You can’t walk down any street in Hollywood without stepping on a Brittany.
C.D.B. Bryan, whose book Friendly Fire was made into an Emmy-winning 1979 television movie of the same name, has died at the age of 73. Bryan’s 1965 novel P. S. Wilkinson was a fixture on one of my family’s bookshelves as I was growing up. When I was in high school, I learned the book was, “in point of fact”, expanded from a New Yorker short story, So Much Unfairness of Things, that was contained in an anthology used for English class.
See, this is why I avoid picking old or ill celebrities. It’s easy to pick Swayze (which I know I did) and collect the points but if you pick a Brittney Murphy and she actually snuffs it, you look like Nostrodamus all of a sudden.
So if you continually pick young apparently healthy celebrities then you’ll probably never win, but when you hit it just once … you’re a Death Pool legend.
Nah…I disagree. If you pick 13 young,healthy celebs and score one, it would just get a “meh” from me. Score 3 or 4 ,different story.
The all time shocker death this year was Michael Jackson, and 45 people picked him.
Fourty-five. How the shit did that happen?
Because of this report last December.
There were rumors in the press just before the new year that he had some serious health problems.
There were a couple of stories released last year that he needed a new liver. He was on my short list, but didn’t make the final cut because I dismissed it as another “gee, isn’t Michael Jackson weird” story.
Ah well.
Let’s not all answer me at once Here:
Kim Peek, the savant on whom the character played by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man was based, at 58 on Dec. 19.
Arnold Stang, who played numerous nerdy roles during a long career in radio, film, theater, and television, has died at the age of 91. Stang provided the voice of the title character in the Top Cat cartoon series about a decade after portraying the stagehand, Francis, on Milton Berle’s top-rated TV show of the early 1950’s.
Connie Hines, who played Carol Post on the 1960’s sitcom Mister Ed, passed away at 78.
Army Officer Robert Howard has died.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_L._Howard
Among his MANY decorations received in service:
Medal of Honor
2 Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star
Defense Superior Service Medal
4 Legion of Merit
4 Bronze Star
8 Purple Heart
Also the Thai Balloonist’s Badge.
Hellovaman
Sportscaster George Michael, dead at 70.
Hmm - here’s a tricky situation. There was only one pick for George Michael - by stockton, but with no explanation as to which George Michael.
We have had ambiguous nominations before, but none that has actually died, while I have been game moderator. When a recent pick in the 2010 pool was questioned, the two choices were a current celebrity reported as having cancer, or a somewhat obscure 40s/50s baseball player. That’s an easy call to make.
But here we have two well-known George Michaels (in the US at least - I expect overseas Dopers have never heard of the sportscaster).
Maybe the answer is: stockton, fess up - who did you mean?
Did any past game moderators have this situation? Little Nemo? a35362?
If giving the points to stockton puts him higher on the list than me, then he meant the singer.
subtle
I don’t think I had to deal with it either. I remember we didn’t know for sure how old a couple of celebrities were at death, but they were unique names at least.
It’s the honor system around here, folks.
From the above link:
Bolding and larger size mine.
On my honor, when I typed “Don Meyer” it was a typo and I really meant to type “Michael Jackson”.