# 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:** 33
**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:** [September 3, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/642 "2024-09-03T23:47:45Z")
George Ross, Trump’s advisor on the TV show Apprentice, is still alive at age 96. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2024, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/643 "2024-09-03T23:50:05Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I just saw mention on TV of former Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy. Coach is still alive at 98. Almost a year later, Coach Levy is still with us, and just turned 99 a month ago. At this time, he is the oldest living member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/644 "2024-09-04T00:17:01Z")
I don’t see too much of **Marv Albert** anymore, but he’s alive at age 83. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/645 "2024-09-04T00:17:49Z")
Yeah, he’s on my themed celebrity death list.i think he’s immortal. Marv Levy. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/646 "2024-09-04T00:19:58Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I don’t see too much of **Marv Albert** anymore, but he’s alive at age 83. It looks like he retired from announcing NBA games in 2021, having previously stepped back from other announcing roles (NCAA basketball tournament, NFL games) a few years earlier. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/647 "2024-09-04T00:57:02Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Diane Rehm - once a fixture on NPR for her interview show (and notable for her shaky voice) is still kicking it at 85. She hosts a podcast! Diane Rehm is turning 88 on September 21st. She still hosts that podcast (it’s weekly. Her last episode was August 14th; she’s been on vacation these last few weeks (I hope that’s not ominous). Regardless, she is **not** slowing down) > **[Diane Rehm: On My Mind](https://www.npr.org/podcasts/381443514/diane-rehm-on-my-mind)** > > Diane Rehm's weekly podcast features newsmakers, writers, artists and thinkers on the issues she cares about most: what's going on in Washington, ideas that inform, and the latest on living well as we live longer. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/648 "2024-09-04T01:13:25Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Barbara Eden recently turned 93. Her counterpart in Bewitched, Elizabeth Montgomery, has been gone for 28 years. [she would have been 91 this year] ---
**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:** [September 4, 2024, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/649 "2024-09-04T01:17:03Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Diane Rehm is turning 88 on September 21st. Hey, she sounds pretty good. I thought she had a degenerative voice problem that would eventually take her voice. Glad to hear she sounds more or less how I remember her. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2024, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/650 "2024-09-04T20:46:27Z")
I’m not sure how famous she is, but Betty Brosmer is 95. She was a popular pin up girl in the 1950s and a frequent subject of muscle magazine photoshoots in the 60s and 70s. Her husband was Joe Weider, who created professional bodybuilding (including the Mr Olympia contest) as a conduit to sell his muscle magazines. He also brought Arnold Schwarzenegger to the States. Here’s a magazine cover featuring Arnold and Betty Brosmer, from 1969. [![](https://i.ibb.co/7J5h82G/IMG-1874.png) ](https://i.ibb.co/7J5h82G/IMG-1874.png) ---
**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:** [September 10, 2024, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/651 "2024-09-10T23:50:00Z")
My local newspaper does a list of celebrity birthdays every day. (Yes, I still get a newspaper, get off my lawn 🤣) I was surprised to see Jose Feliciano listed in today’s birthdays. I thought he had died years ago. And he’s only 79. It’s too soon to link to “Feliz Navidad”… ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2024, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/652 "2024-09-11T00:45:35Z")
How about “Light My Fire” instead? [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/rKn446XQ3G0/maxresdefault.jpg "Light My Fire (Remastered)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKn446XQ3G0) ---
**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:** [September 13, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/653 "2024-09-13T21:07:07Z")
I just read that Alan Oppenheimer is still alive. He did a lot of guest starring roles in tv series back in the sixties and seventies. I was just a kid back then so I registered him as “old” so I was surprised to see he’s still around fifty years later. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2024, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/654 "2024-09-14T17:13:47Z")
Good example. 94 years young. Still doing a bunch of voice [work](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0649178/). His last regular acting work seems to be from 2007. He did _The Doris Day Show_, _The Paul Lynde Show_ (memorably bad) and _Here’s Lucy_ back-to-back. First credit is from 1963. IMDb’s count is 346 shows/movies. Probably a lot of small roles in the 60s and 70s are missing. He’s 3rd cousin of Robert. Anyone remember him a a major in _Little Big Man_? While Jack Crabb in the movie was (allegedly) 121 years old, I doubt Alan’s going to make that. ---
**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:** [September 14, 2024, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/655 "2024-09-14T17:33:39Z")
Oppenheimer, like Abe Vigoda or Norman Lloyd, is one of those people who looked old at a relatively young age. Here’s [an image](https://www.grunge.com/img/gallery/stars-that-were-on-the-andy-griffith-show-before-they-were-famous/alan-oppenheimer-1678820180.jpg) of him doing a guest appearance on _The Andy Griffith Show_ in 1968; Oppenheimer was thirty-eight years old at the time. The same age as [Shia Labeouf](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/01/shia-labeouf-attends-premiere-amazon-74429740.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=683) or [Robert Pattinson](https://image-cdn.hypb.st/https%3A%2F%2Fhypebeast.com%2Fimage%2F2024%2F06%2F15%2Ftw-robert-pattinson-to-produce-possession-remake.jpg?w=1080&cbr=1&q=90&fit=max) are now. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2024, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/656 "2024-09-14T19:10:19Z")
TBH, I don’t think Oppenheimer looks old in the 1968 image. Sure, he has advanced male pattern baldness and grey hair to boot, but his face is as smooth and vigorous as any. Put a wig on him, and he’d look like someone in his early 30’s. Or see the baldness for what it is and still consider him young looking. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2024, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/657 "2024-09-15T08:33:35Z")
“There!! Are you satisfied NOW Major!?” ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/658 "2024-09-16T14:40:25Z")
Here’s one to watch as a future Abe Vigoda. At 77 [William Otay](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0882491/) is on the young side, comparatively, but has looked old for a long time. He played Dan’s gofer-bum Phil/Will on the old _Night Court_ and was a long running recurring mad scientist character Rolf (last name) on _Days of Our Lives_. While IMDb lists him as being on _DoOL_ recently that appears to be in error. Someone else took over the role. Otherwise the last credit is _Modern Family_ in 2017. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/659 "2024-09-16T15:18:56Z")
One that’s hardly in the category at all is Max Baer Jr., best known as Jethro from the Beverly Hillbillies. He’s only 86 right now, he was fairly young when he played that role, but I was even younger and expected him to be older right now. Even Donna Douglas was older than him. I also thought he was no longer alive for some reason. He is the last surviving major character from the show though. ---
**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:** [September 16, 2024, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/660 "2024-09-16T23:17:14Z")
I have one. Chester Karrass, the guy who you always used to see advertised in Airplane magazines because of his negotiation seminars. He’s alive and 101. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2024, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/661 "2024-09-16T23:30:52Z")
With the recent death of Tito Jackson at the age of 70 of The Jackson 5, I was surprised to learn his mother Katherine Jackson was still alive at 94, [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=32) [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=34)