Celebrity Meat Locker - March 4 - April 6

OK, I know I said I would get these out weekly, but a lot has happened since the last one I sent out, including several weeks without an Internet connection.  All I can do is try to do better.  Since I've got a whole month to catch up on, I'll try to keep this to the most interesting and/or relevant people.

Dana Reeve (45) - lung cancer

The widow of "Superman" actor, Christopher Reeve, was an actress who became an activist for the quality of everyday life for victims of paralysis following an accident that left her husband a quadriplegic.  Predominantly a stage actor during her career, she was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2005 despite being a non-smoker.  She claimed she contracted the disease through second hand smoke she was exposed to in various clubs in which she performed.

Kirby Puckett (45) - stroke

The Hall of Fame center fielder for the Minnesota Twins was the "face of baseball" during his career, which spanned 1984-95.  Puckett had an infectious enthusiasm for the game, and led the Twins to their two World Series titles in 1987 and 1991.  A well-loved citizen of the game, his teammates used to wear t-shirts under their uniforms that said "I wanna be like Puck".  He is also mentioned in the 1987 Warren Zevon rewrite of "Poor Poor Pitiful Me".  In September of 1995, a Dennis Martinez fastball broke Puckett's jaw.  He would retire in July of the following season after waking up blind in his right eye due to the effects of glaucoma.

Richard Kuklinski (70) - natural causes

I find this interesting only because of his cause of death.  Kuklinski was an American mafia hitman.  He allegedly (and self-admittedly) carried out "jobs" for the Gambino crime family.  Kuklinski has claimed to have killed anywhere from 100-200 people in his career, but is also known to be a liar and actual estimates are much lower.  So what constitutes "natural causes" for a hitman?  I would think "natural causes" in that line of work would involve someone actually shooting back, but apparently it means croaking in a prison hospital for no apparent reason.

Gordon Parks (93) - cancer

Oh c'mon... dude directed Shaft!

Peter Tomarken (63) - plane crash

Tomarken was the host of Press Your Luck. (Your remember...no Whammies, no Whammies, no Whammies...STOP!)  Apparently he tried a bunch of other game show host gigs, too, but really... how often does THAT work out?  Tomarken was a private pilot.  The plane he was flying on March 13 carrying only he and his wife crashed into Santa Monica Bay.  In a sort of creepy "wonder of the Internet" kind of thing, you can actually see the flight map and tracking information along with the radar tracking log online.

Richard Root (68) - crocodile attack

Dr. Richard Root was a noted epidemiologist whose life work revolved around the study of infectious diseases.  He got his medical degree at Johns Hopkins and taught at, among others, the University of Pennsylvania and Yale University.  So I just have to ask the question: how the hell does a 68-year-old epidemiologist get attacked and killed by a freaking CROCODILE?  Apparently Dr. Root was also a philanthropist, and had moved to Botswana just weeks earlier to help alleviate the shortage of medical personnel in the region.  Very compassionate.  Now you're dead.

Gary "Tex" Ehman (73) - lung cancer

Ehman was a Canadian-born former NHL player and executive.  I just want to know how a Canadian gets the nickname "Tex".

Honestly, I didn't have to cut this down nearly as much as I thought I would.  March was a slow month for famous people to bite it.