2020 Celebrity Deathpool
Baker
Shipmate
in The Circus
Because I’m not sure if The Rogue is starting the Celebrity Deathpool this season I’ve taken the liberty of beginning this “discussion”. Should the previous DeathMaster wish to take over this discussion I will happily turn it over to them.
I will keep mostly, but with a couple teeny changes to the rules as he had them in 2019, cutting and pasting most of the opening post. I’ve changed dates of course. Also I’ve added one bonus award and renamed another. Hope this isn’t confusing.
1. You must pick 13 well-known people whom you think will shuffle off this mortal coil in 2020. That is, starting from 00.01 UTC (GMT, really) on 1st January 2020 and ending at 23.59 UTC on 31 December 2020, as determined by the United States Naval Observatory Master Clock. I’m in North America, but I’m keeping to the previous pools’ time zone rules. I run pools in two other boards, and they are six hours off of this one, so that will actually be a help.
2. The definition of "well-known" is that their deaths will be reported by at least one major news outlet. Examples outlets include (but are not limited to) The Guardian, CNN, IMDB, VeloNews, The Beano, The Austin Chronicle, and the Church Times.
3. All selections must be real natural born people. No fictional characters, abstract entities or "corporate persons" will be accepted. No matter what the US tax code or Supreme Court say, corporations aren't people, and people aren't corporations.
4. Points are awarded according to the following formula: 100 minus the celebrity's age at the time of death. For example, if the person you choose dies at the age of 67 you will earn 33 points. Should you pick someone who is 100 years old when they die you will receive no points; should your person be over 100, you will lose points.
5. You earn 50 bonus points if the death occurs in such a way as to clearly prove the existence of God (for example, if some doofus dies from burns after trying to torch a church), or they win an actual, bona-fide, certified Darwin award.
6. You cannot choose anyone under the age of 18 at the start of 2020. Yes, this caps your points-per-person potential at 82 but only cheats ever score 100% in anything.
7. You may choose an inmate scheduled to be executed, but you only earn points if the person dies by some means other than the state-sponsored execution. For example, a shiv in the stomach counts; lethal injection does not.
8. You are disqualified if you contribute in any way to the death of one of your chosen candidates. Exceptions will be made if you are a police officer or member of the armed services and kill someone in the line of duty.
9. The Monty Python "I'm Getting Better!" rule: if your person turns out to not be dead after all, and this revivification is confirmed before this year's contest ends, you lose your points. The presumption is that nobody dies or comes back to life until it's confirmed, though. Once the year's over, it's over and there will be no retrospective adjustments once the final scores are announced. Those of you who follow the "dictators, drones, and Hellfire" school should probably take note.
10. All entries must be submitted on this thread no later than 23.59 UTC on 31 December 2019. No entries will be accepted after this time. You may make changes to your list up until this time but only if someone pops their clogs before the beginning of the game or if you've put someone in twice. Surprisingly, this does happen.
Bonus awards:
Opening Kickoff Award is: given for picking the first death of the game this year.
Quantity Not Quality Award: given for picking the most people who croak before 2020, regardless of their points value.
Inside Track With the Grim Reaper Award is given to the player with the most unique picks
Sudden Death: given for picking the last death before 2020.
Disclaimer: This is only a game. The Ship, its management and their associated lackeys do not necessarily endorse the death any human being. One should not necessarily view this as a "wish list;" reviewing past years will show that truly evil and nasty dictators seem to have a habit of lingering while those figures we truly respect and admire often don't. Some players who Just Can't Score Points will put those they wish to hear from next year on the list.
The Circus is a place for games, not discussion of the rights or wrongs of those games. If you want to discuss the ethics of this one, there are other places you can do that. While I enjoy reading obits and memories as much as anyone else, longer threads belong in AS.
Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favour.
I will keep mostly, but with a couple teeny changes to the rules as he had them in 2019, cutting and pasting most of the opening post. I’ve changed dates of course. Also I’ve added one bonus award and renamed another. Hope this isn’t confusing.
1. You must pick 13 well-known people whom you think will shuffle off this mortal coil in 2020. That is, starting from 00.01 UTC (GMT, really) on 1st January 2020 and ending at 23.59 UTC on 31 December 2020, as determined by the United States Naval Observatory Master Clock. I’m in North America, but I’m keeping to the previous pools’ time zone rules. I run pools in two other boards, and they are six hours off of this one, so that will actually be a help.
2. The definition of "well-known" is that their deaths will be reported by at least one major news outlet. Examples outlets include (but are not limited to) The Guardian, CNN, IMDB, VeloNews, The Beano, The Austin Chronicle, and the Church Times.
3. All selections must be real natural born people. No fictional characters, abstract entities or "corporate persons" will be accepted. No matter what the US tax code or Supreme Court say, corporations aren't people, and people aren't corporations.
4. Points are awarded according to the following formula: 100 minus the celebrity's age at the time of death. For example, if the person you choose dies at the age of 67 you will earn 33 points. Should you pick someone who is 100 years old when they die you will receive no points; should your person be over 100, you will lose points.
5. You earn 50 bonus points if the death occurs in such a way as to clearly prove the existence of God (for example, if some doofus dies from burns after trying to torch a church), or they win an actual, bona-fide, certified Darwin award.
6. You cannot choose anyone under the age of 18 at the start of 2020. Yes, this caps your points-per-person potential at 82 but only cheats ever score 100% in anything.
7. You may choose an inmate scheduled to be executed, but you only earn points if the person dies by some means other than the state-sponsored execution. For example, a shiv in the stomach counts; lethal injection does not.
8. You are disqualified if you contribute in any way to the death of one of your chosen candidates. Exceptions will be made if you are a police officer or member of the armed services and kill someone in the line of duty.
9. The Monty Python "I'm Getting Better!" rule: if your person turns out to not be dead after all, and this revivification is confirmed before this year's contest ends, you lose your points. The presumption is that nobody dies or comes back to life until it's confirmed, though. Once the year's over, it's over and there will be no retrospective adjustments once the final scores are announced. Those of you who follow the "dictators, drones, and Hellfire" school should probably take note.
10. All entries must be submitted on this thread no later than 23.59 UTC on 31 December 2019. No entries will be accepted after this time. You may make changes to your list up until this time but only if someone pops their clogs before the beginning of the game or if you've put someone in twice. Surprisingly, this does happen.
Bonus awards:
Opening Kickoff Award is: given for picking the first death of the game this year.
Quantity Not Quality Award: given for picking the most people who croak before 2020, regardless of their points value.
Inside Track With the Grim Reaper Award is given to the player with the most unique picks
Sudden Death: given for picking the last death before 2020.
Disclaimer: This is only a game. The Ship, its management and their associated lackeys do not necessarily endorse the death any human being. One should not necessarily view this as a "wish list;" reviewing past years will show that truly evil and nasty dictators seem to have a habit of lingering while those figures we truly respect and admire often don't. Some players who Just Can't Score Points will put those they wish to hear from next year on the list.
The Circus is a place for games, not discussion of the rights or wrongs of those games. If you want to discuss the ethics of this one, there are other places you can do that. While I enjoy reading obits and memories as much as anyone else, longer threads belong in AS.
Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favour.
Comments
Later on today(on this side of the pond) I wll post my own list, and I encourage anyone else to do so as well.
Thanks to Lyda for commenting.
Farah Diba Pahlavi
Noor al Hussein
Princess Mabel
Margrethe II
Cindy McCain
Roberta McCain
Martin Short
Mel Brooks
Courtney Love
Liam Neeson
Terri Irwin
Celine Dion
Yoko Ono
I will post my list, but I want to leave it later in the month.
And thank you for taking this initiative.
I'm going to post my list in a few days, once I've seen if there's anyone obvious that I've missed.
I have no points, BTW.
I once did a themed list of folks born on NYE. Two actually matched my own age exactly. One is a German race car driver and engineer named Herman Tilke. The other is a Scots politician named Alexander Salmond. I also share the day, if not the year, with Anthony Hopkins and Ben Kingsley.
- Tommy Lasorda (1927)
- Whitey Ford (1928)
- Whitey Herzog (1931)
- Henry "Hank" Aaron (1934)
- Bill Mazeroski (1936)
- Brooks Robinson (1937)
- Gaylord Perry (1938)
- Tom Seaver (1944)
- Steve "Lefty" Carlton (1944)
- Rod Carew (1945)
- Nolan Ryan (1947)
- Mike Schmidt (1949)
- Cal Ripken, Jr. (1960)
And, if any of those should shuffle off their mortal coil before the end of 2019, then my replacement name will be Reggie Jackson (1946).1. Adam Hart Davis
2. Michael Fish
3. Ronnie Wood
4. Kim Jong Un
5. Nigel Farage (unfortunately I think it's against the rules - certainly against the spirit of them - to inhume the nasty little turd myself)
6. Paul Dacre (see above)
7. Diane Abbott
8. Rolf Harris
9. Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi (Yemeni president)
10. Nicolas Maduro (Venezuelan president)
11. Donald Trump (running out of ideas here...)
12. "Tommy Robinson" AKA Stephen Yaxley-Lennon
13. Sir Alex Ferguson
Should any of that lot cark it early, you can add Boris as Sub 1 and Rees-Mogg as sub 2.
AG
1) Ringo Starr
2) Keith Richards
3) Rolf Harris
4) Pele
5) Nicholas Parsons
6) Billy Connolly
7) George W Bush
8) Prince Phillip
9) Mark “The Undertaker” Calaway
10) Tracey Emin
11) Tony Blackburn
12) Paul Gambaccini
13) Jimmy Tarbuck
1. Jimmy Carter
2. Rosalyn Carter
3. Angela Lansbury
4. Ayman al-Zawahiri
5. Charlie Sheen
6. Shannen Doherty
7. Jerry Stiller
8. Dick van Dyke
9. Alex Trebeck
10. Cher
11. Christopher Lloyd
12. Betty White
13. Sean Connery
Kiss of life
1. HM The Queen
2. HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
3. Sir Billy Connolly
4. Alex Trebeck
5. Ronnie Wood
6. Sir Cliff Richard
7. Michael J. Fox
Not kiss of life
8. Donald Trump
9. Kim Jong-Un
10. Boris Johnson
11. Nigel Farage
12. Vladimir Putin
13. Morrissey
1. Shane McGowan
2. Pope Emeritus Benedict
3. HM Queen Elizabeth II
4. Paul Gascoigne
5. Terry Jones (Monty Python)
6. Michael Schumacher
7. Michael Crawford
8. Mike Oldfield
9. Prince Philip
10. Lionel Blair
11. Dick Van Dyke
12. Bernard Cribbins
13. Donald Trump
1. Murray Walker (F1 commentator)
2. Patricia Routledge (actor, Keeping Up Appearances)
3. Frank Williams (actor, Dad’s Army)
4. Bernard Cribbins (actor, The Railway Children)
5. David Attenborough (wonder of the natural world)
6. Prunella Scales (actor, Fawlty Towers)
7. Norman Tebbit (Conservative politician)
8. Michael Fish (weather presenter)
9. Adam Hart Davies (eccentric tv presenter beloved by my old headmaster)
10. James Earl Jones (actor, Star Wars)
11. Jurgen Moltmann (theologian)
12. Jimmy Greaves (footballer, Spurs)
13. Terry Jones (Python)
Tom Baker (Former Time Lord)
Peter Davison (Former Time Lord)
Colin Baker (Former Time Lord)
Sylvester McCoy (Former Time Lord)
Paul McGann (Former Time Lord)
Christopher Eccleston (Former Time Lord)
David Tennant (Former Time Lord)
Matt Smith (Former Time Lord)
Peter Capaldi (Former Time Lord)
David Bradley (Alternate Time Lord)
Jodie Whittaker (Time Lord)
Robert Fripp (Greatest living male guitarist and Crimson King)
Bonnie Raitt (Greatest living guitarist)
HH Pope Benedict XVI
John Sentamu, Archbishop of Kent
Royalty
HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
HRH the Duchess of Kent
Senior Statesmen
Valery Giscard-d'Estaing
Henry Kissinger
Actors
Michael J Fox
Charlie Sheen
Vanessa Redgrave
Sport & Entertainment
Petula Clark
Billy Connolly
Jimmy Greaves
Miscellaneous
Thomas Markle
Prince Phillip
Tom Baker (Time Lord)
William Shatner (retired Starfleet Admiral)
Nichelle Nichols (retired Starfleet officer)
George RR Martin (author)
Nicholas Parsons (Just a Minute)
Jimmy Carter (ex-US President)
Pat Cadigan (author - still shaking her fist at Mortality)
Michael Heseltine (former Tarzan)
Julie Andrews (actress)
Stephen King (author)
Lee Meriwether (Catwoman)
Julie Newmar (also Catwoman)
1. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
2. Paul Gascoine (Gazza).
3. Ronnie Wood (a Stone).
4. James Earl (Jimmy) Carter.
5. Paul Gambaccini (Presenter).
6. Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev.
7. Nigel Lawson (Lord Blaby).
8. Douglas Hurd (Lord Westwell).
9. Joseph (Sepp) Blatter.
10. Bashar Hafez al-Assad.
11. Alan Bennett (National Treasure).
12. Dennis Skinner (ex-Beast of Bolsover).
13. Dame Julie Andrews.
Some of those, I'd be rather sad to see mature.
2. Bill Lawry
3. Billy Connolly
4. Gloria Allred
5. Clint Eastwood
6. Barry Jones (former Federal Science Minister)
7. Germaine Greer
8. Barry Humphries
9. Yoko Ono
10. Geoff Boycott
11. Ruth Bader Ginsberg
12. Harold "Dickie" Bird
13. Alan Jones (the radio shock jock from NSW)
Substitutions in case of prior deceasement (chosen from this week’s Private Eye):
1 Jeremy Corbyn
2 Noel Edmunds
1 Blessed, Brian
2 Collins, Phil
3 Douglas, Michael
4 Fox, Michael J
5 Hallenga, Kristin
6 Minnelli , Liza
7 Mitchell, Joni
8 Morrissey
9 Newton-John, Olivia
10 Nolan, Linda
11 Ono, Yoko
12 Rea, Chris
13 Spector, Phil
You're right though - he is an ass.
2. Jimmy Carter- former president
3. Morrissey- musician, composer (that makes three, The 5thMary
4. Olivia Newton-John- singer, actor
5. Joni Mitchell- artist, musician, songwriter
6. Bret Michaels- musician
7. Prince Phillip- prince consort
8. Tom Brocaw- journalist
9. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar- retired basketball player
10. Donald Trump- the Prez
11. Alex Trebek- game show host
12. Barbara Walters- journalist, talk show host
13. Bob Newhart- actor
1. King Mswati III of Swaziland
2. Emperor Akihito of Japan
3. Hosni Mubarak
4. Mullah Fazlullah
5. Abdelaziz Bouteflika
6. Silvio Berlusconi
7. Than Shwe
8. Omar al Bashir
9. Nursultan Nazarbayev
10. Ali Bongo
11. Paul Biya
A few non-despotic picks:
12. Michael Douglas
13. Ben Jonson (Olympic cheat and famous anabolic steroid abuser - bad for the heart)
2. Prince Philip
3. David Attenborough
4. Terry Jones
5. Dennis Skinner
6. Linda Nolan
7. Billy Connolly
8. Neil Diamond
9. Rolf Harris
10. Michael Schumacher
11. Mick Jagger
12. Ronnie Wood
13. Donald Trump
Some of these are “kiss of life”!
Although still alive, Akihito is no longer Emperor. I believe his current title is best translated as "Emperor Emeritus".
Birth years are all gathered from Wikipedia. If they're wrong it's Wiki's fault.
2. Queen Elizabeth
3. Jimmy Carter
4. Betty White
5. Mick Jagger
6. Keith Richards
7. Alan Alda
8. Yoko Ono
9. Liza Minnelli
10. Rupert Murdoch
11. Vladimir Putin
12. Henry Kissinger
13. Tom Brokaw
1. Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus
2. Theodore McCarrick, ex-cardinal
3. George Pell, currently still a cardinal, but now in jail
4. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
5. Steve Bannon, general all-round nasty person
6. John Winston Howard, retired Aust PM
7. Ethel Kennedy
8. Rolf Harris, charlatan
9. Frank Lowy, founder of Westfield
10. Rupert Murdoch, media mogul and ex-Australian
11. Henry Kissinger
12. Kim Jong-un
13. Jean-Marie Le Pen
Clive James and Bob Hawke replaced; Won't comment on where they are currently denizens of!
1. Buzz Aldrin
2. Ursula Andress
3. Sir Stirling Moss
4. Ringo Starr
5. Lou Ferrigno
6. Sam Moore
7. Elliott Gould
8. Michael Crawford
9. Gary Numan
10. Rustie Lee
11. Carlos Santana
12. Paul Gadd / Gary Glitter
13. Stanley Baxter
1. Prince Philip
2. Christopher Plummer
3. Vera Lynn
4. Betty White
5. Dennis Skinner (former MP)
6. Kirk Douglas
7. Keith Richards
8. Prince Andrew
9. Pope Emeritus Benedict
10. Angela Merkel
11. Margaret Atwood
12. BillyConnolly
13. Bernard Cribbins
HM Queen Elizabeth II
Prince Philip
Dennis Skinner
Tommy Steele
Donald Trump
Billy Connolly
Terry Jones
Bill Wyman
Nicholas Parsons
Alice Cooper
Tom Baker
Francis Rossi
Melvyn Hayes
Tick, tick, tick.
Mother Delores Hart
Archbishop Desmond Tutu
HH The Dalai Lama
Pope Emeritus Benedict
Chief Raoni
Norma Waterson
Ozzy Osborne
Dennis Skinner
David Crosby
Olivia Newton-John
Sister Helen Prejean
John Anderson (referee on Gladiators)
Jean-Louis Trintignant
If you are unfamiliar with baseball, a "perfect game" means that Larsen did not let even one opposition player reach base (much less score).
However, although my list consists of baseball players, I did not have Larsen on my list. So no points for me.
Presumably he'll be along in a minute to confirm.
AG