Welcome to The Dead Club from your ghoulish hosts, Pat and Elizabeth Cryptkeeper.
La Morta la Diventa won the 2009 pool with 323 points and 10 stiffs. She had both the most points and the most bodies. One of our attentive members pointed out that although Greg Page and Michael Jackson were both 50, Greg Page was three months younger, making him the youngest person to die, making a tie between the Deadbeats and Go Fish.
One of the first lists that came in one paper had a Unique Pick for First Blood: Stiff Competiion had Gumby creator Art Clokey, 88, who died on January 8. Twelve points.
Then we went on vacation but of course Death's scythe continued to flash even as we sat by the pool sipping Mai Tais. And Putnam's Tomahawk Chop took over the lead with the death of Canadian writer and musician Paul Quarrington, 56. Ali Hassan al-Majid, better known as Chemical Ali, was executed by Iraq for crimes against humanity, that is, for ordering the gassing of more than 5,000 Kurds in the northern Iraqi town of Halabja near the Iranian border in 1988. He was 68 and on the lists of DeathScore, Go Fish, Hell's Little Angel, and Team Dirt.
Writer and lawyer Louis Auchincloss died at the age of 92, earning 8 points for Molly Bloom the Dog of Doom. These won't be the last points scored by a dog this year - The Ghost of Toast was Karen's dog. Karen was too offended by our pool to join again, but her new dog Hank is playing this year too. Anyway, he was followed by Zelda Rubenstein, the petite actress most famous for playing the psychic in the Poltergeist movies. Admit it, you've said "Come to the light! Come to the light!" in a spooky voice. That was Zelda. She was 76 and she put Go Fish and Team Dirt into a tie for lead, and got Joe R. onto the board.
Finally, another old American author got Lisa onto the board with 9 points: J. D. Salinger. None of the rest of you phonies had him and it's not like I even want to talk about it or anything.
Last updated February 1, 2010.
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