the last famous person you were surprised to discover was actually still alive

Dave Brubeck... when his death was announced.

sherman hemsley. when he died i experienced deja vu. i could have sworn that he died several years earlier and even had faint memories of reading his obituaries.

Ravi Shankar, as of a couple days ago

Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland, currently at ages 94 and 95, respectively.

Was gonna say OdH but I didn't realize her sister was still around too! Guess they're each determined to outlive the other.

Mary Tyler Moore

ha, I've posted Dick van Dyke and MTM itt!

Olivia De Havilland and Joan Fontaine

Martin Landau.

lisa kudrow

I always seem to think that Ennio Morricone is dead, but he's still working!

kirk douglas

Denis Healey

Slim Whitman...but he's dead now :-(

Esther Williams (til recently)

Horace Silver and Clark Terry. Both fortunately still alive.

(Terry might be the last surviving member of any of Duke Ellington's orchestras)

found myself at I.M. Pei's wikipedia page just now. he is 96 years old and STILL ALIVE. i thought he died in the 80s for some reason.

architects seem to live forever though.

Ronnie Hawkins

H. Rap Brown

Jerry Lee Lewis

harry dean stanton (discovered he was alive via a "jeopardy" answer)

Bill Macy, from "Maude" and The Late Show. He's 91.

who's that leave left from maude? adrienne barbeau?

Basically those two, and I guess Barbeau's son.

Jerry Maren - the last Munchkin played by a 'little person', as opposed to a child, in the 1939 version of Wizard of Oz is still alive, according to Wikipedia. He was 19 when the movie was filmed. He's 94 now. And counting...

Tupac no lol just messin

Robert Conquest

Olivia de Havilland

Barbeau's tits

Olivia de Havilland

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, April 12, 2014 10:06 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

When Joan Fontaine died, there was a lot of talk about O. de H., because they had been so bitterly separated for so many years. (And I'm morbidly curious to see what TCM does when the last major Gone With the Wind star finally dies.

In the meantime, I am pleasantly surprised that Diana Serra Cary (Baby Peggy), Luise Rainer, and Kenneth Anger are still with us. But in all of these cases, it's just a matter of time.

doris day

― Frogman Henry, Friday, February 8, 2008 2:00 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Doris Day

― Inevitable stupid dubstep mix (chap), Friday, February 18, 2011 4:50 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Same here.

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/doris-day-rare-public-appearance-huge-party-celebrating-90th-birthday-201484

Keely Smith

Peter Vaughan

James Cotton

David Bellamy

^ dead to me

I had no idea that he is now a cranky climate change sceptic, still hadn't gotten over Johnny Ball

something to do with the Homeopathic Society to boot

oh god wait Johnny Ball's a climate change sceptic? oh god :(

add Tony Soper to this thread list by the way

wish i could find a clip of whatever TV show Tony Soper used to present that had really evocative birdsong played over the end credits, think it may have been a curlew call in particular

Bob Uecker

Billy Davis, Jr. - then I realized I was conflating him with Don Cornelius just because Solid Gold and Soul Train blurred together in my mind from watching them as a small kid.

I thought Christopher Lee had been dead for years, then I read that he died today which also isn't true.

He has risen from the grave before, iirc

George Kennedy

Sheila Reid. I could have sworn she died last year.

Dabney Coleman

Piers Anthony.

rasputin

Chris Rea is alive! (also, he isn't Robert Palmer) (yeah, I know, there's nothing similar to them, but he somehow was, in my mind)