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Cobain's posthumous profits are popping out

By Stone Martindale Oct 25, 2006, 3:47 GMT

Move over Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain is the new King of Dead Celebrities. The Blue Suede shoes singer was knocked off on Forbes.com's annual roundup of top-earning dead celebrities by the late Kurt Cobain, who made his first appearance on the list in its six years of publication.Cobain, who shot himself in the head in 1994, earned $50 million between October 2005 and October 2006, according to Forbes.Presley landed in the number two slot, with earnings of $42 million for the same time period, down from $45 million in the year before.Licensing deals for the deceased celebrities' work or images are the primary source of the income. Presley has consistently been the top earner dead star since the list's inception until this year.Widow Courtney Love's sale of one-quarter of the Nirvana song catalogue to New York music publisher PrimeWave explains Cobain's surge in wealth.The only woman to rank in the top 13 was Marilyn Monroe. The actress, who died of an overdose in 1962, pulled in $8 million, good for ninth place.Here's a rundown of the top 10 (the complete list is online at Forbes.com):1. Kurt Cobain, $50 million
2. Elvis Presley, $42 million
3. Charles Schulz, $35 million
4. John Lennon, $24 million
5. Albert Einstein, $20 million
6. Andy Warhol, $19 million
7. Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), $10 million
8. Ray Charles, $10 million
9. Marilyn Monroe, $8 million
10. Johnny Cash, $8 million

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Cobain's posthumous profits are popping out

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