# 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:** 64
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1267 "2026-03-18T15:36:02Z")
Controversial religious leader Louis Farrakhan is 92. He is still, nominally at least, the leader of the Nation of Islam organization. ---
**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:** [March 18, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1268 "2026-03-18T16:57:26Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Bill Daniels still kicking at 99. As is his wife, Bonnie Bartlett, at age 96. They’ll be celebrating their 75th anniversary this year. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2026, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1269 "2026-03-24T21:52:24Z")
I just happened to look up Dyan Cannon for another thread, and she’s still alive at 89. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1270 "2026-03-25T14:56:29Z")
Gene Shalit turns 100 today! ---
**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:** [March 25, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1271 "2026-03-25T15:57:06Z")
And soon, David Attenbourough and Mel Brooks will as well. We are seeing a small wave of 100 year olds. Jimmy Carter, Dick Van Dyke, a those that are coming. Bill Shatner is 5 years away and is super active. I believe Shatner will make it. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2026, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1272 "2026-03-26T00:11:35Z")
I was going to mention that, I saw him in the celebrity birthdays column in the paper this morning. I honestly don’t know if I knew he was still alive or not. ---
**Author:** ![Drum\_God](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drum_god/32/44_2.png) [@Drum\_God](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drum_God)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1273 "2026-03-26T00:33:20Z")
I saw an ad today that Jimmy Buffett will be playing live in Austin soon. Not a tribute band – Jimmy himself. Not sure if it counts as an “Abe Vigoda” when I’m pretty sure Buffett died about three 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:** [March 26, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1274 "2026-03-26T02:06:14Z")
Wikipedia confirms that he died 1 September 2023. Interesting that he’s doing concerts in 2026. > **[Jimmy Buffett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Buffett)** > > James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapism" and promoted enjoying life and following passions. Buffett recorded many hit songs, including those known as "The Big 8": "Margaritaville" (1977), which is ranked 234th on the Recording Industry Association of America's list of "Songs of the Of the over 30 ... ---
**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:** [March 26, 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/919985/1275 "2026-03-26T02:14:29Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > I saw an ad today that Jimmy Buffett will be playing live in Austin soon. Not a tribute band – Jimmy himself. Not sure if it counts as an “Abe Vigoda” when I’m pretty sure Buffett died about three years ago. I’d have to guess it’s a tribute band, or Buffett’s old band touring. (Edit: yes, Buffett’s Coral Reefer Band is [touring this summer](https://coralreeferband.com/pages/tour), including a stop in Austin.) Similarly, Jeff Lynne (of Electric Light Orchestra), who is still alive, retired from touring last summer (and had to cancel his final scheduled concert, in London, due to injury and illness). The ELO fan pages on Facebook have had several fans posting ads/concert listings from some casino in Connecticut, which state that ELO, including Jeff Lynne, will be playing at that casino’s theater. Credulous ELO fans keep saying, “Is it true? Is he really coming back? Please tell me it’s true!!” OMG, folks, it’s undoubtedly a tribute band playing, and the casino is either (a) intentionally lying, (b) had some junior sales person write up an ad, who mistakenly looked up and copy-pasted the actual ELO bio, or (c) using AI to write ads, badly. (If Lynne _were_ to come out of retirement, he’d do something bigger than a casino in Connecticut – and it’d be announced on his web site and social media pages, which it isn’t.) ---
**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:** [March 26, 2026, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1276 "2026-03-26T02:35:09Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Similarly, Jeff Lynne (of Electric Light Orchestra), who is still alive, retired from touring last summer (and had to cancel his final scheduled concert, in London, due to injury and illness). The ELO fan pages on Facebook have had several fans posting ads/concert listings from some casino in Connecticut, which state that ELO, including Jeff Lynne, will be playing at that casino’s theater. > > Credulous ELO fans keep saying, “Is it true? Is he really coming back? Please tell me it’s true!!” OMG, folks, it’s undoubtedly a tribute band playing, and the casino is either (a) intentionally lying, (b) had some junior sales person write up an ad, who mistakenly looked up and copy-pasted the actual ELO bio, or (c) using AI to write ads, badly. (If Lynne _were_ to come out of retirement, he’d do something bigger than a casino in Connecticut – and it’d be announced on his web site and social media pages, which it isn’t.) Too late to edit: apparently, somebody got clued in, and the casino is now labeling it as a concert by “The Electric Light Orchestra Experience,” and that it’s a tribute band. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2026, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1277 "2026-03-26T02:42:32Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Wynn Quantrill Yes! I love that movie. Severely underrated. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Jeff Lynne (of Electric Light Orchestra), who is still alive, retired from touring last summer Yet, he is still 6 years younger than the other surviving Wilbury. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1278 "2026-03-26T16:57:51Z")
Marla Gibbs, best known for playing Florence Johnston on _The Jeffersons_ and Mary Jenkins on _227_, turns 95 this June. ---
**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:** [March 26, 2026, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1279 "2026-03-26T17:11:04Z")
Not part of the topic, but I hadn’t realized that Isabel Sanford, who played Louise Jefferson, was twenty-one years older than Sherman Hemsley, who played George. Hemsley was only thirty-five when he first began playing George Jefferson. [![](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTJvpXp5NAOgHef33_hMNVHTnT-MM5tdzb3Vw&s) ](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTJvpXp5NAOgHef33_hMNVHTnT-MM5tdzb3Vw&s) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1280 "2026-03-26T23:01:41Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Yes! I love that movie. Severely underrated. Definitely. I don’t think it’s shown very often, either. (Maybe a music issue? The movie does have that “Beatles-clone” set of characters who might have been playing something with expensive rights.) Anyway: Has Vera Miles been mentioned recently? “Lila Crane” in _Psycho_, of course, among other iconic roles. She’s 95. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 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/919985/1281 "2026-03-28T01:29:48Z")
They did the same thing on Good Times, where Esther Rolle was **19 years** older than the actor (John Amos) who played her husband James Evans. ---
**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:** [March 30, 2026, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1282 "2026-03-30T04:22:59Z")
Charo’s been mentioned in this thread so no surprise she’s still alive. But I am surprised to see she’s still working. I saw a trailer for the upcoming movie _Stop! That! Train!_ and she’s in the cast (and appears in the trailer). ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1283 "2026-03-30T21:53:43Z")
John Astin (best known for the TV version of The Addams Family) celebrated his 96th birthday today. Per wikipedia: > [@](#): > > Astin married Valerie Ann Sandobal in 1989, and they live in Baltimore, Maryland. Astin is a vegetarian.[15] He practices Nichiren Buddhism as a member of the worldwide Buddhist association Soka Gakkai International… > **[John Astin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Astin)** > > John Allen Astin (born March 30, 1930) is an American actor and director who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles, primarily in character roles. He is widely known for his role as patriarch Gomez Addams in The Addams Family (1964–1966), reprising the role in the television film Halloween with the New Addams Family (1977) and the animated series The Addams Family (1992–1993). > Astin starred in the TV film Evil Roy Slade (1972). Other notable film roles include West Side Stor... ---
**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:** [March 30, 2026, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1284 "2026-03-30T23:10:29Z")
He’s **much** better now. ---
**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:** [March 30, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1285 "2026-03-30T23:50:03Z")
We even announced John Astin as dead once. It was someone else. He’s outlived the entire cast of Addams Family, including the children. ---
**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:** [March 30, 2026, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1286 "2026-03-30T23:52:04Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > He’s outlived the entire cast of Addams Family, including the children. Heck, he’s even outlived most of the main cast of _Night Court_! [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=63) [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=65)