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

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Who knew?

Gear! (Gear!), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 10:53 (twenty years ago) link

(Richard Widmark)

Gear! (Gear!), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 10:54 (twenty years ago) link

Saddam Hussein, obv

Ste (Fuzzy), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 11:01 (twenty years ago) link

Stanley Baxter

Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 12:21 (twenty years ago) link

(Inverting the question completely) Thora Hird.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 12:22 (twenty years ago) link

she was famous.

RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 13:25 (twenty years ago) link

Anita O'Day: though I had never heard of her until the time I also learned that she was still alive.

the pinefox, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 13:26 (twenty years ago) link

Clive Dunn is the obvious one.

Chriddof (Chriddof), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 14:43 (twenty years ago) link

Dennis Hopper, every time.

TOMBOT, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 14:51 (twenty years ago) link

Mickey Rooney

Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 14:59 (twenty years ago) link

She was famous, yeah, but I thought she was alive and she's not.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 15:12 (twenty years ago) link

So I guess it's only half-inverted.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 15:12 (twenty years ago) link

J.D. Salinger, every time I hear it, I'm surprised.

Huckleberry Mann (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 15:14 (twenty years ago) link

I'm always vaguelly confused that he even exists.

Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 15:15 (twenty years ago) link

George Jones.

Carey (Carey), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 15:19 (twenty years ago) link

Elvis Presley

jewelly (jewelly), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 19:25 (twenty years ago) link

Joe Namath - I could have sworn he had a heart attack years ago!

miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 19:26 (twenty years ago) link

Red Auerbach, who I had to make sure was still alive by going to Dead or Alive?

oops (Oops), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 19:31 (twenty years ago) link

Wait, didn't Studs Terkel die? That site lists him as alive. Or am I thinking of Irv Kupcinet?

oops (Oops), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 19:38 (twenty years ago) link

That guy from the Von Bondies

Lynskey (Lynskey), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 19:53 (twenty years ago) link

I feel particularly bad for this, having been such a huge fan of his music, but only earlier in 2003 did I learn that Mr. Sly Stone in fact did not die sometime in the early 80s.

nickalicious at granny's crib, Thursday, 25 December 2003 17:35 (twenty years ago) link

Ursula Moray Williams

robin carmody (robin carmody), Thursday, 25 December 2003 20:19 (twenty years ago) link

Reg Varney

Bob Six (bobbysix), Friday, 26 December 2003 19:35 (twenty years ago) link

Dave Allen

stevem (blueski), Friday, 26 December 2003 19:50 (twenty years ago) link

I couldn't believe Christopher Lee was alive when I found out he was doing Saruman (and then the Star Wars dingus). He's like, 80!!!

Jordan (Jordan), Friday, 26 December 2003 20:00 (twenty years ago) link

Oops: Kupcinet just kicked the bucket about a month ago. Studs is alive and well.

jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 26 December 2003 20:01 (twenty years ago) link

GENE WILDER. I swear he died.

TEH ONE AN ONLEY DEANN GULBAREY (deangulberry), Friday, 26 December 2003 20:54 (twenty years ago) link

Reg Varney's still alive?

Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 27 December 2003 02:01 (twenty years ago) link

richard pryor.

cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 27 December 2003 02:22 (twenty years ago) link

i read something saying Nina Simone only died this year. Can that be right?

isadora (isadora), Sunday, 28 December 2003 08:39 (twenty years ago) link

Windsor Davies

Ricardo (RickyT), Sunday, 28 December 2003 21:45 (twenty years ago) link

gene wilder recently had a bout with cancer, which thank god he survived.

s1utsky (slutsky), Sunday, 28 December 2003 21:52 (twenty years ago) link

five months pass...
Bosko Balaban Stats For Season

Name Bosko Balaban
Team Aston Villa
Total Appearances 0
Starts 0
Substituted 0
Total Minutes Played 0
Avg Minutes Played Per Start 0
Goals 0
Avg Goal Mins When Starting 0.0
Avg Mins Played/Goal Scored 0
Goals Scored As Sub 0
Number of Bookings 0
Total Booking Minutes 0
Avg Bookings Per Start 0
Number of Red Cards 0
Total Red Card Minutes 0
Avg Red Cards Per Start 0
Avg Booking Minutes When Starting 0.0

bosko, Monday, 14 June 2004 16:14 (nineteen years ago) link

I was surprised that Bosko even lived.

Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 14 June 2004 16:15 (nineteen years ago) link

three years pass...

Telma Hopkins!

but that was last week.

today it was ARNOLD STANG!!!!

don't know why i though telma hopkins died.

tremendoid, Friday, 8 February 2008 06:25 (sixteen years ago) link

Zsa Zsa Gabor just turned 91 a few days ago.

Roz, Friday, 8 February 2008 07:03 (sixteen years ago) link

abe vigoda

remy bean, Friday, 8 February 2008 07:11 (sixteen years ago) link

I think Ernest Borgnine is still at it too.

nickn, Friday, 8 February 2008 07:52 (sixteen years ago) link

doris day

Frogman Henry, Friday, 8 February 2008 08:00 (sixteen years ago) link

she's getting a grammy tomorrow

tremendoid, Friday, 8 February 2008 08:03 (sixteen years ago) link

two years pass...

Shirley Temple

lol @ dog w/ sunglasses (Pillbox), Thursday, 23 September 2010 19:06 (thirteen years ago) link

!!!

Les centimètres énigmatiques (snoball), Thursday, 23 September 2010 19:07 (thirteen years ago) link

Leonard skinner, but he's now dead.

Your cousin, Marvin Cobain (C. Grisso/McCain), Thursday, 23 September 2010 19:08 (thirteen years ago) link

I was surprised that Bosko even lived.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Tuesday, June 15, 2004 4:15 AM (6 years ago) Bookmark

dying here

had no idea Sam Beckett lived until 1989 until the other day

CharlieS, Thursday, 23 September 2010 19:12 (thirteen years ago) link

j.d. salinger, but then he died not long after i found out

just1n3, Thursday, 23 September 2010 19:24 (thirteen years ago) link

four months pass...

Louie Anderson

Godzilla vs. Rodan Rodannadanna (The Yellow Kid), Friday, 18 February 2011 06:17 (thirteen years ago) link

He was on Tim & Eric a year or two ago.

Wacky Way Lounge (Evan), Friday, 18 February 2011 06:41 (thirteen years ago) link

Kenneth Mars, but once again after he was dead.

Your cousin, Marvin Cobain (C. Grisso/McCain), Friday, 18 February 2011 07:56 (thirteen years ago) link

Jane Russell

Alba, Friday, 18 February 2011 09:00 (thirteen years ago) link

Clive Dunn

Alba, Friday, 18 February 2011 09:01 (thirteen years ago) link

Terry Riley, 88. Found a CD copy in excellent shape of _A Rainbow in Curved Air_ today for $2; already have the album, but handy for the car.


Really? He’s ubiquitous on the festival circuit (the Big Ears and Bang on a Can kind of circuit).

You've forced me to confront the reality that I'm disengaged from the festival circuit.

clemenza, Monday, 8 April 2024 19:33 (two weeks ago) link

Situationist International co-founder Michèle Bernstein, 91.

not the one who's tryin' to dub your anime (Doctor Casino), Wednesday, 10 April 2024 17:48 (one week ago) link

Not one but two Harold Wilson era political operators who are in the news today:

Joe Haines, 96
Bernard Donoughue, 89

My God's got no nose... (Tom D.), Thursday, 11 April 2024 09:23 (one week ago) link

With the passing of OJ... Peter Lupus, the original Nordberg - still around at 91.

Michael Jones, Thursday, 11 April 2024 15:59 (one week ago) link

Al Cowlings, 76.

clemenza, Thursday, 11 April 2024 22:05 (one week ago) link

a surprising number of mission: impossible! tv show stars are still with us

peter lupus (91) and barbara bain (92) may be the only ones who really count, but late replacements/recurring characters lee meriwether (88), lesley ann warren (77), sam elliott (79), about whom i had no idea, lynda day george (79), and barbara anderson (79) are still available to the secretary

mookieproof, Friday, 12 April 2024 01:20 (one week ago) link

Could have sworn Terry Riley died a few years ago! Though I might have been La Monte Young? Nope! Still here at 88

ed.b, Friday, 12 April 2024 02:42 (one week ago) link

Paul Evans, performer of shit 50s novelty records like "Seven Little Girls Sitting in the Backseat"

This is Dance Anthems, have some respect (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 12 April 2024 07:53 (one week ago) link

Bobbie Gentry, 81 years young

Andy the Grasshopper, Friday, 12 April 2024 16:48 (one week ago) link

Could have sworn Terry Riley died a few years ago! Though I might have been La Monte Young? Nope! Still here at 88

Were you thinking of Tony Conrad (RIP, 2016)?

the scouse that roared (Matt #2), Friday, 12 April 2024 16:55 (one week ago) link

Dabney Coleman, 92

jaymc, Friday, 12 April 2024 22:56 (one week ago) link

Suge Knight, thought he died a few years ago.

papal hotwife (milo z), Saturday, 13 April 2024 00:55 (one week ago) link

Is Corey Feldman dead? I can never remember

brimstead, Saturday, 13 April 2024 00:59 (one week ago) link

why am I asking this on a message board

brimstead, Saturday, 13 April 2024 00:59 (one week ago) link

Tom Courtenay, 87

Mark G, Saturday, 13 April 2024 07:42 (one week ago) link

Kenneth Cope, 93 today

Overtoun House windows (aldo), Sunday, 14 April 2024 19:37 (one week ago) link

Buzz Aldrin, 94.

not the one who's tryin' to dub your anime (Doctor Casino), Monday, 15 April 2024 03:35 (one week ago) link

Marty Wilde, 85 today.

Ward Fowler, Monday, 15 April 2024 12:32 (one week ago) link

Brit strongman and Highland Games competitor Geoff Capes, 74. Could have sworn he died years ago, maybe I was thinking of Giant Haystacks.

the scouse that roared (Matt #2), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 12:38 (one week ago) link

things that big ppl can hide beneath: capes and haystacks

mark s, Tuesday, 16 April 2024 12:43 (one week ago) link

And daddies.

My God's got no nose... (Tom D.), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 12:44 (one week ago) link

Gary Busey, 79.

Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 16 April 2024 12:47 (one week ago) link

Giant Haystacks was 6'11" and weighed 49 stone. Had no idea he was quite that big

Bernard Quidbins (NickB), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 12:49 (one week ago) link

Geoff Capes otoh was 6'5" and a slender 26 stone. Tiny man in comparison

Bernard Quidbins (NickB), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 12:56 (one week ago) link

Is there a more famous budgie fancier? Not sure I can think of one.

Overtoun House windows (aldo), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 12:59 (one week ago) link

Siouxsie

subpost master (wins), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 13:04 (one week ago) link

loool!

Bernard Quidbins (NickB), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 13:05 (one week ago) link

Geoff Capes otoh was is 6'5"

as per the thread

Although maybe he's shrunk a bit now, as you do when you age

the scouse that roared (Matt #2), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 13:20 (one week ago) link

Bernard Purdie - 84, genuinely thought he had passed away some years ago

Muad'Doob (Moodles), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 15:29 (one week ago) link

purdie has to outlive ringo so he can re-up his claim it was him playing all the beatles drum parts

mark s, Tuesday, 16 April 2024 16:24 (one week ago) link

lol

Andrew Goldsoundz (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 17:38 (one week ago) link

Somebody once had a theory that he might once have actually overdubbed some tracks with Pete Best but who really knows or cares.

Andrew Goldsoundz (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 16 April 2024 17:39 (one week ago) link

Is there a more famous budgie fancier? Not sure I can think of one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahpGCrlQc0k

Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 16 April 2024 17:42 (one week ago) link

ymmv for 'famous' but British character actor Arnold Yarrow - most famous to me as Bellal in Death To The Daleks, the Pertwee-era Doctor Who story - is 104 today. He's the oldest living Who-related actor.

Overtoun House windows (aldo), Wednesday, 17 April 2024 09:02 (six days ago) link

Also apparently in Eastenders for a while but he died in 1989.

My God's got no nose... (Tom D.), Wednesday, 17 April 2024 09:58 (six days ago) link

Geoffrey Robertson KC, he worked on the OZ trial along with many other cases defending civil liberties and free speech, he's only 77

Critique of the Goth Programme (Neil S), Wednesday, 17 April 2024 14:28 (six days ago) link

Wow.

My God's got no nose... (Tom D.), Wednesday, 17 April 2024 14:29 (six days ago) link

Whitey Herzog was still alive this week.

pplains, Wednesday, 17 April 2024 17:25 (six days ago) link

This isn't really that surprising, because he isn't that old, and he certainly isn't famous but the boy who provided the voice on Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge is still alive. Which makes me happy. His name is Josef Protschka and he was 80 this year.

My God's got no nose... (Tom D.), Thursday, 18 April 2024 07:28 (five days ago) link

this reminded me that one of my most vivid music listening experiences was on a train out of Rome listening to Gesang der Jünglinge, so this also makes me happy. Good work, Josef.

Fizzles, Thursday, 18 April 2024 09:44 (five days ago) link

gnna to tell my grandchildren that herbert halbik and josef protschka are the same age and the same guy

mark s, Thursday, 18 April 2024 09:55 (five days ago) link

He did become an operatic tenor as an adult, he didn't end up as a bus driver or something. That would have been cool though.

My God's got no nose... (Tom D.), Thursday, 18 April 2024 09:56 (five days ago) link

Masanori Murakami, turns 80 in a couple of weeks--first Japanese MLB player, pitched for the Giants in '64 and '65. And pitched really well: 90 innings, 65 hits, 100 strikeouts, 23 walks. He was 21 years old. I was mystified, so checked his Wikipedia page; the Japanese commissioner, Yushi Uchimura--Bowie Kuhn's brother, evidently--forced him to return to Japan after the '65 season.

https://i.postimg.cc/7PJ017j8/masanori.jpg

clemenza, Sunday, 21 April 2024 02:31 (two days ago) link

(Wasn't another Japanese player till Hideo Nomo in 1995.)

clemenza, Sunday, 21 April 2024 02:33 (two days ago) link

Jackie Robinson's widow Rachel (101!)

I know...I've posted about her at least once in this thread. Time passes, I'll assume she died and I forgot about it, and then she'll be in the news--she was in one of the clubhouses (Mets', I think) on Jackie Robinson Day last week.

clemenza, Sunday, 21 April 2024 22:01 (two days ago) link

I've posted her once too, itt.

nickn, Monday, 22 April 2024 17:49 (yesterday) link

PJ Proby, 85.

Not waving but droning (Tom D.), Monday, 22 April 2024 19:10 (yesterday) link


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