Who are our current "Abe Vigodas"? (people you might be surprised to learn are still alive)

[Lamoral]

The clear thread winner IMO is Dominic Chianese. Played Johnny Ola in The Godfather (Part II) and looked like an old man. Played Uncle Junior on The Sopranos and really looked like an old man. That show ended 13 years ago, and Chianese is still alive and healthy at age 89.

[eschereal]

Well, my mom is 88 and she always seemed old to me.

[nightshadea]

@Lamoral

The clear thread winner IMO is Dominic Chianese. Played Johnny Ola in The Godfather (Part II) and looked like an old man. Played Uncle Junior on The Sopranos and really looked like an old man. That show ended 13 years ago, and Chianese is still alive and healthy at age 89.

and he has had a pretty good singing career going too

[Senegoid]

@ataraxy22

Roberta McCain is still alive at age 108. She’s best known as the mother of the late Senator and President Candidate, John McCain.

Now this is surprising. And impressive. I didn’t know that.

@The Daily Beast as quoted by Omniscient

The actor was declared dead dozens of times before his real death Tuesday. The owner of AbeVigoda.com, which has chronicled his mortality since 2001, is thankful Vigoda was in on the joke.

So, famous people who were thought to be dead but it turns out they aren’t? I give you Paul McCartney.

For an earlier historical example, Mark Twain claimed that rumors of his death were exaggerated.

Or famous people who just seem to have been around (and been well-known) since as long as most of us can remember? For this, we have Queen Elizabeth.

Are we limited to actors/entertainers/royalty? How about others? Consider Noam Chomsky. Now known as a political / human rights activist, he was also a published linguist. He studied language processing, which also apparently had some application to computer language design and parsing. I first heard of him in a lecture in a Computer Science class, in 1969! So he was well established already even then, when I was just a college freshman. And he’s still kicking (and still kicking ass)!

[Terwilliger]

Anyone older than me.

[Smapti]

Gene LeBell is still alive and teaching judo at the age of 87.

[needscoffee]

@Smapti

Gene LeBell is still alive and teaching judo at the age of 87

Knowing nothing about martial arts, I googled him. I still know nothing about martial arts, but this Youtube title was good enough for me: “Steven Seagal Denies Getting Choked Out by Gene LeBell”

[wolf_meister]

Game Show host Bob Barker is 96!!
Yes, he doesn’t look that old but it seems he has been out of the public eye for a long while. AND he’s still alive!!!

[Robot_Arm]

That’s so funny I forgot to laugh.

[kk_fusion]

Mikhail Gorbatchov always looked old while in office. He’s 89 now and retired for 28 years.

[TriPolar]

For me it is still Cloris Leachman. I know she is alive, that she was never dead, and maybe no one else ever thought she was dead, but I did for a while, for reasons I can’t recall, and every time I hear her name I have to clear up for myself that she is actually alive.

If Abe Vigoda actually does pass away some day we’ll all have to make that kind of adjustment.

[needscoffee]

@TriPolar

For me it is still Cloris Leachman. I know she is alive, that she was never dead, and maybe no one else ever thought she was dead, but I did for a while, for reasons I can’t recall, and every time I hear her name I have to clear up for myself that she is actually alive.

It’s probably the horses whinnying in the background.

[cochrane]

@mikecurtis

@cochrane

and a comedian named Lisa Lupner

I’m pretty sure Todd DiLaMucca’s girlfriend was never on Comedy Central.

You’re right. I misremembered. It was Lisa Lampanelli. Honest mistake.

[cochrane]

@needscoffee

Cloris Leachman has always seemed older to me - she was Mary’s older landlady on the Mary Tyler Moore show, old Frau Bucher (neigh!) in Young Frankenstein, and Malcolm’s ancient grandma on Malcolm in the Middle. She’s still kicking at 94, and looks 10 years younger.

She was also the original Ruth Martin, Timmy’s mother, on Lassie. She was replaced by June Lockhart, who is also still alive at 95.

[Mahaloth]

@kk_fusion

Mikhail Gorbatchov always looked old while in office. He’s 89 now and retired for 28 years.

I thought of this one a few weeks ago! He is so associated with Reagan-Bush era and he looked so old to me back then, it always surprised me he is alive. It doesn’t help that Boris Yeltsin died a few years ago and he was leader after.

He and Kissinger always surprise me.

[Ludovic]

@eschereal

Well, my mom is 88 and she always seemed old to me.

That reminded me of the day I discovered I was starting to achieve wisdom. I was thinking of some tiny stupid things older people including my parents did around me when I was young and was wondering what the hell they were thinking. Then I realized I was currently quite older than they were when they were doing it, so I was really wondering what the hell someone younger than me was thinking.

[panache45]

@ataraxy22

Roberta McCain is still alive at age 108. She’s best known as the mother of the late Senator and President Candidate, John McCain. John McCain wasn’t exactly young when he died either.

Yes, I was going to mention her. I’m totally amazed that John McCain’s mother is still alive at 108… and doing great!

[Dendarii_Dame]

Marge Champion. She’s 101, and she was a dancer. Walt Disney used her as a model for the dancing Snow White.

[kenobi_65]

@TriPolar

If Abe Vigoda actually does pass away some day we’ll all have to make that kind of adjustment.

That “some day” was, in fact, January 26, 2016.

[BlankSlate]

@kk_fusion

Mikhail Gorbatchov always looked old while in office. He’s 89 now and retired for 28 years.

That’s a good one. I would have sworn he died ages ago. Maybe I’m thinking of Boris Yeltsin.