2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

Here it is. The first annual Celebrity Death Pool. Here are the rules:

• Each player submits 10 celebrity picks to me via PM (do not post them here).
• 9 of those celebrities can be anyone (famous) that you choose. The tenth is a wild card pick. Wild card picks must be younger than 50 (during the entire calendar year 2004), not known to have any serious disease, and not seeking treatment for any sort of addiction (or out of rehab for any addiction for less than 5 years). If a wild card pick dies of a long-term ailment (e.g. cancer) that was not disclosed to the public, that celebrity's status will be changed from wld card to regular pick (so you still get the point for a hit, but no wild card bonus). This should keep str8 from trading on his Hollywood insider status.
• I will be the final arbitor as to whether someone qualifies as famous. If you have a local celebrity that you wish to pick, or someone who I might not be familiar with, please include an explanation of why the person should qualify as famous for me. I will be playing along with all of you but I will not be eligible for any gift certificate awards. I am playing purely for pride.
• All picks should be submitted to me by Sunday Feb. 29 at midnight CST.
• Death Pool will begin on March 1, 2004 at 12:01 a.m. CST. Pool will close December 31, 2004 at midnight CST.
• I will post a listing of all picks here once they have been tabulated. If you wish to pick anyone of questionable celebrity status, get your list to me early to make sure I accept all picks.
• Person picking the most celebrity deaths during the pool duration will win a $50 gift certificate from lawtalkers.
• If any wild card picks hit, $25 gift certificate from lawtalkers. [Note: if there end up being more than 2 wildcard hits, lawtalkers reserves the right to split prize into smaller amounts]
• Ties in final number of deaths picked will result in split prize.
• In the event of any need for rules clarification, I will post those here. In the event of any dispute as to how the rules should work, I will take a vote from the administrators of the site.

That's it. If you pick someone and they die before the pool period starts, you may resubmit a new entry, but no geezer who drops before the beginning time of the pool will count as a hit for you.

I will post here during the year as hits occur.

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

Sorry. One more rule. Your wild card pick cannot have an inherently dangerous job that involves a high likelihood of death. For example, James Bond (were he not fictional) or the leader of the PLO (were he not too old to be eligible for wild card status anyway). Hopefully I've gotten all the rules out there now. Since this is the first running of the game, I appreciate your patience with the pool coordinator as she sorts this sort of thing out...

One More Clarification
 

You are an inventive bunch. Another point of clarification is required (by the way I am relying on the rules of the pool that I am participating in IRL):

Celebrity means someone who is famous for something he/she did. It does not include someone known for some event that occured to non-famous person (e.g. baby trapped in well, victim of abusive priest). Therefore Kobe's accuser and Wacko Jacko's accuser do not count. Sorry.

My Picks
 

Wilford Brimley
Gerald Ford
Hal Holbrook
Lena Horne
Ann Jillian
Jerry Lewis
Sydney Pollack
Omar Sharif
Maureen Stapleton
Gavin Newsom

My Picks
 

Mary Kate olson
Ashley Olson
Atticus Grinch- somehow "Too healthy" IYKWIM (bonus)
Manuel noriega
Wendy O williams
God
the music
Justin timberlake
Hume Cronyn
Ralph Nader

[Edited by ncs to remove Jack's picks]

My Picks
 

A bit late on a couple of those, dontcha think? I've got a couple of extras in mind if you need assistance.

PMs please
 

If you have picks to submit, please send them to me via PM. I am accumulating the master list from the PMs that are sent to me with picks.

There are currently 15 participants. I'll publish a list of all picks here on or after March 1.

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

Cool. Should we post them here, or PM them to you?

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

Confidential to Billy:
PM them, and feel free to pick the ones I posted here- they aren't my real picks! they were simply an attempt to mislead.

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

Ohthankgod. I thought you knew something I didn't.

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

You're . . . you're . . . you're alive!

Uh, Hank . . .

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

softball let past- Atticus owes me one break on low volume board.

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

You really like the Olsen twins, eh?

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

Oddmakers beware. I haven't gone twosies in three days. Fuckin' houseguests.

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

Whiff!!! yes he does "like" the olson's, but did you forget his necro-tendancies?

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

That's a terrible thing to say about MTM.

Is it too late to add MTM to my list?

Atticus's Guests
 

Well, no one can say you don't let your houseguests have the full run of the place. But isn't that taking hospitality a little far, dontcha think?

Have some prune whip for dessert.

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

thye have to wake up sunday morning to be a valid pick-I was going to PM Jack that there was a decnet chance several of his wouldn't make it.

2004 Celebrity Death Pool
 

I do and I'm firing up the toaster in preparation!

Pool Stuff
 

Okay, the time of the pool draws near. I've gotten some great and varied picks so far.

As a reminder, anyone who has died before March 1 will not count as a hit for you. I did not do extensive research to confirm all picks are currently alive - you are supposed to do that before submitting them to me - so if you picked a pre-March 1, 2004 dead person, it is your loss. I've never run this pool before and I can't promise that I will catch every single celebrity death during the year, so I urge each of you to watch for stories confirming the death of your selected celebrities. If I miss a published death, just shoot me an e-mail with a link and I'll post the hit on this board.

I'll post the lists here on March 1, 2004 so you can all follow along at home.

Good luck everyone! Should be fun!

Pool Stuff
 

Except for the stiffs, of course...

Here they are... your death pool picks
 

Great turnout and some interesting picks. Here are all 25 entries:

Aloha’s picks:
1. Ronald Reagan
2. Pope John Paul II
3. Ricardo Montalban
4. Nelson Mandela
5. Boris Yeltsin
6. Margaret Thatcher
7. Marlon Brando
8. Robert Blake
9. Hamid Karzai
10. Eminem (wild card)

taxwonk’s picks:
1. Nick Nolte
2. Al Lewis (Grandpa Munster)
3. Charlton Heston
4. Roy Horn
5. Courtney Love
6. Ronald Reagan
7. Ozzy Osbourne
8. Gerald Ford
9. Koko Taylor (blues legend)
10. Colin Ferrell (wild card)

Flinty’s picks:
1. Ronald Reagan
2. Kirk Douglas
3. Ingmar Bergman
4. Fay Wray (starred in King Kong a million years ago)
5. Estee Lauder
6. Charles "Cold Dead Hands" Heston
7. Julia "I like Butter" Childs
8. Lady Bird Johnson
9. John "Lavin didn't kill me" Wooden
10. (wild card) Michael Stipe

Slave’s picks:
1 - Pope John Paul II
2 - Ronald Reagan
3 - Walter Cronkite
4 - Arthur Miller
5 - Gerald Ford
6 - Fay Wray
7 - Mickey Rooney
8 - Kirk Douglas
9 – Karl Malden
10 - Whitney Houston (wild card)

bold n brazen’s picks:
1. Pope John Paul II
2. Ronald Reagan
3. Jean Stapleton
4. Isabel Sanford
5. Abe Vigoda
6. Gerald Ford
7. Mary Tyler Moore
8. Lady Bird Johnson
9. Adam West
10. Anthony Michael Hall (wild card)

Atticus’ picks:
1. Ronald Reagan
2. King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz
3. Mickey Rooney
4. Julia Child
5. Dick Cheney
6. Pope John Paul II
7. "Grandpa" Al Lewis
8. Zsa Zsa Gabor
9. Muhammad Ali
10. 50 Cent (wild card) (damn you, John Goodman, for being 52!)

barely’s picks:
1) Billy Preston
2) Phil Rizzuto
3) Kirk Douglas
4) Max Schmeling
5) Barney Kessel
6) Pope John Paul II
7) Brooke Astor
8) Ronald Reagan
9) Johnny Oates
10) Wild Card: Horatio Sanz

learnedmano’s picks:
1. Pope John Paul II
2. Al Lewis
3. Ronald Reagan (ex-prez)
4. Jean Stapleton
5. Stephen Hawking
6. Osama Bin Laden
7. Chuck Berry
8. Eunice Kennedy Shriver
9. Curt Gowdy
10. 50 Cent (wild card)

baltassoc’s picks:
1. Pete Rose
2. Warren Buffet
3. Catherine Deneuve
4. Ronald Reagan
5. Nelson Mandella
6. Jimmy Carter
7. Keith Richards
8. Angie Dickenson
9. Clint Eastwood
10. Clay Aiken (wild card) (I want extra points if he is gunned down in retaliation for the murder of Ruben Stoddard, which I think will be the case)

Shape Shifter’s picks:
1. Marvin Zindler (local Houston "celebrity" but famous for exposing the Chicken Ranch)
2. Jim Brown (the football player, not the singer)
3. James Brown (the singer, not the football player)
4. George Wendt
5. Marlon Brando
6. Liza with a Z
7. Ron Jeremy
8. Johnny Carson
9. Jerry Lee Lewis
10. Lara Flynn Boyle (wild card)

[continued in another post]

Here they are... your death pool picks
 

More picks:

Dave’s picks:
1. Bob Barker
2. Ronald Reagan
3. John Cougar Mellencamp
4. Lauren Bacall
5. Abe Vigoda
6. Don Rickles
7. Ernest Borgnine
8. Julia Child
9. Pope John Paul II
Wild Card: Jon Lovitz

tmdiva’s picks:
1. Deborah Kerr
2. Karl Malden
3. Kirk Douglas
4. Cyd Charisse
5. Marlon Brando
6. Bobby Knight
7. Ronald Reagan
8. Gerald Ford
9. Lady Bird Johnson
10. Jared Leto (wild card)

str8’s picks:
1. Johnny Oates (former manager of Baltimore Orioles)
2. Lady Bird Johnson
3. Pope John Paul II
4. Al Lopez (also baseball)
5. Estee Lauder
6. Max Schmelling
7. General Pinochet
8. Boris Yeltsin
9. Nelson Mandela
10. Jack White (wild card)

Jack Manfred’s picks:
1. Wilford Brimley
2. Gerald Ford
3. Hal Holbrook
4. Lena Horne
5. Ann Jillian
6. Jerry Lewis
7. Sydney Pollack
8. Omar Sharif
9. Maureen Stapleton
10. Gavin Newsom (wild card)

lookingformarket’s picks:
1. Yasser Arafat
2. Ronald Reagan
3. Boris Yeltsin
4. Dalai Lama
5. Pope, The
6. Marlon Brando
7. Richard Pryor
8. Queen Elizabeth
9. Jerry Lewis
10. Michael Jackson (wild card)

Thurgreed’s picks:
1. pope
2. julia child
3. walter cronkite
4. charlton heston (one can only hope)
5. kirk douglas
6. ronald reagan
7. jesse helms
8. gerald ford
9. earl woods
10. wildcard: Ruben Studdard

paigow’s picks:
1. reagan
2. pope
3. rodney dangerfield
4. richard pryor
5. kirk douglas
6. gerry ford
7. phyllis diller
8. abe vigoda
9. larry hagman
10. wild card – Michael Fucking Jackson

Hank’s picks:
1. Kirk Douglas
2. Tony Bennett
3. Al Lewis
4. Abe Vigota
5. Nanette Fabray
6. Pauline Phillips (retired Dear Abby)
7. Jack LaLane
8. Kurt Vonnegut
9. Bob Feller
Wild Card- Rodman

LessinSF’s picks:
1. Ronald Reagan
2. Pope John Paul II
3. Max Schmeling
4. Fay Wray
5. Simon Wiesenthal
6. Princess Alice
7. Byron Nelson
8. Ronnie Biggs
9. Ernest Gallo
10. Jay-Z (wildcard)

MmmBurger’s picks:
1. Ronald Reagan
2. Pope John Paul II
3. Marlon Brando
4. Hal Holbrook
5. Richard Pryor
6. Yogi Berra
7. Elizabeth Taylor
8. William F. Buckley
9. Walter Cronkite
10. Michael Jackson (wild card)

[continued in another post]

Here they are... your death pool picks
 

Last batch of picks:

NotBob’s picks:
1. Ronald Reagan
2. Gerald Ford (a bad year for former presidents, apparently)
3. Mickey Rooney
4. Ernest Borgnine (McHale!)
5. Pope John Paul II
6. Nelson Mandela
7. Lady Bird Johnson
8. Ricardo Montalban
9. Maureen O'Sullivan
Wild card: Macaully Culkin

Anne Elk’s picks:
1. Vin Baker (recently released Boston Celtic)
2. Ronald Reagan
3. Nelson Mandela
4. Pele
5. Rush Limbaugh
6. Osama Bin Laden
7. Marlon Brando
8. Michael Jackson
9. Leif Garrett
10. Whitney Houston (wild card)

Fugee’s picks:
1. Brooke Astor
2. Fay Wray
3. Julia Child
4. Alistair Cooke
5. Max Schmeling
6. Eddie Albert
7. Karl Malden
8. Ronald Reagan
9. Artie Shaw
Wild Card: 50 Cent

Spooky’s picks:
1. Ronald Reagan
2. Pope John Paul II
3. Mickey Rooney
4. Jesse Helms
5. Max Schmeling
6. Fay Wray
7. Eddie Albert
8. Karl Malden
9. Julia Child
10. Michael Jackson (wild card)

notcasesensitive’s picks: (I’m not in the running for the gift certs)
1. Ronald Reagan
2. The Pope
3. Faye Wray
4. Estee Lauder
5. Kirk Douglas
6. Courtney Love
7. Byron Nelson
8. Abe Vigoda
9. Al Lewis
10. Rosie O’Donnell (wild card)

mmm3587's picks:
1. Jack Palance
2. Ronald Reagan
3. Pope John Paul II
4. Ozzy Osbourne
5. Dick Cheney
6. Scott Weiland
7. Elizabeth Taylor
8. Lize Minelli
9. Courtney Love
Wild Card: Alex Rodriguez

That's it. Ronald Reagan had a whopping 21 picks, with 16 for John Paul II. Wild card picks were pretty diverse, with Michael Jackson receiving the most votes at 4, 50 Cent followed with 3. And reality tv makes an appearance with wild card picks for each of Clay and Ruben.

I'll post hits here as warranted.

[ETA mmm's picks that were inadvertently left off.]

Here they are... your death pool picks
 

Since I always complain, let me just make the bitch that while "rapper" doesn't automatically carry h.l.o.d., 50 cents has been shot on 3 seperate occasions.

Here they are... your death pool picks
 

As several will attest, I spent a fair amount of time reading about wild card picks to determine their eligibility. 50 Cent was shot 4 years ago. There was no set rule as to amount of time since shooting (like the 5 year rehab rule), but I thought the time period was long enough to say OK to those picks. If he happens to die due to his 4 year old wounds, then those picks will be disqualified from wild card contention.

Frankly, the wild card thing was a total pain in the ass for me to figure out. Maybe next year we'll skip that element of the game.

I'm not going to disqualify all rappers from contention just because they are rappers. Seems overbroad to me.

Thanks for your, as always, helpful criticism.

Here they are... your death pool picks
 

I was kidding, I was kidding at the Super Bowl pool. Mostly, i was pissed I didn't think of him. I appreciate your efforts to do this.

Here they are... your death pool picks
 

You truly can't help but be a pain in the ass, can you?

Picks and shovels
 

Shit, I thought half the people listed were already dead.

Picks and shovels
 

I had an already dead guy on an early list. I checked one of the "alive or dead" pages for my finals, but I don't know if its really up to date.
I think the best pick was Boris Yeltsin. You know the guy's living on a state grant of lifetime free vodka.

Questionable picks
 

Shape Shifter: George Wendt? Didn't you see him on Fox's celebrity spelling bee? He was doing great. That sumbitch can spell (finished t-3d, due to some bad luck, mostly).

Dave: I don't know where you're coming from with John Cougar Mellancamp, but interestingly, my wife knows his nephew, and the nephew has cancer. Don't think it's contagious though.

TM: Earl Woods? Come on. I should have picked Walter Gretzky then (unless he's already dead).

Good job everyone on the wild card picks. As I said to our contest hefe, I sure hope my wild card pick is wrong; I want Jack White to live a good long time. Just a wild-ass guess.

Questionable picks
 

As mentioned on the other board, George Wendt also now hosts some reality show on A&E. And I allowed Earl Woods because he's been spoofed on SNL (I love that bit). He's famous enough, I guess. Even if it is only because he raised a ridiculously successful son. Finally saw the Caddyshack commercial last night. I liked it.

Here they are... your death pool picks
 

You just know those two are going to keep on ticking all year just to be spiteful.

Here they are... your death pool picks
 

That's just no way to speak of Hank and Spooky.

Although, my money's on a murder-suicide between the two of them...

Score One for Pete Rose...
 

Former Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott dead at age 75.

Link

Score One for Pete Rose...
 

Although isn't that at least two at this point?

Score One for Pete Rose...
 

Yeah, but Bart Giamatti wasn't eligible for Pete's pool sheet...

Large Marge
 

I always thought she was pure evil and thus would never die.

Clay Aiken's father - Dead
 

http://entertainment.msn.com/music/a...px?news=151327

But from the tone of the story, sounds unlikely that Aiken will be so distraught that he will attempt suicide or anything. Sorry, baltassoc.

NCS...
 

So, did my picks break the rules or something? I pm'd them to you on 2/19, and the PM still shows up as unread...