# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/141 "2007-12-25T14:04:57Z")
[QUOTE=amarone] but to date we have had 78 lists. At this time last year we had 99 lists. [/QUOTE] I think people are being coy. Last year one poster waited and copied almost the entire list of one of the most “lucky” posters. I’m still a virgin this year, but I plan on waiting until 12/31. It is my birthday. Maybe this time I’ll have better results. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/142 "2007-12-25T14:33:26Z")
[QUOTE=Tripler] Sorry about the confusion. Here’s my simple list! [/QUOTE] Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/143 "2007-12-25T16:29:16Z")
_It’s that mooost wonderful tiiime of the yeeear…_ Fidel Castro Adam Pacman Jones Dick van Dyke Dick Clark Sid Caesar Daniel Schorr Walter Cronkite John Glenn Benazir Bhutto Pervez Musharraf Ed Koch Ariel Sharon Fred Phelps alternates: Angela Lansbury Billy Graham I’ve known for months that Pacman was going to be on my list this year. I was holding out for a unique pick but **WVmom** beat me to it 😃 ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2007, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/144 "2007-12-25T16:48:23Z")
[QUOTE=amarone] You [**VunderBob**] had Roger Ebert on your original list. I will keep Ebert and replace Chavez with Ferraro. [/QUOTE] Ebert should be there; Ferraro replaces Chavez. However, another substitution. As much as I’d like to see that old bastard kick the bucket, George Soros is replaced by Pete Domenici. New list: Roger Ebert Pervez Musharraf Geraldine Ferraro Michael J. Fox Joni Mitchell Louis Farrakhan Tony Snow Suzanne Pleshette Farah Fawcett Amy Winehouse Muhammed Ali Elizabeth Edwards Pete Domenici Alternates: Fred Phelps Kim Jong-Il Michael Moore ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/145 "2007-12-26T05:11:47Z")
Britney Spears Elizabeth Taylor Liza Minelli Mary-Kate Olsen Gough Whitlam Keith Richards James Garner Nick Nolte Margaret Thatcher Ronnie Corbett Alternates: Stephen Hawking Harry Belafonte Don Rickles ---
**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:** [December 26, 2007, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/146 "2007-12-26T05:14:42Z")
[QUOTE=BACI] Britney Spears Elizabeth Taylor Liza Minelli Mary-Kate Olsen Gough Whitlam Keith Richards James Garner Nick Nolte Margaret Thatcher Ronnie Corbett Alternates: Stephen Hawking Harry Belafonte Don Rickles [/QUOTE] You only have ten names. You need 13. ---
**Author:** ![BACI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ce73a5/32.png) [@BACI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BACI)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/147 "2007-12-26T09:58:17Z")
[QUOTE=Fear Itself] You only have ten names. You need 13. [/QUOTE] A thousand apologies - slight malinterpretation of the rules. Our list, no alternates at this time: Britney Spears Elizabeth Taylor Liza Minelli Mary-Kate Olsen Gough Whitlam Keith Richards James Garner Nick Nolte Margaret Thatcher Ronnie Corbett Stephen Hawking Harry Belafonte Don Rickles ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/148 "2007-12-26T12:05:58Z")
Russell Watson Elizabeth Edwards Eleanor Mondale Shuntaro Torigoe Grant Achatz Tony Snow Philip Chevron Kris Carr Matt Cappotelli Lynn Kohlman Bobby Murcer Jack Kevorkian Donald Hall [alternates] Ariel Sharon Fidel Castro Keith Richards I swear on a stack of death certificates, and on my honor as a very morbid and disturbed individual, that I have not looked at any other player’s list, other than **amarone** ’s first post. I managed to finish in the top 10 (at least of Christmas) for 2007 with three picks, let’s see if I do any better this year. None of my picks from last year are on this year’s list, save for Ariel and Fidel as alternates. 1. Russell Watson, opera singer 2. Elizabeth Edwards, wife of presidential candidate John Edwards 3. Eleanor Mondale, radio personality and TV host, daughter of former VP Walter Mondale 4. Shuntaro Torigoe, TV journalist 5. Grant Achatz, celebrity chef 6. Tony Snow, former White House spokesman 7. Philip Chevron, lead guitarist for The Pogues 8. Kris Carr, filmmaker, director of Crazy Sexy Cancer 9. Matt Cappotelli, professional wrestler 10. Lynn Kohlman, fashion model and photographer 11. Bobby Murcer, former NY Yankee 12. Jack Kevorkian, Dr. Death 13. Donald Hall, U.S. poet laureate (Not Donald J. Hall, Prez of Hallmark Cards) ---
**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 26, 2007, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/149 "2007-12-26T12:25:30Z")
I thought the word should be _alternatives_, not _alternates_. But I looked it up, and typically, it’s considered acceptable, though of course it’s Americans bastardising the English language once again. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/150 "2007-12-26T13:39:10Z")
[QUOTE=Sublight] I managed to finish in the top 10 (at least of Christmas) for 2007 with three picks [/QUOTE] I’m not the official scorer for 2007, but I have you at 12th. Rachm Qoch 283 Zog\_10 254 amarone 231 qwest 214 CowPatty 175 Andrew 21 167 tarragon918 136 clipper 127 NurseCarmen 127 Blalron 125 Captain Lance Murdoch 121 Sublight 118 And if someone can tell me how to stop VB from stripping out the blanks between the name and score, I would be grateful. I had all the scores aligned in a column. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/151 "2007-12-26T15:36:11Z")
Darn. I noticed right after I posted that **NurseCarmen** had flown past me on Evel Kneivel’s rocket casket, I guess two more must have as well. Still, it’s better than I’ve ever done before, and the first time I scored with celebs who weren’t picked by 50 other people as well. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/152 "2007-12-26T16:32:24Z")
[QUOTE=amarone] * * * And if someone can tell me how to stop VB from stripping out the blanks between the name and score, I would be grateful. I had all the scores aligned in a column. [/QUOTE] I think the only thing you can do is wrap the whole thing with code tags (the # on the “tool bar”). Test: ```auto **BJMoose** 1201 **PosterWithIdioticallyLongUsername** 43 **Amarone** 7 ``` Bit of a pain in the patoot. You can’t use tabs, but the defalt font is monospaced, so at least the right margin won’t be ragged. Looks like I still have a unique pick or two, so I’ll hold off publishing my list. (Almost forgot one year and had to recreate a list from memory at the last minute!) ---
**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 26, 2007, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/153 "2007-12-26T19:19:21Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I thought the word should be alternatives, not alternates. But I looked it up, and typically, it’s considered acceptable, though of course it’s Americans bastardising the English language once again. Typical prescriptivist bullshit. We could just as easily call “boot” a bastardization of “trunk”; there isn’t an ounce of logic to support either position, though. ---
**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2007, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/154 "2007-12-26T23:51:36Z")
[QUOTE=amarone] You are correct. I don’t know if people are being coy with their lists this year and waiting until closer to the deadline, but to date we have had 78 lists. At this time last year we had 99 lists. [/QUOTE] I am waiting - I’ll post mine over the weekend when I’ve had time to review my choices one last time ---
**Author:** ![zoog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7ea924/32.png) [@zoog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoog)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/155 "2007-12-27T02:46:56Z")
A bunch of repeats from last year’s list, but I did have 3 stiffs that had to be replaced. I ditched a couple of others because the point value is too low and/or they’re on too many lists. Lou Albano Ron Jeremy Gary Busey Suge Knight Bobby Robson Paul Prudhomme William Perry Omar Abdel-Rahman Mike Tyson James Watt J.R. Richard George Wendt James Cotton ---
**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 27, 2007, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/156 "2007-12-27T04:47:37Z")
[QUOTE=Hostile Dialect] Typical prescriptivist bullshit. We could just as easily call “boot” a bastardization of “trunk”; there isn’t an ounce of logic to support either position, though. [/QUOTE] Well, there’s quite a lot of difference between having two separate words meaning the same thing (especially for something that is a relatively recent invention), and using an existing word incorrectly until it’s so common it becomes accepted. Of course, that’s the nature of language, but the Americans seem to stubbornly take pride in it. Anyway, I am hijacking. My apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Shamozzle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shamozzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shamozzle)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/157 "2007-12-27T06:44:06Z")
Jimmy Carter Ariel Sharon Fidel Castro Kirk Douglas Liza Minnelli George H. W. Bush Betty Ford Lauren Bacall Angela Lansbury Paul Newman Sidney Poitier Nelson Mandela Peter Falk Alternate: Robert Duvall ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/158 "2007-12-27T07:04:16Z")
[QUOTE=amarone] Valid picks are not: a. already dead… Please see Rule 7 regarding the likes of Saddam Hussein [/QUOTE] Okay… Also, thank you for quoting me in your OP. Anyway, my list, in alphabetical order: Ralph Baer Tony Bennett\* Yogi Berra Osama bin Laden Shirley Temple Black Jimmy Carter Sean Connery Roger Ebert June Foray Barry Manilow\* Bill Melendez Robert Mugabe Carroll Spinney \*These picks sponsored in part by Dr. Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/159 "2007-12-27T07:12:52Z")
Arthur C. Clarke Stephen Hawking Muhammad Ali Queen Elizabeth Fidel Castro Pat Robertson Michael J. Fox Jerry Lewis Jack Kevorkian Andy Griffith Fred Phelps Christopher Lloyd Tom Lehrer And on time, this year! Alternate: Pope Benedict XVI ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439/160 "2007-12-27T12:49:15Z")
George HW Bush Dick Cheney Danica Patrick George Steinbrenner Roger Ebert Glen Campbell Englebert Humperdinck Walter Mondale John Paul Stevens Willie Mays Joe Namath Max Baer, Jr Pernell Roberts [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2008/428439.md?page=9)