I bet PJ killed him

Bil Keane, creator of Family Circus, has died.  They say a comic strip goes downhill when the originator is no longer involved, but I just can't imagine this one getting any worse.  To be fair, a lot of folks enjoy reading Family Circus.   Just not me.  But to each their own.  Bil Keane, dead at the age of 89.   Read more HERE.

God takes up Smokin

Smokin Joe Frazier, former undefeated heavyweight boxing champion of the world, has died.  In a career that spanned 3 decades, Frazier did it all.  He capped his amateur career as a gold medal winner at the 1964 Summer Olympics.  After going pro in 1965, he ran up a record of 26-0 leading up to the Fight of the Century with an also undefeated Muhammad Ali (31-0), where he handed Ali his first defeat.  After 29 straight wins, Frazier's first defeat came at the hands of George Foreman.  Subsequent years found him losing twice to Ali in rematches, and finally retiring in 1976 with a second loss to the electric grill guy.  Frazier did attempt a comeback in 1981 battling to a draw, but retired for good after that to focus on training young boxers, including his own children.  He ended with an overall professional record of 32-4-1, with 73% of his victories coming by knockout.  Sadly, less than 2 months after being diagnosed with liver cancer, Joe Frazier retired for really, really good.  Joseph William Frazier, dead at the age of 67.  Read more HERE.

Did you ever wonder, why do they call it kicking the bucket? There's no bucket involved. Unless you're cremated, I suppose. But you wouldn't want to kick that bucket. Unless you didn't like that person. I'd like to think folks wouldn't kick my bucket.

Andy Rooney and his eyebrows have quit whining and opining.  The vast majority of folks only know him from his commentary on 60 minutes, but the truth is he did a lot of other amazing things.  Unfortunately, I'm in the vast majority of folks who only know him from his commentary on 60 minutes.  Go figure.  Yay my short attention-spanned generation!  Andy Rooney, dead at the age of 92.  Read more HERE.

An apple a day... WILL KILL YOU!

Steve Jobs, cofounder of Apple, is iDead.  The undisputed leader of swimming upstream against Microsoft, Jobs had a knack for making intuitive products people actually wanted.  That is, after he was kicked out of the company he helped found, only to have them come crawling back, begging him to return.  Most CEOs want one product to forever link their legacy.  Jobs?  Just stick an I in front of a noun and he probably patented it.  Steve Jobs and his black mock turtleneck, dead at the age of 56.  Read more HERE.

As a side note, now would not be a good time to point out to Jennifer that picking Jobs again this year would have put her in a very close 2nd place with a 40% kill rate. Thank you for not mentioning this to Jennifer. Jennifer would be devastated.

I WAS SPARTACUS!

Andy Whitfield, model and star of the hit television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, has died.  He quickly rose to fame in the title role of the series, only to be stricken with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.  Whitfield died from the disease a mere 18 months later.  In a strange twist that is life, the original Spartacus Kirk Douglas is still puttering along, cheating Matt, Janice, and the Dezendorf Family out of a much needed 6 points.  Andy Whitfield, dead at the age of 39.   Read more HERE.



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Coy or Vance is Dead!!!

This guy is dead, people!  Do you know which one it is?  Do you feel guilty not knowing?  You should, because this man helped fill in admirably for his cousins Bo and Luke when they went off to race NASCAR.   You think Uncle Jesse's goats were going to feed themselves?  And who was going to take on Boss Hogg?  Christopher "Chip" Mayer (Vance), dead at the age of 57.  Read a little bit more HERE.

What's black and white and dead all over?

Amy Winehouse, the girl who seemed to have it all together, has died.   Who saw this coming?   I mean, between the smoking, drinking, extreme drug use, self-mutilation, anorexia, depression, and violence, when did she have a down moment to die?   I'd love to write about her music, but in all honesty she was more famous for being a trainwreck of a person than anything else.   In death, however, she has found new fame, as she can now take the crown as biggest points score in the history of the Happy Funtime Friends and Family Death Predictions Extravaganza... at 73 points.   Amy Winehouse, dead at the age of 27.  Read more HERE.

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