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

James Lovelock

― Michael Jones, Saturday, 22 February 2020 11:48 (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

blimey i interviewed lovelock when he was a spry and youthful 70

― mark s, Saturday, 22 February 2020 11:58 (two years ago) bookmarkflaglink

still with us at 102-and-a-half

reminded bcz i just came across my notes for my article abt gaia for arena magazine back in like 1991? (the one they left my byline off ffs)

doubly reminded when i read a scribble at the top of the interview with him which says his dad was born in 1873 lol

Schlocky B-movie horror director/special effects man, Bert I. Gordon, 99 (100 in September).

Also 99 (100 in November), René Schérer, philosopher and younger brother of Éric Rohmer.

Carol Burnett (a mere 88)

Leslie Phillips, 98, what the fuck why doesn't everyone go on all the time about how Leslie Phillips is still alive, this is genuinely shocking to me, I wish I'd never posted on this thread before (no I haven't done a Ctrl-F).

I have now Ctrl-Fed. Only four mentions, t'cha.

you jinxed javier pérez de cuéllar imo

Ding dong, the secretary general is dead.

he's gone back to his aliens

marina oswald and her teeth (now 80)

Experimental animator José Antonio Sistiaga, about to turn 90 next month.

Julie Andrews

― flappy bird, Wednesday, October 16, 2019 8:11 PM (one year ago) bookmarkflaglink

Holy shit!

Herb Alpert: trumpeter, Tijuana Brass impresario, cofounder of A&M Records, and last person to perform the Super Bowl rendition of the national anthem as an instrumental. Still around at 86 - just one of those people who I pictured as already being middle-aged in the mid-60s.

― Bobo Honk, real name, no gimmicks (Doctor Casino), Saturday, 10 July 2021 01:44 (nine months ago) bookmarkflaglink

87 now: i interviewed him in 1991 (abt north on south street, his hiphop LP lol) and just happened on the tape while sorting thru some stuff -- good to hear he is powering thru

Cool. I heard him and wife Lani Hall
interviewed a few years ago before some small tour they were doing. You probably know her voice from Sérgio Mendes and & Brasil ‘66 records.

And & and & and &

"And" six times in a row

.. finally!

Thomas Pynchon.

Running out of time for that career-spanning Oprah interview

well past time for another of his LONG books, the last two were mere slander pamphlets

Ooh, who was he slagging off?

Glenda Jackson. I knew nothing of her political career until today, either.

The former mayor of Mississauga, Ontario, Hazel McCallion, retired at 94 and is still around at 101.

not entirely surprised as i follow several accounts which announce sun ra ark dates etc but:

marshall allen (97) alive and touring (he's at cafe oto next week but it's already sold out)

seeing him at Solid Sound Fest, very excited.

Saw him about 4 years ago. He played for like 4 hours and would have probably played longer, he was more supple than most 30 year olds.

Ann Blyth, mentioned a couple times already but I just discovered this yesterday.

Marshall Allen is incredible, met him after a show a few years ago here in Philly, gracious and lovely person too

Terrific Random Roles w/John Astin published today: https://www.avclub.com/random-roles-john-astin-addams-family-frighteners-batma-1848715237

kinda cool how the AV Club has become just an indistinguishable content farm, but every once in awhile Will Harris still pops out of the ether with a great Random Roles interview. (I mean, the latter half of that sentence is kinda cool. Not the first part.)

Singer and activist Barbara Dane is 95 today. Has an autobiography and a documentary about her coming out this fall: https://www.heydaybooks.com/barbara-dane/

Imelda Marcos

otn

otm even

on the nose, as was

Yes, I thought of that after I posted.

Valentina Tereshkova: first woman in outer space, *only* woman to ever go on a solo space mission... and now a Putin supporter in the Russian Duma at 85.

i was positive Beau Bridges died a few years ago. was surprised to learn today that wasn't the case.

Tom Skerritt

Skerritt was really good in East of the Mountains last year. Worth checking out...

Yes, when I checked his wiki page I noticed he was not only still alive but still working.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woody_Woodbury

Woody Woodbury, stand-up comic of the "party records" era/actor, 98

I notice there's a Bert I. Gordon film on tonight. He'll be 100 in September.

Woodbury is even older the Lehrer and Newhart: JFK-era comedy is a good LP bin to have inhabited.

Either one of the Smothers Brothers.

A good showcase for Woody Woodbury's comedy is the movie For Those Who Think Young (1964). What's interesting about that is several of his castmates from that film are still with us too. There's Nancy Sinatra, about to turn 82 next Wednesday; James Darren, about to turn 86 on Wednesday (same birthday as Nancy); Tina Louise, who is 88; and Ellen Burstyn, who is 89.

Tony Bennett, 95!
Julie Christie, 82!
Richard Simmons, a mere 73, but he has not been seen in public since 2014.

I remember being surprised to find out that James Burke was still alive. There's a popular video on YouTube from an episode of Connections where he delivers a piece to camera about rocketry, and just as he finishes a rocket takes off in the background - the timing had to be perfect. I have the impression that he's more famous in the United States than the UK. Connections was one of those TV programmes that wasn't repeated very often, or at least I don't remember seeing it ever in the 1980s. Was it ever repeated?

He was big during a brief window at the end of the 1970s (The Human League mentioned him in "Black Hit of Space") but in the UK he fell off the radar shortly after that. And yet The Day the Universe Changed was broadcast by BBC1 in 1985 so perhaps I'm completely wrong.

Stanley Baxter and Fred Harris are still with us. As are Bernard Cribbins and Jim Dale.

Irene Papas is still around as well. She recorded an album with Vangelis and appeared on Aphrodite's Child's 666, which is why I thought of her. One of only two of the main stars from The Guns of Navarone to still be alive (along with James Darren).

Posted on the other thread,, but this one seems more active.

Ramblin' Jack Elliott, 90 and still performing.

Connections was one of those TV programmes that wasn't repeated very often, or at least I don't remember seeing it ever in the 1980s. Was it ever repeated?

All three Connections series (along with The Day The Universe Changed) were in heavy rotation on Discovery Science/The Science Channel around 1999-2001 or so. All of them are pretty easy to find on the dark.net now. Back in high school, one of the items in our D&D game was a "Leisure Suit of Knowledge" (based on Burke's fave on-camera wear) that added a couple of point in intelligence and wisdom.

roger corman was just mentioned in passing on the UNCLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER pod so i checked and roger corman (96)