DEATHSCORE: Joey Bishop dead at 89

All of the rats are gone now...

The last surviving member of the Rat Pack, Joey Bishop, passed away today at the age of 89 after battling numerous illnesses. The NY Times tells the story of an almost reticent celebrity who played the straight man to the hell raising other Rats like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Peter Lawford.

To the digits as Larry V busts his Mortfolio hymen...

(125- age 89)*1.2 CK = 43 plus 40 point solo shot = 83 Total!!!

DEATHSCORE: Luciano Pavarotti dead at 71

This contest just took on a different tenor...

Opera star (if not the star of all stars) Luciano Pavarotti died at his Italian home at age 71 after a long bout with cancer.

Again, the NY Times comes strong with a life retrospective, comparing his career to the great Enrico Caruso - which I find insulting comparing him to Leslie Nielsen's character in the Naked Gun series...

To the numbers for Vince R solo hit...

(125-age 71)*1.0 = 54 plus 40 point solo = 94 points

DEATHSCORE: Brooke Astor dead at 105

One of the nation's great philanthropists, Brooke Astor, passed away after a long illness today at the ripe age of 105. Her efforts of charity, love and inspiration leave an amazing mark on the city of New York.
I mean this in the most sincere way possible - I bet she was something before the Depression!

Vince R, your humble caretaker, with another solo shot...let's roll the Big Board!

(125-105)*1.0 = 20, plus 40 point solo bonus = 60 TOTAL!!!

Missed Again: Charles Nelson Reilly dead at 76

Not that I have archived the last three years of rosters in my head, but I am pretty sure someone had Game Show Chuck (right) on their list in the past.

Too bad, as one of the first openly homosexual actors, Charles Nelson Reilly, died today at age 76.

NO ONE GOT HIM

I will always remember him and Brett Somers going head to head (pun intended) on Match Game, with Gene Rayburn showing his comedic intelligence by simply getting the fuck out of the way. Priceless. I swear I remember him on Hollywood Squares also, but no reference on the above linked compendium of all human knowledge.

STANDINGS: Three on the board in the first third of the year

STANDINGS
Vince R - 265 - Barbaro, Ho
Brian G - 221 - Buchwald, Yeltsin
Mark M - 81 - Vonnegut

Still scoreless - Larry V and Buying the Farm

DEATHSCORE: Boris Yeltsin goes kaputsky at age 76

Our pool's second death this month, both were age 76...hmmm, don't play those digits on the Powerball...

AP reports former Russian leader Boris Yeltsin apparantly died of heart failure, but no official news agency will say exctly. So much for the era of Pravda and democracy you led for Russia - Putin has this cinched up tighter than Bob Kraft's Superbowl ring.

Solo shot for Brian G, his second of the season. To the numbers:

(125-76)*1.3 = 64 raw score,
add in the big 40 pt solo bonus for
a grand total of 104.

BG has 221 total.

DEATHSCORE: Don Ho at 76

Singer and ambassador for Hawaii Don Ho passed away yesterday after many months of experimental treatments for heart disease.Vince gets all the poi with a solo shot.

(125-76) * 1.9=64 raw score,
add in the 40 point solo bonus for
a grand total of 104.

No one has screamed about my selection of Barbaro, so my total is now 265. Deal.

Oh, and if you think that this site is tasteless, see the most popular Don Ho video on YouTube...

DEATHSCORE: Writer Kurt Vonnegut dead at 84

Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center. I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over.

Great quote from a guy who would probably appreciate the humor, macabre and ridiculousness of the Mortfolio Dead Pool - Kurt Vonnegut passed away today after brain injuries sustained from a fall. He was 84.

The NY Times, as is their pattern, created a special online section to revel in the life of a New Yorker. Does a better job than I could reflecting on his career, so why rip it off? FOX News is less than complimentary on their obituary.

Mark M gets the solo dinger, unfortunately he broke his Mortfolio 2007 cherry with his last pick! Roll the big board:

(125-84) * 1.0 = 41,
solo hit bonus of 40,
grand total of 81.

Mark is in third place, that still leaves 2007 virgin status to Larry V and the perennial favorite "Buying the Farm".

PBS did an interview about a year ago and it is posted on YouTube: