9 Hotels Haunted by Celebs

Michael Jackson tops the list again

(NEWSER) - When you’re a celebrity, dying doesn’t have to mean you stop making money. Forbes offers up its annual list of the top-earning celebs of the past year:

1. Michael Jackson: The King of Pop is in the top spot for the second year in a row, earning $170 million thanks to music sales, his stake in the Sony/ATV catalog, and a new Cirque du Soleil tour.
2. Elvis Presley: The King of Pop is followed by the King of Rock ’n’ Roll, who earned $55 million, much of which came from Graceland admissions. A Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas didn’t hurt, either.
3. Marilyn Monroe: A resurgence in popularity is partly to thank for her $27 million in earnings; for example, she was featured in an ad for J’Adore fragrance, and soon she’ll be getting her own line of cafes.
4. Charles Schulz: The Peanuts creator earned $25 million as his creations found themselves coming into the digital age via a video game, e-books, and a Facebook app, among other things.
5. John Lennon: The Beatles sold 1.6 million albums last year after finally arriving in the iTunes Store, which may have something to do with Lennon’s $12 million in earnings. Also helping? Yet another Cirque show.

They tried, but just couldn't say goodbye

(NEWSER) - Just five weeks into her early retirement , Amanda Bynes is back —thank goodness. “As you let the good news sink in, possibly while IMDBing who Amanda Bynes actually is,” Mary Elizabeth Williams writes for Salon , consider eight other public figures who just couldn’t quit:

• Cher: “The diva has gone away and come back more times than a persistent case of pinkeye” and is currently doing an extended run in Vegas.
• Joaquin Phoenix: He told reporters he was “done” in 2008, but he’s starring in a documentary about his rap career, so who knows if he was serious or not. Click here to read about a scandal surrounding said documentary.

Even pal, lover Frank Sinatra threw her out for taking pills

(NEWSER) - In a new tell-all, J. Randy Taraborrelli paints a picture of Marilyn Monroe’s drug-fueled final months, her fixation with John F. Kennedy, and the shock friends like Frank Sinatra felt at her downward spiral, the Daily Mail reports. Four months before her death, the screenwriter for her last film found her in a drug-induced coma, “almost naked” and “almost dead,” he says. One pal blames that breakdown on Kennedy. More»

(NEWSER) - The last clothing Marilyn Monroe wore and Elvis Presley's pill bottles are hitting the auction block in Las Vegas next month, reports the BBC. Monroe's bathrobe, believed to be what she was wearing the night she overdosed on sleeping pills in 1962, is expected to fetch some $6,000. Her receipts for booze, signed checks, several photos, and a fur stole will also be among the treasures, along with Presley's lapiz ring and medical accoutrements. More»

Singer rails against rock star 'mythology'

(NEWSER) - Sorry, U2 fans: Bono is sticking around for a while. The frontman discussed the mystique of rock stars dying young with a BBC TV show, claiming “people do want you to die on a cross age 33, with a Jack Daniels in your hand,” the Mirror reports. But Bono pledged to play shows until old age, saying, “Our job is to derail a mythology that isn’t helpful to music.” More»