# The original outlives the replacement **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 29, 2016, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661 "2016-06-29T01:36:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [June 30, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/41 "2016-06-30T20:57:57Z")
A rather weak example is Leslie Nielsen who played Dracula in _Dracula: Dead and Loving It_ in 1995 and who died in 2010. Actors who portrayed Dracula prior to 1995 but who were alive after 2010 include George Hamilton, Louis Jourdan, Udo Kier, Frank Langella, Christoper Lee, Gary Oldman, and Duncan Regehr. ---
**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:** [June 30, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/42 "2016-06-30T21:15:51Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > A rather weak example is Leslie Nielsen who played Dracula in _Dracula: Dead and Loving It_ in 1995 and who died in 2010. Actors who portrayed Dracula prior to 1995 but who were alive after 2010 include George Hamilton, Louis Jourdan, Udo Kier, Frank Langella, Christoper Lee, Gary Oldman, and Duncan Regehr. Slight hijack, but how weird is it that Hamilton and Langella and Regehr all also played Zorro? Like, if you’re good in a black cape, that’s a _career?_ Incidentally, the kid who played Rocky Jr in ROCKY IV was Rocky Krakoff; in ROCKY V he was replaced by Sylvester Stallone’s own son Sage, who got outlived. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/43 "2016-06-30T22:48:54Z")
It’s another messy. weak example, given the fame of the most celebrated version and the number of times it’s been done. But George Smiley. For example, George Cole did the role on BBC radio in 1978, ahead of Alec Guinness. Yet Cole died 15 years after Guinness. Except that Cole was hardly the first to do the role and who remembers that he ever did Smiley at all. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/44 "2016-07-01T01:52:38Z")
Alfred Drake originated Curly in the original Broadway version of _Oklahoma!_ and outlived Gordon Macrae, who played the part in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/45 "2016-07-01T01:57:05Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > John Rutsey died in 2008. His replacement as the drummer for _Rush_ Neil Peart is still alive. Or as the others in the band call him, “The New Guy.” 😕 Unless I’m missing something, this is the **opposite** of the phenomenon that this thread is devoted to illustrating. You’ve got the replacement outliving the original. ---
**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:** [July 1, 2016, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/46 "2016-07-01T07:29:28Z")
Curly Howard replaced his older brother Shemp in the 3 Stooges in 1932 (and then was himself replaced by Shemp in 1947). Shemp ended up outliving Curly by three years. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/47 "2016-07-01T13:13:55Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > 😕 Unless I’m missing something, this is the **opposite** of the phenomenon that this thread is devoted to illustrating. You’ve got the replacement outliving the original. I don’t know how that all got switched around in my head. :smack: ---
**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:** [July 1, 2016, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/48 "2016-07-01T13:33:08Z")
Since this is getting a little nebulous, let me throw in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. In the first season, Steven Hill played the _“your mission, should you choose to accept it”_ team leader who’d get told via self-destruct message that the Secretary would disavow the whole thing if he or the agents he picked got caught. In the second season, he was replaced by the younger Peter Graves – who’s now gone, but Hill remains. Anyhow, after Graves spent years doing exactly what Hill had – giving tasks to Greg Morris as the tech guy, and Peter Lupus as the strongman, and Martin Landau as the master of disguise with a knowledge of stage magic – Landau eventually left the show likewise, and was replaced by a younger Leonard Nimoy as, well, a stage magician and master of disguise. And now Nimoy is gone, but Landau remains. ---
**Author:** ![Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90ced4/32.png) [@Waltzes\_with\_Cacti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waltzes_with_Cacti)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/49 "2016-07-01T13:40:28Z")
Russell Nype, born 1924, originated the role of Kenneth Gibson in _Call Me Madam_ on Broadway. Donald O’Connor, born 1925, played the role in the movie. O’Connor died in 2003 but Nype is still with us. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/50 "2016-07-01T13:46:03Z")
Professor Irwin Corey: kicking at 101. Too many comedians who followed in his style to list: dead. (Pat Paulsen, George Carlin, Victor Borge, maybe Robin Williams.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/51 "2016-07-01T14:08:13Z")
I purchased an under-the-counter mounted Black&Decker coffee maker long ago. There was a problem with them causing fires. I received a brand new unit from the company and the old one was to be destroyed. I gave the old one to a friend who used it as a counter top coffee maker, unplugging it after each use. Years after the my replacement coffee maker died, the original was still working. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/52 "2016-07-01T14:20:28Z")
I had thought that Dick York outlasted Dick Sargent, but it turns out the original Durwood died in 1992, two years before his replacement. On the other hand, given that York was replaced due to ill health, losing by only two years thirty years later is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/53 "2016-07-01T16:46:44Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > In the first season, Steven Hill played the _“your mission, should you choose to accept it”_ team leader who’d get told via self-destruct message that the Secretary would disavow the whole thing if he or the agents he picked got caught. In the second season, he was replaced by the younger Peter Graves – who’s now gone, but Hill remains. As an aside, I always thought the why of that was interesting. He didn’t like working on Saturday because of his Jewish faith, and was ultimately fired because of it. I always wondered how legal that was…also how many times in Hollywood an actor declined a role for religious purposes. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2016, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/54 "2016-07-01T18:41:05Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Ebsen was also originally cast to play the Tin Man in _The Wizard of Oz_ but he turned out to be allergic to the silver make-up and was replaced by Jack Haley (d. 1979). Actually Ebsen was _originally_ originally cast as the Scarecrow, and Ray Bolger was cast as the Tin Man. They swapped roles, because it was felt that Bolger’s style of dancing was better suited to the Scarecrow. Then Ebsen had his bad reaction to the Tin Man makeup. Bolger died in 1987. So Buddy Ebsen outlived both the man who replaced him as the Scarecrow, and the man who replaced him as the Tin Man. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/55 "2016-07-02T12:14:28Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > As an aside, I always thought the why of that was interesting. He didn’t like working on Saturday because of his Jewish faith, and was ultimately fired because of it. I always wondered how legal that was…also how many times in Hollywood an actor declined a role for religious purposes. It’s not that he didn’t like working on Saturday, but he refused to because of his faith. That decision may be why he didn’t seem to work much between Mission Impossible and Law & Order. BTW, his Law & Order role was perfect for his work schedule. Since he was only used in the second half of the show and then, not in every scene, it was easy for producers to accommodate him. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/56 "2016-07-02T12:29:32Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > Similarly, the ultra-fast Mach 3-capable SR-71 spy plane was designed in the 1960s to be a faster, higher-flying replacement for the U-2. After Gary Powers’s U-2 was shot down and U-2s stopped flying over Russia, the SR-71 filled the gap in collecting reconnaissance over Russia. But, the SR-71 was very expensive to operate and was largely (though imperfectly) replaced by satellites. Money that could have been spent operating and upgrading the SR-71 went to other projects. However, the U-2 remains in operation today providing real-time reconnaissance while satellites provide coverage of the areas that the SR-71 otherwise would have covered. Similarly the band U2 has lasted longer, and is more popular, than the band SR-71. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/57 "2016-07-02T15:07:17Z")
George VI replaced Edward VIII in 1936. George died in 1952 but Edward lived until 1972. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2016, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/58 "2016-07-02T15:13:19Z")
N/M ---
**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:** [July 2, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/59 "2016-07-02T16:35:40Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > George VI replaced Edward VIII in 1936. George died in 1952 but Edward lived until 1972. If we’re going there, then Jimmy Carter is still with us and Ronald Reagan isn’t. James Garner played Philip Marlowe in MARLOWE, and then Robert Mitchum fielded the role in FAREWELL MY LOVELY and THE BIG SLEEP, and then Garner outlived Mitchum. ---
**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:** [July 2, 2016, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661/60 "2016-07-02T17:51:27Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Since this is getting a little nebulous, let me throw in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE. > > In the first season, Steven Hill played the _“your mission, should you choose to accept it”_ team leader who’d get told via self-destruct message that the Secretary would disavow the whole thing if he or the agents he picked got caught. In the second season, he was replaced by the younger Peter Graves – who’s now gone, but Hill remains. > > Anyhow, after Graves spent years doing exactly what Hill had – giving tasks to Greg Morris as the tech guy, and Peter Lupus as the strongman, and Martin Landau as the master of disguise with a knowledge of stage magic – Landau eventually left the show likewise, and was replaced by a younger Leonard Nimoy as, well, a stage magician and master of disguise. And now Nimoy is gone, but Landau remains. Here’s another _Mission: Impossible_ one. The show was revived in the late eighties. Graves returned as the team leader but the other characters were replaced with younger versions. Tony Hamilton played strongman Max Harte as the new version of Peter Lupus’ Willy Armitage character. Hamilton died in 1995 while Lupus is still alive. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-original-outlives-the-replacement/758661.md?page=4)