As a jumping off point:
In journalism, we recognize a kind of hierarchy of fame among the famous. We measure it in two ways: by the length of an obituary and by how far in advance it is prepared.
-Walter Cronkite
The chart:
The grey bars represent the ten longest obituaries of the last 7 months. From left to right, they are:
“A Star Idolized and Haunted, Michael Jackson Dies at 50″ (2839 words)
“Jack Nelson, an Investigative Reporter, Dies at 80″ (1266 words)
“Dominick Dunne, Writer Who Chronicled High-Profile Crime, Is Dead at 83″ (1966 words)
“Robert Rines, Inventor and Monster Hunter, Dies at 87″ (2839 words)
“Howard Unruh, 88, Dies; Killed 13 of His Neighbors in Camden in 1949″ (1304 words)
“Roy DeCarava, Harlem Insider Who Photographed Ordinary Life, Dies at 89″ (1485 words)
“Walter Cronkite, 92, Dies; Trusted Voice of TV News” (2968 words)
“Budd Schulberg, ‘On the Waterfront’ Writer, Dies at 95″ (1855 words)
“Henrich, Yankees Clutch Hitter, Dies at 96″ (1086 words)
“Bela Kiraly Dies at 97; Led Revolt In Hungary” (1136 words)
Notable outliers are:
Michael Jackson, receiving a 2839 word obituary at the age of 50 (Billy Mays is the other 50 year old). Jack Rose, the youngest recipient of a NYTimes obituary. Along with Michael Jackson, Walter Cronkite received a very long obituary that ran 50% longer than the two next longest obituaries.
