We love Lucy...more than ever

Every two years, a study is released that rates the popularity of dead celebrities.

It's a survey put out by Marketing Evaluations, Inc./the Q Scores Company, and it's designed to help marketers conclude what a celebrity endorsement is worth. And since celebrities, long after they're gone, are sometimes used in advertising, it can be a useful tool. For the rest of us, picking up the scraps of information that Marketing Evaluations throws out since it won't make its entire lists public, it's just plain interesting.

MediaPost had an interesting story today about the rankings, stating that -- not surprisingly -- Elvis Presley is the most familiar dead celebrity to the public (98% of the public recognizes him). Close behind is Lucille Ball(95%)

But while Elvis is the best known, that doesn't mean he's the most beloved. His Q score, rating his popularity, is 36%, while Lucy's Q score is 52%. In fact, the celebrities that people miss the most are Lucille Ball, Walt Disney, Bob Hope, John Wayne and Red Skelton.

Yeah, Red Skelton. Why him?