That's what I figured. I never thought he was pranking...just assumed he got taken in by a spate of these celebrity death rumors. They've been a notorious thing on the web for quite a while, for whatever stupid reason.I've known Dan for a long time.
No idea what's up with the death notice posts, but I can assure you he is the farthest thing from malicious as a human can be. Integrity and personal honor are a VERY big deal.
Also, playing pranks does not fit his sense of humor at all. Even slightly.
Forced to guess, I'd say the HE got taken in by someone on the Net, and simply wanted to start a conversation with others of his generation who remembered the reportedly gone movie stars the same way he did.