Mel Brooks is 95 and the laughter he has brought us all make me cheer for him.
Dick Van Dyke is actually 96 and again, just seems like a nice guy.
Not my top picks, though.
I want David Attenborough to make it the most. The man is an international treasure and his nature documentaries have taught me a tremendous amount about animals and plants. I hope he makes 110 and is still out there talking about life on Earth. He’s 95 as well, just over a month older than Mel Brooks.
Bob Newhart? Though at a mere 92, he’s a relative youngster next to your three mentions.
It’s a shame Betty White didn’t quite make it; though really, after all, 100 is mostly just an arbitrary number to live to be. Two weeks shy of the century marker is still a great run.
91 - Gene Hackman
91 - Clint Eastwood
90 - Robert Duvall (turns 91 on 01/05)
91 - Robert Wagner
92 - Bob Newhart
94 - Sidney Poitier
91 - John Astin
94 - Harry Belafonte
90 - Philip Baker Hall
92 - James Hong
90 - Hal Linden
93 - Earl Holliman
93 - Joss Ackland
95 - Robert Clary
98 - Larry Storch (turns 99 on 01/08)
93 - George Maharis
90 - James Tolkan
90 - Robert Ito
In a way, though, isn’t it better that Betty died at the end of 2021 – an obviously lousy year – rather than filling us with foreboding at the start of 2022?
Aw, I was just about to mention Terry Moore: in between doing a Laurel and Hardy movie and bouncing lines off Adam West on BATMAN, she earned an Oscar nomination and hit the dance floor with Fred Astaire and did half a hundred other things besides, but the first line of her obituary is gonna mention that gorilla…
Apart from the ones you listed (David Attenborough is going to be a big loss), I agree with William Shatner. I’d also add Angela Lansbury, who has a local connection to me as well as my love of her movies and Murder She Wrote. She’s a good person.
Partly because these are people that are still enjoying life so it’s not like a few other famous people in their 90s where wishing them extra years wouldn’t really be kind.
My choices who have already been mentioned: Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, Bob Newhart, Queen Elizabeth II.
And, one I haven’t seen yet: Marv Levy, the former head coach of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills (as well as the Kansas City Chiefs, and the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes), who is 96. Levy is in both the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Canadian Football Hall of Fame; his Bills went to four consecutive Super Bowls (losing all four, alas), and he was a key figure in revolutionizing how NFL teams approached special teams (i.e., the kicking game).
As a kid, growing up in Green Bay, and being a Packer fan in the '70s, I didn’t like Bud Grant (being the coach of a rival team and all). But, now, as an adult, I’ve read a fair amount about him and his life, and I have come to realize just how cool he is.
Six years ago, when the Vikings were temporarily using the University of Minnesota’s outdoor stadium as their home field, they hosted a wild card game against the Seahawks, at which the air temperature was -6 F at kickoff. Bud Grant, who was, at that time, 88 years old, took the field with the team to participate in the coin toss; it being Bud Grant, who has a reputation for scoffing at cold weather, he wore a short-sleeved shirt.