# Who are our current "Abe Vigodas"? (people you might be surprised to learn are still alive) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** actor-characters\ **Created:** [September 7, 2020, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985 "2020-09-07T01:18:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2021, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/261 "2021-06-26T01:38:28Z")
I was surprised to see that Dabney Coleman (89) is still alive. I was _really_ surprised to see that musician John Mayall (88) is still alive. ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2021, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/262 "2021-06-29T19:39:08Z")
Wow, that’s enough of them to make a Taxi reunion show. Do it, NBC. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2021, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/263 "2021-07-09T18:57:58Z")
Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (born April 9, 1937) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2021, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/264 "2021-07-09T19:22:55Z")
Clu Gulager (born November 16, 1928) I mostly know him from Return Of The Living Dead but he was in a huge assload of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/265 "2021-07-10T09:56:55Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (born April 9, 1937) I think I had them in my SDMB Celebrity Death Pool list back in 2006. Every couple years since then I’ve been checking to see if they’re dead yet, and am always amazed to learn that they aren’t. So if they ever do pass way unnoticed by the Doper crowd, you’ll probably hear the news from me sooner or later. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/266 "2021-10-12T23:15:32Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Even more amazingly, I’ve just learned that [Ruthie Tompson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruthie_Tompson), one of the animators for Disney’s 1937 film [_Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_White_and_the_Seven_Dwarfs_%281937_film%29), is alive and kicking at 110. I never would have guessed that any adult involved in a film that old would still be around today. (Marge Champion, who was mentioned upthread as also being involved in _Snow White_ , died in October 2020.) She just passed away: [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/movies/ruthie-tompson-dead.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/12/movies/ruthie-tompson-dead.html) ---
**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:** [October 12, 2021, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/267 "2021-10-12T23:26:46Z")
Wow, and I thought Dougie Slocombe was one of the oldest Hollywood behind-the-scenes guys when he died at 103. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2021, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/268 "2021-10-16T20:56:00Z")
I just learned that Doc Severinsen is still alive at age 94. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2021, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/269 "2021-10-17T05:55:58Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > > [@madmonk28](#): > > > > I can never remember if Chevy Chase is dead, or just his career. > > [he died right after his first movie with Goldie Hawn](https://youtu.be/64LJXqyZCek) Watching that old short film reminded me of how everyone on the early years of the show expected Garrett Morris would be the first to die. He had a serious drug abuse problem back in the seventies . But he cleaned up and is still alive and working at 84 (and he and his wife celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary this year). ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2021, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/270 "2021-11-10T14:41:01Z")
I was surprised to learn today that several members of the original Glenn Miller Orchestra are still alive, including trumpeter [Ray Anthony](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Anthony) (born 1922), vocalist [Dorothy Claire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Claire) (born 1925), and possibly bassist [Doc Goldberg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Goldberg) (who Wikipedia lists as still alive but about whom I haven’t been able to find any reliable birth or death dates). ---
**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:** [December 1, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/271 "2021-12-01T18:40:03Z")
The play _Play It Again, Sam_ opened on Broadway in 1969. Fifty-two years later, its main cast are all still alive; Woody Allen (86), Diane Keaton (75), Tony Roberts (82), and Jerry Lacy (85). This cast also did the 1972 film. Joseph Hardy, the play’s director, is also still alive at 92. ---
**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:** [December 1, 2021, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/272 "2021-12-01T20:15:18Z")
Old timey comedians Shecky Greene and Scoey Mitchell are still alive at 95 and 91, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/273 "2021-12-01T20:33:54Z")
I recently had occasion to re-read some poetry by [Irving Feldman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Feldman) and was surprised to learn that he’s still with us at 93. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/274 "2021-12-01T21:14:07Z")
I was sure that James Burke of _Connections_ and _The Day the Universe Changed_ had passed away. Those shows were made in the late 70s/early 80s, and he seemed old (to me) then. But he’s 86 and still plugging away. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/275 "2021-12-02T15:01:26Z")
I watched some of the Rockefeller Plaza tree lighting last night. Among the stars who performed was Jose Feliciano. I was surprised that he was still alive. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/276 "2021-12-02T15:13:41Z")
> [@Tabco](#): > > Chevy Chase also “sings” in the music video for Paul Simon’s _You Can Call Me Al._ He was pretty unobjectionable in there, I think. I’ll go a bit farther… if you watch that video attentively, Chase and Paul Simon are actually doing a funny comedy bit. Chevy being Chevy, stealing the scene, with Simon getting increasingly mock-frustrated as the Chase nearly steals the entire video including the lyrics. The visual contrast of a 6’4" Chase foiling a 5’3" Simon just adds to the humor. But the main thing that makes it work is that Chase is known as a scene-stealing jerk. If that’s what your film needs, he’s definitely your guy. The same mechanism can be seen at work in _Community_. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/277 "2021-12-14T04:02:31Z")
Was just perusing the reviews of _West Side Story_ (2021) and I was surprised to still see Rex Reed still going strong at 83. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/278 "2021-12-14T14:49:09Z")
I had a chance to see him when he came to town but I didn’t go 😞 ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/279 "2021-12-14T14:52:52Z")
I had no idea Gene Hackman was still alive until I saw some of you all’s 2022 celebrity death list. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/280 "2021-12-14T18:21:07Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > I had no idea Gene Hackman was still alive until I saw some of you all’s 2022 celebrity death list Retired to write novels instead of acting. Doesn’t really do interviews or appearances anymore. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985.md?page=15)