# The Celebrity Death Pool 2008 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** death-pool\ **Created:** [December 1, 2007, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439 "2007-12-01T11:46:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/101 "2007-12-19T11:39:26Z")
Okay, this is the first time I’ve entered. Be gentle. Christopher Lee Elizabeth Taylor George H W Bush Britney Spears Pele Ronnie Corbett Robbie Williams Gary Glitter Ringo Starr Terry Pratchett Bobby McFerrin Nicholas Lyndhurst Lachlan Murdoch Alternatives: Thelma Barlow Richard Clayderman Some of these names you may not recognise, as many are UK celebrities. And one of them is Australian. I’ve listed them in my personal expectation of the order of likelihood that they’ll kick the bucket. I think my chances of getting any points at all are very remote. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/102 "2007-12-19T13:08:27Z")
Fidel Castro Mikheil Saakashvili Margaret Thatcher Queen Elizabeth II Ross Perot Alan Greenspan Russell Johnson Wilford Brimley James Earl Jones Dick Van Patten Bob Barker Dick Clark Walter Cronkite ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/103 "2007-12-19T17:40:58Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] Some of these names you may not recognise, as many are UK celebrities. And one of them is Australian. I’ve listed them in my personal expectation of the order of likelihood that they’ll kick the bucket. I think my chances of getting any points at all are very remote. [/QUOTE] Yeah, who’s Ringo Starr? 😕 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2007, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/104 "2007-12-19T19:16:13Z")
Still hoping to score a few more points this year, but going ahead and posting my 2008 list (subject to revision): THE HOLDOVERS [Oral Roberts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_Roberts) – This is my fifth year of **Celebrity Death Pool** participation, and I’ve pickied Oral each time. Since I have a personal rule to only go for folks who are worth at least ten points each, this is his last appearance on my list regardless of whether God finally calls him home by the end of 2008. [Bob Feller](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Feller) – Made the Baseball Hall of Fame on the first ballot, but now faces his final round of eligibility as far as the **Sternvogel** standard is concerned. [Art Donovan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Donovan) – Another of my charter selections. I can’t believe the clock hasn’t run out on him yet. [Jack Kevorkian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kevorkian) – Apparently “Dr. Death” believes in fighting for his own life, but he’s got to lose the battle eventually. [Louis Farrakhan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Farrakhan) – Will this ex-calypso performer finally belt out his swan song? [Pete Seeger](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Seeger) – Since he sang _Turn, Turn, Turn_, he knows that there’s “a time to die” and (for his fans) “a time to mourn”. [Norodom Sihanouk](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norodom_Sihanouk) – One of those guys who’s apparently able to carry out his death throes for years, but I just know that the year I drop him will be the year he ascends to a celestial throne. [Abdelaziz Bouteflika](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdelaziz_Bouteflika) – Perhaps he’s licked stomach cancer (if he indeed ever had the disease), but I figure Algeria needs some representation in this thread. [Fidel Castro](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fidel_Castro) – _El Jefe_ may indeed already be dead, but I’m figuring that George W. Bush will be the U.S. president who finally “outlasts” the Cuban leader (albeit by as little as a month). AND NOW, THE NEWCOMERS After the deaths of 2007 selections Robert Anton Wilson, Art Buchwald, Jerry Falwell, and Joey Bishop, here are my draft picks: [Mort Walker](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mort_Walker) – The creator of _Beetle Bailey_ will join such recently-deceased cartooning colleagues as Brant Parker and Johnny Hart. [Ralph Kiner](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Kiner) – Feller’s teammate for one year will join (or precede) “Rapid Robert” in the “Field of Dreams”. [Kay Yow](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kay_Yow) – Veteran coach of the North Carolina State Wolfpack Women has been battling breast cancer. [Earl Scruggs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Scruggs) – Just a hunch that he’ll be pickin’ on Heaven’s front porch ere long. PLAINTEXT ALPHABETIZED LIST Abdelaziz Bouteflika Fidel Castro Art Donovan Louis Farrakhan Bob Feller Jack Kevorkian Ralph Kiner Oral Roberts Earl Scruggs Pete Seeger Norodom Sihanouk Mort Walker Kay Yow ---
**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:** [December 19, 2007, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/105 "2007-12-19T19:32:33Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] Lachlan Murdoch [/QUOTE] For a second there, I was worried. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/106 "2007-12-19T19:47:15Z")
[QUOTE=Sean Factotum] We’ve been pretty much saying that if someone’s death is reported by two major news reporting agencies (CNN, New York Times, one of the reputable foreign press outlets, etc.) then they’re a celebrity. Should we finally make this the rule for defining celebrity? And thanks, **a35362** for your stewardship of The Pool over the last few years. Every now and then I remember your post about when John Paul II dies, and giggle. [/QUOTE] I requested we have the rule be one major news source to verify celebrity, but even that got shot down. Pretty much anything goes it seems, but I would think that you would have to somehow demonstrate that your guy died. Otherwise I could pick Erbwb “Spanky” Vliknloutisovawicz and just claim he died of spontaneous human combustion at the age of 18 and ask everyone to take my word for it. On that subject, who is Ritter’s pick, Ben Aud? I just googled him and got zero. ---
**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:** [December 20, 2007, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/107 "2007-12-20T06:27:15Z")
Once again, immortality for everyone on my list! (And huge thanks to **a35362** for the past years of being Pool Keeper. Shoulda tossed some chlorine in there…) Here’s the 2008 list that will go nowhere, once again, entertainment heavy: Paul Harvey Tina Louise Pete Seeger William Schallert Barbara Hale Mitch Miller Helen Gurley Brown Olivia Newton-John Farrah Fawcett Amy Winehouse Kylie Minogue Brian Bonsall Ashleigh Brilliant Alternates: Gordon B. Hinckley Eminem ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/108 "2007-12-20T06:58:11Z")
Dick Cheney Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Charlton Heston Britney Spears Sidney Lumet Fidel Castro Nasser El Sonbaty (bodybuilder) Chavo Guerrero, Jr (wrestler) Sidney Ray Eudy (Psycho Sid, Sid Vicious, Wrestler) Mel Brooks Nicole Richie Mariusz Pudzianowski (strongman) Alberto Contador (cyclist) alt: Michael Jackson ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/109 "2007-12-20T12:48:34Z")
Substitution, please. Drop Hugo Chavez, add Geraldine Ferraro… Geraldine Ferraro Pervez Musharraf Michael J. Fox Joni Mitchell Louis Farrakhan Tony Snow Suzanne Pleshette Farah Fawcett Amy Winehouse Muhammed Ali Elizabeth Edwards George Soros Alternates: Fred Phelps Kim Jong-Il Michael Moore ---
**Author:** ![Avarie537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@Avarie537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Avarie537)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/110 "2007-12-20T13:47:46Z")
I missed last year, and am jumping in now for 2008! Fidel Castro Bob Barker John Madden Eunice Kennedy Shriver Rush Limbaugh Elizabeth Taylor Dick Cheney Curtis Jackson (50 Cent) Elizabeth Edwards Billy Graham Owen Wilson Muhammad Ali Stephen Hawking Alternates: Abigail Van Buren Paul Harvey ---
**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:** [December 20, 2007, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/111 "2007-12-20T14:05:31Z")
[QUOTE=amarone] Any chance you could do a plain format list? [/QUOTE] Sorry. Here ye be: Dane Cook Zsa Zsa Gabor Norman Borlaug Mickey Foote Nancy Regan John Mayall Margaretta Large Fitler Murphy “Happy” Rockefeller Don Shula Darryl Strawberry Hubert “Geese” Ausbie Jovanka Budisavljević Broz Lew Lewis Caril Ann Fugate Alternates: Todd Rundgren Martin Gardner ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/112 "2007-12-20T21:59:17Z")
[QUOTE=VunderBob] Substitution, please. Drop Hugo Chavez, add Geraldine Ferraro… Geraldine Ferraro Pervez Musharraf Michael J. Fox Joni Mitchell Louis Farrakhan Tony Snow Suzanne Pleshette Farah Fawcett Amy Winehouse Muhammed Ali Elizabeth Edwards George Soros Alternates: Fred Phelps Kim Jong-Il Michael Moore [/QUOTE] You only have twelve names on the main list – did you inadvertently drop someone, or do you want to move Phelps up? ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/113 "2007-12-20T23:12:33Z")
[QUOTE=Sternvogel] You only have twelve names on the main list – did you inadvertently drop someone, or do you want to move Phelps up? [/QUOTE] You [**VunderBob**] had Roger Ebert on your original list. I will keep Ebert and replace Chavez with Ferraro. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/114 "2007-12-20T23:15:55Z")
[QUOTE=Spiff] Sorry. Here ye be: Dane Cook Zsa Zsa Gabor Norman Borlaug Mickey Foote Nancy Regan John Mayall Margaretta Large Fitler Murphy “Happy” Rockefeller Don Shula Darryl Strawberry Hubert “Geese” Ausbie Jovanka Budisavljević Broz Lew Lewis Caril Ann Fugate Alternates: Todd Rundgren Martin Gardner [/QUOTE] Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2007, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/115 "2007-12-20T23:46:31Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > Dane Cook Wishful thinking, eh? ---
**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:** [December 21, 2007, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/116 "2007-12-21T04:11:37Z")
I had my best year in 2007 and I’m hoping to do better in 2008…ummm…I mean I’m wishing everyone on my list a long and healthy life…yeah, that’s it Lauren Bacall Fidel Castro Walter Cronkite Gulistan Dugan Farrah Fawcett Billy Graham Larry Hagman Henry Kissinger Jerry Lewis Robert Mugabe Ariel Sharon Than Shwe Elizabeth Taylor ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/117 "2007-12-21T04:27:47Z")
[QUOTE=Spiff] Nancy Regan [/QUOTE] The former FIrst Lady (Nancy Reagan) or [Nancy Regan](http://www.asb.nb.ca/NancyRegan.htm)? I am going with Reagan unless I hear otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/118 "2007-12-21T06:20:17Z")
Well, this will be my first foray into the realm of celebrity death prognostication. I haven’t read all the lists, just glanced over most of them, so I hope I don’t copy anybody’s too closely. And I can’t believe all the Amy Winehouse picks. When I saw the first one, I thought it was a joke, but I noticed her name popped up a few more times. Is she really that self-destructive? Well, here goes… Bea Arthur Rue McClanahan Betty White Estelle Ghetty Paul McCartney Ringo Starr Yoko Ono Tony Danza John Glenn Stephen Hawking Mindy McCready Judd Hirsch Judd Nelson Hey, might as well have some fun with it right? 🙂 Oh, and for an alternate, how about…Nichele Nichols, for a little racial diversity. Plus she’s old. ---
**Author:** ![FarmerChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@FarmerChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarmerChick)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/119 "2007-12-21T10:30:57Z")
Here’s my list Farrah Fawcett Liza Minelli Eddie Van Halen Fidel Castro Amy Winehouse Tom Sizemore Dick Cheney Elizabeth Edwards John Goodman Gary Busey Danny Bonaduce John Glenn Mary Tyler Moore alternates Gene Wilder Dick Van Dyke ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/120 "2007-12-21T14:47:27Z")
My list for 2008: Muhammad Ali Fidel Castro Farrah Fawcett John Forsythe Adam Pacman Jones Annette Funicello Suzanne Pleshette Ariel Sharon Leroy Sievers Tony Snow Elizabeth Taylor Margaret Thatcher Amy Winehouse Alternates: Dick Cheney Bobby Brown [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439.md?page=7)