Pretty good for a kid from Aberdeen who didn't want to be a rock star
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Artist:
FROM YAHOO:NEW YORK (AFP) - Angst-ridden grunge rocker Kurt Cobain has pushed Elvis into second place in a list of highest-earning dead celebrities, with the late Nirvana frontman raking in 50 million dollars in the past year.The Forbes.com website ranks 13 celebrities pushing up daisies on their income and proves that death need not be an obstacle to making money, with the group collectively earning 247 million dollars in the last year."Peanuts" creator Charles Schulz, whose cartoons are syndicated in thousands of newspapers worldwide, came third after earning 35 million dollars, ahead of John Lennon with 24 million and Albert Einstein with 20 million.The German-born physicist's earnings come from rights to use his famously unkempt image and the Baby Einstein line of educational toys from Walt Disney.Another cartoonist, creator of the Dr Seuss series Theodor Geisel, ranks seventh, one place behind Andy Warhol but ahead of Ray Charles and Marilyn Monroe, whose likeness continues to pay more than 40 years after her death.While Elvis, who has been dead for almost 30 years, slipped to number two in the list for the first time since 2001, his estate still managed to earn 42 million dollars in the past 12 months.J.R.R. Tolkein, the creator of the Lord of the Rings epic, slid three places since last year, but the success of the film trilogy, DVD sales and offshoot merchandise have continued to make a killing for the English writer.Success of the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk the Line" helped the Man in Black avoid going into the red, pulling in eight million dollars for his heirs, while late Beatles guitarist George Harrison and reggae legend Bob Marley both earned some seven million dollars, mostly through CD sales and royalties.
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