Stone still rolling against death odds
01mar04
KEITH Richards should have died eight years ago, an expert says.
The 60-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist has "eluded death" after years of hard living, claims American gerontologist David Demko.
Mr Demko investigated the lifestyles of music's biggest names and predicted their death dates in a survey titled "When Will Your Favourite Rock Star Die?" for the music magazine Blender.
About Richards, Mr Demko wrote: "He should have passed away at 52. I'm not sure how he does it, but he defies all conventional wisdom. Eighty per cent of the factors that control how long you live are related to your lifestyle, not genes." The guitarist admitted on his 60th birthday last year: "There are a lot of people who never thought I'd make it this far."
Among his other predictions, Mr Demko concludes that Ozzy Osbourne will die in 2013 aged 65; Whitney Houston, 40, will make it to only 59; and Michael Jackson, 45, will die at 76.
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