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Dead
Celebrities
*Top-Earning Dead Celebrities*
Peter Hoy; research by Jake Paine 10.27.08, 6:00 PM ET
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*In Pictures:* Top-Earning Dead Celebrities
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*Featured:* Top-Earning Dead Celebrities
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Dying
Young As A Career Move
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Celebrity
Body Parts Market
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Haunted
Hollywood
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*In Pictures:* Top-Earning Dead Celebrities
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The
Recently Departed
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*Video:* Newman's Own
<http://www.forbes.com/video/?video=fvn/deadcelebs08/os_newman102708> *Happy
Halloween:* 2008 Halloween Masks
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Financial
Crisis Costumes
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While things might be topsy-turvy in the financial markets above ground,
it's still a bull market in the boneyard. The 13 famous names that make up
our Top-Earning Dead Celebrities earned a combined $194 million over the
last 12 months.
In Pictures: Top-Earning Dead
Celebrities<http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/27/top-dead-celebrity-biz-media-deadcelebs08-cz_ph_1027celeb_slide_2.html?thisspeed=25000>
Topping the list for the second year running, is the former King of Rock 'n'
Roll, Elvis Presley. Without so much as lifting a finger, the Memphis Flash
earned a whopping $52 million in the last year. That's more than some of the
music industry's biggest living acts command--Justin
Timberlake<http://www.forbes.com/media/2008/07/22/actors-hollywood-movies-biz-media-cx_lr_0722actors.html?partner=omg>pulled
in $44 million last year; Madonna $40 million.
The 30th anniversary of Elvis' death helped boost attendance and merchandise
sales at Graceland, and new ventures such as an Elvis Sirius Satellite Radio
show add to a long list of publishing and licensing deals.
Debuting on the list in third place is Australian actor Heath Ledger, most
famous for his role as the Joker in *The Dark
Knight<http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/10/24/ap5603300.html?partner=alerts>
,* the latest installment of the Batman movie franchise. At the time of his
tragic overdose in January, the 28-year star seemed poised on the cusp of a
lucrative film career.
Ledger had reportedly secured a deal for his role in *The Dark Knight *that
included merchandising (think Joker action figures) and a percentage of film
revenues. With *The Dark Knight *grossing $991 million in box office revenue
worldwide, we estimate his earnings at $20 million.
Also debuting on our list is Paul Newman, who died in September at age 83.
His "Newman's Own" line of salad dressings, organic popcorn and spaghetti
sauces had sales of more $120 million last year. When he was alive, Newman
donated all of his profits from the venture to charity, and his estate plans
to continue doing so. Add in the residuals from a lifetime of high-profile
movie roles, and we calculate Newman earned $5 million last year.
Adding up paychecks of dead celebrities can be a wicked task--after all,
they don't exactly sit for interviews. To get to the bottom line, we talked
to experts and sources inside their estates and dug up the gross earnings
(before taxes, management fees and other costs) from the period of October
2007 to October 2008.
Some celebrities, like Charles Schulz and Albert Einstein, are staples on
our list. They owe their spots to steady revenue
streams<http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/23/credit-suisse-update-markets-equity-cx_ll_1023markets17.html?partner=yahootix&vm=r>from
their artistic creations (planning to watch
*It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown *again this Halloween?) and licensing
of their names and images (the Baby Einstein brand is expanding to the young
adult market this year). But finding other big earners meant scouring the
cemetery for posthumous one-hit wonders.
Take Marvin Gaye, who lands in 13th place on the list this year, with
earnings of some $3.5 million. Gaye had a great year. Coinciding with Motown
Records' 50th birthday, two major studios have announced upcoming Marvin
Gaye biopics, and some of his classic albums have been remastered and
re-released.
He is also a hit among hip-hop artists who frequently sample his work--and
pay licensing fees to do so. Of course, like the postmortem comeback of
troubadour Johnny Cash, who appeared on our list in 2006 with earnings of $8
million but fell off in 2007, this surge in popularity might be temporary.
It seems fame can be just as fleeting in the afterlife.
For real staying power beyond the pale, the best bet is a face like Marilyn
Monroe's or an attitude like James Dean's--marketers are always eager to
exploit that kind of iconic fame. This fall, an ad
campaign<http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/10/24/ap5601519.html?partner=lingospot>from
Mercedes-Benz features the two '50s icons, who pulled in $6.5 million
and $5 million, respectively. Both were on our first list of Top Earning
Dead Celebrities back in 2001; this is Marilyn's eighth year in a row.
In Pictures: Top-Earning Dead
Celebrities<http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/27/top-dead-celebrity-biz-media-deadcelebs08-cz_ph_1027celeb_slide_2.html?thisspeed=25000>
--
"As with Joe Bob, the 'high sherrifs' tried to muzzle Jonathan Swift...not
to mention George Orwell,Ambrose Bierce and Oscar Wilde. Bad satarists are
left alone; it only hurts when it's good."
--Stephen King
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