This is sort of mind-blowing, if only because Wilford Brimley has been basically my personal definition of “old man” since I was a kid in the 80s. He’s still alive, by the way, at 85.
I suppose it’s not really a huge mystery why this is: Paul Rudd’s generation has benefited from great strides in both medical treatment and preventative medicine, better, more accessible information on nutrition and exercise, much less smoking, and generally a more healthy lifestyle than Wilford Brimley’s generation could access and/or afford.
There have been plenty of actors who played old. Brimley is still alive at 85 so he must have been fairly healthy. Certainly modern actors spend a ton of time in the gym with personal trainers and look younger but aren’t always in great health as a result. I find the change for women in the field to be much greater, In 1962 Angela Lansbury at 36 was already considered old and was playing the mother of Laurence Harvey, only 3 years younger than she was, in the Manchurian Candidate. Take a look now at Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers at the age of 50.
Just last week I was talking with my MIL (who’s closing in on 89) about being a teen and figuring that when the year 2000 hit, I’d be 46. FORTY-SIX!!! That’s how old my grandmother was!!! :eek:
Yeah, to be 46 again… <sigh>
As for old actors, I tend to be unduly irritated by geezer guys winning the hearts of women young enough to be their granddaughters. But I’m guessing those scripts were mostly written by men who only wish they could get themselves a sweet, young thing.
The first real age shock I had was discovering that Dara O’Briain* is four years younger than I am. For those that don’t know him, it’s like finding out that you’re older than Ed McMahon.
Tower Heist didn’t make a big deal out of it but it was an exception to this rule. Ben Stiller was 46 and his love interest was played by Tea Leoni who was 45.
There’s an episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show called “The 45-Year-Old Man.” The 45-year-old in question is Lou Grant. I remember when I saw that episode on Nick at Nite, and thought, “Seriously? Lou’s only supposed to be 45? Who do they think they’re kidding?”
In fact, at the time that episode was filmed, Ed Asner was 41!
Cosmetic surgery is also better and less obvious than it was back then. The average 50 year old hollywood star still getting work is going to look a lot better than your average Joe.
I think Wilford Brimley just looked old ahead of his time.
Contrast him with Warren Beatty who did “Ishtar” when he was around 50, and Robert Redford was even older in 1990 when he did “Indecent Proposal”. Neither looked nearly as old as Wilford Brimley. Neither did Charlton Heston in 1973’s “Three Musketeers”.
I agree that women have had the most dramatic changes- even great beauties of yesteryear struggled to find work in their 40s and 50s back in the day, but we have Jennifer Lopez playing a stripper at 50 and not getting mocked for it these days. And Jennifer Aniston is still something of a sex symbol at 50, along with lots of other 40-something actresses.
In the 1950 movie Sunset Blvd. Gloria Swanson played withered crone Norma Desmond; who laughably was seeking a return to the movies. Gloria Swanson was born in 1899 and was 51 at the time of the movie’s release.
And that classic Twilight Zone episode “Kick the Can”? That poor old fart left behind in the old folks home when all of his friends were restored to youth? Russell Collins was 65 years old.
Brad Pitt, who just turned 56, is up for a Golden Globe due to how believable he was as a shirtless stuntman who could plausibly go a couple of rounds with Bruce Lee.
Here in KY, I’m regularly amazed at how old people in their 50s look compared to Chicago. Rural life still results in people that look rode hard and put away wet in their 50s.
I think people just age better now for a variety of reasons.
I saw a photo of my dads wedding. He and his siblings were in their 20s and 30s but they all looked to be in their 40s. Grandparents were in their 50s but looked 70.
FWIW, my dad and his siblings now look younger than my grandparents did at the same age.
Also Paul Rudd is kind of an exception, he is well known for not aging. Lots of other people age normally as they approach 50.
