esrosedotblog

WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE

Close your eyes and guess who is the most valuable dead celebrity.

Well, maybe you picked Elvis.

But who else? In the top ten?

NEW YORK (AP) - Elvis Presley is still the King. Presley, who earned an estimated $49 million in the past 12 months, has reclaimed the No. 1 spot on Forbes.com's list of Top-Earning Dead Celebrities. He last topped the list in 2005.

John Lennon ranks second with earnings of $44 million, followed by Charles M. Schulz ($35 million), George Harrison ($22 million), Albert Einstein ($18 million), Andy Warhol ($15 million), Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) ($13 million), Tupac Shakur ($9 million), Marilyn Monroe ($7 million), Steve McQueen ($6 million), James Brown ($5 million), Bob Marley ($4 million) and James Dean ($3.5 million).

Presley died in 1977. His estate continues to generate millions from music royalties, DVDs, licensing deals and tourism at Graceland, the rocker's mansion in Memphis, Tenn.

Would you have picked Albert Einstein? Could that be the posters and t-shirts? I knew about Warhol. James Brown doesn't count. He is hardly cooled off.

Tupac Shakur. Whew. Ahead of Bob Marley.

And, we will have to wait until Paul is dead to see if he beats John. He won't I think.

But the biggest suprise to me is that McQueen and Dean still have the goods.

They do resonate with me still.

So I guess there is life after death even if it is your relatives who get the gelt.

Labels: culture