# The Celebrity Death Pool 2009 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** death-pool\ **Created:** [December 1, 2008, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262 "2008-12-01T23:40:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/141 "2008-12-13T17:58:05Z")
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Death Pool Submission Month! (in no particular order) Nancy Reagan John Madden Amy Winehouse Jalal Talabani Terrell Owens Muhammad Ali Arnold Palmer R. Lee Ermey Ricky Skaggs Michael Hebranko Stephen Hawking Roy Clark Bill Murray Alt: Loretta Lynn Richard Dreyfuss Details: 1. Nancy Reagan - 81, b. 7/6/21: Former first lady, close personal friend of [Gary Coleman](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlTx2cGHSh8) 2. John Madden - 72, b. 4/10/36: Football commentator, [Voodoo doctor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madden_curse#Madden_Curse), and regional food aficionado. 3. Amy Winehouse - 25, b. 9/14/83: Singer, suffering from “emphysema” and crack addiction. 4. Jalal Talabani - 75, b. 4/7/33: President of Iraq. I’d rather have my “political assassination” pick _not_ go to Obama. 5. Terrell Owens - 35, b. 12/7/73: Professional d-bag, end zone celebrator, wide receiver (roughly in that order). 6. Muhammad Ali - 66, b. 1/17/42: Former heavyweight champ. I get choked up every time I see [this clip](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seF7noys9QQ). 7. Arnold Palmer - 79, b. 9/10/29: One third of golf’s greatest rivalry, and “inventor” of the [perfect post-round drink](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Palmer_(drink)). 8. R. Lee Ermey - 64, b. 3/24/44: Marine, actor, badass. 9. Ricky Skaggs - 54, b. 7/18/54: Bluegrass and country musician. 10. [Michael Hebranko](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hebranko) - 55, b. 5/14/53: Guinness Record holder for “most weight lost,” after dropping 709 pounds in 19 months between 1987 and 1989. 458 pounds as of April 2007. 11. Stephen Hawking - 66, b. 1/8/42: Physicist, author, genius, [rapper](http://www.mchawking.com/). 12. Roy Clark, 75, b. 4/15/33: Country musician and host of Hee Haw. 13. Bill Murray - 58, b. 9/21/50: Actor, professional amateur celebrity golfer. Alternates: Loretta Lynn - 74, b. 4/14/34: Once a Coal Miner’s Daughter, now the Van Lear Rose. Richard Dreyfuss - 61, b. 10/29/47: Actor, Amateur historian and pundit. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/142 "2008-12-13T20:26:02Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > Since we all know it’s impossible to beat Rachm Qoch on points, I’m going to try to grab the Quantity Not Quality award from him. I present one bandwagon cancer patient and twelve centenarians: > > * * * _Centenarians?_ :rolleyes: And **amarone** thought I was weird. 'Tis a helluva way to get a bunch of unique picks, though. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/143 "2008-12-13T20:48:06Z")
You can’t even count in the centenarians though. My family is about to celebrate the 104th birthday of my maternal grandmother. Each year we think, “this will be the last time” and so far she just keeps plugging along. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/144 "2008-12-14T05:04:53Z")
Okay, I’m in again. Considering I’m sitting on a big, fat goose egg for this year, I can’t possibly do any worse. **Main list:** Bob Barker Fidel Castro Dick Clark Walter Cronkite Richard Dawson John Goodman Billy Graham Ozzy Osbourne Nancy Reagan Keith Richards Andy Rooney O.J. Simpson Abe Vigoda **Alternates:** Bill Cosby Fred Phelps John Williams ---
**Author:** ![Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Buckler\_of\_Swashing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buckler_of_Swashing)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/145 "2008-12-14T14:17:06Z")
For once I’ve actually remembered to get my list up in time. Not many unique people and many of the stock standards and holdouts from previous competitions: Claude Lévi Strauss Fidel Castro Osama Bin Laden Amy Winehouse Jack Kevorkian Gough Whitlam JD Salinger Margaret Thatcher Tom Lehrer George H W Bush Billy Graham William Mark Felt Brittany Spears **Alternates** Buzz Aldrin Neil Armstrong Michael Collins ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/146 "2008-12-14T17:09:50Z")
Bob Newhart Tom Bosley Jean Stapleton Hank Aaron Florence Henderson Ann B. Davis Nancy Reagan Lori Drew Neil Armstrong Patrick Swayze O.J. Simpson Magic Johnson Bob Dole Alternates James Brady Roman Polanski Imelda Marcos ---
**Author:** ![BMax](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bmax/32/4267_2.png) [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/147 "2008-12-14T18:31:47Z")
This is my first time playing. Amy Winehouse Chuck Berry Patrick Swayze Fidel Castro Zha Zha Gabor Jerry Lee Lewis B.B. King Ted Kennedy Paul Harvey Elizabeth Taylor Nancy Reagan Dick Clark Peter O’Toole Alternates: Clint Eastwood James Earl Jones Muhammed Ali James Earl Jones is in his 70’s and had a bout with pneumonia earlier this year. Jerry Lee Lewis is the last surviving member of the famous “million dollar quarter” from Sun records in the 50’s. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/148 "2008-12-14T20:13:29Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I don’t see why seven people have put QEII on their list. Sure, she’s in her early eighties, but looks healthy. Her mum lived to be 100. That’s why I took her off my list - she was on there, and I realized that she’s got a lot going toward keeping her alive. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/149 "2008-12-14T20:48:35Z")
You know,\*\* Lsura\*\*, that between us we’ve probably just signed the Queen’s death warrant.😃 ---
**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 15, 2008, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/150 "2008-12-15T00:22:59Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > You just got his name? Tell me, I haven’t got it yet. Ram Cock. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/151 "2008-12-15T01:41:39Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > You know,\*\* Lsura\*\*, that between us we’ve probably just signed the Queen’s death warrant.😃 Yeah, I know. Sorry, Liz. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/152 "2008-12-15T06:59:43Z")
Amy Winehouse Patrick Swayze Dick Cheney Ted Kennedy Barack Obama Seve Ballesteros Fidel Castro Roger Ebert Stone Cold Steve Austin Dick Clark Don Rumsfeld Ralph Nader Hugh Hefner I haven’t played in several years, but several of them are repeated from when I last played. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/153 "2008-12-15T08:35:53Z")
Stephen Hawking Debbie Reynolds Queen Elizabeth ll Elizabeth Taylor Christina Crawford Nancy Regan Paul McCartney Ted Kennedy Billy Graham Ernest Borgnine Grace Lee Whitney Barbara Bush Sid Caesar ---
**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:** [December 15, 2008, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/154 "2008-12-15T21:38:20Z")
I’m going with an old person list this year. I figure Father Time will do for me what Father Terminal Illness wouldn’t last year. Lilian Jackson Braun - b. 1913 _Perennial top o’ the list_ Kirk Douglas - b. 1916 _Don’t you want to meet the real Spartacus, Kirk?_ Olivia de Haviland - b. 1916 Joan Fontaine - b. 1917 _It’ll be interesting to see which one kicks off first._ Zsa Zsa Gabor - b. 1917 _Had a stroke two years ago, seems age is catching up to her._ Billy Graham - b. 1918 _[Ruth’s waiting for you.](http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp01092008.shtml)_ Ricardo Montalban - b. 1920 _When he goes, the cry of “KHAAAAAAAAN” will echo 'round the world._ John Glenn - b. 1921 _The former astronaut/Senator_ Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh - b. 1921 _I’m sure he’d find a way to stick his foot in his mouth even in the grave._ Bob Barker - b. 1923 _Is there spaying and neutering in the afterlife?_ Lee Iacocca - b. 1924 _Will he die with Chrysler?_ Ariel Sharon - b. 1928 _Dude, aren’t you tired of being in a coma yet?_ Patrick Swayze - b. 1954 _Will this be the last Swayze Christmas? ☹_ Plain format: Lilian Jackson Braun Kirk Douglas Olivia de Haviland Joan Fontaine Zsa Zsa Gabor Billy Graham Ricardo Montalban John Glenn Prince Philip Bob Barker Lee Iacocca Ariel Sharon Patrick Swayze Alternate: Lindsay Lohan ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/155 "2008-12-16T00:36:24Z")
> [@imthjckaz](#): > > Alternate: > Sarah Palin > Sean Hannitty Methinks someone is indulging in wishful thinking. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/156 "2008-12-16T01:12:38Z")
> [@amarone](#): > > Methinks someone is indulging in wishful thinking. I did that the first year I played. I believed that the point was to diss folks. 🙂 ---
**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:** [December 16, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/157 "2008-12-16T04:17:38Z")
I was thinking on revising my list since Bettie Page has already died, but I’m gonna go for a Hail Mary pass with my first alternate, Michael Jackson. I may regreet not moving Dick Cheney up, but if he dies we’re ALL winners. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/158 "2008-12-16T18:33:02Z")
Since inclusion on my list usually means that those listed will \*\*\*NOT \*\*\*join the choir invisible, and changing it from last year’s would bring instant death - _ **gaze upon my list & dispair** _! Dom DeLuise Mary Kate Olsen (switching off each year between sisters) John Updike Ben “Cooter from the Dukes of Hazzard” Jones Dick Tufeld (voice of the robot in “Lost in Space”) Lois Chiles (actress, Bond Girl in Moonraker) Mohammad Ali Jim Nabors Martin Landau Stephen Hawking Ariel Sharon Nick Nolte Kim Jong Il Alternates will be Tom Bosley, then Henry Kissenger Dom DeLuise Mary Kate Olsen John Updike Ben Jones Dick Tufeld Lois Chiles Mohammad Ali Jim Nabors Martin Landau Stephen Hawking Ariel Sharon Nick Nolte Kim Jong Il ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/159 "2008-12-16T20:05:54Z")
I had three hits the first year I played, then two last year, but nothing this year. So here goes for 2009: Patrick Swayze Nancy Reagan Cloris Leachman Peter Falk Kelsey Grammer Kim Jong-il Amy Winehouse Ariel Sharon James Earl Jones Stephen Hawking Roger Ebert Farrah Fawcett Prince Philip of Edinburgh Alternates: Elizabeth Edwards Margaret Thatcher ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262/160 "2008-12-17T01:16:02Z")
Substitution: Scratch George Soros, that old commie bastard, and replace him with a man among men and hero, Rudy Boesch. New list: Tom Clancy Kim Jong-Il Susan Atkins Michael J. Fox Wendy Richard Louis Farrakhan Maggie Smith Rudy Boesch Farah Fawcett Mary Tyler Moore Muhammed Ali Elizabeth Edwards Pete Domenici _Alternates:_ Judi Dench Ruth Bader Ginsburg Roger Ebert [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2009/475262.md?page=9)