Brooks is more than alive. He still kicks butt and still performs.
Olivia de Havilland is, incredibly, still alive. All her peers are dead, and indeed many of her contemporaries have been dead for decades. She’s 102, I believe.
Her sister, Joan Fontaine, died at 96 just a few years ago, so good genes, I guess. (Fontaine’s real last name was de Havilland.)
Celebrity chimp J. Fred Muggs from the 1950s Today Show with David Garroway is still around at 66.
I’d always heard that Cheetah, from the Tarzan movies with Johnny Weissmuller was still alive for years, but looking him showed that he finally passed at the end of 2011 at the age of 80.
In a similar vein, Fay Wray lived quite a long life, passing away in 2004 at age 96.
I was proposing her as a candidate for “the one who really IS dead and who TriPolar might have mixed up with Cloris Leachman who isn’t”.
It’s surprising to me that a lot of the Rolling Stones are still alive, not just Keef. Brian Jones died when he was 27 and when Ian Stewart died at age 47, I figured the Grim Reaper was going to start taking them away. But no, virtually everyone is still alive, save a few touring members like Bobby Keys, Nicky Hopkins and Ian McLaglan. Even the early-before-they-recorded guys like Dick Taylor are still here. Bill Wyman is the oldest at 81 which isn’t terribly ancient these days.
In contrast all four of the original Ramones are dead.
Children’s author Beverly Cleary, still alive at 102. I read her books in elementary school.
Coincidentally, I just found out this morning that Jackie Mason is still alive. I’d have bet you fifty bucks he was as dead as a doornail.
Tom Lehrer is still alive at 90. Called “the best musical satirist of the twentieth century,” by Dr Demento, he was well known for his satirical song parodies in the 1950s and '60s. He didn’t parody individual songs but usually song styles, such as ragtime, Tin Pan Alley, Musical theater,etc. Among his songs were Poisoning Pigeons in the Park, The Masochism Tango, The Vatican Rag. He retired from music in the early '70s. Lehrer’s song The Old Dope Peddler is sampled in rapper 2 Chainz’s song Dope Peddler, on his 2012 debut album, Based on a T.R.U. Story. The following year, Lehrer said he was “very proud” to have his song sampled “literally sixty years after I recorded it.” Lehrer went on to describe his official response to the request to use his song: “As sole copyright owner of ‘The Old Dope Peddler’, I grant you motherfuckers permission to do this. Please give my regards to Mr. Chainz, or may I call him 2?”
Ruth Buzzi is 82 years young today. Not so surprised she is still alive. But checking on other Laugh-In stars revealed: Jo Anne Worley is still going (my all time fave from the show) and only a little surprised. But the real surprise winner is Arte Johnson*, 89. I thought for sure he died years ago.
While Moosie Drier has the clear edge on outlasting the others, I wouldn’t count Goldie Hawn out.
- And crossword creators still love to use “Comic Johnson” as a clue. Isn’t there some sort of time limit when a person can no longer be considered famous enough to count here?
Someone pointed that out to me a few years ago and it was surprising then. I think she was recently complaining about her portrayal in the Davis-Crawford feud mini-series.
It starts and ends with vowels so it will last forever in crossword clues. Pola Negri and Nita Naldi still get used.
Crosswords are the only reason I recognize and remember Ara Parseghian’s name.
Gary Busey
Whoa! Thats amazing.
Only one year more amazing than Kirk Douglas, who is 101.
Are you sure about that? She has misrepresented her age by as much as ten years (which would have made her 15 when she married Xavier Cugat):
Any of the surviving Rolling Stones. LOL
Dammit. I was gonna nominate Scott Weiland - winner WHFS ‘Most Likely to OD’ award, 1996, 97, and 98 - because he survived some truly Olympia drug problems in the 90s but it looks like he died in 2015.