Uh, I also thought I read about MacNee’s death. What are we both remembering?
Weird.
I have a new “celebrity I thought was dead” winner for myself.
It’s called ‘a glitch in the Matrix’. Frigging William Hickey died three times. Then he died on the same day as Burt Lancaster and then it wasn’t the same day. Ann Jillian died of breast cancer, and then one day she was still alive.
Possibly Patrick McGoohan of Danger Man (Secret Agent in the U.S.) and The Prisoner fame.
An aside: McNee was 29 but looks younger when he played the young Jacob Marley in 1951’s Scrooge, with Alastair Sim (which is head and shoulders above any other Scrooge made before or after).
Edit to add: Howdy Doody hasn’t aged a day.
One that almost works would be Life with Elizabeth which starred Betty White. In another thread I proposed reviving the series to be about a 93-year-old widow whose husband died 45 years ago who has decided enough time has passed that she can now begin dating again:
For stuff from the 60s, you’re mostly talking about shows with a very small core cast. E.g., 1-3 people. There were several shows with only 1 main recurring character in the 50s into the early 60s. E.g., Paladin, The Millionaire, etc. But none of the ones not mentioned so far seem to qualify that I can think of.
For 2 character shows, My Brother The Angel featuring the Smothers Brothers from 1965-66 had only the brothers in all episodes. The next most listed, Roland Winters (McMann of “McMann & Tate”) is dead but only appeared in 10 of the 32 episodes. Fun fact: This was the last CBS B&W sitcom.
Once you get to good size casts, there’s going to be several not with us anymore. Some come close, e.g., The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Of the folks listed as being in 10+ episodes, only Ted Knight is gone. That’s a pretty good average for a show that started in 1970. (But it won’t stay that way for long. MTM is fading.)
You can fudge things a little. E.g., The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1964-68). Vaughn and McCallum are still working. But then you have to write off Leo G. Carroll as being a minor character despite being a regular.
Just out of curiosity, I checked The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, and none of the people that appeared in 10+ episodes are listed as deceased. That includes the nearly 100 year old George Gaynes and his wife Allyn Ann McLerie. (Technically, you could do a pretty good job casting a Police Academy reunion movie.)
I think the late 80s is the point where you get quite a few shows with complete surviving casts.
(BTW: on a semi-ish related note. Jerry and Dick Van Dyke are appearing on the 4/22 episode of The Middle.)
It is disappointing that Patricia Crowley never acted in anything with Kathleen Crowley (no relation) whose most remembered role was Samantha Crawford in several “Maverick” episodes. Both are still alive.
Han or Napoleon?
I think I have one to beat.
Before Gene Roddenberry came up with Star Trek, he produced a one-season show about a Marine, called The Lieutenant. There seemed to be a lot of turnover in the cast, but the only two actors I found listed in the opening credits are Gary Lockwood and Robert Vaughn, both still alive. For good measure, Don Perry, who was in the next most episodes (14 out of 29) is also still alive.
Never mind, I was sure Vaughn was dead, but apparently not.
I believe this is the show in which Gene gave Nichelle Nichols (“Lt Uhura”) her TV debut.
[pedant]I disagree. The canine actor also receives star billing in the credits, and there’s no way it’s still alive.[/pedant]