Celebrity Death Haiku

Merlin Olsen

1940 – 2010

In either outfit — 

Ram or Roman Catholic

Olsen was fearsome

— Phil Valens

Walter Frederick Morrison

1920 – 2010

Turned flying pie tin

Into competitive sport

For stoners with dogs

— Lairbo

* * * 

He threw a pie tin

Right into the public eye

It really took off

— Meanie the Blue

Jim Carroll

1949 – 2009

A Catholic Boy

Joins his friends who have died, died

It still beats Riker's

— Meanie the Blue

Eunice Kennedy Shriver

1921 – 2009

Famous name or not

She chose to do good when she

Could have done nothing

— Russell 1000

* * *

Sure, we all know why

Jack and Bob had to be killed 

But Eunice? Why her?

 — Jeff Tiedrich

* * *

Can Kennedy death

Beat Jackson autopsy for

Media spotlight?

 — Phil Valens

Paul Newman

1925 – 2008

Salad days over 

Cool hand now forever gone 

Through Hole in the Wall

 — Meanie the Blue 

What we have here is 

Failure to resuscitate 

Rest in peace, cool hand 

— Jeff Tiedrich

Edmund Hillary

1919 – 2008

New Zealand hero
Before Peter Jackson and
Without CGI

— Lairbo

Phil Rizzuto

1917 – 2007

One last "Holy cow!"
Phil Rizzuto's outta here
Going, going, gone

— Jeff Tiedrich

Barbaro

2003 – 2007

Stud farm dream is done
The glue factory awaits
Barbaro is dead

— Lairbo

Red Auerbach

1917 – 2006

Color-blind coaching,

Fast breaks and trash talk made him

Celtics' seventh man

— Phil Valens

Mickey Mantle

1931 – 1995

Played hard and drank hard

A legend in his own time

And ever after

— Phil Valens

Johnny Weissmuller

1904 – 1984

Olympic swimmer

Goes Hollywood to become

Hunk in a loincloth

— Lairbo

* * *

Relied on sound guy

For Tarzan's yodel; Carol 

Burnett did it live

— Russell 1000

Casey Stengel

1890 – 1975

Master at making

Gibberish sound like genius;

You could look it up

— Jeff Tiedrich

* * *

Joy in Bronx or Queens

When mouthy Casey struck out

Scribes in Stengelese

— St. Blaise

Shoeless Joe Jackson

1888 – 1951

Say it ain't so, Joe!

Joe? Joe? I guess it is true

He really is dead

— Lairbo

Babe Ruth

1895 — 1948

The Sultan of Swat

Built a house for the Yankees

Red Sox cursed themselves

— Phil Valens