Another Three Bite The Dust

This week marked the passing of three more celebrities into eternity—Patrick Swayze, Henry Gibson and Mary Travers. Did you ever wonder how God comes up with which three people will forever be linked in history as dying in the same week?

Do you think there might be a formula, a process, a method?

Let’s examine the latest three entrants.
Patrick Swayze: born in Houston, TX, actor of stage and screen, (Dirty Dancing, The Outsiders, Ghost, Point Break) dancer extraordinaire
Henry Gibson: born in Germantown, PA, actor (Laugh In, Boston Legal), poet, voice-over actor
Mary Travers: born in Louisville, KY, iconic folk/protest singer (Puff the Magic Dragon, Blowing in the Wind, Lemon Tree, Leaving on a Jet Plane)

So the common denominator is (drum roll please) they were all the same age at death! No, while Mary and Henry were close at 72 and 73 respectively, Patrick, however, was only 57. That theory won’t work. Perhaps it was because they were all actors. No, I can’t find any evidence that Mary Travers did any serious acting. So what could it be other than their fame? But isn’t that the reason we pay attention to their deaths in the first place?

June was a landmark month for celebrity deaths, welcoming the likes of Farrah Fawcett and the King of Pop himself, Michael Jackson. The third celebrity, on the other hand, is a little sketchy. Both were only mildly famous, so I guess you can pick the celebrity you’ve actually heard of. On June 28, impressionist, Fred Travelina and pitchman, Billy Mays passed away. Yeah, like I said—choose your favorite. So what do these three…four celebrities have in common? They were all 80s icons, well, except for Billy Mays anyway. And Michael was popular through the 90s. No connection! Back to square one.

July marked the deaths of three American icons; Karl Malden, Walter Cronkite and Oscar Meyer, Jr. It’s simple to see what these three have in common…absolutely nothing. Except that they all three died really old and really rich.

August deaths welcomed the likes of electric guitar inventor, Les Paul into the fray. Following Les was American royalty, Ted Kennedy and third, Chanel, the worlds oldest living Dachshund. What do these three have in common you ask? Well, two are most certainly dogs, but where does that leave Les Paul?

Finally, there was another death in September, but this woman’s only celebrity claim was to be the oldest recognized living person, according to Guinness World Records. Gertrude Baines died September 11, at the ripe old age of ONE HUNDRED FIFTEEN! The reason I added this tidbit of information is because I had to laugh at the newspaper report stating Mrs. Baines died of a suspected heart attack. Come on! At 115 can’t you just say the poor woman died of natural causes for heaven’s sake?

So I wonder—when a celebrity dies, do other celebrities begin walking on eggshells? Hmm…