2008 Dead Pool

1/18 - Ashley moves into the field with Georgia Frontiere, former owner of the Rams football team.
1/19 - Marlene pulls forward with Suzanne Pleshette.
2/2 - Terri is in the race with Earl Butz.
2/27 - Bill enters the race with William F. Buckley.
3/24 - Shirley begins to move with Richard Widmark
4/6 - Marlene takes the lead with Charlton Heston
6/17 - Steve and Mary are out of the gate with Cyd Charisse
7/11 - Rachel is on the field with Dr. Michael DeBakey
8/3 - Sue scores a point with Alexander Solzhenitsyn
9/27 - Sean and Chelsea enter the race with Paul Newman
12/12 - Shirley closes in on Marlene with Van Johnson
12/19 - Ashley comes around the far turn to join the race for first with W. Mark Felt
1/2/09 - Someone finally notices that Sandra Dee has been dead for years. Rachel slips back.
1/10/09 - Someone else finally notices that Jim Misspelled Bobby Murcer's last name and he died in July. Shirley Wins.

The 2008 Dead Pool Draft took place on Saturday, December 29, 2007. Rosters are as follows:

Ashley

Ruby Muhammad
Shimon Peres
W. Mark Felt - 12/19
Georgia Frontiere - 1/18
Les Paul
Amy Winehouse
Elizabeth Taylor
Arnold Palmer
Beverly Cleary
Jerry Lewis

Wild Cards:
Fred Phelps
Tom Cruise

Steve/Mary

Eli Wallach
Kirk Douglas
Billy Graham
Muhammad Ali
Annette Funicello
Chuck Berry
Pervez Mumsharref
Phyllis Diller
Britney Spears
Cyd Charisse - 6/17

Wild Cards:
Vladimir Putin
Cal Worthington

Rachel

Claude Levi Strauss
Dr. Michael DeBakey - 7/11
Mickey Rooney
Hal Holbrook
John Forsythe
Harper Lee
Louis Jourdan
Sandra Dee - died in 2005
Jonathan Winters
Eva Marie Saint

Wild Cards:
Lindsay Lohan
Al Sharpton

Marlene

Ariel Sharon
Suzanne Pleshette - 1/19
Margaret Thatcher
Andy Rooney
Charlton Heston - 4/6
Judge Joseph Wapner
Eugene Patton
Jayne Meadows
Ali Hassan Abd al-Majid ("Chemical Ali")
Maureen O'Hara

Wild Cards:
Louis Farrakhan
Osama Bin Laden

Shirley

Mitch Miller
Betty Garrett
Bobby Mercer - 7/12
Richard Widmark - 3/24
John Wooden
Jean Stapleton
Tony Martin
Van Johnson - 12/12
Al Molinaro
Jack LaLanne

Wild Cards:
Cloris Leachman
Boy George

Sean/Chelsea

Fidel Castro
Mel Brooks
Dick Clark
Michael J. Fox
Art Linkletter
Paul Newman - 9/27
Bret Hart
Gene Barry
Anne Jeffries
Lena Horne

Wild Cards:
Phil Spector
Howard Stern

Lindsey/George

Bob Barker
James Whitmore
Ernest Borgnine
Barron Hilton
Abe Vigoda
Larry Hagman
Ricardo Montalban
King Sihanouk
Roscoe Koonz
Martin Landau

Wild Cards:
Paris Hilton
O. J. Simpson

Bill

Alan Young
Patty Andrews
Rod Taylor
Walter Cronkite
Rose Marie
Kay Ballard
William F. Buckley - 2/27
Vin Scully
Barbara Billingsley
Chuck Barris

Wild Cards:
Larry Flynt
Hillary Clinton

Terri

Meip Gies
Abigail Van Buren
Andrew Wyeth
Esther Williams
Sargent Shriver
Earl Butz - 2/2
Karl Malden
Olivia De Havilland
Gloria Stuart
Mike Wallace

Wild Cards:
Dick Cheney
Donald Trump

Sue

Chuck Yeager
Alexander Solzhenitsyn - 8/3
Nancy Reagan
Edwin Newman
Jan-Michael Vincent
Marjorie Lord
Paul Prudhomme
Don Pardo
Roger Ebert
C. Everett Koop

Wild Cards:
Dick Button
Kathy Hilton

Jim

Luise Rainer
Dolores Hope
Meinhardt Raabe
Huey Long (Ink Spots)
June Havoc
Oral Roberts
Charlie Callas
Jane Withers
Paul Harvey
Professor Irwin Corey

Wild Cards:
Lyndon LaRouche
Mary-Kate Olsen

Unclaimed Baggage:
Here are the people who died this year and weren't on anybody's list. Such a waste....

George MacDonald Fraser (writer), 1/2
Christopher Bowman (skater/actor), 1/10
Vampira (TV host), 1/10
Sir Edmund Hillary (mountaineer), 1/11
Carl Karcher (Carl's Jr founder), 1/11
Don Cardwell (pitcher, '69 Mets), 1/14
Brad Renfro (former kid actor), 1/15
Bobby Fischer (chess champion/whackjob) 1/17
Richard Knerr (co-founder of Wham-O Toys) 1/17
Allen Melvin (Sam the butcher on "The Brady Bunch"), 1/17
Lois Nettleton (actress), 1/18
John Stewart (singer/songwriter; "Daydream Believer", Kingston Trio), 1/19
Heath Ledger (actor), 1/22
Christian Brando (Marlon's son), 1/26
Suharto (former dictator of Indonesia), 1/27
Margaret Truman (Harry's daughter), 1/29
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (guru), 2/5
Ron Leavett (TV producer; "Married With Children"), 2/10
Roy Scheider (actor, "Jaws"), 2/10
Steve Gerber (writer, creator of Howard the Duck), 2/10
David Groh (actor; Rhoda's TV husband), 2/12
Robin Moore (writer, The French Connection), 2/21
Myron Cope (writer, sportscaster), 2/27
Mike Smith (singer/songwriter, Dave Clark Five; I Like It Like That), 2/28
Jeff Healey (blind singer/guitarist), 3/2
Norman "Hurricane" Smith (producer; recording engineer; singer, "Oh Babe, What Would You Say?"), 3/3
Gary Gygax (co-created Dungeons & Dragons), 3/4
Ivan Dixon (director/actor, "Hogan's Heroes"), 3/16
Anthony Minghella (director, Truly, Madly, Deeply, The English Patient, Cold Mountain), 3/17
Sir Arthur C. Clarke (author; 2001) 3/19
Paul Scofield (Actor; A Man for All Seasons) 3/19
Abby Mann (screenwriter, Judgment at Nuremberg), 3/25
Herb Peterson (inventor of the Egg McMuffin), 3/25
Stanley Kamel (actor, Dr. Kroger on Monk), 4/8
Ollie Johnston (animator, last of Disney's "nine old men"), 4/14
Hazel Court (British horror actress, The Curse of Frankenstein), 4/15
Will Elder (cartoonist, MAD, Little Annie Fanny, 5/15
Danny Federici (Bruce Springsteen's keyboardist), 4/17
Nicolette Goulet (actress,Ryan's Hope; Robert Goulet's daughter), 4/17
Bebe Barron (electronic composer, soundtrack for Forbidden Planet), 4/20
Al Wilson (R&B singer), 4/21
Albert Hoffman (chemist, synthesized LSD), 4/29
Eddy Arnold (country singer), 5/8
Joseph Pevney (TV director, Star Trek "The City on the Edge of Forever"), 5/18
Robert Lynn Asprin (author, Myth Adventures), 5/22
Dick Martin (director/comedian, "Laugh-In"), 5/24
Sydney Pollack (director/actor, Tootsie, Out of Africa), 5/26
Harvey Korman (comedian), 5/29
Yves Saint-Laurent (fashion designer), 6/1
Bo Diddley (guitarist), 6/2
Mel Ferrer (actor/director), 6/2
Jim McKay (sportscaster, "...the agony of defeat"), 6/7
Tim Russert (political analyst), 6/13
Stan Winston (special effects genius), 6/15
Tasha Tudor (writer/artist), 6/18
George Carlin (comedian), 6/22
Michael Turner (comic book artist), 6/27
Dody Goodman (actress; Grease), 6/28
Don S. Davis (actor; "Major Hammond" on Stargate), 6/29
Larry Harmon (Bozo the Clown), 7/3,
Jesse Helms (Right-wing Senator), 7/4
Thomas M. Disch (writer; The Brave Little toaster), 7/4
Evelyn Keyes (actress/author; Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister), 7/4
Tony Snow (political wonk), 7/12
Estelle Getty (actress; Golden Girls), 7/22
Joe Beck (jazz guitarist), 7/22
Lou Teicher (pianist, half of Farrante & Teicher), 8/3
Robert Hazard (songwriter, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"), 8/7
Bernie Mac (comedian), 8/9
Isaac Hayes (cool dude), 8/10
Jerry Reed (singer/actor), 8/31
Don LaFontaine (Voice-over actor; "in a world..."), 9/1
Bill Melendez (animator, Peanuts cartoons; voice of Snoopy), 9/2
Gregory Mcdonald (writer, "Fletch" series), 9/7
Richard Wright (member of Pink Floyd), 9/15
Norman Whitfield (songwriter, "I Heard it Through the Grapevine"), 9/16
Nick Reynolds (singer, Kingston Trio), 10/1
Edie Adams (actress/comic), 10/15
Levi Stubbs (singer, The Four Tops), 10/17
Milton Katselas (director/teacher), 10/24
Estelle Reiner (singer/actress, Rob Reiner's mom, "I'll have what she's having"), 10/25
Tony Hillerman (author), 10/26
Studs Terkel (writer), 10/31
Michael Crichton (writer), 11/4
John Leonard (critic), 11/5
Joe Hyams (writer), 11/8
Miriam Makeba (singer, "Mama Afrika"), 11/10
William Gibson (playwright; "The Miracle Worker"), 11/25
Paul Benedict (actor, Harry on "The Jeffersons"), 12/ 1
Edward Samuel Rogers (businessman; richest man in Canada), 12/2
Forrest J Ackerman (magazine editor; "Famous Monsters of Filmland", invented the term "sci-fi") , 12/4
Nina Foch (actress, teacher), 12/5
Beverly Garland (actress; Barbara on "My Three Sons")12/5
Robert Prosky (actor; Jablonski on "Hill Street Blues"), 12/8
Bettie Page (pin-up model; every fanboy's dream; inspiration for Betty in "The Rocketeer"), 12/11, 2008
Ron Carey (Labor Union leader), 12/11
Majel Barrett (Actress, every version of Star Trek), 12/18
Harold Pinter (playwright), 12/24
Eartha Kitt (Acress/singer; "Santa Baby"; Catwoman #2 on Batman TV show), 12/25
Bernie Hamilton (Actor; Starsky & Hutch), 12/30

The Players, A-Z

Ali Hassan Abd al-Majid ("Chemical Ali") -- Marlene
Muhammad Ali -- Steve/Mary
Patty Andrews -- Bill
Kay Ballard -- Bill
Bob Barker -- Lindsey/George
Chuck Barris -- Bill
Gene Barry -- Sean/Chelsea
Chuck Berry -- Steve/Mary
Barbara Billingsley -- Bill
Osama Bin Laden -- Marlene
Ernest Borgnine -- Lindsey/George
Mel Brooks -- Sean/Chelsea
William F. Buckley -- Bill
Dick Button -- Sue
Earl Butz -- Terri
Charlie Callas -- Jim
Fidel Castro -- Sean/Chelsea
Cyd Charisse -- Steve/Mary
Dick Cheney -- Terri
Dick Clark -- Sean/Chelsea
Beverly Cleary -- Ashley
Hillary Clinton -- Bill
Professor Irwin Corey -- Jim
Walter Cronkite -- Bill
Tom Cruise -- Ashley
Dr. Michael DeBakey -- Rachel
Sandra Dee -- Rachel
Olivia De Havilland -- Terri
Phyllis Diller -- Steve/Mary
Kirk Douglas -- Steve/Mary
Roger Ebert -- Sue
Louis Farrakhan -- Marlene
W. Mark Felt -- Ashley
Larry Flynt -- Bill
John Forsythe -- Rachel
Michael J. Fox -- Sean/Chelsea
Georgia Frontiere -- Ashley
Annette Funicello -- Steve/Mary
Betty Garrett -- Shirley
Boy George -- Shirley
Meip Gies -- Terri
Billy Graham -- Steve/Mary
Larry Hagman -- Lindsey/George
Bret Hart -- Sean/Chelsea
Paul Harvey -- Jim
June Havoc -- Jim
Charlton Heston -- Marlene
Barron Hilton -- Lindsey/George
Kathy Hilton -- Sue
Paris Hilton -- Lindsey/George
Hal Holbrook -- Rachel
Lena Horne -- Sean/Chelsea
Dolores Hope -- Jim
Roscoe Koonz -- Lindsey/George
C. Everett Koop -- Sue
Anne Jeffries -- Sean/Chelsea
Van Johnson -- Shirley
Louis Jourdan -- Rachel
Jack LaLanne -- Shirley
Martin Landau -- Lindsey/George
Lyndon LaRouche -- Jim
Cloris Leachman -- Shirley
Harper Lee -- Rachel
Jerry Lewis -- Ashley
Art Linkletter -- Sean/Chelsea
Lindsay Lohan -- Rachel
Huey Long (Ink Spots) -- Jim
Marjorie Lord -- Sue
Karl Malden -- Terri
Rose Marie -- Bill
Tony Martin -- Shirley
Jayne Meadows -- Marlene
Bobby Mercer -- Shirley
Mitch Miller -- Shirley
Al Molinaro -- Shirley
Ricardo Montalban -- Lindsey/George
Ruby Muhammad -- Ashley
Pervez Mumsharref -- Steve/Mary
Edwin Newman -- Sue
Paul Newman -- Sean/Chelsea
Maureen O'Hara -- Marlene
Mary-Kate Olsen -- Jim
Arnold Palmer -- Ashley
Don Pardo -- Sue
Eugene Patton -- Marlene
Les Paul -- Ashley
Shimon Peres -- Ashley
Fred Phelps -- Ashley
Suzanne Pleshette -- Marlene
Paul Prudhomme -- Sue
Vladimir Putin -- Steve/Mary
Meinhardt Raabe -- Jim
Luise Ranier -- Jim
Nancy Reagan -- Sue
Oral Roberts -- Jim
Andy Rooney -- Marlene
Mickey Rooney -- Rachel
Eva Marie Saint -- Rachel
Vin Scully -- Bill
Ariel Sharon -- Marlene
Al Sharpton -- Rachel
Sargent Shriver -- Terri
King Sihanouk -- Lindsey/George
O. J. Simpson -- Lindsey/George
Britney Spears -- Steve/Mary
Alexander Solzhenitsyn -- Sue
Phil Spector -- Sean/Chelsea
Jean Stapleton -- Shirley
Howard Stern -- Sean/Chelsea
Claude Levi Strauss -- Rachel
Gloria Stuart -- Terri
Elizabeth Taylor -- Ashley
Rod Taylor -- Bill
Margaret Thatcher -- Marlene
Donald Trump -- Terri
Abigail Van Buren -- Terri
Abe Vigoda -- Lindsey/George
Jan-Michael Vincent -- Sue
Mike Wallace -- Terri
Eli Wallach -- Steve/Mary
Judge Joseph Wapner -- Marlene
James Whitmore -- Lindsey/George
Richard Widmark -- Shirley
Esther Williams -- Terri
Amy Winehouse -- Ashley
Jonathan Winters -- Rachel
Jane Withers -- Jim
John Wooden -- Shirley
Cal Worthington -- Steve/Mary
Andrew Wyeth -- Terri
Chuck Yeager -- Sue
Alan Young -- Bill

The Rules

How does it work?
Players are assigned a position in the rotation as follows: New players choose first, in order determined by drawing straws. Returning players go in the reverse order of their standing in the previous game; the winner chooses last. On each turn, a player chooses the name of one celebrity to add to his list. There are no duplications allowed; once a celebrity is chosen by one player, he/she is not available for other players. The choosing of teams continues in this manner until every player has a list of 10 (ten) celebrities.

The next step is the choosing of Wild Cards. Each player chooses in turn until every player has two Wild Cards. The first is added to the player's roster, and the second is written on a card and put into a basket, from which they will be drawn at random so that each player ends up with someone else's Wild Card. If a player picks his own nominee, he may keep it if he so desires.

Throughout the year, at random intervals, the Commissioner will publish updated listings of each player's score. These will be posted on the Dead Pool website as well as being distributed in printed form. At the end of the year, the player who has had the most deaths on his/her list is declared the winner, and takes the pot. The game is winner-take-all; there are no prizes for second or third place.

What's a Celebrity?
Our standard is that candidates have to be noteworthy enough for the Associated Press to publish their obituary. We have to be able to find out who's dead. There are certain exclusions: Convicted criminals facing execution by the state are disqualified. You can't just check in with the Texas Penal System and get their schedule. Convicts who are not on death row are valid candidates, provided they are noteworthy public figures (Richard Ramirez, Charles Manson or Sirhan Sirhan, for example).

Players are not allowed to choose minors for their rosters. Sorry, Jamie-Lynn Spears is off-limits. Celebrities can be chosen from any walk of life. Previous candidates have included mathematicians, rap singers, architects, astronomers, and writers, as well as the usual contingent of actors and politicians (same thing).

What's a Wild Card?
Wild Cards are candidates that a player does not have any reason to think would die, rather he/she wishes they would. This is your chance to vent your hostility and choose someone simply because they annoy you. Some suggestions might include Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Dick Cheney, OJ Simpson, Martha Stewart or Tom Cruise.

This introduces two elements into the game: Random Chance and Personal Animosity. By choosing people who aren't likely to die, and by distributing some of them at random, the opportunity for an upset is added. By nominating objects of loathing for these slots, players are (1) free of the problem of nominating unlikely candidates simply because they are hated, and (2) given the opportunity to cheer for the possible demise of such people. Simply put, it makes for a livelier game.

How do I find names to pick?
Research is the key. Pay attention to the news and make note of public figures who are old, ill, or self-destructive. Search the Internet for sites that track the dead and dying (there are a lot of them). Call the retired actors' home and see who's there. When you see someone on TV who looks like hell, make a note to yourself. Above all, research, research, research. We can't do everything for you!

What if I pick someone who's already dead?
If anyone notices during the choosing period, you'll get to pick a replacement. If it's discovered after the game begins, you lose a point. It's happened before.

That's it. Pick your potential stiffs, and let's see who pushes up the daisies this year. It's a fun game, but extremely corrupting. You'll find yourself keeping track of old movie stars, asking "gee, how's her health?" When you hear that some rocker has gone belly-up in a hotel room, choking on his own bile, you won't say "too bad." You'll say "who had him?" Prepare to be warped.

Sound like fun? Good.