We bad, We bad

In case you missed it, comedian Richard Pryor died of a heart attack yesterday at the age of 65. He was a damn funny man. I remember him mostly from the films of my youth like "The Toy", "Superman 3", and "Brewster's Millions". And while most people don't remember "See no Evil, Hear no Evil", I do - primarily because it featured Joan Severance, who at that time was on my Top Five (see below). There was a scene where Joan is sticking her hand in Pryor's pants pocket, looking for some piece of evidence she needs, and he says "I don't know what you're looking for, but it's a little to the left." I still say that when someone sticks their hands in my pants pockets.

Ah well, everybody has to go, and after 20 years battling MS, it was finally Richard's turn. But damnit, he put Nate in the lead in the Dead Pool. If you haven't heard some conversation about the Dead Pool (not likely) I organize one every year with my friends - everybody submits 25 names of celebrities, and if one of the people on your list goes, you get a certain number of points. To calculate the score, you take their age and subtract it from 100. Ergo, Pryor was worth 35 points, a pretty good score really. The race had been pretty close between me, Harris, and Nate, with me having a slight lead. But Pryor catapults Nate to a score of over 100 points, and puts him in the lead. We don't play for money or anything, the winner just gets the title of "Harbinger of Death" for a year - and this year I am planning on making a little "trophy" for the Harbinger. Nate was this year's Harbinger, and with only a few weeks to go he's shaping up to be next year's too.

Incidentally, if you would like to compete to be the next Harbinger of Death, you need to have 25 famous names to me by January 1st. No slackers this year, I'm not giving any leeway. This means current competitors too.

"...I was so upset about getting chewed out by Bill Cosby that I called up Richard Pryor.
'Richard,' I said, 'Bill Cosby just called me up and chewed me out for being too dirty on stage!'
He said, 'What? When you say what you say, do the people laugh?'
'Yeah!'
'And do you get paid?'
'Yeah!'
'Then you call that Jello-puddin eatin mutherfucka back, and tell him I said to have a Coke and a smile and shut the fuck up!' "
- Eddie Murphy, from "Raw"

On to something else that doesn't involve people dieing. I mention above my old Top Five. I always have a Top Five, the five famous women I think are the hottest. I think every guy kinda has that, at least in some vague way, and I think most women have their own kind of Top Five too. The Top Five changes as new young hotties come on the Hollywood scene, and old lusts die out. Past Fivers for me have included the above-mentioned Joan Severance, Alicia Silverstone, and Sharon Stone (who gets a Lifetime Achievement Award honoring her with a permanent honorary Top Fiver slot - if for Basic Instinct alone). My current Top Five:

1. Salma Hayek
2. Charlize Theron
3. Kiera Knightly
4. Kate Beckinsale
5. Jessica Alba

So what's your Top Five? You know you have one, you pig....