Doc Severinsen (bandleader of the NBC Orchestra) is 97.
The first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, is a robust 88. She is a delegate to the Duma (Russia’s Parliament).
Sorry accidental double post
Speaking of notable Russians, some 47 years ago Anatoli Bugorski was working on the equipment when a 76GeV particle beam fired through his head. He experienced a number of health problems, but will likely turn 83 in about a month.
Inspired by a different thread, I realized that Judd Hirsch is still with us at 90.
84 years ago on May 24th, a lad was born in Minnesota and given the name Robert Zimmerman. He is still with us, still performing.
I have her on a DeathPool list.
Gary Snyder, at 95, is the last living significant figure of the beatnik movement.
Today, for some reason, I got to wondering how old Christopher Lloyd is.
The answer is 86. I would have guessed older.
Connie Francis is now 87. In 1963 she recorded a song called “Pretty Little Baby”. It has just become a hit on TikTok. Francis barely remembers the song.
A post I saw on Facebook about the Dionne quintuplets made me wonder if any of them are still alive. Two of them are- Annette and Cecile. They’re 91 today.
What a coincidence that they’re the same age.
Update: President Tyler’s last living grandson died on May 25, 2025. (As did a cool bit of trivia.)
May he rest in peace. Here’s more: Harrison Ruffin Tyler, grandson of President Tyler, dies at 96 : NPR
Gabe Kaplan of Welcome Back, Kotter is 80.
May she rest in peace: Loretta Swit Dead: 'Hot Lips' Houlihan on 'M*A*S*H' Was 87
Czarcasm just posted a thread about Dr Demento (Barret Eugene Hansen) retiring after 55 years which means I just learned he was still alive at age 84.
https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-doctor-will-no-long-be-in/1019108/1
I’d love to know. Was he still mainly playing goofy songs? Is there a large market, not including Al Yankovic, for funny songs?
Classical pianist Gary Graffman is 96.
And Classical guitarist John Williams is 84. Not as old as the composer, but we all knew the composer was alive, but I had to look up the guitarist.
My understanding is that, yes, his show was, and is, still largely about funny songs. There’s never been a “large market” for those songs – it’s always been a niche – but, historically, novelty songs have sometimes managed to crack the top 40 chart.
In addition to “Weird Al,” there have been other artists in the past who specialized in funny/novelty/parody songs, like Alan Sherman, Ray Stevens, Spike Jones, and Stan Freberg, all of whom had numerous albums (and some hits), and whose work probably still gets played on Dr. Demento’s show.