# Who is the longest "lived" fictional character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587 "2004-03-16T04:38:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/1 "2004-03-16T04:38:08Z")
I’ve just gotten back into P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster stories, and I noticed with some surprise that the first Jeeves story appeared in 1916 and the last was written (or at least begun) in 1974, for a “lifespan” of 58 years. I think this is a record. Does anyone know of another fictional character who was written about _by the original author_ over a longer period? I think we can rule out most, if not all, of the juvenile series like Tom Swift, Nancy Drew, etc., since I believe they were written by many different people. I’ve done a little checking and ruled out the following contenders (these dates are the first and last appearances in print, not fictional birth/death dates): Hercule Poirot: 1920-1975, 55 years (Ms. Christie’s first and last books–almost–were Poirot tales, so no other Christie creation tops him.) Sherlock Holmes: 1887-1927, 40 years Can anyone top Bertie and Jeeves’ 58 years? ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/2 "2004-03-16T05:12:33Z")
Bertie and Jeeves are probably #1. One of the few other contenders is Rex Stout, who wrote his first Nero Wolfe mystery, “Fer-de-Lance” in 1932 or so, and kept churning them out until… 1975, I think, when he published “A Family Affair.” Like Wodehouse (but unlike some of the other authors being cosidered), Rex Stout lived a long life and kept working on new material right up to the day he died. “A Family Affair” was actually fairly topical, as it involved the Watergate scandal. I may be wrong, but I THINK Agatha Christie wrote “Curtain,” the final Poirot novel, some years before it was actually published. Incidentally, I’m pretty sure Wodehouse was a Nero Wolfe fan, because Bertie Wooster occasionally sings the praises of “Rex West,” a mystery author he likes. ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/3 "2004-03-16T05:26:07Z")
I assume you mean a character developed and continued by a single author? Otherwise there are a whole bunch of characters that have been continuously written about for a lot longer than the ones you cite above, eg Count Dracula (1897- ), Frankenstein’s Monster (1816- ), Mickey Mouse (1928- ). I’m sure there are plenty of others. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/4 "2004-03-16T05:27:28Z")
Some people are going to disqualify this one as a nonfiction character, but IIRC wasn’t the Old Testament assembled over a period of almost five hundred years? The God of the Israelites would definitely win, then, right? Well, no, because various Hindu and pre-Hindu but recognisably Vedic animist figures appear in texts written over a period of nearly a thousand years, I think. ---
**Author:** ![Motog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@Motog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motog)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/5 "2004-03-16T05:29:14Z")
> [@Motog](#): > > I assume you mean a character developed and continued by a single author? Otherwise there are a whole bunch of characters that have been continuously written about for a lot longer than the ones you cite above, eg Count Dracula (1897- ), Frankenstein’s Monster (1816- ), Mickey Mouse (1928- ). I’m sure there are plenty of others. :smack: If I’d read your OP properly I would have seen that you did specifically ask for one’s that was written about by the original author I’ll just slink away now. :o ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/6 "2004-03-16T05:30:16Z")
> [@](#): > > may be wrong, but I THINK Agatha Christie wrote “Curtain,” the final Poirot novel, some years before it was actually published. Good memory. They actually planned to publish it after her death, but changed their minds. The dates I’ve given are publication, which are the easiest to determine. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/7 "2004-03-16T05:39:47Z")
Well, a couple of my favorites stand out, but can’t beat Jeeves and Wooster. Robert Heinlein introduced Woodrow Wilson Smith (aka Lazarus Long) in _Methuselah’s Children_ in 1941, and he was a character in _To Sail Beyond the Sunset_ in 1987 – 46 ain’t too bad. Isaac Asimov published _Caves of Steel_ in 1953, featuring R. Daneel Olivaw, who was also a primary character in _Foundation and Earth_ in 1986. I suppose Hari seldon was also a character in _Foundation and Earth_, and _Foundation_ was published in 1951. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/8 "2004-03-16T05:49:03Z")
Shit…I was ready to post “Katzenjammer Kids”, a comic in continuous publication for over a hundred years, but not by the same author! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/9 "2004-03-16T05:55:33Z")
> [@Motog](#): > > :smack: If I’d read your OP properly I would have seen that you did specifically ask for one’s that was written about by the original author > > I’ll just slink away now. :o Me too :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/10 "2004-03-16T06:30:56Z")
Well, Tom Clancy’s character “Jack Ryan” is closing in on his 20 year mark, I think. He’s obviously not the _longest_ lived, but maybe he’s in the “top fifteen.” ---
**Author:** ![fezpp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fezpp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fezpp)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/11 "2004-03-16T11:24:17Z")
Sherlock Holmes weighs in at about 40 years. [cite](http://www.sherlockian.net/canon/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![fezpp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fezpp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fezpp)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/12 "2004-03-16T11:29:17Z")
> [@fezpp](#): > > Sherlock Holmes weighs in at about 40 years. > [cite](http://www.sherlockian.net/canon/index.html) … and that was in the OP. That’s the problem with these long threads, I did read the OP… honest! ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/13 "2004-03-16T11:49:07Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > … > > Incidentally, I’m pretty sure Wodehouse was a Nero Wolfe fan, because Bertie Wooster occasionally sings the praises of “Rex West,” a mystery author he likes. I could swear Bertie talks about reading Rex _Stout_ in at least a couple of his stories. ---
**Author:** ![chiefgnome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@chiefgnome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiefgnome)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/14 "2004-03-16T11:49:39Z")
Another “close but no cigar” is Ray Bradbury’s Elliot family, first written about in 1946 and more recently in 1999 for a span of 53 years. Unless Bradbury has died without me noticing they have the potential to beat Jeeves & Wooster should BRadbury write about them again. Other long lived fictional characters. Technically Flashman doesn’t fit into the OP’s question because he was originally in Tom Brown’s Schooldays, but considering only George MacDonald Fraser’s version of Flashman he has run from 1969 till 1999 (30 years). While he’s only been in two books, the HUGE gap between original and sequel means that Joseph Heller’s Yossarian’s two appearances were 33 years apart (1961 & 1994). Similarly there are two widely spaced appearances of Father Callahan in Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot (1975) and Wolves of Calla (2003) a span of 28 years. Roland in his Dark Tower books has a span of 25 years (1978-2003) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/15 "2004-03-16T11:51:12Z")
Tarzan had a 35-year run (Possibly 38; The first Tarzan book was published in 1912, the last one during Burroughs’ life was 1947, and he died in 1950 with a couple other stories surfacing posthumously). Dick Tracy and Little Orphan Annie both ran roughly from 1930-1970 with their original creators. Charles Schulz wrote and drew Peanuts for 45 years. R. Crumb has drawn strips with Mr. Natural on and off for about 40 years: I imagine the Fabulous Furry Freak Bros. have been around for about that long. Will Eisner’s Spirit still pops up from time to time, I think, and has for over 60 years. How long has LeRoy Nieman been drawing Femlin for Playboy? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/16 "2004-03-16T11:54:41Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > Isaac Asimov published _Caves of Steel_ in 1953, featuring R. Daneel Olivaw, who was also a primary character in _Foundation and Earth_ in 1986. I suppose Hari seldon was also a character in _Foundation and Earth_, and _Foundation_ was published in 1951. I believe Hari Seldon and Daneel Olivaw were last seen in _Forward the Foundattion_, published in 1993. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/17 "2004-03-16T13:30:27Z")
Charlie Brown, Lucy, Snoopy, etc. have a “life” of 50 years before Charles Schultz stopped writing about them just before his death. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/18 "2004-03-16T13:33:21Z")
Gandalf, first published in 1937 in _The Hobbit: or There and Back Again_, and last published in _The Silmarillion_ in 1977 (not counting the numerous subsequent publications of Tolkein material put together by Christopher Tolkein). This makes 40 years. Had Tom Bombadil shown up in _The Silmarillion_, he’d have an even longer reign, for he first showed up published in 1934, when “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil” was published in _The Oxford Magazine_. Of course, if you include the publication of _Unfinished Tales_, or _The Book of Lost Tales_, you get even longer time spans, but I don’t think it fair to include works that the author didn’t have essentially ready and was in the process of publishing when he died. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/19 "2004-03-16T13:50:07Z")
No contest: Methuselah, 969. Mahalaleel, 962 Jared, 962 Noah, 950 Adam, 930 Seth, 912 And many more from that great fiction work, [The Bible.](http://www.skepticsannotatedbible.com/topics/lifespans.html) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587/20 "2004-03-16T13:55:51Z")
Leslie Charteris’ first {i]The Saint\*, publication _Meet the Tiger!_ was published in 1928. _Capture The Saint_ by Burl Barer was published in 1997. Charteris had actively collaborated with other writers until 1983 to allow them to continue after he died. So either 69 or 55 years take your pick. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-longest-lived-fictional-character/234587.md?page=2)