# 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:** 74
**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:** [August 18, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1467 "2026-08-18T15:52:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > But Roberta Maxwell, who played her mother Nana Oyl, is still alive. (Maxwell was only eight years older than Duvall when she played her character’s mother.) Good one. She was probably 39 while filming Popeye. That is a movie where most of its cast is dead, too…wait…there is another! Paul Dooley, who played Wimpy, is alive still and is 98! ---
**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:** [August 18, 2026, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1468 "2026-08-18T16:02:54Z")
Also Dennis Franz, Geoff Hoyle, Linda Hunt, Bill Irwin, Allan Nicholls, Donovan Scott, and Klaus Voormann. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1469 "2026-08-18T16:29:21Z")
Roman Polanski turns 93 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:** [August 18, 2026, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1470 "2026-08-18T17:48:26Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Roman Polanski turns 93 today I was never confused if he was still alive or not, though. ---
**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:** [August 19, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1471 "2026-08-19T14:43:19Z")
Update: RIP. > **[Mark Rydell, the Oscar-nominated director of 'On Golden Pond,' dies at 97](https://apnews.com/article/mark-rydell-dead-on-golden-pond-director-c30bfd6e38ed3d224872e6e31673267c)** > > Mark Rydell, the Oscar-nominated director known for "On Golden Pond," has died. He was 97. His daughter, Amy Rydell, confirms he died Thursday of natural causes. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2026, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1472 "2026-08-19T15:03:42Z")
Actress, author and believer in reincarnation Shirley MacLaine is still living her current life at age 92. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2026, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1473 "2026-08-21T13:36:39Z")
I’ll cheat just a bit here to point out something slightly different. Kurt Loder, the MTV news host. Yes, he’s alive. He’s 81. Wow, he was older than we realized back in the 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2026, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1474 "2026-08-23T16:58:51Z")
For some reason I thought about Ben Stein this morning, and assumed he was no longer with us. I was surprised to learn that he was only 41 when he gave the world “Bueller? Bueller?” He’s 81 now, alive and occasionally still working. ---
**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:** [August 23, 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/919985/1475 "2026-08-23T23:50:30Z")
Shelley Fabares is yet another person I didn’t realize was still alive until I saw that she had died. ---
**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:** [August 23, 2026, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1476 "2026-08-23T23:59:55Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > For some reason I thought about Ben Stein this morning, and assumed he was no longer with us. I was surprised to learn that he was only 41 when he gave the world “Bueller? Bueller?” “Some guys are old men when they’re kids.” George Carlin It’s true, though. Some people just weren’t young like the rest of us. ---
**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:** [August 24, 2026, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1477 "2026-08-24T00:52:08Z")
Ron Carter, a double bass player, is 89. He played on 2,221 recording sessions, which makes him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He also played the cello. I don’t know if he fits into this thread. He was interviewed on television today. ---
**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:** [August 24, 2026, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1478 "2026-08-24T02:43:51Z")
Children’s book author and illustrator Aliki Brandenberg (usually credited as just “Aliki”) is 96. ---
**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:** [August 24, 2026, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1479 "2026-08-24T19:52:56Z")
Barbara Eden turned 95 yesterday (Sunday)! ---
**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 1, 2026, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1480 "2026-09-01T01:54:42Z")
Geoffrey Horne is the last living cast member from _The Bridge on the River Kwai_ (1957). He is 93. ---
**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:** [September 3, 2026, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1481 "2026-09-03T23:15:30Z")
Dominic Chianese, who played Corrado “Uncle Junior” Soprano on _The Sopranos_, has just started a podcast, reminding me that he’s still with us at 95 years old. ---
**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:** [September 5, 2026, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1482 "2026-09-05T04:39:01Z")
I’ve just heard that ‘Sam the Sham’ (_Wooly Bully_) is still alive at 89. ---
**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:** [September 6, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1483 "2026-09-06T22:22:57Z")
94-year-old John Williams made a surprise appearance at the Hollywood Bowl this weekend, and conducted his Imperial March: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2JsmhxosPOY/maxresdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCIAKENAF8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-CYAC0AWKAgwIABABGFsgQSh_MA8=&rs=AOn4CLCngRaVviha5-i0Jw3BfvkV17AsKQ "John Williams Hollywood Bowl conducting the Imperial March at 94 years old. 9-5-26 Bucket Lis") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JsmhxosPOY1) ---
**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:** [September 7, 2026, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1484 "2026-09-07T14:53:53Z")
While scrolling through sitcoms in syndication this morning, I stopped on an episode of _Roseanne_, and it featured Estelle Parsons as her mother. Estelle Parsons turns 100 in November. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2026, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1485 "2026-09-08T21:23:53Z")
Form CNN commentator, the ever-winsome [Jack Cafferty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Cafferty) is still alive at 83. I could have sworn he had died some years ago, but, nope, it was his wife. ---
**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 10, 2026, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-our-current-abe-vigodas-people-you-might-be-surprised-to-learn-are-still-alive/919985/1486 "2026-09-10T12:37:27Z")
[This news headline](https://apnews.com/article/robert-pinsky-ruth-lilly-prize-8287e052753c76ee704fdccbeb85973d) alerted me to the fact that former poet laureate Robert Pinsky is still with us at 85. [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=73) [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=75)