# People you were surprised to find out are alive **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 16, 2012, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316 "2012-06-16T04:16:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Butterfly\_s\_Ghost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_butterfly_s_ghost/32/3462_2.png) [@The\_Butterfly\_s\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Butterfly_s_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/21 "2012-06-16T18:36:35Z")
[Otfried Preussler](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otfried_Preu%C3%9Fler), a German author. I loved his books as a kid, “Strong Vanya” and “Robber Hotzenplotz” (well actually Kaspar ;)) were the heroes of my childhood. 🙂 I just recently found out he’s still alive and now I wonder if I should send him fan mail… ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/22 "2012-06-16T19:24:31Z")
> [@Toucanna](#): > > Comedienne and actress Phyllis Diller, currently 94 years old, and has a 2009 acting credit. This. I found out a few years ago when she was on a comedy central roast of someone-or-other. Gilbert Gottfried was also there, and started he set with, “I know what you’re all thinking: ‘Phyllis Diller is still alive?’” He was right. She was a guest star on the original Scooby Doo FFS! ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/23 "2012-06-16T19:35:36Z")
Dame Vera Lynn and Charles Aznavour. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/24 "2012-06-16T22:34:19Z")
Lou Ferrigno. I swear I thought I heard he had died. Then I found out he had done the voice of the Hulk in _The Avengers_. I thought Richard Dawson had died years ago. I was surprised to hear he had just passed recently. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/25 "2012-06-16T23:45:46Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > Ernest Borgnine, Mickey Rooney, Kirk Douglas. > > Unless they’re dead. Then, oops. [Borgnine](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000308/) and [Rooney](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001682/) are still working too! ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/26 "2012-06-16T23:51:38Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > I thought Richard Dawson had died years ago. I was surprised to hear he had just passed recently. I honestly thought Ray Bradbury had died decades ago so, was both surprised (and subsequently saddened) to hear of his death only a fortnight ago. ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/27 "2012-06-17T00:13:28Z")
A bunch of old film stars from long ago are still alive - Lauren Bacall, for example, and Olivia de Havilland. Jane Russell was still alive until last year. Also, Henry Kissinger. He’s not an old film star, I just decided to tack him on to the end of this paragraph as a kind of special bonus old person. As a kid I was astonished to learn that Stan Laurel, Harold Lloyd and Pablo Picasso had all lived until the 1960s/early 1970s. I mentally associated them with the pre-WWII, black and white world, which seemed like forever ago for someone born in the 1970s. But no, they got to see colour television, jet planes and so on. Herbert Lom, another one. He’s still alive. Long after Peter Sellers died. “[You said minkey!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9YViHbaAWM)” ---
**Author:** ![Toucanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@Toucanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toucanna)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/28 "2012-06-17T05:36:57Z")
[Larry Storch](http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0832415/filmotype/actor), born in 1923; most recent film acting credit on [IMDB.com](http://IMDB.com) is from 2010. According to Wikipedia, “Larry Storch and Marie Wallace will be appearing in _Love Letters_ by A.R. Gurney June 24th 2012, in a benefit performance for the Actor’s Temple in New York City.” Excerpted from: [Larry Storch - Wikipedia](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Storch#section_12) ---
**Author:** ![maplekiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@maplekiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maplekiwi)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/29 "2012-06-17T06:33:57Z")
Marianne Faithfull & until I read Eve’s thread, I would have thought Olivia de Havilland (sp) was dead too! I’ll second Zsa Zsa Gabor. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/30 "2012-06-17T07:52:50Z")
I thought **John Waters** was dead, then I saw him on _Real Time with Bill Maher._ I assumed it was a repeat, but no, not dead. ---
**Author:** ![Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harvey_The_Heavy)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/31 "2012-06-18T01:47:50Z")
I was surprised recently when I noticed that Tony Randall was dead, but Jack Klugman is still alive (age 90). I thought it was the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/32 "2012-06-18T02:07:40Z")
> [@Harvey\_The\_Heavy](#): > > I was surprised recently when I noticed that Tony Randall was dead, but Jack Klugman is still alive (age 90). I thought it was the other way around. Jack Klugman is the only one of the 12 Angry Men(movie version) who is still alive. ---
**Author:** ![D-bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@D-bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D-bear)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/33 "2012-06-18T02:13:35Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Zsa Zsa Gabor is still alive, at 95. If she happens to find herself in a moment of lucidity, I’d bet that Zsa Zsa herself would be surprised that she is still alive. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/34 "2012-06-18T04:26:28Z")
I saw a picture of Rita Hayworth the other day, who I am quite familiar with. Couldn’t recall her name though. All I could think of was Joan Fontaine, who I loved in _Suspicion_ and _Rebecca_, two Hitchcock classics released in 1940 and 1941. I somehow got the idea that Hayworth was in fact another Joan. Went to wikipedia to look up Joan Fontaine, hoping to get a clue about Hayworth. Yep, Joan Fontaine is still alive! 94 years old, to be exact. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/35 "2012-06-18T04:38:23Z")
Magic Johnson. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/36 "2012-06-18T04:39:21Z")
[Oscar Niemeyer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscar_Niemeyer), who designed many of the original buildings in Brazil’s “new” capital city, Brasilia. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/37 "2012-06-18T04:44:25Z")
> [@ryan](#): > > Abe Vigoda despite reports of his death starting in 82 is still alive. His last acting credit at [imdb.com](http://imdb.com) is for _The Unknown Trilogy_, from 2008. As any follower of Late Night with Conan O’brien knows, Conan released the Vigoda back into the wild in 2009. I don’t know of any sightings since, so the Vigoda could very well be dead. Sorry to be the bearer of this upsetting news. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/38 "2012-06-18T04:45:48Z")
> [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](#): > > …Olivia de Havilland… Joan Fontaine’s sister. I hope I have similar genes to these two! ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/39 "2012-06-18T04:59:23Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > I thought Richard Dawson had died years ago. I was surprised to hear he had just passed recently. Same here. For some reason I’d thought his departure from _Family Feud_ was for severe (and ultimately) fatal health problems, possibly reinforced by the rarity of his appearances afterward. Further research says the _show_ was cancelled in 1985, not the host, and was revived several years later with a succession of replacement hosts. I guess in the mid-to-late 80s, my mind was elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316/40 "2012-06-18T05:06:39Z")
> [@Dave\_Hartwick](#): > > Magic Johnson. If you bet people on the day of the Announcement that he’d be alive today, you would’ve made a SHITLOAD of $$$. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-you-were-surprised-to-find-out-are-alive/625316.md?page=3)