2009 Celebrity Death Pool

[Opus]

For those of you who do not know what this is or how to play, I will explain.

You will choose 10 different celebrities who as of 12/31/2008 @ 11:59 PM are still living. (Yes you can edit your selections if you choose now and someone dies before the end of the year). Any edits after 11:59 PM on 12/31/08 will disqualify you from the game.

For these picks, if one of the people actually pass on in 2009 you will get points. The poster with the most points at 11:59 PM 12/31/2009 will win the pool.

Scoring is as follows: (I chose to do it this way to circumvent the cherry picking of old celebrities)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You will get points based on the month the celebrity passes. There are 12 months in a year, so there are 12 possible points. The way it is scored is to take the month that the celebrity passes and subtract it from 13. IE... If Jane Doe is one of your picks and she expires in May of 2009, you will get 8 points (13 minus 5)

You also will get points based on the celebrities age. The most points I will award is 100. So again, in our example, Jane Doe, if she is 67 years old when she passes, you will get 33 points. (100 minus 67).

The two scores combined will equal your awarded score for each correct pick. So Jane Doe would have earned you 41 points.

If you choose someone that is over 100 years of age, IE... John Doe is 103 years old and passes in September of 2009, you will still get the 4 points for passing in September, but you will actually lose 3 because of the 100 minus age rule. Thus you will score 1. It is possible to gain a negative score.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I will try and update a list of players and their scores as the year goes on and then determine the winner at the end of the year.

The second post will contain my picks, the third post will be my picks again, and I will edit in your picks as you make them.

[Opus]

1. Britney Spears
2. Barack Obama
3. Dick Cheney
4. Mel Gibson
5. Hulk Hogan
6. Kevin Matthews
7. Jerry Seinfeld
8. Bill Gates
9. Beyonce Knowles
10. Eminem (Marshall Mathers)

[Opus]

Opus - 0 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Britney Spears
2. Barack Obama
3. Dick Cheney
4. Mel Gibson
5. Hulk Hogan
6. Kevin Matthews
7. Jerry Seinfeld
8. Bill Gates
9. Beyonce Knowles
10. Eminem (Marshall Mathers)

shawnp - 0 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. John Madden
2. Andy Rooney
3. Barbara Bush
4. Britney Spears
5. Pink
I'll finish it off when I think of more people....


jiggyjiggyhoss - 149 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Keith Richards
2. Fidel Castro
3. Artie Lange
4. Billy Graham
5. Rush Limbaugh Michael Jackson June 25, 2009, 50 Years Old (7 + 50 = 57 Points)
6. Farrah Fawcett June 25, 2009, 62 Years Old (7 + 38 = 45 Points)
7. Patrick Swayze September 14, 2009, 57 Years Old (4 + 43 = 47 Points)
8. Mike Wallace
9. Amy Winehouse
10. Don Imus


Anastasia Beaverhausen - 75 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Britney Spears
2. Liz Taylor
3. Patrick Swayze September 14, 2009, 57 Years Old (4 + 43 = 47 Points)
4. Madonna
5. Oprah
6. Robert Redford
7. Carl Weathers
8. Ted Kennedy August 26, 2009, 77 Years Old (5 + 23 = 28 Points)
9. Anthony Hopkins
10. Former President H.W. Bush

Allyson - 0 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Barack Obama


Rock Monster - 75 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Fidel Castro
2. Yogi Berra
3. Michael J Fox
4. Ted Kennedy August 26, 2009, 77 Years Old (5 + 23 = 28 Points)
5. Patrick Swayze September 14, 2009, 57 Years Old (4 + 43 = 47 Points)
6. Obama
7. Jimmy Carter
8. Hugh Hefner
9. Courtney Love
10. Vern Troyer

hotzester - 68 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Eunice Kennedy Shriver August 11, 2009, 88 Years Old (5 + 12 = 17 Points)
2. Senator Ted Kennedy August 26, 2009, 77 Years Old (5 + 23 = 28 Points)
3. Bob Barker
4. Zsa Zsa Gabor
5. Fidel Castro
6. Phyllis Diller
7. Bea Arthur April 26, 2009, 86 Years Old (9 + 14 = 23 Points)
8. Roger Ebert
9. Elizabeth Edwards
10. Annette Funicello

It - 57 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Barack Obama
2. Amy Winehouse
3. Jeff Conaway
4. Lindsay Lohan
5. Jerry Lewis
6. Micheal Phelps
7. Fidel Castro
8. Queen Elizabeth II
9. Michael Jackson June 25, 2009, 50 Years Old (7 + 50 = 57 Points)
10. Andy Dick

Biff - 78 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Jay Leno
2. Hulk Hogan
3. Guy Ritchie
4. Paul Harvey February 28, 2009, 90 Years Old (11 + 10 = 21 Points)
5. Ed Harris
6. Ed Asner
7. Andy Dick
8. Courtney Love
9. Axl Rose
10. Billy Mays June 28, 2009, 50 Years Old (7 + 50 = 57 Points)

dolph - 0 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Fidel Castro
2. Ozzy Osbourne
3. Mike Tyson
4. John Goodman
5. Dick Clark
6. Fats Domino
7. Mohammed Ali
8. Nancy Reagan
9. Artie Lange
10. James Garner

plumpenut - 57 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Bob Feller
2. Michael Jackson June 25, 2009, 50 Years Old (7 + 50 = 57 Points)
3. Stan Musial
4. Arnold Palmer
5. Peter Gammons
6. Betty White
7. Burt Reynolds
8. Tim Allen
9. Roger Moore
10. Bob Barker

FUSTERCLUCK - 47 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Zsa Zsa Gabor
2. Ernest Borgnine
3. Nancy Reagan
4. Margaret Thatcher
5. Steve Jobs
6. Yoko Ono
7. Jeff Conoway
8. Kirk Douglas
9. Patrick Swayze September 14, 2009, 57 Years Old (4 + 43 = 47 Points)
10. Dick Clark

zetsyuk - 47 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Amy Winehouse
2. Patrick Swayze September 14, 2009, 57 Years Old (4 + 43 = 47 Points)
3. Elizabeth Taylor
4. Joaquin Phoenix
5. Lindsay Lohan
6. Mary Kate Olson
7. Kirk Douglass
8. Montel Williams
9. Larry King
10. Allegra Versace

Queenie - 149 Points
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Patrick Swayze September 14, 2009, 57 Years Old (4 + 43 = 47 Points)
2. Michael Jackson June 25, 2009, 50 Years Old (7 + 50 = 57 Points)
3. Michael J. Fox
4. Yoko Ono
5. Farrah Fawcet June 25, 2009, 62 Years Old (7 + 38 = 45 Points)
6. Jeff Conway
7. Mindy McCready
8. Steve Jobs
9. Corey Haim
10. Casey Anthony

[shawnp]

John Madden
Andy Rooney
Barbara Bush
Britney Spears
Pink
I'll finish it off when I think of more people....

[-Jiggy-]

Keith Richards
Fidel Castro
Artie Lange
Billy Graham
Rush Limbaugh
Farrah Fawcett
Patrick Swayze
Mike Wallace
Amy Winehouse
Don Imus

[linzi]

-Hugh Hefner
-Liz Taylor
-Patrick Swayze
-Madonna
-Betty White
-Robert Redford
-Carl Weathers
-Ted Kennedy
-Anthony Hopkins
-Former President H.W. Bush

[Allyson]

1. Barack Obama

[Rock Monster]

Fidel Castro
Yogi Berra
Michael J Fox
Ted Kennedy
Patrick Swayze
Obama
Jimmy Carter
Hugh Hefner
Courtney Love
Vern Troyer

[Opus]

Only 6 people? C'mon.. I know theres more of you out there that want to play this morbid game.

[Rock Monster]

I have one suggestion for a change. Right now, if that celebrity bites it in January, you get 11 points, and in December, you get 0 points. Shouldn't it be 12 for Jan, down to 1 for December?

[hotzester]

1. Eunice Kennedy Shriver
2. Senator Ted Kennedy
3. Bob Barker
4. Zsa Zsa Gabor
5. Fidel Castro
6. Phyllis Diller
7. Bea Arthur
8. Roger Ebert
9. Elizabeth Edwards
10. Annette Funicello

[Howie Feltersnatch]

how about some sort of bonus if they weren't ill with anything...

like say if I pick Ben Stiller, who (to my knowledge) isn't ill or addicted to drugs...and he ups and dies...sorta a luck of the draw thing

I'm still thinking on my list...and wondering if it will condem me to hell

[Opus]

I have one suggestion for a change. Right now, if that celebrity bites it in January, you get 11 points, and in December, you get 0 points. Shouldn't it be 12 for Jan, down to 1 for December?

Well advised... I have modified the original post to be 13-month of death.

[Opus]

how about some sort of bonus if they weren't ill with anything...

like say if I pick Ben Stiller, who (to my knowledge) isn't ill or addicted to drugs...and he ups and dies...sorta a luck of the draw thing

I'm still thinking on my list...and wondering if it will condem me to hell

Most of my picks are not ill in any way. You will find that most of peoples picks are not.

Only cherry picking I am really concerned with for example, is someone like Elizabeth Ford. She is 90 years old.. her husband just recently passed (Gerald R. Ford for those who do not know who she is)... and she is prime for passing in the near future because of her age. Thats why I used the 100 year rule.

[lt]

1. Barack Obama
2. Amy Winehouse
3. Jeff Conaway
4. Lindsay Lohan
5. Jerry Lewis
6. Micheal Phelps
7. Fidel Castro
8. Queen Elizabeth II
9. Micheal Jackson
10. Andy Dick

[Biff]

Jay Leno
Hulk Hogan
Guy Ritchie
Paul Harvey
Ed Harris
Ed Asner
Andy Dick
Courtney Love
Axl Rose
Billy Mays

[dolph]

Fidel Castro
Ozzy Osbourne
Mike Tyson
John Goodman
Dick Clark
Fats Domino
Mohammed Ali
Nancy Reagan
Artie Lange
James Garner

[-Jiggy-]

Keith Richards
Fidel Castro
Artie Lange
Billy Graham
Rush Limbaugh
Farrah Fawcett
Patrick Swayze
Mike Wallace
Amy Winehouse
Don Imus

I want to replace Rush Limbaugh with Michael Jackson.

[plumpenut]

1. Bob Feller
2. Michael Jackson
3. Stan Musial
4. Arnold Palmer
5. Peter Gammons
6. Betty White
7. Burt Reynolds
8. Tim Allen
9. Roger Moore
10. Bob Barker

[Queenie]

10. Bob Barker

He's still alive?

[plumpenut]

lol yes and he still should be doing price is right

[fustercluck]

Zsa Zsa Gabor
Ernest Borgnine
Nancy Reagan
Margaret Thatcher
Steve Jobs
Yoko Ono
Jeff Conoway
Kirk Douglas
Patrick Swayzee
Dick Clark

[zetsyuk]

I'm going for the win:


1: Amy Winehouse
2: Patrick Swayze
3: Elizabeth Taylor
4: Joaquin Phoenix
5: Lindsay Lohan
6: Mary Kate Olson
7: Kirk Douglass
8: Montel Williams
9: Larry King
10: Allegra Versace

[Opus]

Last 2 days to make your picks. Any entry after midnight tomorrow will not be included in the game.

[Queenie]

Patrick Swayze
Michael Jackson
Michael J. Fox
Yoko Ono
Farrah Fawcet
Jeff Conway
Mindy McCready
Steve Jobs
Corey Haim
Casey Anthony

[linzi]

Anyone have Pat Hingle? He just passed away on Saturday............

[Opus]

Since a couple of you have him, thought you might like to know that Patrick Swayze checked into the hospital today with Pneomonia. Of course the publicists are claiming its not life threatening, only routine, but the same was said of Bernie Mac.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,...ml?cnn=yes

Patrick Swayze has pneumonia and has checked himself into a hospital for observation, it was revealed Friday at a press event for the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles.

"As we arrived here this morning we have some news," said A&E president Abbe Raven. "Patrick Swayze has checked himself into the hospital. However, he asked us specifically to go forward with today's panel. We wish him the very best with his recovery."

Bob DeBitetto, the president and general manager of A&E, delivered the news that Swayze had decided to check himself into the hospital after he came down with pneumonia.

Swayze, who is battling pancreatic cancer, had been expected to discuss his new show, The Beast, scheduled to begin airing Jan. 15.


'He's still fighting'
"Patrick is undergoing treatment and he's still fighting," a source close to the star tells PEOPLE. "He felt so bad that he couldn't be at the TCAs. He's fighting and doing well, and that's all anybody can hope for at this stage. He is not at death's door. Nobody ever knows with cancer, but he's doing alright. As soon as he's out, he's going to try to reschedule as much as he can.

Adds another source close to the situation, "He knows he's not a miracle. There's only so much he can do. He needs to take care of himself, so he checked himself in to get the help he needs."

During an interview that aired Wednesday on ABC, the actor told Barbara Walters that his road has been difficult. "You can bet that I'm going through hell," he said. "And I've only seen the beginning of it."

Swayze, 56, who went public with his diagnosis last March, said the disease has taken an emotional toll. "There's a lot of fear here," he said. "Yeah, I'm scared. Yeah, I'm angry. Yeah, I'm [asking], why me."

Despite his difficult year battling cancer, Swayze is still looking ahead. "I keep dreaming of a future, a future with a long and healthy life," he said, "not lived in the shadow of cancer, but in the light."


Colleagues Praise Patrick
At the TCA event in L.A., Swayze's colleagues on the show opened up about the actor's personal struggle. "[He's] been an absolute inspiration, he's an amazing guy," said costar Travis Fimmel. "He makes the little things seem not important."

Bill Rotko, creator of The Beast, said: "Although you forget sometimes that Patrick's going through treatment for cancer, it brings you very close together. There's a tremendous amount of respect going on."

Beast executive producer John Romano added that Swayze gives the show 100 percent. "He's bringing the force of his own personal struggle into the performance," he said. "He does it five days a week, 12 hours a day."

[-Jiggy-]

Amy Winehouses name was put on a list for "top jews to target" for extremists. I want points but not like this. If she could just die wallowing in her own self pity I would be happier.

[zetsyuk]

Amy Winehouses name was put on a list for "top jews to target" for extremists. I want points but not like this. If she could just die wallowing in her own self pity I would be happier.

where is this list and how do you know who's on it?

[Queenie]

Since a couple of you have him, thought you might like to know that Patrick Swayze checked into the hospital today with Pneomonia.

According to a New York Times article, Patrick Swayze was released from the hospital Friday and is resting at his L.A. home.

[-Jiggy-]

Amy Winehouses name was put on a list for "top jews to target" for extremists. I want points but not like this. If she could just die wallowing in her own self pity I would be happier.

where is this list and how do you know who's on it?

No idea where this list is? I was reading about it in one of those headline news articles you see when you log out of Hotmail. I'll try to do a search on it. I hope I'm not put on a FBI watch list.

*edit: okay that was an easier search than I thought. Here is a link:
http://www.neoconstant.com/2543/amy-wine...an-target/

[Opus]

We finally have our first qualifying death.

Bea Arthur (23 points):
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/25/bea.arthur.obit/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/2 ... index.html</a><!-- m -->

(CNN) -- Bea Arthur, the actress best known for her roles as television's "Maude" and the sardonic Dorothy on "The Golden Girls," has died of cancer, a family spokesman said Saturday.

Spokesman Dan Watt said that Arthur died Saturday morning at her home in Los Angeles, her family by her side.

She is survived by her sons Matthew and Daniel and grandchildren Kyra and Violet, he said.

No funeral services are currently planned, Watt said, adding that the family asked that donations be made to either the Art Attack Foundation or PETA in lieu of flowers.

Arthur's opinionated Maude first appeared on Norman Lear's "All in the Family" as Edith Bunker's cousin, and was so popular that Lear created a spin-off series.

In the '70s, "Maude" was ahead of the social curve, tackling hot topics not usually mentioned on situation comedies -- pornography, race relations and, in an episode titled "Maude's Dilemma," abortion.

That episode spawned demonstrations and generated hate mail for Arthur -- when Maude and husband Walter (Bill Macy) decided on that episode they were too old to raise a child.

But many saw Maude as an enduring icon for women's liberation -- a big deal for the shy, Jewish girl born Bernice Frankel in New York City.

During the Depression, Arthur's family left the Big Apple and opened a clothing store in Cambridge, Maryland. By the time she was 12, Arthur was nearly 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and self-conscious about her height.

But she masked her insecurity with comedy and eventually returned to New York to study acting. Along the way, she had a short-lived marriage she never spoke about, but she kept the last name -- Arthur.

The young Bea Arthur earned a living singing and doing stage work on Broadway and off-Broadway. Critics delighted in her haughty, serpent-tongued deliveries.

Her first television appearance came in 1951 in a long-forgotten series called "Once Upon a Tune," but she quickly made a name for herself with appearances on "Studio One," "Kraft Television Theatre" and "The Sid Caesar Show."

Arthur drew attention in "Threepenny Opera" on Broadway with Lotte Lenya, but she really turned heads in 1964 originating the role of Yente the Matchmaker in "Fiddler on the Roof."

In 1966, Arthur won a Tony Award for the caustic Vera Charles in the play "Mame," playing opposite Angela Lansbury in the title role. Eight years later, she reprised the role in the film version opposite Lucille Ball, but by then she was already well-established as Maude.

Arthur left "Maude" in 1978, making television and some film appearances afterward. She starred in a short-lived series, "Amanda's," in 1983 and then joined the cast of "The Golden Girls" in 1985 with Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty.

Her role as Dorothy Zbornak gave Arthur her other major television success as one of four older women living together in Florida. (Getty, the youngest of the four, played Arthur's mother). The role earned Arthur a second Emmy -- the first was for "Maude."

Arthur left the show after Dorothy remarried at the end of the 1991-92 season. White, McClanahan and Getty continued for another season on the show, renamed "The Golden Palace," but the show lasted only one season without Arthur.

Arthur entered semi-retirement after the show ended in 1992, returning to television in sporadic guest appearances and appearing at several celebrity roasts. In the early part of this decade, Arthur appeared in several one-woman shows.

Her last stage appearance was in 2006. Her last television appearance was on "The View" in 2007.

[Opus]

Nobody had him, but thought I would post it anyways...

Dom Deluise dead at 75 Years Old:

Source: <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/05/05/obit.deluise/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/ ... index.html</a><!-- m -->

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Dom DeLuise, who spiced up such movies as "Blazing Saddles," "Silent Movie" and "The Cannonball Run" with his manic delivery and roly-poly persona, has died, his son's publicist told CNN.

Publicist Jay Schwartz did not disclose the cause of death, but DeLuise, 75, had been battling cancer for more than a year.

DeLuise was surrounded by family when he died in a Santa Monica, California, hospital Monday night, son Michael DeLuise told CNN affiliate KTLA-TV.

DeLuise was most famous for his supporting roles in a number of Mel Brooks films, including 1974's "Saddles" -- in which he played a flamboyant musical director who led dancers in a number called "The French Mistake" -- and 1976's "Silent Movie," in which he played the assistant to Brooks' director Mel Funn. He was also in the Brooks-directed "The Twelve Chairs" (1970), "Spaceballs" (1987) and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993).

But he could also assay more serious roles, most notably in the 1980 dark comedy "Fatso," directed by Brooks' wife, Anne Bancroft, in which he played an overweight man trying to wean himself from comfort food.

DeLuise was also part of the supporting cast in the Burt Reynolds crash-'em-up vehicles "Smokey and the Bandit II" (1980), "Cannonball Run" (1981) and "Cannonball Run II" (1984). Other DeLuise films include "The End" (1978), "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1982) and "Johnny Dangerously" (1984).

His voice was featured in such films as "An American Tail" (1986) and its sequels, "All Dogs Go to Heaven" (1989) and its 1996 sequel, and "Oliver & Company" (1988).

Dominic DeLuise was born in Brooklyn, New York, on August 1, 1933. In the 1960s he had bit parts in a handful of movies, including "Fail Safe" (1964), but became well known as a regular on "The Entertainers" and a Dean Martin variety show. He had his own summer replacement show in 1968 and was a regular on Glen Campbell's "Goodtime Hour" in 1971-72.

DeLuise had three sons -- Peter, Michael and David -- who all became actors.

His wife of 40 years, actress Carol Arthur, appeared in several movies with him, including "Blazing Saddles" and "Silent Movie," according to DeLuise's Web site.

A frequent collaborator with DeLuise, Burt Reynolds released a statement to "Entertainment Tonight" on his friend's death.

"I was thinking the other day about this. As you get older you think about this more and more, I was dreading this moment. Dom always made everyone feel better when he was around. I never heard him say an unkind word about anyone. I will miss him very much," Reynolds says.

[Opus]

Nobody had him, but apparently David Carradine commited suicide today:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/06/04/obit.david.carradine/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/06/04/o ... index.html</a><!-- m -->

(CNN) -- American actor David Carradine has been found dead, hanging by a nylon rope in a hotel room closet in Bangkok, Thailand, according a Thai police official.

Carradine, who became famous in the 1970s when he starred as traveling Shaolin monk Kwai Chang Caine in the television series "Kung Fu," was 72.

The rope was believed to be from the hotel room curtains, Bangkok Police Lt. Col. Pirom Chanpirom said Thursday.

He said investigators found no sign of forced entry into Carradine's room.

An autopsy was being conducted at a Bangkok hospital, but no results will be available for another day, he said.

A Carradine family spokeswoman issued a short statement saying the family "is devastated by the news of David's passing."

"Circumstances surrounding his death are still unknown, and there will be no further comment until more information can be confirmed," the statement said.

"The family appreciates the many expressions of condolence, and asks for privacy at this time."

Police provided Carradine's family with information about their investigation, said Tiffany Smith, Carradine's personal co-manager.

Smith said that she was "in complete shock" and that suggestions that Carradine took his own life are unbelievable.

"Knowing David, he would never commit suicide," and his death comes at a time when his "career is on a roll," she said.

Carradine was in Bangkok for filming of the movie "Stretch," being produced by a United Kingdom-based company, she said. He was the only American cast member.

Modern audiences may best know Carradine as "Bill" in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" films. He earned a 2005 Golden Globe nomination for his role in the second movie in the two-part saga.

His career included more than 100 feature films, two dozen television movies and theater work, according to the Internet Movie Database. See photos of some of his notable roles »

"He was clearly an actor who followed his own path," said Leah Rozen, the movie critic for People magazine.

"He was never a guy who talked a whole lot. You knew as an actor, the characters he played, you knew they had a past, you knew there was probably some unhappiness there, but he wasn't going to talk about it."

Carradine made appearances in television series including "Gunsmoke" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." His first starring role in a series was as the title character in "Shane" in 1966.

He worked with such directors as Martin Scorsese in "Box Car Bertha" in 1972 and Robert Altman in "The Long Goodbye" in 1973. iReport: Share memories of David Carradine

Carradine was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role as folk music legend Woody Guthrie in the 1976 movie "Bound For Glory," according to a biography on his official Web site.

His theater career began while he studied drama at San Francisco State College in California.

He later landed roles on Broadway in "The Deputy" and "The Royal Hunt of the Sun."

Carradine's legacy will probably be the "Kill Bill" movies and the "Kung Fu" series, Rozen said.

The "Kill Bill" casting was particularly smart, she added.

"Tarantino was tapping into his just natural coolness, but more to the point, Tarantino was playing off that he still had this whole following from the 'Kung Fu' TV series," Rozen said. Watch Carradine talk about his 'Kung Fu' role »

Carradine, who was married five times and divorced four, is survived by his widow, Annie Bierman, according to People magazine.

Carradine was part of an acting dynasty. He was the son of actor John Carradine, a character actor who had appeared in hundreds of films, plays and television episodes. David Carradine also acted with his brothers Keith and Robert.

"David's career as an artist did not begin on the stage, though some of his early career was on and off Broadway. His earliest work was as a sculptor and painter," Carradine's official Web site says.

The site also includes an "Art Bio" in which the actor opens up about his life.

"I've always had an especially hard time with everything I've tried to do," Carradine wrote.

"I've made it pretty big as an actor in spite of being terminally shy. ... Invariably, I had huge obstacles to overcome in anything I tried. Had to work against my genes to achieve my dreams."

[Howie Feltersnatch]

Who's winning this competition/1st class ticket to hell?

[Opus]

hotzester has 23 points. Only correct pick thus far this year.

[schuyler16]

1. Sen. Ted Kennedy
2. Courtney Love
3. Amy Winehouse
4. Pres. Barrack Obama
5. Lindsay Lohan
6. Jeff Conaway
7. Susan Boyle
8. Paula Abdul
9. Patrick Swayze
10. Farrah Fawcett

[Opus]

1. Sen. Ted Kennedy
2. Courtney Love
3. Amy Winehouse
4. Pres. Barrack Obama
5. Lindsay Lohan
6. Jeff Conaway
7. Susan Boyle
8. Paula Abdul
9. Patrick Swayze
10. Farrah Fawcett

You will choose 10 different celebrities who as of 12/31/2008 @ 11:59 PM are still living. (Yes you can edit your selections if you choose now and someone dies before the end of the year). Any edits after 11:59 PM on 12/31/08 will disqualify you from the game.

Sorry, you will have to wait til next year.

[schuyler16]

oops srry.

[Opus]

Nobody had him, but Ed McMahon has passed away:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/23/obit.mcmahon/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/2 ... index.html</a><!-- m -->