a Thompson gun_ Oh course, I had no idea whatsoever what any of it meant, but I loved singing it nonetheless. ---
**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:** [August 7, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1035 "2007-08-07T17:55:06Z")
[Songwriter Lee Hazlewood is dead at the age of 78](http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2142293,00.html) ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2007, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1036 "2007-08-07T18:17:01Z")
Oh yeah, I had a question. Would [Marvin Zindler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Zindler) count as a “death-pool type” celebrity? > [@wikipedia](#): > > Zindler made local and national headlines when he closed the Chicken Ranch in Fayette County, Texas, near La Grange, after he made a news report on it in 1973. The Chicken Ranch story was featured in two 1974 issues of Playboy magazine, was the basis for the Broadway and film musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and served as the basis of the song La Grange by ZZ Top. I didn’t pick him either. i’m still a virgin, this year anyway. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1037 "2007-08-08T01:18:21Z")
[Kathleen Woodiwiss](http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2139482,00.html) a famous romance writer has died. I am sure no one had her. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1038 "2007-08-08T03:39:25Z")
[QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] [Kathleen Woodiwiss](http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2139482,00.html) a famous romance writer has died. I am sure no one had her. [/QUOTE] No, but always glad to hear of another dead romance novelist. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2007, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1039 "2007-08-08T11:49:11Z")
[QUOTE=Dolores Reborn] Oh yeah, I had a question. Would [Marvin Zindler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Zindler) count as a “death-pool type” celebrity? I didn’t pick him either. i’m still a virgin, this year anyway. [/QUOTE] Psst. Check posts #1017, 1018 and 1022. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620/1040 "2007-08-08T14:50:48Z")
[Hal Fishman](http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-fishman8aug08,1,7032246.story?page=2&track=rss), who anchored TV news broadcasts in Los Angeles for 47 years, and also appeared in several movies including “Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles,” has died at age 75. I was going to add him, but he was a last minute drop. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620.md?page=51) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2007/382620.md?page=53)