# 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:** 47
**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:** [April 25, 2025, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/922 "2025-04-25T23:30:33Z")
Is that like Unmasked Part 25? > **['Unmasked Part 25' Is the 'Friday the 13th' Parody Film You Didn't Know You...](https://collider.com/unmasked-part-25-friday-the-13th-parody-film/)** > > This under-seen horror gem takes a stab at what you think you know about parodies. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/923 "2025-04-28T02:46:17Z")
_Hee Haw_’s [Lulu Roman](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjA5ODAwMjA3Ml5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMTIyNzU1MTE@._V1_.jpg) died a few days ago at the age of 78. I would have thought they were all dead now. And now she is, so she doesn’t belong in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/924 "2025-04-28T03:14:24Z")
I just noticed one Debra Paget in an old TV series episode. She was in a few things, then married a really wealthy guy and retired from acting. She is now in her early 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/925 "2025-04-28T08:51:28Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Debra Paget Despite leaving the movie business at 28, she already had an interesting personal life before that time (and she later briefly hosted a television show). Elvis Presley proposed to her, although they were never lovers. She had a first marriage that ended in divorce in less than three months. She had a second marriage that ended in a separation in less than a month. The third marriage was to a rich oil executive, with whom she had a son. That marriage lasted 16 years before a divorce. She moved to Houston, Texas. She became a born-again Christian at some point and hosted a program called _An Interlude with Debra Paget_ on the Trinity Broadcasting Network in 1991. She’s now 91 years old. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2025, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/926 "2025-04-28T13:06:13Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I would have thought they were all dead now. [Gailard Sartain](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2081091105449931) is still alive at age 78. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/927 "2025-04-28T13:40:20Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > She had a first marriage that ended in divorce in less than three months. She had a second marriage that ended in a separation in less than a month. The third marriage was to a rich oil executive, with whom she had a son. That marriage lasted 16 years before a divorce. Sounds like the matrimonial equivalent of Swamp Castle. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2025, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/928 "2025-04-28T17:04:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > [Gailard Sartain](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2081091105449931) is still alive at age 78. Another one that fits this thread well. I thought he died a looong time ago. Hasn’t anything listed on IMDb since 2005. One of my favorite roles of his is the cop “Bimbeau” in _The Hollywood Knights_. I he see also played Don Zimmer in a Joe Torre tv movie. Yeah, that fits. Speaking of _Knights_, Stuart Pankin just turned 81 and is still working. Leigh French will be 80 this year and hasn’t worked in a while. Of course Moosie Drier will outlive a lot of his former castmates, e.g., _Laugh-In_. Age only 60. Doesn’t seem to be acting lately, did a lot of sound/ADR type work. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2025, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/929 "2025-04-28T18:29:57Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > One of my favorite roles of his is the cop “Bimbeau” in _The Hollywood Knights_. His partner, Clark, was played by Sandy Helberg, who is also alive at 75. Sandy Helberg is Simon Helberg’s father. So we have now established the connection between _Hee Haw_ and _The Big Bang Theory_. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/930 "2025-04-29T21:20:32Z")
Another famous Sandy, baseball legend Sandy Koufax, is 89. I believe he is the last surviving member of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, who won the World Series. ---
**Author:** ![Eclipse\_Chaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Eclipse\_Chaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eclipse_Chaser)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/931 "2025-04-30T20:39:00Z")
Yes Prunella Scales is still alive but very unwell. She has been suffering from increasing dementia for a number of years, devotedly cared for by her actor husband Timothy West, another noted British actor, until his recent death. Their son Sam is currently playing Siegfried in All Creatures Great and Small. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/932 "2025-04-30T20:57:00Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > I believe he is the last surviving member of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers I was convinced you were wrong about the year, until I looked it up. 1955 was his rookie year; he was 19 years old. I had no idea his career started that early. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/933 "2025-04-30T21:29:27Z")
His talent was recognized when he was in college. I kinda think they wanted to use him a hurry suspecting a powerful hurler like him would have his arm wear out before long. He was relatively injury prone through his career, though maybe typical for pitchers back then. I have a vague recollection of a catcher telling Koufax to throw wild warmups from the mound so hitters would see his pitches break the boards on the wooden backstop. Maybe not him but Don Drysdale, or just a common baseball story. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/934 "2025-04-30T21:57:49Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I have a vague recollection of a catcher telling Koufax to throw wild warmups from the mound so hitters would see his pitches break the boards on the wooden backstop. Maybe not him but Don Drysdale, or just a common baseball story They did that in the movie Bull Durham. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2025, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/935 "2025-04-30T22:47:49Z")
I do recall that. I heard the story way before the movie was made. It might have been told by Jim Bouton. Could well be common baseball story. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/936 "2025-04-30T22:52:06Z")
His career started early, and also ended relatively early, as he retired at age 30, due to pain and injury. ---
**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:** [April 30, 2025, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/937 "2025-04-30T23:31:27Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > He was relatively injury prone through his career, though maybe typical for pitchers back then. He had elbow problems throughout his career; it was diagnosed, at the time, as arthritis, but it’s now speculated that he had been pitching with a damaged ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), which may have been originally injured while he was playing basketball in high school. UCL tears are common among pitchers, and is what Tommy John surgery is all about – but that surgery was first performed nine years after Koufax retired. However, his other major injuries and health issues were atypical for pitchers. Early in his career, he had back pain, which was traced to a benign tumor on his ribcage (which was removed surgically). After getting “jammed” while batting in 1962, he suffered an injury to his throwing hand, which wound up being Reynaud’s Phenomenon – a damaged artery, which nearly led to amputation of the index finger. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/938 "2025-05-02T13:23:20Z")
> [@ComputerGuy99](#): > > Maybe Ruth Buzzi is thought to fit this list because she and Artie Johnson frequently did a skit on Laugh In where she played a little old lady sitting on a park bench being “hit on” by an old man (Artie Johnson.) Always made me laugh way back then! > **[Ruth Buzzi Dies: The ‘Rowan & Martin Laugh-In’ Star Was 88](https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcberman1/2025/05/02/ruth-buzzi-dies-the-rowan--martin-laugh-in-star-was-88/)** > > Ruth Buzzi, who rose to fame in the 1968 to 1973 NBC variety/sketch comedy "Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In," died on May 1. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2025, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/939 "2025-05-02T14:56:50Z")
A quick check showed that Jo Anne Worley is still living, as are Goldie Hawn and Pamela Austin. Anybody else from the Laugh-In gang still with us? ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/940 "2025-05-02T19:23:40Z")
Engelbert Humperdinck (the singer) celebrates his 89th birthday today. The composer is much older and sadly not with us anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2025, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/941 "2025-05-02T22:08:29Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > A quick check showed that Jo Anne Worley is still living, as are Goldie Hawn and Pamela Austin. Anybody else from the Laugh-In gang still with us? Lily Tomlin appears to be alive still. [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=46) [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=48)