Old Actors Still With Us

AndyC · February 10, 2006, 01:38:51 PM

The Al Lewis thread made me think of this. It's a question I started pondering seriously after Bob Denver's Death, but it's really been in my mind for a while, as so many stars known to our generation have been dying off. And they always seem to catch us by surprise, like Al Lewis. Probably because they drop out of public life for their final years. Ones we haven't seen in decades are even more of a shock. Been trying to think of some older actors.

Who are some celebrities who are really getting up there? One name that springs to mind is Harry 'Colonel Potter' Morgan, who is into his 90s. Russell 'Professor' Johnson, as one of the three surviving Gilligan cast members, is scarcely past 80. Zsa Zsa Gabor (what exactly is she famous for, anyway?) just had her 89th birthday this week.

Sean Connery, surprisingly, is only 75. I thought for sure he was older than that. I guess he's just been grey a long time.

So, who are some others?

Mr_Vindictive · February 10, 2006, 01:57:16 PM

AndyC Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Sean Connery, surprisingly, is only 75. I thought
> for sure he was older than that. I guess he's just
> been grey a long time.

You only think he is 75. The truth of the matter is that Connery died a while back. This Connery we see today is actually just a clone. "They" have millions more clones of Connery waiting. The man will live forever!

Mofo Rising · February 10, 2006, 02:03:01 PM

James Karen ("Frank" from RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD) is 82 years old. Still making movies. Love this guy.

Also, I'm not one to pick favorites, but if I had to pick a favorite actor, it would be Ian Holm. Eleventy-one years old. No, wait. 74.

peter johnson · February 11, 2006, 01:06:03 AM

James Garner and Paul Newman are no spring chickens -- Isn't Newman nearly 80? Both are still working.
Peter Falk in his late 70's -- just came out in a new movie I was reading a pocket review of this morning -- can't remember title.
Zsa Zsa Gabor, along with Magda and Eva, are most famous for being sexually alive women at a time in American culture when most women were expected to be sexually dead. You can compare them to Paris Hilton, but there really are no modern equivalents. See "Queen of Outer Space", if you think Zsa Zsa unworthy of your adoration -- besides, she once beat up a California Highway Patrolman twice her size over a perceived slight! If that isn't fame, I don't know what is . . .
peter johnson/denny crane

AndyC · February 11, 2006, 09:24:49 AM

Found an interesting site at www.deadoraliveinfo.com. Lots of great info. Among other things, it has a pretty extensive list of celebrities in various fields who are over 85 and still alive.

http://www.deadoraliveinfo.com/dead.nsf/viewdocs-nf/oldpeople

I just gave it a quick glance, but a few names jumped out at me, like Frank 'Sam Drucker' Cady, who is still around at 91. Karl Malden is 93 and Kevin McCarthy is 91. And the last time I saw Ricardo Montalban, he looked pretty darned good for being in his mid-80s.

Check out the list. I promise you will find several people on there you assumed were dead.

Also interesting to see the list of celebrities who died on this date. Looking at Feb. 11, I thought it was an interesting coincidence that William 'Fatman' Conrad and Sorrell 'Boss Hogg' Booke died on the same day.

Menard · February 11, 2006, 08:25:57 PM

Dang; Albert Hofmann, who discovered LSD, is 100! Now there's a recommendation for the drug.

Bruce Bennett, I remember him most from Sahara but many may remember him from The Alligator People, is 99.

Kitty Carlisle, if you have ever seen a game show before the 80s you know who she is, is 95.

Derf · February 11, 2006, 08:56:08 PM

Abe Vigoda; you can keep an eye on him through the Conan O'Brien show.

Richard Dawson

Tom Lester (Eb from Green Acres)

Dean Jones

Edward Woodward

Yvonne De Carlo (whoo whoo)

Lauren Bacall (hubba hubba)

Fearless Freep · February 12, 2006, 12:23:16 AM

Sean Connery, surprisingly, is only 75. I thought for sure he was older than that. I guess he's just been grey a long time.

It was funny because he played Indiana Jones' father even though Connery is not that much older than Ford

sinkwater · February 12, 2006, 01:29:42 AM

The oldest I can think of is Kevin McCarthy (best known to me as RJ Fletcher in UHF and Dr. Hoak in Piranha and a lot of 80s b-movies) whos in his 90s and still appearing in stuff.

Amanda · February 13, 2006, 09:20:15 AM

"You can compare them to Paris Hilton"

Zsa Zsa was married to a Hilton, right? She was married to Conrad (THE Hilton, Paris' granddaddy) for about 5 minutes, I think. SHE'S to blame for Paris! Not biologically, but influentially.

LH-C · February 13, 2006, 11:14:39 AM

Eli Wallach turned 90 in December, and is still going strong. And you have to remember that he didn't make his TV debut until his mid-30s, and his feature debut until he was 40 in 'Baby Doll'.

raj · February 13, 2006, 06:38:37 PM

And Ernest Gallo is 96 -- maybe there is something to his wine after all.

Scott · February 13, 2006, 11:42:53 PM

What's neat is that they are all preserved through their films. It's amazing to see long gone actors/actresses on the screen that haven't been alive in years.

AndyC · February 14, 2006, 06:21:48 PM

Happened to catch a rerun of Quincy today, and remembered that Jack Klugman is still alive and working at nearly 84. Even more remarkable considering his bout with throat cancer over a decade ago.

Hard to believe he is actually younger than Tony Randall, whom he outlived.

LH-C · February 15, 2006, 12:34:11 PM

And you can't forget Christopher Lee, who's had some of the biggest successes of his career in his 80s.

Old Actors Still With Us

Menard