# 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:** 54
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2025, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1067 "2025-09-16T01:34:40Z")
I remain amazed about Dick Van Dyke. On opening of the post, … oh hey, look, it’s Maha…. what a co inky dink! ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2025, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1068 "2025-09-17T02:13:09Z")
There can’t be that many people associated with the JFK assassination left, but Marina Oswald is still with us at 84. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1069 "2025-09-17T02:37:22Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > people associated with the JFK assassination Perhaps these three count: > **[Carlos Bringuier](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Bringuier)** > > Carlos Jose Bringuier (born June 22, 1934) is a Cuban exile in the United States who campaigned against Fidel Castro's government. Bringuier is principally known for his brief connection with Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of US President John F. Kennedy. > Bringuier was born in Cuba and studied at the University of Havana where he qualified as a lawyer in 1957. As an opponent of Fidel Castro and his government, he left Cuba on May 4, 1960 and moved to Guatemala; he also lived in Argentina for a ... > **[James Files](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Files)** > > James Earl Files (born January 24, 1942), also known as James Sutton,\[a\] is an American former prisoner. In 1994, while serving a 50-year sentence for the 1991 attempted murders of two police officers, Files gave interviews stating that he was the "grassy knoll shooter" in the 1963 assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. > He said he took one shot at Kennedy with a Remington XP-100 "fireball" gun, which was the final, fatal, head shot which infamously caused Kennedy to jerk vi... > **[Silvia Odio](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silvia_Odio)** > > Silvia Odio del Torro (born 1937) is a Cuban-American who provided testimony to the Warren Commission investigating the assassination of John F. Kennedy that Lee Harvey Oswald was one of three strangers who visited her Dallas, Texas apartment in September 1963 to solicit money for the anti-Castro counterrevolutionary group JURE. > Odio was born in Havana, Cuba in 1937, and she remained in Cuba until 1960. She was one of ten children born to Amador and Sarah Odio. Her brother Cesar was a city manag... ---
**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:** [September 19, 2025, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1070 "2025-09-19T01:59:06Z")
Julie Christie is 85. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2025, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1071 "2025-09-25T20:04:22Z")
Shirley “Partridge” Jones is 91. ---
**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:** [September 25, 2025, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1072 "2025-09-25T20:05:24Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > 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. Update: Feldman turned 97 this week. ---
**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 27, 2025, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1073 "2025-09-27T02:43:45Z")
With Squeaky Fromme being mentioned in the news today for not being dead, I thought I would check what other former members of the Manson family are still alive. Turns out a surprising number of them; besides Fromme, there’s Susan Bartell, Bobby Beausoleil, Mary Brunner, Bruce Davis, Sandra Good, Clem Grogan, Patty Krenwinkel, Dianne Lake, Gypsey Share, Ruth Ann Smith, Leslie Van Houten, and Tex Watson. Pretty surprising considering the murders were fifty-six years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1074 "2025-09-27T07:50:39Z")
Not that surprising, IMO, since they were in their late teens to early twenties back then. Wasn’t Charlie the only one of the “family” over 30 at the time? ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2025, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1075 "2025-09-27T08:00:01Z")
Yep. I keep thinking ones going to drop soon. Dianne Lake was the youngest. ---
**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:** [October 7, 2025, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1076 "2025-10-07T18:11:46Z")
The singing duo Guy & Ralna (of _Lawrence Welk Show_ fame) are still alive at 84 and 83, respectively. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1077 "2025-10-08T17:07:28Z")
I had to go look up Charles Manson himself to see if he was still alive. (He’s not, died in 2017.) I honestly couldn’t remember. ---
**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 8, 2025, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1078 "2025-10-08T18:03:37Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I had to go look up Charles Manson himself to see if he was still alive. (He’s not, died in 2017.) I honestly couldn’t remember The older he got, the less people wanted to hear from him. He had a little resurgence of high interest. Did interviews, etc. Eventually, he just kind of lingered in prison and eventually died. He was supposed to get married, apparently? His crazy stuff was partly him hamming it up for cameras as well. I believe I heard that sometimes in prison, he seemed quite calm and coherent. At least comparitively. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1079 "2025-10-08T18:25:47Z")
I remember when Tom Snyder interviewed him back around 1981 or 82. I always wondered how much of the “Manson” we saw was an act. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1080 "2025-10-08T18:53:19Z")
I celebrated when he died. I actually wrote to him back in the late 70s. He wrote back. ---
**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 8, 2025, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1081 "2025-10-08T20:33:31Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > I celebrated when he died. I actually wrote to him back in the late 70s. He wrote back. Well, what did he say??? > [@Shoeless](#): > > I remember when Tom Snyder interviewed him back around 1981 or 82. I always wondered how much of the “Manson” we saw was an act. It’s a mixed bag. He was kind of crazy. Kind of weird. Kind of just a huge loser. He had bad breaks in life, but a lot of other people didn’t turn out like he did and had the same or similar bad breaks. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1082 "2025-10-08T20:47:03Z")
Truly. Charles Manson and my own dad were born in small Midwestern cities, a few weeks apart, to single mothers who each resorted to prostitution to survive. Both boys were arrested for theft: Manson for canned food; my dad for blankets. As a result, my dad was shipped off to a pretty straightforward, well-run military school, while Manson landed in a Catholic boy’s home where the priest invited the older boys to rape him on the first day. My dad became a pretty good machinist and draftsman, and loyal if imperfect husband and father. Manson spiraled spectacularly. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1083 "2025-10-08T21:18:03Z")
He wrote a bunch of gobbledygook that apparently worked on his followers but I couldnt understand it. I’d used my friends address for safety purposes and her mom found out and told me to tell him not to write there anymore. I did, and he called me a little sneak. I saved the letter for awhile in case. ---
**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 9, 2025, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1084 "2025-10-09T15:30:55Z")
Somebody needs to make a sitcom with this cast: John Astin, Peter Bonerz, Todd Bridges, Pam Dawber, Joyce DeWitt, Micky Dolenz, Barbara Eden, Tina Louise, and Michael McKean. ---
**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 13, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1085 "2025-10-13T22:25:47Z")
Here’s one I just learned about. [Oliver Clark](https://historicimages.com/cdn/shop/products/RSE74597_1200x.jpeg?v=1497292545) was a popular guest star on sitcoms back in the seventies. He appeared in _Barney Miller_, _The Bob Newhart Show_, and _MASH_. He was actually in his thirties but he looked older. (Although this may be due to me being a teenager back then who thought somebody in their thirties was old.) So I’m surprised to find out he’s still alive at 86. ---
**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 13, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1086 "2025-10-13T23:09:19Z")
Excellent choice. He played the other Benjamin Franklin Pierce on MASH. Guy with the same name as Hawkeye, but has zero personality…and yet still nabs all the ladies. [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=53) [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=55)