July 25, 2025 • 3 mins
Rory O’Neill speaks with Mendte in the Morning about the supposed phenomenon of celebrity deaths coming in threes and whether or not its real.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
So be honest, right, Yeah, yeah, there's a celebrity death,
a big celebrity death, and then there's another one a
couple of days later. How many times have you said, Okay,
who's the third one going to be? I said it
this week before hul Cogan.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Now I feel guilty.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
You kill Hulk Cogan. You know, I'm sorry, but I
did it, and I knew when I said it. I
was like, I shouldn't say that. But then luckily Chuck
Mancioni also died, so it came in fours. So now
you don't have to feel guilty anymore. Care Yeah, they
kind of broke the rule right then. But yeah, so
of course we've all done that. And being the intrepid
(00:40):
reporter that he is, Rory O'Neil w R National Correspondent
has been digging into this. Is it myth or is
it really based on something? Rory, we go to you
for the answer.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Well, it may be based on something. And I also add,
you could put Connie Francis into this mix, so we'd
be at five and then uh oh, this could be
two groups of threes.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
So oh, thanks.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
For that, right, always leave that out there. No, but look,
we think that this whole idea. You brought it up
this Why do we think celebrities die in threes. Maybe
it's because of the day the music died nineteen fifty nine,
Richie Allen, the Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly killed in
that plane crash. So we think that maybe that's why
we see these deaths in trees. But it's also been
(01:30):
pretty common over the years. I mean, you go back
to what David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and the husband of
Celine Dion all died within a few days back in
January of twenty sixteen. In December of sixteen, Alan Thick,
George Michael and Carrie Fisher as well. They all died
a few days apart. I think Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher's mom,
(01:51):
also died a couple days after Carrie Fisher. The big
one for me was back in two thousand and nine.
Ed McMahon died in June of two thousand and nine,
two days later, both on the same day Michael Jackson
and Farah Fawcett died.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
And that's pretty incredible or is it something that we
want to believe in? So we've go back in history
to find times that it happens so that we can
make it true.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Is there a pattern or are we fitting it to
a pattern?
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Right?
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Yeah, I mean that's sort of the unknown here, and
you can and now there are so many celebrities these
days as well. Okay, they sort of counter or whatever
it may have been, because it seems that when you
add the Internet and sports people and other figures out there,
it's not necessarily movie stars anymore. It's a broader list. Though.
There was another one that New Yorkers may appreciate July
(02:41):
of twenty twenty. Kellie Preston, the actress and the wife
of John Travolta. She died a couple days later Naya
Rivera from Glee, and then Regis Filbin also died that
same time in July of twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
So if there's two celebrity deaths, people then either think
there's going to be another one or they go searching
for another one. Maybe number three, Yeah, to make the three.
And it sounds like it's a it's some kind of
myth that's out there that everybody wants to be true,
and so they make it true.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Well, and then what is it with us all sharing
this stuff on Facebook and Instagram as quickly as possible
when we hear someone dies, Why do we all have
to share it instantly and be the first to let
everyone know some terrible news.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Well that's that's the case with everything, any any type
of news. Everybody wants to be the first to get
on internet. You know why. They want clicks? Yeah, that's true.
There is nothing like an old bit. Rory O'Neil, thanks
so much, good to talk to you again. Have a
great weekend.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Thank Clarire you too.
So be honest, right, Yeah, yeah, there's a celebrity death,
a big celebrity death, and then there's another one a
couple of days later. How many times have you said, Okay,
who's the third one going to be? I said it
this week before hul Cogan.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Now I feel guilty.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
You kill Hulk Cogan. You know, I'm sorry, but I
did it, and I knew when I said it. I
was like, I shouldn't say that. But then luckily Chuck
Mancioni also died, so it came in fours. So now
you don't have to feel guilty anymore. Care Yeah, they
kind of broke the rule right then. But yeah, so
of course we've all done that. And being the intrepid
(00:40):
reporter that he is, Rory O'Neil w R National Correspondent
has been digging into this. Is it myth or is
it really based on something? Rory, we go to you
for the answer.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Well, it may be based on something. And I also add,
you could put Connie Francis into this mix, so we'd
be at five and then uh oh, this could be
two groups of threes.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
So oh, thanks.
Speaker 2 (01:08):
For that, right, always leave that out there. No, but look,
we think that this whole idea. You brought it up
this Why do we think celebrities die in threes. Maybe
it's because of the day the music died nineteen fifty nine,
Richie Allen, the Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly killed in
that plane crash. So we think that maybe that's why
we see these deaths in trees. But it's also been
(01:30):
pretty common over the years. I mean, you go back
to what David Bowie, Alan Rickman, and the husband of
Celine Dion all died within a few days back in
January of twenty sixteen. In December of sixteen, Alan Thick,
George Michael and Carrie Fisher as well. They all died
a few days apart. I think Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher's mom,
(01:51):
also died a couple days after Carrie Fisher. The big
one for me was back in two thousand and nine.
Ed McMahon died in June of two thousand and nine,
two days later, both on the same day Michael Jackson
and Farah Fawcett died.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
And that's pretty incredible or is it something that we
want to believe in? So we've go back in history
to find times that it happens so that we can
make it true.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Is there a pattern or are we fitting it to
a pattern?
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Right?
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Yeah, I mean that's sort of the unknown here, and
you can and now there are so many celebrities these
days as well. Okay, they sort of counter or whatever
it may have been, because it seems that when you
add the Internet and sports people and other figures out there,
it's not necessarily movie stars anymore. It's a broader list. Though.
There was another one that New Yorkers may appreciate July
(02:41):
of twenty twenty. Kellie Preston, the actress and the wife
of John Travolta. She died a couple days later Naya
Rivera from Glee, and then Regis Filbin also died that
same time in July of twenty twenty.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
So if there's two celebrity deaths, people then either think
there's going to be another one or they go searching
for another one. Maybe number three, Yeah, to make the three.
And it sounds like it's a it's some kind of
myth that's out there that everybody wants to be true,
and so they make it true.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Well, and then what is it with us all sharing
this stuff on Facebook and Instagram as quickly as possible
when we hear someone dies, Why do we all have
to share it instantly and be the first to let
everyone know some terrible news.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Well that's that's the case with everything, any any type
of news. Everybody wants to be the first to get
on internet. You know why. They want clicks? Yeah, that's true.
There is nothing like an old bit. Rory O'Neil, thanks
so much, good to talk to you again. Have a
great weekend.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Thank Clarire you too.
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