# Which entertainer's legacy would have benefited most from an early death? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 9, 2013, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601 "2013-01-09T08:06:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/41 "2013-01-10T00:30:35Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > I think the idea of the thread goes beyond just sticking a pin in the timeline after an entertainer’s best work. On the one hand, what you say is true. On the other hand, Cuba Gooding Jr. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/42 "2013-01-10T01:16:25Z")
Good call on Mike Tyson. He’d still be called unbeatable. ---
**Author:** ![ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chockfullofheadygoodness/32/511_2.png) [@ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/43 "2013-01-10T01:19:23Z")
I’ve often thought that **Ray Davies** won’t get the reassessment he deserves until it’s too late. If he had died after _Village Green Preservation Society_, he’d probably be in the critical pantheon, and a beloved cult figure. If he’d died around the _State of Confusion/Come Dancing_ era, people would be saying “it’s a shame he died just as he was getting his mojo back and The Kinks were finally making it big in the US”. As it is, it seems like The Kinks get relegated to about 2nd or 3rd tier status. **Mike Love** would probably have a better reputation if he’d died around 1970 or so, before he became known as the guy who can’t get along with his own family. **OJ Simpson** anytime after NFL retirement but before 1994. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/44 "2013-01-10T01:25:28Z")
Errol Flynn. Before he became a sad parody of himself. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/45 "2013-01-10T01:48:42Z")
Tiger Woods, before Fire Hydrant. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/46 "2013-01-10T02:34:06Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Good call on Mike Tyson. He’d still be called unbeatable. Tyson lasted four-plus years before famously losing to Buster Douglas, but Joe Frazier passed the six-year mark the month he famously beat Muhammad Ali – and Smokin’ Joe could’ve left it all behind as the undefeated champ after passing the seven-year mark like Rocky Marciano, only without any split decisions à la Marciano along the way. How would we remember the Olympic gold medalist with the devastating left hook if he’d gone out on top? ---
**Author:** ![irritant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@irritant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irritant)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/47 "2013-01-10T02:58:20Z")
Iggy Pop. If he’d OD’d the day _New Values_ came out, he’d have saved us decades of embarrassment AND the the resulting press might even have earned him the posthumous superstar status he deserves. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/48 "2013-01-10T03:02:25Z")
> [@gwendee](#): > > …we wouldn’t have the images of … him shooting the TV. > [@Clawdio](#): > > The first one that came to mind for me was Tom Cruise. I guess pre jumping on Oprah’s couch… Those are my favorite points in their careers. ☹ > [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Errol Flynn. > > Before he became a sad parody of himself. Um, wasn’t he ALWAYS a parody of himself and other handsome rogues getting by on their looks and not their talent? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/49 "2013-01-10T04:31:15Z")
Sting, right after the Police broke up, and he announced he was going to try some stuff in a new direction - stuff that wasn’t pop, and wasn’t jazz, but something very introspective. But \*before \*any of it came out. ---
**Author:** ![Puzzler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d07c76/32.png) [@Puzzler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Puzzler)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/50 "2013-01-10T07:39:07Z")
Music: Prince Sports: Lance Armstrong ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/51 "2013-01-10T10:36:34Z")
> [@Snooooopy](#): > > As a huge fan of both Bob Mould and Paul Westerberg, I must protest the early killing of … well, most certainly Bob. His excursions into dance music were pretty annoying, but he has produced so much solo stuff that I’ve liked that I’d hate for him to have been hit by a bus in the mid-1990s. Paul, on the other hand, has not really had the sparkling solo career so many fans thought he was going to have when the Replacements splintered. I mean, he’s certainly had his moments. But if we’re going to try the early-death-as-career-boost trick, I’m more willing to give him up. Thank you. If anything, Mould is sort of the opposite. I still listen to his new stuff, and not in a\* “Frank Black’s solo career is not really that bad if you stop comparing his music to the Pixies”\* sort of way. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/52 "2013-01-10T21:16:53Z")
Woody Allen prior to Soon-Yi. I don’t care, what he did ruined his reputation. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/53 "2013-01-10T21:29:06Z")
And John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas prior to… actually I’m not sure how far back you’d have to go, but certainly prior to his alleged incest. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/54 "2013-01-10T21:36:20Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > And John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas prior to… actually I’m not sure how far back you’d have to go, but certainly prior to his alleged incest. This came out in Mackenzie Phillip’s bio, written after her father’s death. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/55 "2013-01-13T07:32:42Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > That would be quite a trick, since _Alive_ came out before _Destroyer_. Quite correct, I meant KISS ALIVE II. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/56 "2015-08-22T20:36:53Z")
Zombie bump, but I gotta ask: at what point would Bill Cosby have been deified? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/57 "2015-08-22T21:05:28Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Zombie bump, but I gotta ask: at what point would Bill Cosby have been deified? Anytime after the last episode where Theo graduated from college to about 4 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Lochdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/edb3f5/32.png) [@Lochdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lochdale)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/58 "2015-08-22T21:54:55Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I really can’t agree about Elvis. This is a man whose empire only grew after his death. Zombie bump as well but this isn’t true at all. What happened after his death is that his ex-wife took over control of his estate. First thing she did was bring in real business people to handle his affairs and then promptly got rid of “Colonel” Tom Parker (the business deal he had was that he got 50% of Presley’s gross and Presley was never incorporated or benefited from any tax planning whatsoever. One of the worst deals in showbiz history). So while Priscilla cleaned it up, Presley was a massive selling artist (maybe the biggest of all time, who was still packing them in before he died). ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/59 "2015-08-22T22:11:12Z")
How about Bette Davis? If she’d died in 1950, she’d be remembered as a golden beauty courageously taking one middle-aged role (_All About Eve_) before her tragic disappearance, not the chain-smoking she-Yoda who creeped out Johnny Carson in her last few appearances. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601/60 "2015-08-22T22:55:14Z")
If M. Night had died after The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable people would think the world lost an all time director with an entire oeuvre of cinematic brilliance ahead of him. It would be tragic, actually, to live in a world where The Happening didn’t, uh, happen. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-entertainers-legacy-would-have-benefited-most-from-an-early-death/646601.md?page=4)