Rodney Dangerfield's on the roof and we can't get him down

The comic died this week from complications following heart surgery. Or complications following 82 years of living life as Rodney Dangerfield. We should all be so lucky.

Or so prepared. As my title suggests, this train was a long time comin'. His recent heart surgery was the latest in a series of health problems. He had a heart attack on his 80th birthday nearly three years ago. Last year, he went in for brain surgery in order to prep for the valve replacement surgery he entered the hospital for this August. Going back into the hospital, he said something like, "If all goes well, I'll be there for a couple of weeks. If things go badly, I'll be there for an hour and a half."

Things went badly.

First came the news that Dangerfield had suffered a stroke. Then that he had slipped into a coma. Much as he used to slip into a robe at his nightclub, I suppose. A few weeks ago, his wife released a statement that the coma was "light," and that he was expected to fully emerge. Yesterday, they rang down the curtain.

Dangerfield joins Janet "Psycho" Leigh and Gordo "Right Stuff" Cooper as the latest entries in the Celebrity Dead Pool. There may have been stranger trios approaching the Pearly Gates, but not in recent memory.

Here's hoping you're doing well.