The 2011 Off Topic Celebrity Dead Pool

[Wezil]

Don't you find it kind of strange that he didn't use his device of demise?

I was stunned he demonstrated such a lack of faith in his own product. It can't bode well for future sales.

Dr. Death was 83 years old and a unique pick for solomi (15).

(171-15) + (100-83) + 25

= 198 points

[-Jrabbit]

Thanks, Wezil.

[SlowwHand]

By BEN SISARIO

updated 2 hours 34 minutes ago

Clarence Clemons, the saxophonist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, whose jovial onstage manner, soul-rooted style and brotherly relationship with Mr. Springsteen made him one of rock’s most beloved sidemen, died on Saturday at a hospital in Palm Beach, Fla. He was 69.

The cause was complications of a stroke he suffered last Sunday at his home in Singer Island, Fla., a spokeswoman for Mr. Springsteen said.

In a statement released Saturday night, Mr. Springsteen called Mr. Clemons “my great friend, my partner.”

“With Clarence at my side, my band and I were able to tell a story far deeper than those simply contained in our music,” he added. “His life, his memory and his love will live on in that story and in our band.”

From the beginnings of the E Street Band in 1972, Mr. Clemons played a central part in Mr. Springsteen’s music, complementing the group’s electric guitar and driving rhythms in songs like “Born to Run” and “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out” with muscular, melodic saxophone hooks that echoed doo-wop, soul and early rock ’n’ roll.

R.I.P.

[-Jrabbit]

RIP, Big Man.

[Grandpa Troll]

RIP, Big Man.

Amen, allways enjoyed his performances!!!

E Street Band were who they were due to this mans contributions!

Gramps

[rah]

Did anyone have Ryan Dunn From Jackass FAME? He died in a fiery car crash speeding after being in a bar. And to think, everyone thought he would die doing something stupid.

[Grandpa Troll]

Did anyone have Ryan Dunn From Jackass FAME? He died in a fiery car crash speeding after being in a bar. And to think, everyone thought he would die doing something stupid.

Signature material, thanks rah!

[Wezil]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/television/peter-falk-who-starred-as-columbo-on-tv-has-died-at-83/article2074547/

Peter Falk was 83 and a choice of two players - wezil (4) and stonesfan (12)

wezil = (171 - 4) + (100 - 83) = 184 points
stonesfan = (171 - 12) + (100 - 83) = 176 points


With his 3rd hit of the season stonesfan moves into second place.

[Lord Avalon]

RIP ...

Oh, just one more thing...

[stonesfan]

Thanks Wezil - RIP Peter Falk - 3 hits and only half way through the year!

[Tuberski]

RIP ...

Oh, just one more thing...

As you wish......

ACK!

[Tuberski]

Former CNN Sports anchor and Boxing enthusiast Nick Charles died today:

Boxing loses inspirational Charles

By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports

If Nick Charles was your friend, you had to expect the unexpected. And so, in early May, when the telephone rang and Nick was on the other end, it was highly unexpected.

Charles, the charismatic former CNN sports anchor and boxing play-by-play man for Showtime, HBO and Top Rank, was fighting Stage 4 bladder cancer. His death was imminent.

Whether it would be a day, a week or a month, everyone – including Nick – knew it was inevitable. But his impending death, which came peacefully early Saturday in his Santa Fe, N.M., home – a few days before his 65th birthday – didn’t stop him from living.

He worked vigorously to complete the family’s dream home. He scoured the Internet to find the perfect piano for his 5-year-old daughter, Giovanna. He accepted a job calling a fight on HBO even though no one was really certain whether he was strong enough to survive the trip from Santa Fe to Atlantic City, N.J.

When it was Nick on the other end of the phone that morning in May, I should have been shocked but I was not.

“You inspire me,” he said in a creaky voice, one much weaker and scratchier than the booming baritone that, along with his thick, curly hair and dazzling smile, had made him famous.

The call wasn’t long because I was stuck for words.

One of Charles’ mottos was “Embrace life, no matter how dire the circumstances,” and he did that until the end. No matter how sick he got, no matter how much pain he was in, he lived. He enjoyed his family and his friends and the opportunities life brought. Whether it was appreciating the majesty of the vista from the back of his home or sharing a kind word with a friend, Charles got everything there was to get out of life.

Nick loved boxing and took every opportunity to watch it, read about it, talk with someone about it. If you loved boxing too, he was your friend.

After Showtime quit using him to call fights on its ShoBox series, after his hair fell out from the chemotherapy treatments and his eyes sunk, Top Rank’s Bob Arum phoned and offered him a spot to announce his cards.

Charles jumped at the chance. He was so grateful that he couldn’t stop raving about Arum’s kindness. At one fight in Las Vegas – I can’t remember which one it was – I saw Charles. He was not announcing the show but had accepted an invitation from Arum to watch.

As I approached him, I didn’t recognize him. He had zero hair at this point and it had been awhile since I’d seen him. I was walking across the room and saw this thin, elderly man smile warmly at me. I didn’t know who he was, but I smiled in return, nodded my head and walked past.

As I passed him, I heard a familiar voice. I stopped, wheeled around and realized that it was Nick whom I had not recognized.

“You don’t want to talk to your friends?” he said in mock indignation.

We embraced, and as I patted him on the back, he whispered: “Can you believe what Bob Arum is doing for me? Isn’t he a great guy?”

That was Nick. He was always about someone else.

Knowing he was dying, he recorded videos for his young daughter to watch in the years to come – clips in which he’d wish her a happy birthday, talk to her about life and to remind her how much he loved her.

Nick is gone now, far too soon, and his absence will leave a hole in the heart of his wife, Cory, and all of his children – as well as the fortunate ones who were able to count him as a friend.

The world is a little less warm, a little less hospitable place without Nick Charles in it.

He fought until he could fight no more. He gave it his all. And in the end, that’s all that can be asked of anyone.

Congratulations, Nick, on a life well-lived.

You inspired us.

Boxing, mo matter how dirty and corrupt it may be, still has the classiest acknowledgement of someone dying.

The 10 count.

[ColdWizard]

Saying now that he died of a heart attack while driving.

An autopsy revealed that wrestling great Randy "Macho Man" Savage died from heart disease and not from any injury sustained in his May 20 car crash.

The St. Petersburg Medical Examiner's Office found that the 58-year-old had an enlarged heart with hardened coronary arteries.
...
The coroner said Savage was found with therapeutic levels of a number of prescribed drugs in his system and that alcohol wasn't a factor. There was no evidence he was taking any heart medication, leading to the assumption that Savage may not have known about his condition.
...

Link

[SlowwHand]

Anyone?

Former first lady Betty Ford dies at 93

[Dinner]

93 is damn good. I hope I make it that long.