People Magazine accidentally published its pre-written obituary for Kirk Douglas on Sunday night.
It’s not uncommon for major publications to write their elaborate obituaries in advance, and People Magazine clearly didn’t mean to run the story as evident from the “DO NOT PUB” in the headline.
Still, “Spartacus” and his family members can’t be pleased.
Douglas, who turns 98 next week, isn’t the first celebrity to have been written about by People.
In 1982, Abe Vigoda was erroneously referred to as “the late Abe Vigoda” in People Magazine, which became a running joke about Vigoda on talk shows like “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” Vigoda is, of course, still alive.
Bloomberg made a similar obituary gaffe when it published news of Steve Jobs’ death in 2008 three years before the Apple co-founder’s actually passing in 2011.
The editors of Bloomberg quickly posted a retraction and apologized for the mistake.
So far, no mea culpa from People Magazine’s editors. And surprisingly, the Douglas obituary is still live on their website.
