Old Celebs That You Didn’t Know Were Still Alive and Well

The following performers were huge stars in the “Golden Age” of show biz that spanned from the 1910s through the 1960s, and believe it or not, they’re all still alive! Just because you don’t hear about them much anymore doesn’t mean they’ve passed away, and in fact, many of them still have vibrant careers in the entertainment industry!

William Daniels, 94

You may not be familiar with his name, but most likely you are familiar with his character Mr. Feeny from the ‘90s sitcom Boy Meets World. He recently starred in the 2020 HBO Max film Superintelligence as KITT, and in 2014 he reprised his role as Mr. Feeny in the Disney spinoff show, Girl Meets World.

Sophia Loren, 86

Italian beauty Sophia Loren is known for being one of the Hollywood Golden Age’s “it” girls. Some of her noteworthy performances include films Two Women (1961); and Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1963). She made a comeback in 2013 in an Italian short film adaptation of the play The Human Voice, and in 2020 she starred in the Italian film The Life Ahead.

Anthony Hopkins, 83

Sir Phillip Anthony Hopkins is most famous for his iconic role as Hannibal Lecter in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs. But what has he been up to lately, you ask? Well, in 2017 he played Odin in Thor- Ragnarok, and he’s set to play Dr. Phillip Lewis in Elyse.

Bob Barker, 97

Bob Barker is a household name known for his time as the host of The Price is Right from 1972 to 2007. Before that he hosted Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1974. Fun fact- Barker voiced the character Bob Barnacle on an episode of Spongebob Squarepants!

Julie Andrews, 85

Dame Julie Andrews portrayed so many iconic roles over the years that it’s hard to keep track! Some of the most notable include The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. In 2018 she played Karathen in Aquaman, and is set to voice Marlena in Minions- The Rise of Gru. She’s certainly shown no signs of slowing down, and to be honest, we’re very okay with this.

Dick Van Dyke, 95

As an actor, singer, writer, comedian, and dancer, Dick Van Dyke proved there’s nothing he can’t do. He got his start in show business on radio and Broadway, and then as Rob Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. Recently he voiced Hopscotch the Sasquatch on the TV series Kidding.

Mel Brooks, 95

Mel Brooks, born Melvin Kaminsky, has an impressive seven-decade career in the entertainment business. He is even on the “EGOT” list of people who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award. Recently Brooks voiced Dracula’s father Vlad in Hotel Transylvania.

Tony Bennett, 94

Tony Bennett’s recognizable singing voice has graced the hearts of many generations. He’s still going strong, and even released an album with Lady Gaga in 2014, called Cheek to Cheek.

Jon Voight, 82

Jon Voight, AKA Angelina Jolie’s father, just won’t quit the acting game, and we’re thankful for that. He’s been playing Mickey in the Ray Donovan series since 2013, and he’s set to star in the film Roe v. Wade in 2021!

Tommy Lee Jones, 74

Tommy Lee Jones is best known for his roles in Batman Forever, The Fugitive, and Men in Black, with his performance in The Fugitive gaining him some prestigious awards. As of late, Jones has scored roles as Duke Montana in The Comeback Trail, and as Jimmy Cleats in Wander.

Billy Dee Williams, 84

Star Wars fans will be relieved to know that Billy Dee Williams, AKA Lando Calrissian, is still alive and well. He’s acted in other productions throughout the years, but perhaps most notably he reprised his role as Lando in Star Wars- The Rise of Skywalker in 2019.

Marla Gibbs, 90

Marla Gibbs is best known for her time on the TV show The Jeffersons, which aired from 1975 through 1985. She’s won a whole host of prestigious awards for her acting chops, and most recently she’s been in the films Please Stand By and Love Jacked.

John Astin, 91

You’ll recognize John Astin, who is referred to as “usually mustachioed” by IMDB, as Gomez Addams on The Addams Family. He studied math at Johns Hopkins University before realizing his passion for performing. Most recently he starred as Uncle Dudley in Justice League Action in 2017.

Richard Chamberlain, 87

Richard Chamberlain became an international icon for his role as “Ralph de Bricassart” in the mini-series The Thorn Birds. He’s since won three Golden Globe awards over the course of his career, one that continues to press onward. He’s appeared in 2019’s Twin Peaks and Finding Julia. In 2020, he starred in the drama Echoes of the Past alongside Max von Sydow but the film’s release date had been postponed due to the pandemic.

Tippi Hedren, 91

Tippi Hedren got her start as a model before being discovered by Alfred Hitchcock and being cast in The Birds in 1963. Since then she’s appeared in more than 80 movies and TV shows, with her most recent projects being in the TV show Cougar Town in 2013, and the movie The Ghost and the Whale in 2017.

Clu Gulager, 92

Clu Gulager, star of The Virginian is now in his early 90s and long since retired from Hollywood. He had a role in 1985’s The Return of the Living Dead, however bigger roles weren’t as common for him thereafter. He was, however, a recurring guest on shows like North and South, Murder, She Wrote, MacGyver, Walker, Texas Ranger, and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

Kim Novak, 88

Born in 1933, Kim Novak was originally poised to be the next Rita Hayworth for Columbia Pictures. She starred in the 1954 film Pushover, but is best known for portraying Madeleine Elster/Judy Barton in the 1958 Alfred Hitchcock film Vertigo. Novak is no longer acting but is a photographer, poet, and visual artist.

George Hamilton, 81

George Hamilton has acted in 120 movies during his career, most notably Love Possessed and Love at First Bite. More recently, in 2019 he played Jack in the TV show Grace and Frankie, and Spencer Blitz in American Housewife.

Eva Marie Saint, 97

Eva Marie Saint is best known for her role in Elia Kazan’s On the Waterfront, as well as Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest. She is one of the last-surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Saint took more than a decade off from acting but eventually returned in 1986 to play Tom Hanks’ character’s mother in Nothing in Common. More recently, she voiced the elderly Katara in Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra.

Ann-Margret, 80

This Swedish-American actress is known for her singing and dancing talents – so much so that she gained the nickname “The Female Elvis.” She’s starred in Bye Bye Birdie, Viva Las Vegas, and has also performed several covers of Elvis songs, including “Heartbreak Hotel.” She was on the TV series Ray Donovan and Happy!

Chubby Checker, 79

Apart from having the best name ever, Chubby Checker is best known for popularizing the “twist” dance style as a rock ‘n roll singer and dancer. He’s released singles here and there throughout the 2000s, and in 2015 he produced “Rock and Roll to the Rescue”, a show designed to help rescue animals.

Bob Newhart, 91

Bob Newhart is a stand-up comedian known for his deadpan delivery, but he’s also done his fair share of acting. He starred as Robert Hartley on The Bob Newhart Show and has since been in Elf, Catch-22, voiced in The Rescuers, and made six guest appearances on The Big Bang Theory. More recently he’s been in the TV shows Young Sheldon, and Filthy Rich.

Paul Michael Glaser, 78

Paul Michael Glaser is most recognizable for his role in the TV series Starsky and Hutch and the iconic film Fiddler on the Roof in 1971. In 2019 he played Leo in the TV show Grace and Frankie, and his most recent film endeavor was voicing Kjeld Playwell in Lego- The Adventures of Clutch Powers.

Carole Cook, 97

Carole Cook is best known for her work in musical theater, film, and TV. She was a protégé of actress Lucille Ball in 1959, and went on to star in Broadway musicals such as 42nd Street and Hello, Dolly! She hasn’t done much in the theater world since 2006, but in 2018 she played Erika Ericson in the movie Waiting in the Wings- Still Waiting, and Pearl Goodfish in the TV show Break a Hip.

Norman Lear, 98

You’ll know Norman Lear for the incredibly famous works he’s produced and written, including All in the Family, Sanford and Son, and One Day at a Time. Nowadays he’s a political activist, and in 2017 he served as executive producer for the reboot of One Day at a Time. He’s also been the host of a podcast, entitled All of the Above With Norman Lear, since May of 2017.

Larry Storch, 98

Larry Storch got his start in show business when he worked as a stand-up comic for $12 per week instead of graduating high school due to hard times during the Great Depression. Clearly that ended up working out for him, as he went on to portray Corporal Randolph Agarn on F Troop, as well as countless other TV shows and movies. Nowadays Storch is semi-retired, but he still travels around the country to greet fans, and maintains a large social media presence.

Harry Belafonte, 94

Harry Belafonte is known as one of the most successful Jamaican-American pop stars in history. Even if you haven’t heard his name before, you’ll certainly know his recording of “The Banana Boat Song.” Over the years he’s become known for various acting roles, as well as for popularizing the Calypso style of music. In more recent years he’s been involved in political activism, various documentaries, and played Jerome Turner in the 2018 film BlacKkKlansman.

Nancy Sinatra, 81

Nancy Sinatra, daughter of legendary swooner Frank Sinatra, was famous in her own right for “These Boots Are Made For Walking,” which is undeniably an era-defining sound. Now, after an incredible career, the 80-year-old Sinatra has since taken to living a peaceful retired life.

Max Baer Jr., 83

Max Baer Jr. was best known for his role in Beverly Hillbillies. As of 2021, his net worth is over $65 million. Beyond a career in acting, he was also a producer and a screenwriter. Today, he’s 83 years old.

John James, 65

You might remember the likes of John James from the original Dynasty series, who played Jeff Colby. Today he’s 65 years old and works selectively. He appeared in a few films in the 2010s, took a role in Hallmark’s 2018 Christmas Camp, and was a star-producer of the 2020 sci-fi film Axcellerator.

Kris Kristofferson, 85

Not only is Kris Kristofferson alive and well, but he’s been touring strong this whole time. He only just retired in 2020 despite the chance that he’ll still be working on smaller projects in the future. Kristofferson’s longtime manager said, “It was an evolution, and it just felt very organic. There was no big change — it was this sort of slow ‘What should we do now? What’s next?’ And here we are in the middle of a pandemic… It was like, ‘Yeah, let’s retire.’ To us on this side of the fence it was an organic, normal, ‘things are changing’ thing. Kris is aging; Kris is 85. It didn’t feel like such big news to us. That’s why there was no announcement- It was just sort of a slow changing of the guard thing.”

Marsha Hunt, 103

Had it not perhaps been for her low-level profile compounded by her McCarthy-era blacklisting in the early 1950s, there is no telling what higher tier Marsha Hunt might have attained. Marsha’s more noticeable war-era work in sentimental comedy and staunch war dramas came from MGM, and she finally signed with the studio in 1939. The roles offered, which included a featured part as one of the sisters in Pride and Prejudice. Semi-retired by the early 1960s, stage and TV became Marsha’s focal points. She also devoted herself to civil rights causes and such humanitarian efforts as UNICEF, The March of Dimes, and The Red Cross.

Nehemiah Persoff, 102

Discovered by Charles Laughton and cast in his production of “Galileo” in 1947, Persoff made his film debut a year later with an uncredited bit in The Naked City in 1948. Persoff became known primarily for his ethnic villainy, usually playing authoritative Eastern Europeans. He took on the role of Joseph Stalin in The Harder They Fall, Gene Conforti in  Alfred Hitchcock’s The Wrong Man, with many TV appearances in Law & Order, Gunsmoke, and The Twighlight Zone.

Jack Rader, 100

Jack Rader was born on February 23, 1921 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Outbreak (1995), The Blob (1988) and Braddock- Missing in Action III (1988). Despite being a very familiar face for many who’ve seen the aforementioned bodies of work, he essentially fell off the map and lives under the radar.

Iris Apfel, 100

Iris Apfel was born on August 29, 1921 in Astoria, Queens, New York City, New York, USA as Iris Barrel. She is an actress, known for Iris (2014), The Will Iris Apfel (2019) and Bill Cunningham- New York (2010). She was previously married to Carl Apfel. At 90 (a decade ago), she said, “I’m a geriatric starlet. All of a sudden I’m hot, I’m cool, I have a fan base.”

Walter Mirisch, 99

Walter Mirisch and his brothers were one of the most successful producing teams in Hollywood history. Their Mirisch Company produced such diverse hits as Some Like It Hot (1959), The Magnificent Seven (1960), West Side Story (1961), The Great Escape (1963), and The Pink Panther (1963). They created the model by which producers and directors in Hollywood make movies today.

Ray Anthony, 99

Ray Anthony studied trumpet and played for Glenn Miller and His Orchestra from 1940 to 1941. He was a summer replacement for Perry Como on both CBS and NBC. Anthony recorded for Capitol Records for 19 years and later ran another record company, Wood Records, for nine years. He was once married to actress Mamie Van Doren. His biggest hits were the themes from Dragnet (1951) and Peter Gunn (1958), along with being one of the top big bands following World War II.

Joan Copeland, 99

Joan Copeland is a renowned actress who made her name on Broadway, debuting in 1945 to begin a career that lasted more than 60 years. She also had a long career in TV, where she appeared in several popular soap operas. She played scheming villain Andrea Whiting in Search for Tomorrow (1951), and also appeared in Love of Life (1951) and The Edge of Night (1956), among others. She preferred the stage and television but occasionally worked in films, making fewer than 20 of them in her career.

Bert Gordon, 99

Bert I. Gordon, affectionately nicknamed “Mr. B.I.G.” by Forrest J. Ackerman, produced, directed, and wrote more than twenty-five Sci/Fi and Horror features, such as The Magic Sword (1962), The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), Village of the Giants (1965), The Cyclops (1957), in addition to comedies such as How to Succeed with Sex (1970). His film, The Food of the Gods (1976), was awarded the Grand Prix du Festival International Du Paris Fantastique 1977.

Jacqueline White, 98

Jacqueline White was the leading lady of 1940s films such as Crossfire and The Narrow Margin. She retired in 1950 upon her marriage to Bruce Anderson and they relocated to Wyoming, where her husband started an oil business. The Narrow Margin was widely acknowledged to be one of the classics of “film noir”. Long retired from the film industry, Jacqueline has recently begun appearing at film festivals and conventions.

Henry Kissinger, 98

Henry Kissinger was known for his heavy German accent with his gravelly voice that grew as he mumbled over his words. He received many awards including Nobel Peace Prize in 1973. Though he has largely been identified as Richard Nixon’s Secretary of State, he was only that for Nixon’s last eleven months, he continued to serve that position under Gerald Ford. For most of the time before that, he was Nixon’s National Security Advisor.

Mike Nussbaum, 97

Mike Nussbaum is known for Men in Black, Fatal Attraction, and House of Games. Nussbaum’s acting career started in community theater in the 1950s. He appeared in many of David Mamet’s plays both on and off-Broadway, as well as in Chicago. He has a long list of appearances in many major motion pictures, and only just stopped working at the age of 95.

Joyce Randolph, 96

Joyce Randolph will forever be etched in the minds of “Golden Age” television viewers for her half of the classic husband and wife duo on  The Jackie Gleason Show. Joyce participated in nearly 100 episodes of the beloved show before it left the air in 1957. Joyce maintained her career for a while on the musical stage, in commercials, and with a few solo appearances on such shows as “The Jack Benny Show,” and “The Doctors and the Nurses,” but eventually retired from acting altogether.

Shecky Greene, 95

On March 24th, 2020, Shecky Greene was inducted into the National Comedy Hall of Fame. He was voted by 100 Hollywood luminaries in various areas of entertainment along with many members of the esteemed Friar’s Club for his induction. The ceremony took place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Greene received an engraved plaque and his profile can be seen at the National Comedy Hall of Fame Museum in Holiday, Florida.

Rosemary Harris, 94

Rosemary Harris is who many of us remember as the original Aunt May with Toby Maguire’s Spider-Man. She has won 4 Drama Desk Awards and has been nominated 9 times for Tony Awards. Spider-Man was a box office hit, earning about 822 million dollars at the worldwide box office. She continued her role in the sequels Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Spider-Man 3 (2007).

Christopher Lloyd, 83

Christopher Lloyd’s most recognizable work was from the late 80s and early 90s with the Back to the Future franchise as Dr. Emmett Brown. However, this is one actor who is nothing short of a workhorse, still going strong today with multiple TV and film roles still in production. This seasoned actor is in his early 80s with no stop in sight.