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Friday, February 24th, 2023 2:07 AM

LIVE POLL: Death Didn’t Stop These Celebrities From Making a Buck

It was just a few short years ago that the estates of John Wayne, Bruce Lee and James Dean would annually top the list of highest-paid dead celebrities. Not any longer, a new generation had taken their place as the top earners among the dead. While some names may not surprise you, there seems to be an almost equal number that will. Which of these selected world's highest-paid dead celebrities, as listed by Forbes in the 21st century, is your favorite money-maker? *selection includes multiple Top 10 Forbes listings and/or cumulative estate income between $25+ million USD and $2+ billion USD since 2001 with nine figure income years noted. See the companion list: World's Highest-Paid Living Celebrities Live Poll: https://www.imdb.com/poll/YhduelCbJME/ Poll List: https://www.imdb.com/list/ls564166407/

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2 years ago

World's Highest-Paid Dead Celebrities Honorable Mentions Kurt Cobain 20 February 1967 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: 2006 Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: N/A Aaron Spelling 22 April 1923 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: 2008 Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: N/A Johnny Cash 26 February 1932 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: N/A Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: 2006, 2005 Dale Earnhardt 29 April 1951 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: 2002 Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: 2003 Irving Berlin 11 May 1888 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: N/A Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: 2005, 2004 Leonard Cohen 21 September 1934 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: 2022 Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: N/A Heath Ledger 4 April 1979 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: 2008 Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: N/A Stieg Larsson 15 August 1954 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: N/A Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: 2011, 2010 Bing Crosby 2 May 1903 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: N/A Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: 2021 Paul Walker 12 September 1973 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: 2014 Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: N/A Jeff Porcaro 1 April 1954 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: N/A Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: 2022 Tom Petty 20 October 1950 Forbes Top #1-#5 Earner: N/A Forbes Top #6-#10 Earner: 2017

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Champion

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2 years ago

Surprised Whitney Houston isn't ranked.

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@Peter_pbn​ I am too and not at the same time. She has only broken the Forbes top 13 dead celebrity incomes once in the past decade @ #12 in 2019. Her estate I suspect was and maybe still is in a state of disarray, similar to the one Elvis' was after he died. Both singers spent an enormous amount of money while living, almost outspending their earnings. Both, had managers that siphoned off millions for themselves. It seems like there is potential for a turnaround, like Priscilla Presley managed for Elvis' heir, Lisa-Marie. Houston has set many music sales records since her death. But, depending on her signed deal and advance, I am unsure of how much filtered down to her estate. Plus, I suspect music sales are only a small part of Elvis' estate income, the real motherlode is in the tourist-related, merchandising and licensing rights (assuming the artist had not given those up or sold them prior to their death). https://www.yahoo.com/now/whitney-houston-net-worth-reveals-213042188.html

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2 years ago

? ? Dead actors brought back in in new movies ?? https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/imdb-poll/dead-actors-brought-back-in-new-movies/63d69cbf9348a25e4cd205ea ACT_1 Sunday, January 29th, 2023 Dead actors brought back in new movies ?? Someone could make a list of Candidates for this ?? Put several actors in a movie about ??    CBS News Sunday Morning (TV Series) 01-29-2023 "deep fake" videos that mimic a person's face and voice https://www.imdb.com/title/tt25385282/reference/ CBS News Sunday Morning Creating a "lie detector" for deepfakes Angelique Rose Sclafani https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf7AS1HBeaM - - - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepfake .

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@ACT_1​ I agree it doesn't seem a stretch that this will become more common. I guess it is all about how much it costs to do, how much it makes for whoever is making the movie and how much it enriches the estate. I remember when John Wayne made his first Coors Light commercial fifteen years after he died in 1992. It was a big deal back then and a big novelty that this feat could be pulled off. Ever since, he has been regularly hawking their suds in TV commercials and elsewhere for the better part of thirty years now. 

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Champion

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2 years ago

1.- George Harrison 2.- John Lennon (as you can see I'm a big Beatles fan) 3.- Charles Schulz

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@Pencho15​ I could see Paul McCartney being on the Forbes list in the future. Hopefully, though not for at least another one to two decades more. I was surprised to see Charles Schulz on the list, but it makes sense as Peanuts is as popular as ever. His income probably hasn't even dropped from when he was alive, as his strips are still being reprinted today. He had such a long career (50 years), built such a large archive (17,897 strips published) and his work was so timeless, I am not even sure the newest generation realizes they are decades old and being reprinted or that I would recognize one from before. 

Champion

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2 years ago

Live Poll https://www.imdb.com/poll/YhduelCbJME/

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@Jessica​ Thanks

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2 years ago

True story: Back in the 1960s, before Peanuts took off with animation, a Catholic priest who was the principal of a boys high school in Shreveport, Louisiana sent a letter to Charles Schultz asking if the school could use Snoopy the WWI Flying Ace as the school's mascot as the school's nickname was The Flyers. Schultz agreed, and today Loyola College Prep is the only school in the world that can legally use Snoopy as it's mascot. story of Snoopy mascot

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@riverotter​ That's cool. I like the fact that it wasn't all about making money and monetizing everything. Plus, the lesson that you don't know, unless you ask.