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Post by Anders on Apr 22, 2011 2:31:04 GMT -8
The celebrity death threads tend to depress me, whether I was familiar with the person they are about or not. I'm not against them - mourning loss and celebrating a good life are both things I'm all for. However, I'd also like to have a corner for celebrating those who are alive: the great entertainers who are still going strong after decades of making us smile, cry and laugh out loud.
Entry requirements: Still active and aged 70+ or should be dead because of a hard life or several brushes with death.
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Post by Anders on Apr 22, 2011 2:43:16 GMT -8
First out: Kathryn Joosten.  Mrs. Landingham on The West Wing, Mrs. McCluskey on Desperate Housewives, God on Joan of Arcadia and minor parts on dozens of other shows, Kathryn Joosten has the quirky older lady down pat. A former psychiatric nurse, she didn't start acting until she was 42 and her TV career didn't really take off until 1995 when she was almost 60. She's survived two bouts of lung cancer. Kathryn is one of the actors I'm always happy to see. Even in a very minor part she lifts every scene she's in with her sense of humor and ability to seemingly effortlessly portray a complex character with very minor means. |
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Post by Mario Di Giacomo on Apr 22, 2011 3:06:11 GMT -8
Sid Caesar. Born 1922, still kickin'.
Of the same generation (and, indeed, the same TV show) Mel Brooks (1926) & Carl Reiner (1922).
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Post by jensaltmann on Apr 22, 2011 5:22:29 GMT -8
Christopher Lee (27 May 1922)
Clint Eastwood (31 May 1930)
Sean Connery (25 August 1930) (Ok, retired, but still)
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Post by paulpogue on Apr 22, 2011 5:27:53 GMT -8
 Mickey Rooney, 91, one of the most ridiculously hard-working actors in showbiz. I honestly believe as long as he has a stage and an audience he will never die; the guy lives on showbiz. |
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Post by paulpogue on Apr 22, 2011 5:31:17 GMT -8
 Harry Dean Stanton, 84. Always deceptive because he looked 70 when he was 30, and now that he's 84 he still looks 70. Seeing him in "Down Periscope" was weird, and very appropriate, as he was the only guy in a movie set on a broken-down WWII sub to have actually served on the seas in WWII. |
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Post by jensaltmann on Apr 22, 2011 5:35:29 GMT -8
William Shatner (22 March 1931)
Leonard Nimoy (26 March 1931)
George Takei (20 April 1937)
Walter Koenig (14 September 1936)
Nichelle Nichols (28 December 1932)
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Post by jensaltmann on Apr 22, 2011 5:38:13 GMT -8
Ernest Borgnine (24 January 1917)  |
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Post by jensaltmann on Apr 22, 2011 5:40:43 GMT -8
The oldest one I know of: Dutch-born actor (with a career in Germany) Johannes Heesters. Born 5 December 1903. Yes, he's over 100 years old and still acting on the stage.  |
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Post by paulpogue on Apr 22, 2011 5:40:40 GMT -8
An 88-year-old immortal who needs no introduction.  It is worth noting that one of the people in this photo is KNEELING. Note: The one in the military uniform is not the one who once knifed Nazis for a living.    |
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Post by jensaltmann on Apr 22, 2011 5:44:28 GMT -8
Paul, I was stunned to hear that Christopher Lee accepted the knighthood. As a direct decendant of Charlesmagne, he *outranks* Charles. For him, knighthood is a demotion.  |
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Post by jensaltmann on Apr 22, 2011 9:24:30 GMT -8
Peter O'Toole (2 August 1932)
Albert Finney (9 May 1936)
Omar Sharif (10 April, 1932)
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Post by jkcarrier on Apr 22, 2011 14:51:36 GMT -8
You can't have a thread like this without...  Abe Vigoda (1921) His allegedly imminent demise was already a running gag when I was growing up in the '70s... |
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Post by K-Box on Apr 22, 2011 16:30:40 GMT -8
This thread is good, and you should feel good for making it.
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Post by Anders on Apr 22, 2011 23:39:07 GMT -8
Thanks. Everyone's bringing up great examples - Christopher Lee was next on my list.
My favorite bit about him is from the extras to the Two Towers. When Peter Jackson is trying to give him direction on how to sound when Wormtongue stabs Saruman he says "I know how a man sounds when he gets a knife between the ribs".
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