Los Angeles: Elvis Presley, Snoopy creator Charles Shultz and recently deceased actor Heath Ledger headed Forbe s Top-Earning Dead Celebrities for 2007, having netted a combined USD 105 million, the magazine said.
Thirty years after he died aged 42,the King of Rock n Roll last year pulled in USD 52 million dwarfing living music stars like Justin Timberlake (44 million) and Madonna (40 million), the magazine said yesterday.
Elvis topped the list for a second year running due to the 30th anniversary extravaganza in Graceland - his home in Memphis, Tennessee - that in visitors and merchandising generated more income than his 2006 earnings of USD 49 million.
Shultz, who drew Snoopy and the "Peanuts" gallery of characters into existence, died in 2000 at 77. His heirs last year penned an agreement with Warner Bros. Studios moving him up a notch in Forbes list, with posthumous earnings of USD 33 million.
The Australian heartthrob Ledger, who died at 28 in January from over medication, made an estimated USD 20 million in earnings from his cut in the latest box office smash hit Batman movie "The Dark Knight," in which he played the Joker.
The father of relativity, Albert Einstein, was fourth on the Forbes list. Even though he passed away in 1955, his "Baby Einstein" toy franchise brought in a cool USD 18 million.
Television producer Aaron Spelling, who died in 2006, followed with USD 15 million dollars in earnings last year, chiefly from royalties of reruns of his popular shows.
"Dr. Seuss" children book author Theodor Geisel (d. 1991) made USD 12 million for fifth place, and Beatle John Lennon, shot to death in 1980,dropped from second to sixth place with nine million.
