Terribly clumsy title, but I’m sure you get the gist. Inspired by my suprise that Herbert Lom is apparently still live and kicking at 89, have you ever said to yourself “gosh, I thought they would have died ages ago?” on hearing that a celebrity is still alive? I am thinking in terms of longevity rather than the Courtney Loves of this world.
Who has surprised you by clinging on to this vale of tears? Any of the silent film era gods and goddesses hanging on in there, for example?
Not still alive, but Irving Berlin hung on till 1989.
You should have called this “The Abe Vigoda Memorial Thread.”
I heard somebody talking about Doris Day yesterday, using the present tense. I was surprised to find that she is still alive. Not that she’s incredibly old - only 82, apparently - but I suppose I just associate her strongly with the 1950s, and most prominent figures from that era are long gone.
Stole my thunder Twickster.
I love the Abe. When we were children my cousin and I would often insert him randomly in our short stories. One time he made a cameo as a mole on a woman’s hip.
Hmmn. Abe Vigoda and his story had passed me by but I looked him up and yes, please consider it renamed the Abe Vigoda memorial thread from now on - that is a great tale.
Good spot on Doris Day - it was that kind of thing exactly that I had in mind. People who are so closely linked to an earlier time that you could forget they are still with us.
Singular1’s very helpful list has put an end to the factual side of my question, but I am still very interested in hearing about doper’s past misconception’s about celeb’s assumed mortality status.
Charles Lane, of course. One of the busiest character actor in history, he recently celebrated his 102nd birthday.
Until quite recently Fay Wray was still hanging in there, surprising me often. “Really? Still?”
I didn’t realize how old Petula Clark is now…74
And after my thread about The Seventh Seal
Ingmar Bergman
Olivia de Havaliland and her half-sister Joan Fontaine. Both of them have vowed not to die until the other one does.
Olivia was in Gone With The Wind for Chrissakes!
Ladybird Johnson never ceases to amaze me, still hanging on over 30 years since LBJ died.
We just watched The Holiday on DVD and Eli Wallach was on there still going strong … er, kind of, at 90 years old*. The funny thing is he’s been around for ever but when my boyfriend asked me to name another film of his I couldn’t think of one. I don’t think he’s one of those actors you equate with one or two roles, you just know he’s a prolific actor that’s been in a lot of stuff.
*Hopefully he hasn’t passed on since the movie was made.
One that blew my mind when I found out about it was Cheeta, Tarzan’s chimpanzee sidekick from the 1940s. He’s 74, and officially the World’s Oldest Living Chimpanzee, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
I wish that one guy would update the Abe Vidoda status add-on for Firefox. Knowing that Abe is alive makes me feel that the world might not be such a terrible place.
Don Rickles and Ernest Borgnine, as far as I can tell, are both alive. 80 and 90, respectively.
Lauren Bacall is only 83 but she seems to be from a different age entirely and with all of her contemporaries loooong gone.
That does surprise me. Looks pretty good for an old dude, too. Side note: I know it’s the international festival and all, but could I have a beer instead of penis cola?
Weird list; glancing over the first dozen pages, some of the people listed are actually younger than me. I’m just curious who would look at it and say “Wow, Nadia Comeneci isn’t dead yet!”
Gloria Stuart, who played the older Rose in Titanic, is still alive. She’ll be 97 this year.
Kitty Carlisle is still alive too, at 96, and I heard she still performs.
