Movies | Xlebrity.com - The Number 1 Dead Celebrity Site

Momofuku Ando DEAD January 5, 2007

Born March 5, 1910

Died January 5, 2007

High of His Life: We all know the famous Cup O’ Noodle soup. A staple of diets for anyone living in a rush or on a budget. Well, Momofuku Ando was the man who brought these high sodium treats to the masses. At first he simply sold bagged pre-cooked ramen, however it is likely that his greatest achievement was finding a self contained polystyrene cup to contain said noodles in. From then on the cups became a staple prop along with sweat pants and acne of the college set and a source of carbs, salt and not much else for people committed to a shoe string budget.

Low of His Life: About a half hour after shoveling a pile of these salty noodles down your neck you are likely feeling pretty much like a polystyrene cup full of shit yourself. For me, owing to high blood pressure, I almost immediately feel the vein in my head begin to throb and I get an almost instantaneous sodium based headache that very little can be done to fix. Momofuku being human likely also had these problems. A low of almost anyone’s life.

Who Sees Him As a Hero: Hot Pocket inventors Paul Merage and David Merage, the developers of Lipitor, college students, and fat people with a death wish.

Popularity: 13% [?]

cup o noodles, dead celebrities, hilarious death, momofuku ando

Steve Jobs DEAD October 5, 2011

Born February 24, 1955

Died October 5, 2011

High of His Life: You are reading a blog at least in part because a guy named Steve Jobs decided computers were a thing people might want to have. Plain and simple. Your life has been forever altered by Steve Jobs. As a result he got the full on asshole license that comes with being a truly world changing historical figure.

Getting the asshole pass is of course the greatest achievement one can obtain in this life. With the invention of the first affordable home computer Steve Jobs got the asshole pass for life. But he would not rest there. He redesigned that computer into something aesthetically pleasing, giving his asshole pass a late in life renewal. Then he invented the iPod, upon which his asshole pass was given black-card status. Then he changed movies with Pixar. (In a way he’s the reason you were in tears during Up.) He changed the way music was sold with iTunes. He shoved the internet in people’s pockets with the iPhone. After all of that he just decided to make the crazy Star Trek machine that is the iPad. He won the fight to be the biggest asshole of his generation and if his affinity for black turtlenecks is any indication he took that title to the grave with him.

Low of His Life: Repeatedly in his life Steve Jobs was reminded that no one could do what he did better. He was squeezed out of Mac in the 80′s and watched the company nearly get run into the ground by the late 90′s. He got back in and saved the thing making it better than ever. Then he retired this year. Earlier this week with the wet-fart announcement of the iPhone 4S, as apposed to a new iPhone 5 it was once again displayed that puny people who are not Steve Jobs simply can not ever get things done as effectively as guys who are Steve Jobs.

Who Sees Him As a Hero: Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, anyone trying to make money selling music, anyone trying to make money at all really, nerds.

Popularity: 21% [?]

apple ceo dead, steve jobs asshole, steve jobs dead, steve jobs rip

Tupac Shakur DEAD September 13, 1996

Born June 16, 1971

Died September 13, 1996

High of His Life: Tupac was clearly a talented and deep thinker who also happened to be great at rap music. Through his music he outlined his struggles in the world and became a legend in hip-hop and in American culture in general.

Apparently though his greatest achievement was his unending bromance with star Tony “Who’s The Boss?” Danza. Tony wrote a letter to Tupac while he was in jail. Apparently one letter lead to another and before you knew it the untold love story of the century began. We can only hope that someday a filmmaker comes along and dramatizes the Tony Danza/Tupac Shakur friendship in made for Grey Gardens-esque TV movie.

Low of His Life: He’s no Biggie. Sure, Tupac was a deep thinker and a skilled poet with a sharp wit but the shear immediacy and ear pounding joy of a Biggie verse is untoppable, even by Tupac. I am confident that my horse in the old race Biggie is still slaying Tupac at rap battles in the sky. Or maybe they hang out. Mysteries of the universe right?

Who Sees Him As a Hero: Any rapper who claims to be starting a “movement.” So I guess all of them.

Popularity: 25% [?]

biggie smalls, death date, rip tupac, tupac shakur 1996

Elvis Presley DEAD August 16, 1977

Born: January 8, 1935

Died: August 16, 1977

High of His Life: Elvis Presley made Rock N’ Roll into a massive phenomena. Of course most folks say the cultural seeds had been sewed for a long time and it could have been a number of folks but in the end it was Elvis. As a result he managed to become a cultural milestone in the history of an entire planet. He was able to try his hand at movies and make a few separate comebacks(possibly the first “comeback” in pop-culture history). He begat the Beatles, he made crumby movies, he made women scream and dance and think differently about black people. He changed the whole world with songs about shoes and sex and singing and dancing while in jail. Seems like he got pretty high…

Low of His Life: …but then he got even higher. He took prescription meds by the handful and ate deep fried everything. He got bloated and lost the respect of the Rock inteligencia. He kept yearning for the respect and love of everyone, which is a losing combination in life. Somehow that reach made him less and less appealing to many people. He died on a toilet, fat, and worst of all sad, somehow unsatisfied with one of the most cataclysmic lives of the 20th century. That is pretty low.

Who Sees Him As A Hero: Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Michael Jackson, anyone who can be easily seen as a mega-star.

For more Elvis check out Daily Top Songs.

Popularity: 22% [?]

elvis presley, elvis presley dead, elvis rip

Bernie Mac DEAD August 9, 2008

Born October 5, 1957

Dead August 9, 2008

High of His Life: Bernie Mac was a really great often under appreciated comic. With the Original Kings of Comedy he was in one of the most successful stand-up comedy tours of all time. His appearances in the Ocean’s 11 film and it’s subsequent sequels brought him even wider recognition and got him into several other films.

His greatest achievement though was his Fox television series aptly called The Bernie Mac Show. The show was a classic sitcom part Malcolm In The Middle part The Cosby Show and it was successful and consistently funny.

Low of His Life: The posthumously released Soul Men should have been a big move for Bernie Mac, instead it was a lackluster affair. Still the true low of his life was probably an insensitive joke that I made at his expense on the day of his death in 2008. I am not proud of this but I tweeted: “Ocean’s 14: Weekend At Bernie Mac’s.” It was tasteless and I would like to apologize publicly here. I assure you this was not just an excuse to retype that joke.

Who Sees Him As a Hero: The cast and creators of Modern Family, comics everywhere, anyone who has ever used the phrase “I’m a grown-ass man.”

Popularity: 31% [?]

bernie mac dead, bernie mac rip, dead celebrities

Shari Lewis DEAD August 2, 1998

Born January 17, 1933

Died August 2, 1998 aged 65

High(s) of Her Life: Shari Lewis was beloved by many and all it took was an annoying voice and a sock. You see, kids can be really dumb and Shari Lewis knew this. She made a sock look like a lamb invented a character that is mildly sassy at best and mostly cloyingly needy at worst. But she made tons of money doing it and mostly passed on a message of positivity to young kids everywhere.

Low(s) of Her Life: What she also passed on is a song so infectious and awful it might as well be the audio equivalent of the plague. In the mouths and (once again dumb)minds of young children it was sung incessantly and without regard for decency. As soon as I started writing this post it was lodged in my head and now I can’t get it out. I apologize for even mentioning the song’s name as it’s corruptive power has probably already crept into your bloodstream. The song was called the “The Song That Doesn’t End,” it has outlived Lewis as her evil mantra implanted in all of us until we like her die, mercifully.

Who Sees Her As a Hero: Any lunatic talking to a piece of felt, whoever is responsible for the McDonalds Filet O’Fish jingle, DJ Lance Rock.

Popularity: 19% [?]

lambchop, shari lewis dead, shari lewis rip, the song that doesn't end

Harvey Pekar DEAD July 12, 2010

Posted by TimD in Celebrity Gossip | Celebrity News | Entertainment | Movies | Popular News - (0 Comments)

Born October 8, 1949

Died July 12, 2010 aged 70

High(s) of His Life: Harvey Pekar was a grump. It was less a personality trait for Pekar than a life philosophy. In spite of that he always made sure to live his life the way he wanted. He made comic books the way he wanted, extremely confessional, often strangely mundane. Somewhere in between all that he found love in Joyce Brabner. They raised a daughter together. They also beat cancer together.

He described his comic book in a way that he might have described his life: ”an autobiography written as it’s happening. The theme is about staying alive. Getting a job, finding a mate, having a place to live, finding a creative outlet. Life is a war of attrition. You have to stay active on all fronts. It’s one thing after another. I’ve tried to control a chaotic universe. And it’s a losing battle. But I can’t let go. I’ve tried, but I can’t.”

Low(s) of His Life: The lows for Pekar are almost deceptively like highs. Someone made a play of his life, he hated it. He appeared on Late Night with David Letterman, he hated that too. For a guy who made his art entirely self centered Harvey Pekar didn’t seem to want the spotlight. It came after him and eventually made him enough money(along with his pension mind you) that he could retire from his job at the post office.

Who Sees Him As a Hero: Ivan Brunetti, Peter Bagge, basically any indie comic artist more interested in their own id than super heroes

Popularity: 9% [?]

american splendor, comic book heroes, harvey pekar, independent comic books, rip harvey pekar

Marlon Brando DEAD July 1, 2004

Posted by TimD in Celebrity Gossip | Celebrity News | Entertainment | Movies | TV - (0 Comments)

Born: April 3, 1924

Died: July 1, 2004

High of Her Life: Marlon Brando is widely considered the greatest actor of all time. He screamed “Stella!” in the rain, he mumbled something about being “a contenda”, he shoved cotton in his mouth and went off the deep end in the jungle, finally he arrived at the part he was born to play, Jor-El. Through out all of those roles one thing was consistent, Marlon Brando did whatever he wanted.

The high of his life though had to be his 1994 interview with Larry King which appears to be Brando’s only comfortable public appearance ever. See for yourself.

Low of Her Life: Being fat. People who were once attractive and slowly turn into mushy piles of fat are sad tragic creatures. Few people turned into bigger heaps than Marlon Brando. The man who once bedded Marilyn Monroe became a fellow who probably couldn’t see the tip of his own manhood without hoisting his gut up.

Who Sees Her As a Hero: Actors, Italians.

Popularity: 12% [?]

brando, godfather, jor-el, larry king and marlon brando, marlon brando dead

Peter Falk DEAD June 24, 2011

Born: September 16, 1927

Died: June 24, 2011 age 83

High of Her Life: Peter Falk was an actor of the stage and screen in spite of the fact that his face looked all weird and lop sided. It was quite the accomplishment to be THAT funny looking and that famous but it was all thanks to that strange voice of his. His year’s as television’s Columbo permanently etched him into the psyche of American pop culture.

Low of Her Life: In the movie Woman Under the Influence Falk played a troubled dad trying to raise children in spite of the collapsing mental state of his wife. It was harrowing to say the least and it is genuinely hard to watch, so much so that it seems real. A guy who could play that so real has got to have had some pretty steep lows in his life.

Who Sees Her as a Hero: Steve Buscemi, TV cops, old people.

Popularity: 16% [?]

columbo dead, peter falk dead, rip columbo, rip peter falk, woman under the influence

Jackie Gleason DEAD June 24, 1987

Posted by MattC in Celebrity Gossip | Celebrity News | Entertainment | Movies | TV - (0 Comments)

Born: February 26,1916

Dead: June 24, 1987

High of his Life: I think being on one of the most acclaimed sitcoms of all-time, The Honeymooners, garners some credibility. That, along with his contributions to the Smokey and the Bandit movies. He was a smart business man and owned percentages of all his shows. Although he is mostly beloved as a comedic actor with a short fuse, he had his stint as dramatic actor. He got acclaim for the movies The Hustler and Requiem for a Heavyweight (no pun intended- he’s not actually the boxer, but fat jokes were bound to come).

His catchphrase, “One of these days, Alice, pow right in the kisser,” would become the silver-lining for abusive spouses the world ’round.

Low of his Life: He was a chain-smoker, consuming about five packs a day. He was also quite fond of his alcohol. The combination plus a few unexplained late nights led not only to two failed marriages but to a myriad of complications including diabetes, liver and colon cancer, phlebitis, and thrombosed hemorrhoids. Talk about having some serious medical baggage. I guess it was a good thing he had the money to pay for that bill, but still, having all of those conditions at one time has to suck.

Who Sees Him as a Hero: Over-the-hill comedians, war vets, and other really old people.

Popularity: 14% [?]

celebrity, dead celebrity, jackie gleason