# The Celebrity Death Pool 2011

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523>\
**Category:** The Game Room\
**Tags:** death-pool\
**Created:** [December 1, 2010, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523 "2010-12-01T09:16:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 28

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**Author:** ![fruitbat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fruitbat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fruitbat)\
**Post date:** [January 2, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/541 "2011-01-02T22:10:06Z")

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> [@Loach](#):
>
> I totally disagree. “I would think think that pretty much any college football player has some degree of fame” is totally false. Look at the sidelines of any major college football team. As far as I know there is no limit to the number of uniformed personnel on the sidelines. Conferences do limit the number that can travel. In reality that means that there are 70-100 players suited up on the sidelines. There are somewhere around 120 Division 1A football teams. Many of those may never play a down outside of the practice squad. All of those “players” are going to be on football stat websites in case they actually do get into a game. Most freshman do not play at all so they can be redshirted (allowed to practice but don’t lose a year of eligibility so they can be with the team 5 years instead of 4). So a non-playing freshman on a football team is famous only to his parents. If he gained some measure of fame its because of his illness only.

I completely agree for what it is worth. This is an unexceptional player on a bad team. He would have no fame at all, perhaps outside of his home town, except for the illness.

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**Author:** ![Uncle\_Goat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Uncle\_Goat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Goat)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/542 "2011-01-03T03:14:07Z")

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yet to be confirmed, but it appears [Swedish actor Per Oscarsson](http://www.imdb.com/news/ni6590514/) killed in house fire along with his wife.

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**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/543 "2011-01-03T03:32:27Z")

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> [@Baker](#):
>
> Only 154 entries this year, by my unofficial count. That’s about a ten percent drop. Are Dopers getting less macabre?

I kind of meant to get in on this but I wanted to do some research and just never got the time. Maybe in 2012.

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/544 "2011-01-03T04:00:56Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> [**Zsa Zsa Gabor**](http://www.tmz.com/person/zsa-zsa-gabor/)’s husband tells TMZ he is rushing Zsa Zsa to the hospital because the blood clot in her leg has spread so much … half of her leg needs to be amputated.

[Zsa Zsa Gabor's Hubby: She's Having Half Her Leg Amputated](http://www.tmz.com/2011/01/02/zsa-zsa-gabor-leg-amputated-prince-frederic-von-anhalt/)

So when she dies after the amputation, we might not get the full point count?

:D:D

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**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/545 "2011-01-03T04:16:26Z")

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damn you Duckster. to spite you, I’m going with my line:

[Zsa Zsa](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/02/zsa-zsa-gabor-in-leg-amputation-surgery_n_803427.html) hopping towards greener acres.

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**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/546 "2011-01-03T04:28:44Z")

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> [@Uncle\_Goat](#):
>
> yet to be confirmed, but it appears [Swedish actor Per Oscarsson](http://www.imdb.com/news/ni6590514/) killed in house fire along with his wife.

I came in here to post about him too. Art house folks will know him as Lisbeth Salander’s kindly former legal guardian Holger Palmgren in **The Girl Who Played With Fire** and **The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest** , who offscreen had a stroke in the first movie **The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo** (where Oscarsson doesn’t appear at all) and was replaced by the evil rapist and pig Nils Bjurman (played by Peter Andersson).

I was wondering how that worked. I doubt he was on anyone’s list, but just say he was. It seems the fire happened New Year’s Eve, but the body wasn’t discovered until Sunday. Does he count for a 2010 death, or a 2011 death?

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**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/547 "2011-01-03T05:04:05Z")

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> [@NurseCarmen](#):
>
> damn you Duckster. to spite you, I’m going with my line:
> 
> [Zsa Zsa](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/02/zsa-zsa-gabor-in-leg-amputation-surgery_n_803427.html) hopping towards greener acres.

Look at it this way, **NurseCarmen**. If Zsa Zsa is the first celebrity to die, some of us will be a leg up on the other Dopers.

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**Author:** ![anyrose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/54ee81/32.png) [@anyrose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyrose)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/548 "2011-01-03T05:09:38Z")

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ow

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**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:** [January 3, 2011, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/549 "2011-01-03T05:21:22Z")

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This may be my most morbid post ever…

[Zsa Zsa Gabor is having one of her legs partially amputated.](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110103/ap_en_ot/us_people_zsa_zsa_gabor) So, how about partial credit because part of her dies? 😛

I figure we divide our celebrities into sixths – 4 limbs, trunk and head. Since it’s only a partial amputation, it should be worth half a limb, or 1/12th of the total points. Should the rest of her die later this year, the points granted for the amputation will be deducted from the normal amount of death points.

Won’t anyone think of the maimed? Isn’t it kind of shame to be pointlessly maimed?

(I dunno that you could get partial credit for a head amputation, but _Futurama_ says it’s possible and that’s good enough for me.)

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**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/550 "2011-01-03T06:25:27Z")

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> [@Uncle\_Goat](#):
>
> yet to be confirmed, but it appears [Swedish actor Per Oscarsson](http://www.imdb.com/news/ni6590514/) killed in house fire along with his wife.

\*\*  
I could have gone the entire year of 2011 not knowing this.\*\*

My list is exclusively Surnames that end in s-o-n.

Nope. didn’t have him.

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/551 "2011-01-03T10:24:23Z")

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Family matters meant that I didn’t get to post my list, but I can still enjoy the game vicariously.

Did anyone have [Pete Postlethwaite](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12106753)?

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**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/552 "2011-01-03T10:28:26Z")

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> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#):
>
> I’ve noticed a number of people who have Billy Graham on their lists. It just occurred to me, here at literally the last minute, several have indicated “Billy Graham, the wrestler” and others have said “Billy Graham, the preacher”.
> 
> But several have not said which they mean.
> 
> That could be a problem, donchathink?

Would it not be reasonable to assume the least-advantageous option, that of the older person?

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**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/553 "2011-01-03T11:10:01Z")

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Most posters that had either Graham made a distinction between them in their comments. One poster actually had both of them.

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**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/554 "2011-01-03T12:20:01Z")

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> [@Quartz](#):
>
> Did anyone have [Pete Postlethwaite](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12106753)?

Nope. Nor Oscarsson.

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**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:** [January 3, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/555 "2011-01-03T13:01:05Z")

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**[‘Forbidden Planet’ Actress Anne Francis Dead at 80](http://www.670kboi.com/rssItem.asp?feedid=115&itemid=29616641)**

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**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/556 "2011-01-03T14:13:36Z")

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> [@Quartz](#):
>
> Did anyone have [Pete Postlethwaite](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12106753)?

> [@amarone](#):
>
> Nope.

He’s a pretty famous actor; I just saw him in _Inception_. How did his cancer go under EVERYBODY’S radar?

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**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:** [January 3, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/557 "2011-01-03T14:18:34Z")

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[Anne Francis](http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-anne-francis-20110103,0,2031697.story) has died.

Twenty points and first blood, except she is an alternate. Was she a unique pick for me?

🙂

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/558 "2011-01-03T14:20:05Z")

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Wiki only says he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1990. Maybe it recurred, or maybe a different cancer popped up. Either way, he and his family clearly kept it tightly under wraps. He will be missed. One of my favorite actors.

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**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/559 "2011-01-03T14:27:09Z")

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> [@MsWhatsit](#):
>
> Wiki only says he was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1990. Maybe it recurred, or maybe a different cancer popped up. Either way, he and his family clearly kept it tightly under wraps. He will be missed. One of my favorite actors.

Anne Francis?

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**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-celebrity-death-pool-2011/562523/560 "2011-01-03T14:32:40Z")

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> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#):
>
> Anne Francis?

It was _very_ tightly under wraps.

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