# Damn, 50 used to be "old"! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 31, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670 "2019-12-31T15:25:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/21 "2020-01-01T06:27:08Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Bailey Quarters is 70. {sigh} Coincidentally, I just learned today that Bailey Quarters used to be Thanos’s stepmother. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/22 "2020-01-01T07:59:13Z")
Carroll O’Connor was 47 and Jean Stapleton 48 the first season of All in the Family. They looked so much older. Roy Orbison was just in his mid-fifties when he died, and I always thought he had to be close to 70 when he was in the Travelling Wilburys. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/23 "2020-01-01T08:07:55Z")
I met Wilford Brimley once. The exchange went like this: Nellie: Hi! Brimley: Grrmpf. He lived in the area and was waiting for a colleague and friend of mine. Friend later said, “Yeah, he’s not too friendly.” Some people make a career out of playing the old curmudgeon. I think it helps if your hair turns grey early. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/24 "2020-01-01T08:40:46Z")
Drew Carey has been taking care of himself in recent years and looks better than he might have at 61, but if you go back to him at 50 and greyed his hair he wouldn’t have been dissimilar to Wilford Brimley in _Cocoon_. Also consider _Cocoon_ was about old people who got a youthful rejuvenation due to the alien eggs kept in the pool. They deliberately cast elderly people who could still leap about a bit. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/25 "2020-01-01T11:34:11Z")
My grandmother grew up in a Russian _shtetl,_ came to this country and raised five kids. She had a very hard life. I have a photo of myself as a baby, sitting on Grandma’s lap. her face is completely covered with deep wrinkles, like a woman in her 80s or 90s. She was only 65. On the other hand, my mom lived to be 92, and had very few wrinkles on her face. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/26 "2020-01-01T22:20:00Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > 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. Oh definitely. I just chose my examples as contemporaries or even predecessors of Brimley, to make the point that he looked prematurely old in 1985. Or for that matter, around 40 in “The Waltons”. [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/22/21/95/222195e83031a757528ed7b9e0278544.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/22/21/95/222195e83031a757528ed7b9e0278544.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/27 "2020-01-01T22:46:22Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > 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. [spoiler]1. That he was over the hill was a major plot point. He was limited to driving, other “pal” duties and whatever jobs his friend/boss could throw his way (which took some doing and didn’t last long). 1. The thing with Bruce Lee highlighted what a phony Lee was. (And Lee’s family is[not happy](https://www.thewrap.com/bruce-lee-daughter-mockery-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-shannon-lee/) about that scene.) 2. It’s a work of fiction, which the ending should have reminded you of.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/28 "2020-01-01T23:33:32Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > [spoiler]1. That he was over the hill was a major plot point. He was limited to driving, other “pal” duties and whatever jobs his friend/boss could throw his way (which took some doing and didn’t last long). > > 1. The thing with Bruce Lee highlighted what a phony Lee was. (And Lee’s family is[not happy](https://www.thewrap.com/bruce-lee-daughter-mockery-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-shannon-lee/) about that scene.) > > 2. It’s a work of fiction, which the ending should have reminded you of.[/spoiler] …you saw him without the shirt, though, right? ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/29 "2020-01-02T20:40:54Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > 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. Look at _A Streetcar Named Desire_! All that angst Blanche has about how she’s “aging” and “fading” and how her “youth [had] gone up the waterspout” and she’s, what, in her EARLY-TO-MID-THIRTIES?! ---
**Author:** ![Hermione](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cdc98d/32.png) [@Hermione](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/30 "2020-01-02T20:57:28Z")
Then there’s Doctor Who. William Hartnell was around the same age (mid-fifties) when he played the First Doctor as Peter Capaldi was when he played the Twelfth. But William was considered to be a “crotchety old man” while Peter was a vigorous middle-aged fellow more or less in his prime. (But then again, William would’ve lived through the Second World War and its aftermath in Britain, the hardships of which in itself aged people…he served in it as well. And I believe he was quite a drinker to boot.) It’s the same principle as to why Aunt May now looks so young in the MCU. Marisa Tomei isn’t that much younger than Aunt May (and Uncle Ben) were in 1962 when Spidey debuted. But in 1962, a pair of fifty-sixty-some people would have been born at the turn of the century, without today’s medical advances, and lived through the Great Depression and two world wars…all of which probably aged them much earlier. And lifespans were rather shorter then…you were considered to have had a full life if you reached your “threescore and ten”, or seventy. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/31 "2020-01-03T15:46:33Z")
1967: [My 49-year-old uncle.](https://i.imgur.com/8jhWnqf.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/32 "2020-01-03T15:49:07Z")
Chaim Topol was 35 in the Fiddler on the Roof movie. That just blows my mind. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/33 "2020-01-03T16:02:51Z")
[Cary Grant at 50.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048728/mediaviewer/rm3971141120)[Paul Newman at 50.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072912/mediaviewer/rm1124030976) [Fred Astaire at 50.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041158/mediaviewer/rm1366659585) (He looked 50 from the time he as 12 on, I think.) StG ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/34 "2020-01-03T16:08:15Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Take a look now at Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers at the age of 50. Did you mean **Hustler**? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/35 "2020-01-03T18:14:11Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > 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. Right. Not to mention, Hollywood stars have personal trainers, chefs, plastic surgeons and hairstylists. If they don’t look way better than Normal People, it’s because they are doing something wrong. That said, even Normal People age better nowadays because we don’t smoke and wear sunscreen. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/36 "2020-01-03T18:16:16Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > So . . . younger than Tom Brady? This was doing the rounds on social media a few months back. Another player from the 1980’s. Who was 38 when that picture was taken. 3 years younger than Mr Gieselle is today. [https://www.reddit.com/r/Saints/comments/aok8sy/a\_38\_year\_old\_ken\_stabler\_warming\_up\_for\_the/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Saints/comments/aok8sy/a_38_year_old_ken_stabler_warming_up_for_the/) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/37 "2020-01-03T18:22:46Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Take a look now at Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers at the age of 50. > [@Find\_Friends](#): > > Did you mean **Hustler**? Maybe I’m being whooshed but TriPolar is talking about the recent movie that is titled _Hustlers_. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/38 "2020-01-03T18:25:22Z")
> [@Find\_Friends](#): > > Did you mean **Hustler**? I think he meant “Hustlers” the recent film starring Jennifer Lopez as a stripper; rather than “Hustler” the adult magazine. But if JLo was in Hustler, that would cool too 😃 ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/39 "2020-01-03T21:23:52Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > 1967: [My 49-year-old uncle.](https://i.imgur.com/8jhWnqf.jpg) Wow… I’d have guessed 69, not 49. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2020, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670/40 "2020-01-03T22:24:38Z")
My old age people were Edith and Archie Bunker. When I recently rewatched the series, it was a bit of a gut punch to learn that I am now older than Archie was on the show. Same with Mr. C on Happy Days. I remember feeling sorry for Mr. C because he was depressed on his 50th birthday. Lol [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-50-used-to-be-old/845670.md?page=3)