Kurt Cobain, River Phoenix, Brandon Lee, Famous Amos -- pop icons "cut down in their prime," whose deaths are of course "tragic," and whose deaths beget fawning tributes, sordid accounts of their private lives, and, for those media outlets shrewd enough to milk the story, higher ratings and better sales at the newsstands. At Might magazine, a small San Francisco-based bimonthly of issues and satire, editors figured that the best way to make fun of the whole practice of celebrity death tributes was to create their own dead celebrity. With the OK of the actor himself, Might spoofed the death of Eight is Enough child star Adam Rich. With gems like, "It is said that to fly too close to the sun is to have your body turned into stone. In the weeks and months that follow, an industry and a generation will have to mine a new quarry," they didn't expect anyone to believe the story. But everyone from Hard Copy to Dick Van Patten did believe it. The surprising results are chronicled in this piece.
