Celebrity Death Pools: Pat Morita Gets Waxed Off

READ MORE: Celebrity Death Pools, Pat Morita, Will Leitch Speaks Cantonese

Karate Kid Actor Pat Morita Dies [BBC]
Cash4Cadavers

More Dead Giants Cash4Cadavers Style

READ MORE: Cash4 Cadavers, Celebrity Death Pools, Robert Tisch

From Cash4Cadavers Death Pool E-mail List:

” Robert Tisch, who was co-owner of The New York Giants, a former U.S. postmastergeneral, and the former chairman of Loews Corp., has died at 79 of brain cancer. In1980 Tisch was named New York’s “ambassador to Washington D.C.,” a title so asinine it makes “Doc” Gibbs’s seem valid. I’m sure the diplomatic immunity was fun, but thefamous Tisch Accords of 1982 were far too conciliatory.

720 points to teams #17, #27, #29, #32, #33, #35, #37, #38, #47, and #65.

Winter is here, so the old folks will start dropping like flies; I’ll be gone most of Thanksgiving week, so any updates probably won’t occur until the Sunday or Monday after. Enjoy the Tryptophan!”

Preston Robert Tisch, Owner of Loews Hotels and Giants Dies [NY Times]

Cash4Cadavers Keeps Its Players Ghoulish

READ MORE: Al Lopez, Cash4Cadavers, Celebrity Death Pools, Hyong, Muk", Yong

From Cash4Cadavers e-mail:

“Yon Hyong Muk, a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, died on October 22nd of an “incurable disease” (Yon had surgery for pancreatic cancer in 2004, so we’re guessing that’s the culprit). Yon was the #3 man in the country, behind only Dear Leader and his right-hand man, Kim Young Nam. The North Korean news agency’s statement was brief: “Super fantastic leader Yon give lucky service! Can you not see that I am serious?”

7200 points to team #69!

Al Lopez, who as catcher & manager led the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox to American League pennants in the 1950s, died on Sunday at age 97. Al’s 1954 and 1959 teams were actually the only non-Yankee clubs to win the AL pennant between 1949 and 1964—I don’t know a thing about baseball, but that seems impressive. He also has the unusual distinction of having been ejected from a ballpark that, at the time, was named in his honor. THAT, I can appreciate.

1440 points to teams #11, #16, #43, #44, and #59.”

Cash4Cadavers
Al Lopez, Hall of Fame Manager and Catcher Dies [Minneapolis Star Tribune]
Yong Hyong Muk Dies [GlobalSecurity]

Cash4Cadavers Remembers Rosa Parks

READ MORE: Cash4Cadavers, Celebrity Death Pools, Rosa Parks

From Cash4Cadavers player e-mail:

“Rosa Parks, everyone’s favorite bus-sitter, has died at age 92. Rosa is called “the mother of the civil rights movement,” even though she was FAR from being the first person to refuse to give up her seat (sorry, kids, but Barbershop was right). Rosa chose to spend her golden years suing the band OutKast for using her name in a song title. She opposed segregation, not litigation.

514 points to teams #04, #10, #19, #30, #31, #37, #38, #39, #41, #44, #52, #58, #64, and #67.

The best part? We don’t have to play her next year.”

Cash4Cadavers [Cash4Cadavers]
Rosa Parks Civil Rights Icon Dead at 92 [Boston Globe]

Cash4Cadavers Treats Death Like a Holiday

READ MORE: Cash 4 Cadavers, Celebrity Death Pools, Tom Cheek

From latest Cash4Cadavers e-mail update:

Tom Cheek, the sportscaster who called every single game for the Toronto Blue Jays until last year, has died of brain cancer at age 66. Cheek died at his home in Oldsmar, Florida, because that’s the logical place to find a Canadian sportscaster.

1800 points to teams #06, #17, #32, and #37.

For those curious about Eddie Gabriel, the thimbles guy from Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans: He’s still MIA. This means that he’s almost certainly one of the hundreds of unidentified bodies. There are three months left in this year’s game, so hopefully we’ll end up with a post-dated score; otherwise, “Mr. Eddie” should probably be omitted from next year’s game to avoid another Pol Pot Predicament.

Cheek: A Big Person With a Big Voice [Globe and Mail]
Cash4Cadavers [Cash4Cadavers]

Don Adams Gets the Cash4Cadavers Eulogy

READ MORE: Cash 4 Cadavers, Celebrity Death Pools, Don Adams

Would you believe… that Don Adams, the legendary star of television’s Get Smart, has died of a lung infection at age 82. Don was never able to escape the shadow of the character he made so famous, and spent the majority of his career making progressively awful revivals and TV movies of the same damn show. Great as his Inspector Gadget work might’ve been, it doesn’t make up for Get Smart, Again!.

2400 points to teams #28, #29, and #65.

Don was the 75th scoring death of the year, for those keeping track. Let that inspire you to recruit players for the 2006 game!

Cash4Cadavers [Cash4Cadavers]
‘Get Smart’ TV Series Star Don Adams Dies at 82 [Reuters]

Celebrity Death Pool: Rehnquist Not Worth Many Points

READ MORE: Cash4Cadavers, Celebrity Death Pools, William Rehnquist

This happens a lot in death pools. So many people pick up what they think is a sure thing, saturate the market, then when the person does finally die, well, not so many points. Such is the case with newly departed Supreme Court Justice William Rehnquist. So do you think Cash4Cadavers wrote up a smart-ass little obit? Of course they did:

The gavel’s been banged on Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who’s died from thyroid cancer at age 80. In addition to leading the court in the destruction of all civil liberties, Rehnquist also became the first Chief Justice to dress differently from the rest of the members: In 1994 he designed his own pompous-yet-high school drama department costume-looking robe, which had four gold bars on each sleeve—a design he said was inspired by Gilbert & Sullivan’s Iolanthe. Dear God, I wish I was making that up.

But, I figure, since the precedent is there, the next Chief Justice (“Our Dark Lord Scalia,” anyone?) should get the same opportunity to show off their sewing skills. In fact, that would be a fun, crowd-pleasing discussion in the Senate hearings. “Mr. Thomas, are you committed to sequins?”

327 points to teams #04, #09, #17, #24, #27, #29, #30, #34, #36, #37, #42, #46, #52, #53, #56, #60, #62, #64, #65, #66, #69, #72.

Unfortunately Bill’s worth so few points, there was very little shift in the standings. Oh well. At least we get the satisfaction.

Cash4Cadavers
Previously: Takes Out Sensitivity Chip, Smashes It [Oddjack]

Celebrity Death Pools: Cash4Cadavers Takes Out Sensitivity Chip, Smashes It

READ MORE: Cash4Cadavers", Celebrity Death Pools, Fats Domino

Yes, we know that the very idea of a celebrity death pool is inherently ghoulish and horrible. Okay, and profitable for some. And Cash4Cadavers has been pretty good about their tounge-and-cheek updates for its members. Take note of last graph of e-mail update sent out this morning. Maybe this is inappropriate. Maybe not. Maybe just part of the game…

Dutch Treat

Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, the world’s oldest person according to Guinness, has surrendered her crown at the age of 115. Henny “died peacefully in her sleep,” according to the nursing home director, as he swept up the powdered remains of her dried-out corpse. She was also a fellow smart-ass: Her advice to those who wanted to live a long life was to “keep breathing.” Oooh, I just stepped in a big pile of sassy!

1200 points to teams #05, #27, #30, #35, #45, and #63.

This man’s name is ROTBLAT.

Sir Joseph Rotblat, the Manhattan Project scientist who resigned in protest and spent the rest of his life promoting peace and nuclear disarmament, has died at age 96. Rotblat eventually won the Nobel Peace Prize for his anti-war efforts. Curiously, Joe’s wife died in a concentration camp, yet he refused to help build a weapon that could’ve obliterated the Nazis. So, I guess… the Nazis won that round, then?

7200 points to team #45!

Sorry for the slight delay—I was waiting to see what would become of Fats Domino. Turns out he survived the flood. Sorry, team #10.

We’ll just say…oof.

Cash4Cadavers [Cash4Cadavers]
Previously: Celebrity Death Pools: Kiwi Down [Oddjack]

Celebrity Death Pools: Kiwi Down

READ MORE: Cash4Cadavers", Celebrity Death Pools, David Lange

The Cash4Cadavers pity party continues:

Former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange has died at the age of 63. A man with numerous health problems—including a long battle with obesity, as he weighed 370 pounds at one point—Lange’s official cause of death was renal failure. “He relaxed by driving in motor races, reading and doing crossword puzzles.” What kind of vehicle does a 370 pound man drive in a race? And it kinda seems like his weight would flip the car over on the curves…

7200 points to team #30!

Ha-cha cha-cha cha-cha!

—Alex—

Cash4Cadavers

David Lange [Times Online]

Celebrity Death Pools: Dying Time’s Here

READ MORE: Cash4Cadavers, Celebrity Death Pools

The Cash4Cadavers weekly sensitivity showcase:

Sue Gunter, a Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach for over 40 years, has died at age 66 of emphysema complications. “I learned so much from Sue about the X’s and O’s of the game of basketball,” said Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, the winningest coach in women’s college basketball. “She taught me to always pick the center square first, and to never pick Bruce Vilanch to block.”

7200 points to team #37!

We also, regrettably, learned of a death that doesn’t look like it’s going to score: Baltimore radio personality Bob Lopez died in May, but doesn’t appear to have made national news. He made it to several local newspaper and radio station websites there in Baltimore, but I’ve yet to find a nation-wide source. Our sympathies to team #37.

Cash4Cadavers [Cash4Cadavers]
Sue Gunter,66; Hall of Fame Coach Led LSU Women to 14 Titles [LA Times]

Celebrity Death Pools: Dead Means Dough

READ MORE: Cash4Cadavers, Celebrity Death Pools

From today’s Cash4Cadavers update:

Ray of Sunshine

Ray Cunningham, the oldest-living major league baseball player, just surrendered his title at the age of 100. Ray played with the St. Louis Cardinals a total of 14 games in the 1931 & 1932 seasons before getting injured and retiring. “He then worked for 40 years in the beverage industry.” What the hell does that mean? Brewing bathtub gin? Slinging beer at the ballpark?

7200 points to team #08!

Saudi Murphy

King Fahd, the Saudi Arabian monarch whose close ties with the U.S. helped fuel the rise of Islamic extremism, has died of undisclosed causes at age 84. Fahd had a stroke in 1995 and has been a clueless figurehead since; visitors “reported that he was barely aware of what was going on around him and could not recognize those who shook hands with him.” A joke comparing him to Bush would sure be easy right about now. Yep. Sure would.

3600 points to teams #34 and #43.

Project Gemini
Indian actor Gemini Ganesan, known as “The King of Romance” in Tamil Cinema, has died after a long illness at age 84. A major romantic lead of the 1950s and 60s, Gemini churned out over 200 films in his career. His key to success seemed to be avoiding politics and public controversy. Kind of a Hindu Tom Hanks, without all that space crap.

7200 points to team #38!

We have a new point leader! A big congrats to team #08, who just pranced into first place. It’s good to be the king.

Oh, and incidentally, Gemini Ganesan died on March 21st, but we just missed it. If you have some slightly-off-the-beaten-path names on your rosters, you might want to check on ‘em, just in case!

Cash 4 Cadavers [Cash4Cadavers]