# 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:** 61
**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:** [January 26, 2026, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1207 "2026-01-26T00:28:03Z")
I just noticed that Alpohso Arau recently turned 94. ---
**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:** [January 26, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1208 "2026-01-26T01:04:42Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Alpohso Arau Alfonso Arau ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2026, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1209 "2026-01-26T10:53:20Z")
Remember the song “Eve of Destruction”? Well, singer [Barry McGuire](https://youtu.be/xAuYVsokC5o?si=ykCgIvGDlF0CuXWK) is still with us at 90. ---
**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:** [January 27, 2026, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1210 "2026-01-27T16:50:25Z")
Jackie Robinson’s wife is still alive at age 103, turning 104 in just six months. [![](https://preview.redd.it/dpn17glokwfg1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=f0789211ac9751230fa109975cc2c09ebfceceda) ](https://preview.redd.it/dpn17glokwfg1.jpeg?auto=webp&s=f0789211ac9751230fa109975cc2c09ebfceceda) ---
**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:** [January 27, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1211 "2026-01-27T17:46:01Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Jackie Robinson’s wife That would be Mrs. Rachel Annetta Robinson! Her birthday is July 19th (and if he lived, presumably Jackie and Mrs. Rachel would be celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary on February 10th). ---
**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:** [January 27, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1212 "2026-01-27T22:00:57Z")
Twiggy is 76. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1213 "2026-01-29T05:56:09Z")
Gloria Steinem is 91. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1214 "2026-01-29T23:44:00Z")
That actor playing a student in the movie _Midnight Cowboy_ who is sitting next to Jon Voight in the movie theater is still alive and is 80 years old. That’s Bob Balaban. I’ve seen him in lots of movies more recent than that, including a lot of Wes Anderson films. I saw _Midnight Cowboy_ only once, and that was decades ago. I never realized that the actor playing the student was same person as the one in all those recent films. ---
**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:** [January 29, 2026, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1215 "2026-01-29T23:48:47Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > That’s Bob Balaban. I’ve seen him in lots of movies more recent than that, including a lot of Wes Anderson films. He was also Dr. Chandra in the 1984 film, _2010: The Year We Make Contact_. The character in the novel, Dr. Chandrasegarampillai (“Chandra” for short), was Indian, but in the film, they made the character a Westerner. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2026, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1216 "2026-01-30T01:29:08Z")
For one of the best-cast Bob Balaban roles of all time, check out **Tex, the Passive-Aggressive Gunslinger**. ---
**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:** [January 30, 2026, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1217 "2026-01-30T02:13:51Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Tex, the Passive-Aggressive Gunslinger The other main actor in that was Charles Rocket. He was a cast member on SNL for one year. He committed suicide in 2005. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2026, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1218 "2026-02-05T04:09:57Z")
I just saw a mention of Frank Serpico, the NYPD officer who testified against police corruption back in the sixties. I checked and he’s still alive at 89. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1219 "2026-02-06T02:14:26Z")
Nancy Sinatra is still alive at 85. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1220 "2026-02-06T21:59:05Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Just found out [Caren Marsh Doll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caren_Marsh_Doll) is still with us at 105. Who is Caren Marsh Doll? She was Judy Garland’s stand-in in The Wizard of Oz. You see her in the scene where the black & White (Sepia) Dorothy first opens the door to Oz and the color Judy Garland steps through. She is also the one tapping the ruby slippers together to go home. She might be the last member still alive. I can’t find any updated info on any supposedly still surviving children who played background Munchkins. She’s sill alive at 106, and her 107th birthday is April 6th. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2026, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1221 "2026-02-07T03:51:14Z")
Novelist Cynthia Ozick is 97. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2026, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1222 "2026-02-07T05:17:37Z")
I was just watching a SNG episode in which Jerry Hardin was portraying Samuel L Clemmens. So I looked him up and discovered that he was in a movie last year playing Clemmens. The movie takes place in 1872. Clemmens died in 1910 at the age of 75. Jerry Harding is currently 96 years old. Which means they had a man in his mid 90s playing Clemmens in his late 30s. > [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > That’s Bob Balaban. When I hear that name, I always think of Orr from Catch 22 (though the character in the book was much more interesting). ---
**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:** [February 7, 2026, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1223 "2026-02-07T06:20:40Z")
The actors who played the astronauts on Discovery One (2001, A Space Odyssey) are both still with us. Keir Dullea is 89, and Gary Lockwood is 88. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2026, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1224 "2026-02-07T21:11:22Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I was just watching a SNG episode in which Jerry Hardin was portraying Samuel L Clemmens. So I looked him up and discovered that he was in a movie last year playing Clemmens. The movie takes place in 1872. Clemmens died in 1910 at the age of 75. Jerry Harding is currently 96 years old. Which means they had a man in his mid 90s playing Clemmens in his late 30s. The _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ episodes (there were two of them) were broadcast in June and September 1992. So Jerry Hardin was at least 33 years younger when he played them, so probably about 63 at the time the episodes were shot. Clemens (i.e. Mark Twain) was 36 or 37 at the time. Incidentally, it’s Clemens, not Clemmens. ---
**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:** [February 8, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1225 "2026-02-08T03:56:28Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > So Jerry Hardin was at least 33 years younger when he played them, so probably about 63 at the time the episodes were shot. Clemens (i.e. Mark Twain) was 36 or 37 at the time. The episodes had Jack London as a late teenager, which would put it in the late '80s or early '90s, as he was born in '76. This would put Clemens in his mid-to-late 50s, much closer to Hardin’s age, within a decade. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2026, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1226 "2026-02-09T23:18:09Z")
And he’s still alive at 96. [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=60) [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=62)