Shakespeare as Skull Master?

During an interview on Canada's Sun TV that Conor had last month, he met author and writer Stephen Marche, who has written a recently-released book, How Shakespeare Changed Everything.  It's an interesting look at the Bard's influence in today's pop culture.

I was listening last week to an interview that Marche did with CBC Radio's Q in which he states that Shakespeare is the most influential human being of all-time.  Amongst the suggestions that Marche makes is this: "William Shakespeare is the most influential person who ever lived." One example is the popularity of skulls in art and pop culture these,tracing them back to the gravedigger scene in Hamlet.

Do you think that Shakespeare is responsible for the popularity of skull iconography today?