Sunday, February 26, 2006

Bad Things Happen in Threes?

Okay, this will be the unscientific test of the old aphorism that celebrity deaths happen in threes. Friday, Don Knotts; Saturday; Darren McGavin; if another significant death occurs in the next twenty-four hours (hey, I didn't establish the time frame—fate did, with the one-day gap 'twixt Knotts & McGavin!), then I'll give this whole "bad things happen in threes" theory a bit more respect.

The count is on. Personally, I hope that it's a bust... I'd much rather prove truisms wrong than lose another celebrity whose work I've enjoyed. (Oh, yeah, that's the other unscientific requirement: it has to be someone that I perceive as a significant celebrity. So if, say, M&M or Whitney Houston or Dan Rather pass away, it's sad but meaningless for this survey, since they've given me not one iota's worth of enjoyment during their careers...)

5 comments:

  1. Not for me. I'm not trying to be dismissive--I'm familiar with Butler's work, but her success came after I lost interest in reading SF--so while I sympathize with the loss that her fans must feel, she doesn't make my personal celebrity list.

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  2. I guess Dennis Weaver fits the slot. Weird...

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  3. You're right... that's number three in my list. And here I was hoping that we were going to prove that there was no truth to this superstition!...

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  4. His X-Files appearances were some of my favorite episodes of the series--perhaps because it was a sort of nod to those of us who remember McGavin's ur-X-Files role as Karl Kolchak, who knew that the truth was out there long before Fox Mulder ever gave it much consideration...

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