Who’s on the obituary list?

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Who’s on the obituary list?

Britney Spears now has another distinction to add to her collection of dubious achievements: She is among the group of young celebs whose obituaries have already been written. In recent years news organizations have begun prepping obits for junior stars whose antics could land them in the gone-too-soon category. Obituaries have long been prepared for famous senior citizens, and though the media are reluctant to confirm names, some young celebs are now getting them too.
“It’s a sign of the times,” says Jesse Washington, the entertainment editor at the Associated Press, who says that Spears and Amy Winehouse are on his watch list. “People are more famous and destructive than they have been in the past.” Adds Marilyn Johnson, a former obit writer and the author of The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries: “Amy Winehouse? She’s the definition of risk.” Johnson also speculates that advance obits could be ready on Mary-Kate Olsen, Courtney Love and Whitney Houston.
Happily, one can get off and stay off this dreary list. Writers used to worry about Nicole Richie, but now “she doesn’t seem like she’s courting death anymore,” Johnson says. “Other people, like Jennifer Aniston, were never on it. She’s always had her act together.”
Nobody likes thinking of stars in the past tense. Washington, for one, roots for all of his subjects. “Britney Spears has millions of fans, but today her obituary would focus on her troubles. I hope that she’s around for 70 more years, and that her struggles are just a footnote in the history of her career.”

Glamour.com