Hey, It’s August – Is Castro Dead Again?

by Rachel Sklar | 11:22 am, August 24th, 2009

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castro dead Who remembers August 2007, before election fever swept the country in earnest? The news biz was in its usual doldrums, save the odd debate or two, and nothing much was going on. Except Fidel Castro dying, that is – every week!

Our pals over at Gossip Cop point out that today marks the two-year anniversary of Perez Hilton‘s excited claim that the longtime Cuban dictator was muerto, following up with more emphatic claims here and here. The rumors were unconfirmed by any other news source (though they were picked up widely), but still Perez stuck by his story, saying on the Jimmy Kimmel show: “If he’s not dead, I’ll turn straight.”

So — what happened? Well, Perez is still gay — and as far as we can tell, Castro is still alive. Perez was by far the most emphatic, but he was not alone in the Castro death -rumormongering, which had a life of its own that August, not to mention before and after.

Since then, Castro has hung on, surfacing here and there to enjoy the writings of Alan Greenspan, hand over power to his brother Raoul, and share his thoughts on Rahm Emanuel.

Meanwhile, the “is he dead?” rumor mill seems to have abated, perhaps because he finally passed on power, or perhaps because we can’t bear to think of life without images of him chilling in his stylin’ tracksuit. One thing is certain: When he does die, Perez will be there, waiting to put coke dots around his nose. Viva la Revolución!

ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE TO PEREZ HILTON BEING DEAD WRONG [Gossip Cop]

Perez Hilton, Keeper of Castro’s Secrets:
Is Castro Dead??? [Perez Hilton]
An Official Announcement Is Coming [Perez Hilton]
Still Dead [Perez Hilton]

Same Story, Different Year:
Is Castro Really Dead? Who Cares? Not Jonah Goldberg! Corroboration’s For Suckers! [ETP]