# 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:** 65
**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 31, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1287 "2026-03-31T01:25:27Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > He’s outlived the entire cast of Addams Family, including the children. Burt Ward and Julie Newmar are still alive from _Batman_. Ward is 80, which feels very, very wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1288 "2026-03-31T01:28:56Z")
I was pleasantly surprised to learn recently that Tom Baker, aka the Fourth Doctor, has not needed to regenerate and is doing well at 91. ---
**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 31, 2026, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1289 "2026-03-31T02:09:06Z")
I knew hew as alive, 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:** [March 31, 2026, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1290 "2026-03-31T02:11:49Z")
Caren Marsh Doll - she was the double for Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I believe it is her that opens the door to the color world before the actor swap occurred. She is 106 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Disinfectus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/disinfectus/32/11085_2.png) [@Disinfectus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disinfectus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2026, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1291 "2026-03-31T09:19:32Z")
Journalist and television personality, [Gene Shalit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Shalit), just turned 100 a few days ago. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2026, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1292 "2026-03-31T11:52:09Z")
She’s still alive and financially unharmed at 90: > **[Millions Stolen from the First 'Bond Girl' Seized by Police](https://uk.news.yahoo.com/23-million-stolen-ursula-andress-185851794.html)** > > Assets worth millions of dollars stolen from Swiss actress Ursula Andress, the first "Bond girl," were located and seized by Italian police ---
**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:** [March 31, 2026, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1293 "2026-03-31T21:47:50Z")
This article alerted me to the fact that author William Kennedy is still alive at 98: > **[How William Kennedy Turned a Bedtime Story For His Four-Year-Old Into a...](https://lithub.com/how-william-kennedy-turned-a-bedtime-story-for-his-four-year-old-into-a-publishing-sensation/)** > > On a recent afternoon in Averill Park, New York, William (Bill) and Brendan Kennedy sat in a room built around a pool table. Posters for Bill’s films hung on the walls: Jack Nicholson and Meryl Str… ---
**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 31, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1294 "2026-03-31T22:33:07Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > He’s outlived the entire cast of Addams Family, including the children. I hadn’t thought of that. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1295 "2026-04-01T14:15:48Z")
In honor of today’s (fingers crossed) Artemis 2 mission: Of the 24 people who have been on the moon or in orbit around it, five are still alive; Buzz Aldrin - Apollo XI - age 96 David Scott - Apollo XV - age 93 Charles Duke - Apollo XVI - age 90 Harrison Schmidt - Apollo XVII - age 90 Fred Haies - Apollo XIII - age 92 ---
**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 1, 2026, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1296 "2026-04-01T15:34:11Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > He’s outlived the entire cast of Addams Family, including the children. This comment prompted me to look up _The Sound of Music_. Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer outlived two of the children from the movie, although Plummer has since died. Andrews is still alive at 90. ---
**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 1, 2026, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1297 "2026-04-01T18:51:54Z")
Instagram just showed me a post by Shaun Cassidy from yesterday, celebrating his mother Shirley Jones’ 92nd birthday. She’d kept working, in TV and movies, up until a few years ago; her last acting credit on IMDb is from 2021. She’s outlived both of her husbands: actor Jack Cassidy, who died in 1976, a year after their divorce, and comedian Marty Ingalls, who died in 2015. She’s also now outlived two of the actors who played her children on _The Partridge Family_: David Cassidy (her real-life stepson) and Suzanne Crough. ---
**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 4, 2026, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1298 "2026-04-04T23:42:27Z")
Jerry Lucas. He is a Nasmith Hall of Fame basketball player, won the Knicks championship in 1973. You rarely hear about him, but I met him in the 1990s when he was touring churches with his memory books. He’s alive, just turned 86. > **[Jerry Lucas](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lucas)** > > Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is an American former basketball player. He was a nationally awarded high school player, national college star at Ohio State University, and 1960 gold medal Olympian and international player before later starring as a professional player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). > As a collegian, Lucas led the Ohio State Buckeyes to three straight NCAA finals (1960–1962), winning the national championship in 1960, and finishing as runner-up in 1961 and ... ---
**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 8, 2026, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1299 "2026-04-08T02:37:07Z")
Lt. Col. Enoch “Woody” Woodhouse is alive. He’s the last Tuskegee Airmen. He’s only 98 or 99. He was 17-18 in the war. ---
**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:** [April 9, 2026, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1300 "2026-04-09T07:55:28Z")
Kinda relevant to this thread: According to IMDb, as of 2025, _Family Ties_ is the earliest television sitcom where the entire main cast is still alive. ---
**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 9, 2026, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1301 "2026-04-09T14:46:03Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > According to IMDb, as of 2025, _Family Ties_ is the earliest television sitcom where the entire main cast is still alive. I think we have a separate thread for entire casts that are alive. Hmmm…I think all of Star Trek Next Generation are all alive(?). Meanwhile, poor Babylon 5 has lost a ton. I agree I can not think of a sitcom older than Family Ties that is all living. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1302 "2026-04-09T15:20:45Z")
I think the shows with the entire cast still alive was a side topic for last remaining cast member. I think CHiPs is the earliest show. Family Ties may be the earliest sitcom. Maybe a different thread on this. And maybe shows that are in the running to be the next earliest. For example, Living Single might be become the earliest sitcom with all cast members still living. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1303 "2026-04-09T16:59:43Z")
On the opposite note, I just realized today that Tom Petty has been dead for nine years! I happened to mouse over his name in a Wikipedia article, and noticed the thumbnail link to his own page described him in the past tense… ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 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/919985/1304 "2026-04-10T01:29:58Z")
Saw in today’s paper that Ray Stevens is still with us at 87 but broke his neck in a fall. But he’s got to wear a neck brace for a while and is expected to recover. That Jimmy Buffet reference a few posts up reminded me of an incident when I was working. One coworker mentioned that she was going to an up north casino. She was told that the entertainment was going to be Redd Foxx. (This was some months after Foxx’s passing.) Another coworker pipes up with “He not as funny as he used to be. ---
**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:** [April 10, 2026, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1305 "2026-04-10T07:40:50Z")
Ray Stevens also had heart surgery in 2025 after a heart attack. Granted, it was only a heart catheterization, and not something more involved, but at 86, any heart problem can be dangerous (I think he was 85 at the time). ---
**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 15, 2026, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1306 "2026-04-15T05:22:43Z")
I’m surprised to discover that Rupert Holmes (of the piña colada song) is still alive at 79, since I thought I remembered hearing of his death. [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=64) [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=66)