Death Pool 2014. 10th Anniversary Special!

[notcasesensitive]

It is that time of year again! Here are the rules...

(Same rules as last year. And the year before. And the year before that, etc.)

*Each player submits 10 celebrity picks to me via PM (do not post them here).

*I will be the final arbitor as to whether someone qualifies as a celebrity. 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. The TM anti-Earl Woods rule is in effect this year - no one qualifies as being a celebrity just because they popped out a famous kid. Also death row inmates (unless they were famous prior to committing their special crime -- the OJ/Saddam Hussein exception), Michael Jackson's accuser, etc. do not qualify.

*All picks should be submitted to me by December 31, 2013 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

*Death Pool will begin on January 1, 2014 at 12:01 a.m. EST. Pool will close December 31, 2014 at midnight EST.

*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.

*Ties in final number of deaths picked will battle it out in the Hank Chinaski tiebreaker, which will measure the difference between the ages of the celebrities picked and 100. Celebrities over 100 will not garner tied players any points in the tiebreaker. The younger the dead celebrity, the more points! So go for it and pick Prince Harry if you care to. Or an Olsen twin. Or Amy Winehouse! Wait, not Amy Winehouse.

*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 have the final say. Though I may solicit opinions of pool entrants.

*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 (though if on your 2013 pool list, they will count in that pool).

*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.

*Mmmm Burger addition to the pool rules -- I'll update the posting with the picks throughout the year to show in red picks that have, uh, cashed it in. Make sure you post celebrity deaths here and I'll do my best to get them marked in a timely manner so everyone can follow along to see who is in the lead.

*Winner gets no monetary reward. What do you think this is - a greedy associates board? But you do get to boast about it for all of calendar year 2014. Boasting is always fun!

*Person (or people) with the fewest hits during the year will grab the Angel of Mercy title.

*In case you care, here is the rundown of winners of prior Celebrity Death Pools:

2004 - Fugee
2005 - barely_legal
2006 - Mr. Man
2007 - tmdiva
2008 - tmdiva
2009 - barely_legal
2010 - Diane Keaton
2011 - Fugee
2012 - learnedmano
2013 - it will probably be barely_legal again!

*Have fun and good luck!

[notcasesensitive]

So far I have 11 entries. Keep them coming! Happy New Years, everyone!

[Hank Chinaski]

I just keep recycling this unbreakable list of immortals. I mean they have to go sometime, right?

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

This news had to wait until today?

https://twitter.com/cnnbrk/status/418442858182348800

[notcasesensitive]

learnedmano (Angel of Death 2012)
1. Kirk Douglas
2. Valerie Harper
3. Harper Lee
4. Casey Kasem
5. Randy Travis
6. Mickey Rooney
7. Pope (Emeritus) Benedict
8. Abe Vigoda
9. Fidel Castro
10. Sam Simon

Hank Chinaski
1. Kirk Douglas
2. Zsa Zsa Gabor
3. David Crosby
4. Abe Vigoda
5. James Garner
6. George HW Bush
7. Mickey Rooney
8. 50 Cent
9. Fidel Castro
10. Billy Graham

Jack Manfred
1. Rev. Billy Graham
2. Olivia de Havilland
3. Liza Minelli
4. Mickey Rooney
5. Zsa Zsa Gabor
6. Eli Wallach
7. Pete Seeger
8. George HW Bush
9. Fidel Castro
10. Nancy Reagan

taxwonk
1. James Garner (Sorry, NotBob)
2. Eli Wallach
3. Henry Kissinger
4. George H. W. Bush
5. Fidel Castro
6. Billy Graham
7. Pete Seeger
8. Bob Dole
9. Olivia De Havilland
10. Vera Lynn

Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
1. Robert Mugabe
2. Prince Phillip
3. Fidel Castro
4. Jerry Lewis
5. Zsa Zsa Gabor
6. Billy Graham
7. Lee Kuan Yew
8. Nancy Reagan
9. George H.W. Bush
10. Kirk Douglas

bold_n_brazen
1. Abe Vigoda
2. Kirk Douglas
3. Zsa Zsa Gabor
4. Monty Hall
5. Olivia de Havilland
6. Mickey Rooney
7. Bob Barker
8. Billy Graham
9. Mohammed Ali
10. Judge Joseph Wapner

Greedy, Greedy, Greedy
1. Billy Graham
2. Lawrence Ferlingetti
3. Queen Elizabeth
4. Pete Seeger
5. Thomas Menino
6. Olivia de Haviland
7. Fidel Castro
8. Ariel Sharon
9. Robert Mugabe
10. Hosni Mubarak

Atticus Grinch
1. Valerie Harper
2. Zsa Zsa Gabor
3. Billy Graham
4. Mickey Rooney
5. Ariel Sharon
6. Kirk Douglas
7. Don Pardo
8. Muhammad Ali
9. Robert Mugabe
10. Fidel Castro

Flinty_McFlint
1. Lindsay Lohan
2. Kirk Douglas
3. Fidel Castro
4. Zsa Zsa Gabor
5. Pat Robertson
6. Billy Graham
7. Valerie Harper
8. Chad Ochocino/Chad Johnson
9. Michael Douglas
10. Terrell Owens

Miss Maine
1. Fidel Castro
2. Zsa Zsa Gabor
3. Billy Graham
4. Nancy Reagan
5. Micky Rooney
6. Muhammid Ali
7. George HW Bush
8. Ariel Sharon
9. Prince Phillip
10. Pope Francis

Not Bob
1. George H.W. Bush
2. Billy Graham
3. Henry Kissinger
4. Prince Phillip
5. Lindsay Lohan
6. Ralph Kiner
7. Muhammad Ali
8. Courtney Love
9. Nancy Reagan
10. Fidel Castro

Sparklehorse
1. George H.W. Bush
2. Ariel Sharon
3. Zsa Zsa Gabor
4. Paula Deen
5. Robert Mugabe
6. Bobby Brown
7. Dick Cheney
8. Nancy Reagan
9. Lindsay Lohan
10. Fidel Castro

barely_legal (Angel of Death 2005, 2009 and 2013)
1. Michael Shumacher
2. Zsa Zsa Gabor
3. Fidel Castro
4. Sam Simon
5. Daisy Berkowitz
6. Clive James
7. Eli Wallach
8. Kirk Douglas
9. Valerie Harper
10. Ian Brady

Fugee (Angel of Death 2004 and 2011)
1. Zsa Zsa Gabor
2. Valerie Harper
3. Wilco Johnson
4. Casey Kasem
5. Muhammed Ali
6. Fidel Castro
7. Amanda Bynes
8. Stephen Hawking
9. Michael Schumacher
10. Clive James

Adder
1. Walter Mondale
2. Louie Anderson
3. Garrison Keillor
4. James Hong
5. Bob Dylan
6. John Madden
7. Loni Anderson
8. Ed Asner
9. John Roswell Camp (aka John Sandford)
10. Mary Tyler Moore

LessInSF
1. Fidel Castro
2. Billy Graham
3. Muhammad Ali
4. Zsa Zsa Gabor
5. Mullah Omar
6. Ariel Sharon
7. Dick Cheney
8. George H.W. Bush
9. Nancy Reagan
10. Ruth Bader Ginisburg

notcasesensitive
1. Fidel Castro
2. Kirk Douglas
3. Edward Furlong
4. Zsa Zsa Gabor
5. Billy Graham
6. Valerie Harper
7. Stephen Hawking
8. Harper Lee
9. Nancy Reagan
10. Randy Travis

17 entries this year. Most surprising no show is tmdiva (Angel of Death 2007 and 2008). Sniff.

CAVEAT: I'd like to put the last two entries on barely_legal's list to a vote. I don't think Ian Brady is necessarily a celebrity (for the reasons I listed last year -- not known here, doesn't even have his own wiki page) and I am not sure about Helen Fawkes. Is a former BBC foreign correspondent a celebrity? Maybe, I don't know if she was on the news every night for 20 years or if she was on a couple of times. Do people know who she is and if so, is it for her time on the news or because she is sick and has made this bucket list (I think if she really famous for being sick, she doesn't qualify)? So, I encourage each of you to send me a PM or reply to this thread with your thoughts on those two entries. I'll do as the majority votes. I'll keep voting open until Monday night. If either or both are disqualified, I have qualified alternates from barely_legal that I can sub in their place...

[Atticus Grinch]

James "Uncle Phil" Avery.

[LessinSF]

No one had Lauren Bacall?

[taxwonk]

If we find out in 2016 that Fidel died in June, do I get lookback credit?

[notcasesensitive]

Originally Posted by taxwonk

If we find out in 2016 that Fidel died in June, do I get lookback credit?

Yes.

[learnedmano]

Joe Cocker.

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30582761

[Fugee]

I can't believe none of us had Luise Rainer. I think I had her about 10 years ago when she was only 94 and gave up after awhile.

[learnedmano]

A late 2014 entry: Edward Herrmann. One of those talented character actors you've seen over the years in dozens of roles; his most recent steady gig was on "Gilmore Girls," but he played everyone from FDR to a priest on "St. Elsewhere" to Harrison Beecher on "Oz." Died of brain cancer, 71.