by Noleen Wyatt-Jones

Created on: July 28, 2008

In the wonderful world of the celebrity there is no greater guarantee of lasting iconic status than dying, particularly if your death is untimely. Look at Heath Leger, at the moment he can do no wrong and is even being tipped for a posthumous Oscar for his role as the Joker in this summer's blockbuster, The Dark Knight; but if he was still alive would his performance be viewed in the same way?

As Laurence Binyon said in his famous poem, For The Fallen:-

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
we will remember them.

And remember them we do, encapsulated in our minds at the precise time of their death. Not for them the slow but steady descent into old age and obscurity only left with memories of what once had been. In our minds they remain fresh, forever young and full of unfulfilled potential.

Let us not forget that death can also be extremely lucrative for a celebrity as the Forbes Magazine 2007 chart of top earning dead celebrities shows:-

1. Elvis Presley (29m)
2. John Lennon (22m)
3. Charles M. Schulz (17.5m)
4. George Harrison (11m)
5. Albert Einstein (9m)
6. Andy Warhol (7.5m)
7. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) (7.5m)
8. Tupac Shakur (4.5m)
9. Marilyn Monroe (3.5m)
10. Steve McQueen (3m)
11. James Brown (2.5m)
12. Bob Marley (2m)
13. James Dean (1.7m)

Death is also big business for the media as they race to ensure they get the obituary and other related articles out to guarantee increased sales and television ratings. Look at the media coverage following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales when the newspapers increased their print runs significantly in order to keep up with the world's morbid desire to relieve every second of the tragedy over and over again.

In our media savvy society the internet has also been quick to pick up and capitalise on this interest with numerous sites dedicated to the cult of the dead celebrity. Whether your particular fascination leans towards the macabre and you wish to know in detail just how they died, or you want to predict just who may be the next to shuffle off this mortal coil then there is a site for you. With incredible amounts of detail, some of these sites have procured extensive documentation in the form of copies of death certificates, copies of autopsy reports, pictures of just about everything (some of which are not for those who are of a more squeamish disposition), and include details of where they are buried.

To put our obsession

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