The Grim Reaper "Smokes a Bol"

Manute Bol, NBA basketball shot blocker and tireless advocate for the Sudan has died at an estimated 47 years old, from a rare and brutal skin condition.   Bol, pictured here with diminutive teammate Muggsy Bogues, was born to a Sudanese tribe, and legend has it, had once killed a lion with a spear!  Bol's first passport photo listed him at 5'7", not 7'7", because he was measured sitting down.  (This still made him 4 inches taller than Bogues.)

Billy Crystal could not be reached for comment.  Crystal, who filmed the cinematic blockbuster "My Giant" with Gheorghe Mureşan, had big plans for Bol's legendary anatomy.  Crystal was in talks to exploit Bol's ridiculous size AND country in the upcoming comedy/action sequel, "My Giant, Too:  Darfurious" 


None of our DeathWatchers chose the intrepid dead bushman, and 53 points go unclaimed.

Thank You for Being a Corpse

The Golden Girl Curse claimed another victim last week as actress Rue McClanahan died at the age of 76. McClanahan, who played Blanche, the "slutty senior citizen"--*shudder*--died under mysterious circumstances, leading many to believe that she may have been the victim of a maniacal Betty White. White, it's been said, is crazy, strong and has a hard-on for offing former castmates. "I will be the last Golden Girl," White is quoted as saying, "and all of their life energy will keep me young eternally! [Maniacal laughter]"

Whatever the actual cause of McClanahan's death, Irish Car Bomb, Talking Deads and The Grim Reaper all collect the 24 points from her passing.

Reeves and Bullock Vow to Keep Hopper's Hearse Above 50 MPH

OK, so this isn't really a post about Dennis Hopper being dead (though he still is), just a cool headline without a supporting story.  

This post is really a note to say that the scores have finally been updated, and there have been a lot of changes to the leaderboard! 

Notes:  

*Newcomer Irish Car Bomb leads Wednesday by just a senior citizen.  It's still anyone's game, with the always-dangerous CRIPPLER lurking just behind!    ICB and Wed. were both propelled to the top by weekend scores of BOTH Coleman AND Hopper!

*A shout-out to the Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom, who has finally scored for the first time ever in competition (four years?)!  

*The Shadow and Kerberos are the only two players to not have any correct predictions at the 1/3 mark of the competition.   

*Mr. Black was the only person to correctly predict the May demise of Ronnie James "Holy Die-r" Dio.  

*The Return of Roger Mortis slapped a seeing-eye single for 8 points with Ernie Harwell last month.

Check your lists and scores.  If you notice any mistakes, please contact me.  At the time of this writing, I consider all lists and scores to be current and up-to-date.

Big thanks to the Shadow for picking up the writing while I was out of town stifling souls in Charlotte for Grimmorial Day Weekend!

--Grim

Frank Booth Enjoys a Pabst Blue Ribbon in Heaven

Charming rogue Frank Booth has died. He was 74. The beloved codger, known for such things as carrying around a tank of nitros oxide and kidnapping children to force their mothers to service him sexually, passed away after a battle with prostate cancer.

Close friend Jeffrey Beaumont was quoted as saying, "Why [can't there be more people] like Frank?"

Friends are remembering Mr. Booth as a man who appreciated the music of Roy Orbison as interpreted by pasty, effeminate singers and who was always ready with a quip, like, "Shit, yes, pour the fuckin' beer!"

Mr. Booth sometimes went by the name Dennis Hopper and was a DW2K10 selection of just about everybody except for that moron The Shadow. *sigh*

What You Talkin' 'Bout, Reaper?

Former child star and walking cautionary tale Gary Coleman has died at the age of 42, apparently of shame after one embarrassing TMZ headline after another. Seriously, after a joke campaign for governor of California, an arrest for, let's say, felonious has-beenery and all the other pathetic reasons the former Arnold Drummond has been thrust into the tabloid spotlight over the last decade, I'd say Mr. Coleman deserves this rest. But, just for shits and giggles, let's send a few zingers into the after-life with him.

• Gary Coleman, whose life was as short...as Gary Coleman.
• The Diff'rent Strokes curse has detractors of Charlotte Rae feverishly excited.
  
• A family spokesperson says that Mr. Coleman will be buried in a shoebox out back.
• Mr. Coleman's death, it is being reported, was actually a misguided effort to jumpstart a sequel to The Heavenly Kid.
• A source at the funeral home confirms that Todd Bridges will be killed and buried with Mr. Coleman.

Mr. Coleman's death nets 58 glorious points for Wednesday, Raszul, Messenger of Death, Irish Car Bomb and Serpent at the Gates of Wisdom.

"Billy, do you like it when Scraps grabs onto the outside of your coffin and rubs up and down real hard?"

Actor Peter Graves died last week at age 83.

I'm gonna be honest here, I blew my load on the headline.

No DW2K10er had the former Jim Phelps, so those 17 points go unclaimed. This post will self-destruct in ten seconds.

Believe It Or Not, I'm Falling Down Stairs

  

Veteran actor Robert Culp apparently did not own a LifeCall system, as he fell, and then never got up.

Culp was famous to a lot of our readers' parents as Kelly Robinson, the half of the 1960s  I Die I Spy duo that wasn't Bill Cosby. To most DeathWatchers, though, Culp was known as the tough-as-nails FBI Agent Bill Maxwell on the cult classic television series The Greatest American Hero.

Yes, looking back, Culp's co-star, William Katt, looks like a ridiculous jackass with his stupid hair and his impossibly feeble physique.  But the retrospective isn't all bad--my man Culp was a timeless badass.  The kind of guy who it would take an army to bring down.  The kind of guy who wouldn't go down without a--tripping...in...his...home...*sigh*

No DeathWatchers predicted the accidental passing of the 5-times-married 79-year-old.