Jim Bowen very much alive.

I often see posters pinned to lampposts in my local area declaring Elvis or Frank Sinatra are appearing at a local club. Not a tribute, not a sound-a-like, just the name of the legend.

You..don't..think..it..could..really..be.? Nah.

isn't dead either. It is a common view that "no longer appearing on TV" is the same as dying, but I'm sure that Ben Goldacre has debunked this myth

Edit -xpost, as the young people say

I spoke to the great Jim Bowen last year and can confirm that he very definitely wasn't dead then.

I can never remember which one is alive/dead.

When he died last year I was convinced he'd been dead for years and years. But no.

Bit like Five-Centres and old Reg above, when the 'Hello My Darlings' Hitmaker died (in 2006) I was convinced he'd died about 20 years earlier.

Roy Walker is still a semi-regular on the Chris Moyles Show.

(cue the semi-regular pro- / anti- Moyles debate)

...still going strong, as is the wonderful Bernard Cribbins (recently starring in Doctor Who). Then there's the legendary Mickey Rooney who was recently starring in Panto in Milton Keynes!

Clive Dunn is still alive, surprisingly

died in Eastenders about 22 years ago but the lady herself, Anna Wing, is still working at 95. She appeared in the early series of Harry Hill's TV Burp as 'The Ghost Of Eastenders Past'

Berno Cribbs is still as sprightly as he was fighting Daleks in 2010 as he was in 1965. The recent NFT 'Audience With' he did was an absolute delight

runs the celebrity death league at work.

Here is the current list of nominees and apart, possibly, from Mr Bin Laden they are all very much alive -

Al Pacino, Alex "Hurricane" Higgins, Amy Winehouse, Andy Williams,Ariel Sharon,Barack Obama,Barbara Knox,Betty Ford,Billy Graham,Brian Matthew,Charlie Watts,Clint Eastwood,Clive Dunn,Courtney Love,David Attenborough,David Bellamy,Denis Healey,Denis Norden,Don King,Donald Sutherland,Eddie Large,Eli Wallach,Eric Sykes,Ernest Borgnine,Fidel Castro,Freddie Starr,Geoff Boycott,George Bush Snr,Gina Lollobridga,Honor Blackman,HRH The Queen,Hugh Hefner,Ian Paisley,Jack Nicklaus,Jackie Stallone,Jimmy Saville,Jimmy Young,Joe Frazier,John Savident,Keith Richards,Ken Dodd,Kerry Katona,Kim Novak, Larry Hagman,Leslie Phillips,Lester Piggot,Malcolm Glazer,Mark Thatcher,Max Bygraves,Michael Foot,Mickey Rooney,Muhammad Ali,Nancy Reagan,Nelson Mandela,Omar Sharif,Osama Bin Laden,Ozzy Osbourne,Patrick Moore,Paul Gascoigne,Peter O'Sullivan,Peter Sallis,Prince Harry,Prince Phillip,Richard Hammond,Richard Thorp,Richie Benaud,Robert Mugabe,Roger Waters,Ronnie Biggs,Tom Finney,Tony Benn,Tony Bennett,Tony Curtis,Vera Lynn,Zsa Zsa Gabor

A few unusual choices in there I think you'll agree.

At any given moment I am in constant confusion as to who is dead and alive. It took me until about two years ago to finally acknowledge and remember the fact that George Harrison died. I think the problem is that, if you miss the initial announcement and obituaries then a celeb death can easily pass you by.

From off the top of my puzzled head, here are five people who at this moment I have no idea if they are alive or dead (will google them all in a minute though)...

- Eric Idle
- Rolf Harris
- William Burroughs
- Buster Merryfield
- Julie Andrews