The 2011 Off Topic Celebrity Dead Pool

[Al B. Sure!]

I doubt anyone here had him but Nate Dogg died. He was a fixture in hip hop as a singer for two decades. Was never particularly successful as a solo artist but appeared on hundreds of songs. G-funk pioneer.

Hip-hop star Nate Dogg, 41, has reportedly passed away after suffering from health issues for several years. Long Beach's Press Telegram was first to report the Long Beach native's death.

While no details have been released as to how the smooth singer -- real name Nathaniel Hale -- died, it has been reported he suffered strokes in both 2007 and 2008.

Nate Dogg was a collaborator with hip-hop megastars including Eminem and Dr. Dre, and he is a founding member of the hip-hop group 213 with Snoop Dogg and Warren G

RIP

[-Jrabbit]

RIP, Dogg.

[Grandpa Troll]

Ferlin Husky taken up on the Wings of a Dove

Sad news for fans of "Gone" and "Wings of a Dove" country star Ferlin Husky: "Ferlin passed away today in the Critical Care unit of a Nashville-area hospital where he had been under intensive care for several days," reads a notice posted Thursday on the 2010 Country Hall of Famer's Web site. Husky was 85 and had suffered with heart disease.

A star since 1953, thanks to his melancholy Korean War duet with Jean Shepard, "A Dear John Letter" (about a woman who is going to marry a soldier's brother), Husky generated hits that also included "A Fallen Star," "My Reason for Living," "The Waltz You Saved for Me" and "Timber I'm Falling." Popular on early TV and even appearing in some movies, Husky was a big-name '50s headliner – so big that one of his opening acts was some kid named Elvis Presley.

"There were a lot of years when nobody in the business could follow Ferlin Husky," Merle Haggard told The Tennessean in 2010. "He was the big live act of the day. A great entertainer."

A Missouri native who learned the guitar before he was 10, Husky moved to Bakersfield, Calif., and was later credited with bringing a twangy West Coast strain to country music. In all, he sold more than 20 million records and, according to The Tennessean, his sound, which at first proved a viable alternative to rock 'n' roll, would help pave the way for such cross-genre modern artists as Lady Antebellum and Taylor Swift.

Husky's final recording, according to his Web site, was 2005's "The Way It Was (Is The Way It Is)." He is survived by six daughters, two sons and several grandchildren.

[Wezil]

Washington (CNN) -- Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher died Friday from complications of kidney and bladder cancer, his family said. He was 85.

As America's chief diplomat for four years during President Bill Clinton's administration, Christopher "eschewed confrontation in favor of negotiation with friend and foe alike," according to a profile posted on the State Department website.

I'm feeling old today.

[Wezil]

British actor Michael Gough, best known for playing Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred in Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher's Batman films, has died aged 94.

The actor had not been well for the past year and passed away at home surrounded by family, his agent said.

Gough appeared in more than 150 films and TV shows during his 65-year career.

He continued to work with Burton in Sleepy Hollow and providing voices in Corpse Bride and last year's Alice in Wonderland.

[SlowwHand]

And Zha Zha hangs on.

[-Jrabbit]

It appears the protective power of our lists remains strong this year...

[Wezil]

BERLIN—Berlin’s beloved polar bear Knut, who rose to international stardom as a cuddly cub hand-raised by zookeepers, died suddenly Saturday, a zoo official said.

The world-famous bear died alone in his compound without warning, bear keeper Heiner Kloes said.

“It was a completely normal day: He was with the female bears before, who had just been shut away,” Kloes said. “Then, Knut strolled around the enclosure, went into the water, had a short spasm and died.”

A post mortem will be conducted on Monday to try to pinpoint the cause of death, he said.

Between 600 and 700 people were at Knut’s compound and saw the four-year-old bear die.

[germanos]

Not eligible surely.

[Wezil]

Nope. Ineligible for a couple reasons (animal, age) but a noteworthy death all the same.

We hardly knut him.

[-Jrabbit]

That's "knutworthy"...

[Wezil]

Not a bad way to go either. Dying poolside after a frolic with the ladies isn't so bad.

[Ming]

Not a bad way to go either. Dying poolside after a frolic with the ladies isn't so bad.

May we all go that way

[Wezil]

Richard Pryor used to have a great routine about choosing your manner of death (sex was his preferred way).

"When I die I want to be in the long mf'er line..."

[Wezil]

That's "knutworthy"...

You are correct.

BERLIN - Knut, the celebrity polar bear who died at the weekend, may have succumbed to a brain disorder, Berlin zoo said on Tuesday.

Knut was nuts.

Sorry.