Okay, so maybe there’s something to this “deaths of famous people come in threes” superstition after all….
I don’t mean to be too funereal, but many of you accused me of coming across like a voodoo priest for even mentioning this phenomenon is my farewell tributes to Wendy Wasserstein, Coretta Scott King and Betty Friedan. But I only mentioned it because their deaths came in quick succession after Ibrahim Ferrer, Peter Jennings and John H. Johnson died according to this superstition last August.
Now comes word that within a 24-hour period this past weekend, the Grim Reaper swooped away Dennis Weaver (81 – L), Don Knotts (81 – C) and Darren McGavin (83 – R) on his chariot of death. (Do ya suppose it’s just a coincidence that each of their names begins with “D”?….Oh, alright!)
I appreciate that many of you have probably never heard of these “famous” men. But instead of trying to defend their honorable mention in this journal, I refer you to their comprehensive AP obituaries, which can be read by clicking on each of their names respectively. Nonetheless, on behalf of those of us for whom these men were huge stars, I feel constrained to note that they were to us fortysomethings what Ashton Kutcher, Jaleel (“Urkel”) White and James Van Der Beek are to twentysomethings today.
So, farewell Sheriff McCloud, Deputy Barney Fife and Kolchak: The Night Stalker…
NOTE: It seems my column that was published yesterday at CNN caused many stiff upper lips to quiver with royal indignation. I titled it: “Did the British royal family put a (mafia-style) hit on Diana?” But I invite you to click here to see if you agree with these outraged loyalists that I should hang from London’s Tower Bridge along with Mohammed al-Fayed…
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Dave Adams says
Ron Silver, Natasha Richardson and… (Jade Goody? Not sure if she counts) Could these be the three or is there one more coming? Any thoughts?
John says
Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcet and Michael Jackson. Weird.
Jenifer says
I totally agree…Now it’s Ed, Farrah, and Michael
Jaz says
and now…Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, and Ed McMahon
pdg says
Michael Jackson, Ed McMahon, and Farrah Fawcett.
Gary says
Deaths come in threes is dumb. Depending on who qualifies as a celebrities, there are 50 to 100 celebrities that die each year. So you are going to have 1 or 2 on average each week. Some weeks will have none, some weeks will have the average, and some weeks will have more than the average. A few times a year there will be a week with 3 or more deaths. The fact that 3 may come within a few days is not that unusual. People are stupid to think that it is anything more than statistical probability.
MT says
What about David Carradine?
no one says
and billy mays threw the fourth one in for free!
Analysis says
If they do die in three’s, what are the parameters? Is there a cut-off time? 48 hours? A week? What? And who is famous? Household names? Im sure that you’re household is different from mine. What about Danny Gans? He was famous. But not a household name
Bobbie Evans says
I too believe that famous people die in threes. But so do people we know personally – family, friends and aquaintances.
Yes every week a couple famous people die. But the ones that count as having died in 3’s are those who were famous enough to actually make the evening news.
Many so-called famous people are persons that few have ever heard of, maybe because what they did (acting, singing, poetry, etc) they haven’t done in many years, or they had their “15 minutes of fame” and then fittered out of the lime light.
Do you know that major plane crashes also happen in threes?
And people in nursing homes die in 3’s(I used to work in nursing homes, so I know this to be fact, but there it would happen in less then 1 week.)
I think the “3’s phenomenon” for plane crashes has something like a 1 month “grace period.” At least it always has in my oppinnion.
For the death’s of people we personally know 3 will die in 1 mon th.
With famous people it happens in a 1-2 week window.