Quiz: Are These Baby Boomer Icons Dead or Alive?

     Time seems to go by so quickly, and sometimes we get so involved in our own lives, we lose track of what's going on elsewhere in the world -- who is still with us and who has passed on.

     Do you think it's morbid to guess whether these people are alive or dead? All these Baby Boomer icons have seen their time come and go, whether they're still alive or not, but I think they would be thankful if we pause at the end of 2011 and remember their contributions to our life and our culture -- what they did, what they meant to us, and where they may be today.

     So in that spirit, can you guess: Who among these Baby Boomer icons is alive? And who is dead?

     1)  1972 presidential candidate George McGovern            Alive  or   Dead

     2)  1984 vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro      Alive       Dead

     3)  1950s crooner Pat Boone                                             Alive       Dead

     4)  Actor Fess Parker                                                         Alive       Dead

     5)  Jurassic Park writer Michael Crichton                           Alive       Dead

     6)  Italian actress Sophia Loren               Alive     Dead

     7)  Actor Sidney Poitier                            Alive     Dead

     8) Twister Chubby Checker                    Alive     Dead

     9) Willie Mays                                          Alive     Dead

    10) Jaws writer Peter Benchley               Alive     Dead

    11) Elizabeth Taylor                                  Alive     Dead

    12) Heiress kidnapping victim Patty Hearst                         Alive     Dead

    13) Quarterback Roger Staubach                                       Alive     Dead

    14) Comedian Rodney Dangerfield                                     Alive     Dead

    15) Singer Gladys Knight                                                     Alive     Dead

     For the answers, check back here next week -- same time, same place. Meantime, Happy New Year to everybody, and may we all thrive in 2012!