Thursday, May 27, 2010

AN END TO PREMORSE: Following up on TPE's post on the timely passing of Art Linkletter, this day before the extended Memorial Day weekend is perhaps most appropriate to answer conclusively the question of who is the most surprisingly alive person today?

And by "surprisingly alive," I don't mean folks like Courtney Love, Keith Richards or Andy Dick whose lifestyles would seem to stand in opposition to sustained living, but rather those people whom you've forgotten about and just assumed had passed away years ago. Like Ark Linkletter. Or, per this helpful resource, Dolores Hope, now a centenarian like her late husband Bob (and tomorrow, 101 years old), or former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir (94), whom I had just assumed had gone to the final peace conference in the sky at some point.

Even more intriguing -- and I don't know how to balance out this factor -- are folks who aren't quite as super-old, but I still assumed they were dead. Like Jake LaMotta, Esther Williams and Monty Hall -- all still alive at 88. Give us some more ideas.

From the archives: 9-29-06: "Whose obituary is, at present, the most stale? By which I mean -- the person's obituary was pre-written a long time ago; the subject remains alive; and there hasn't been anything new in the person's life for years which would require an update of the obituary," for which I still think the answer is Deanna Durbin.

27 comments:

  1. Your mention of Shamir calls to mind Ariel Sharon, who is "only" 82 but who left the scene in January 2006 after suffering a massive stroke.  Apparently, he lives on, in a permanent vegetative state.  And given the no-politics rule, I'll leave it at that.

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  2. Luise Rainer has worked, mostly in little stuff, but may be staler than Durbin, since her actual achievements were 1936-37.

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  3. kd bart9:31 AM

    Olivia De Havilland.  93 years old.  Played Melanie Wilkes in Gone With the Wind back in 1939.  Has not appeared in a film since 1979.  Her younger sister, Joan Fontaine, is also still alive.  She's 92.  Both have won Best Actress Oscars.

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  4. For me, at least, I knew they both were still alive.

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  5. kd bart9:38 AM

    To add to the above.  The two sisters haven't spoken to each other since 1975.

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  6. Perhaps each just assumes that the other is dead?

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  7. Heather K10:08 AM

    Holy Crap!  I assumed DeHaviland was dead (although wasnt she on an oscars telecast recently and looking pretty spry) and Bob Hope also obvisouly dead.  Also Jake LaMotta too.  Wow, this is mind blowing for me this morning!

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  8. Joseph J. Finn10:53 AM

    Damn, you got to the sisters before I did.  First thing that came to mind.  But even more up there, Gloria Stuart is still alive and will be 100 on July 4th.

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  9. patricia10:55 AM

    Per Benner in the earlier thread, I'm shocked to find out that Doris Day is still alive.  Her music seems to come from such a long-ago-seeming time period to me, I just assumed she was dead.

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  10. Adam C.11:09 AM

    Despite the fact that they're both alive and still in the public consciousness, couldn't we agree that Andy Rooney's and Bil Keane's obits are extremely stale?

    Also, Al Molinaro is 90?!?!?!  

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  11. Joseph J. Finn11:19 AM

    I had to check on this one, so I'm counting him: Steve Ditko.

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  12. The Pathetic Earthling11:21 AM

    That made me look up Family Circus -- I had no idea it only started in 1960 -- seems so much older than that, to me.  

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  13. Carrie11:36 AM

    KD: I, too was going to say De Havilland and Fontaine. They have spoken to each other since 1975. But the relationship, shall we say, is not intimate. I have it on good authority that when De H was having some financial troubles in the 1990s, F was supportive.

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  14. Adam C.11:41 AM

    Same as it ever was....

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  15. kd bart1:15 PM

    Mitch Miller is still alive!!! 

    I assumed he died at least 30 years ago.

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  16. During college I attended a conference that included a tour of The New York Times. One of the coolest parts was seeing Ronald Reagan's obituary copy. In 1998.

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  17. I'm currently in DC and recently took the NPR tour.  There's a white board in the All Songs Considered area with story plans on it, and in the "near future" category was listed an obituary for Etta James.  Sad, but one needs to be prepared, I guess.

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  18. Eric J.3:37 PM

    He doesn't do Comics Cons (he never has) but Ditko seems to publish something every few years.

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  19. In other obit news, as far as youngest person to have a pre-written obit, I think Lindsay Lohan may have been supplanted by Ardi Rizal...

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  20. Benner8:20 PM

    I definitely thought Herman Wouk, David Rockefeller, Jack LaLanne, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Stan Musial, Carol Channing, Blake Edwards, Sid Caesar, Conrad Bain, Ara Parseghian, General Jarluzelski, Eva Marie Saint, and Don Coryell were dead (though in the later case, I can see how he wouldn't be).  And I was so sure Sargent Shriver was dead, I assumed the list of the 85+ was wrong that I double-checked wikipedia.  This led me to check which other Kennedys had recently died besides Ted, leading me to suffer premorse for Ethel Kennedy.  I am going to Democrat hell.  HOWEVAH, the presence of a sitting U.S. Senator on the first page of the list and a sitting Supreme Court Justice on the second page will make me enjoy my trip to Democrat hell while it lasts.

    Youngest people with pre-written obits are not necessarily those most likely to die.  Trig Palin probably has one ready to go.

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  21. Shriver has had Alzheimer's for a few years.  Wouk is a big surprise on the alive list.

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  22. Marsha9:58 AM

    I was 100% sure Harry Morgan was dead. But he isn't.

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  23. Reggae10:20 AM

    About 20 years ago I organized a Dead Pool and Abe Vigoda (now 89) was on my list.  I think while appearing in the Godfather and Barney Miller in the 70s he just looked older than he actually was at the time.  But I'm surprised he is still with us.

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  24. There's a web site for just that question. http://www.abevigoda.com/ffb.php

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  25. Genevieve12:31 PM

    I was sure Wouk is dead, but turns out that's just because I knew Chaim Potok had died and I mixed them up (which I shouldn't do as they're quite different).
    My favorite book of Wouk's is "The City Boy," which is so different from his sprawling epics.  It's about Herbie Bookbinder, smart in school but lousy on the baseball field, and it's a great book.

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  26. Bobby Thomson, author of the Shot Heard Round the World, was a surprise.

    Agree with the first commenter about Sharon. I find myself checking every few months to make sure I didn't miss news of his death.

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  27. calliekl7:22 AM

    Adlai, you made my day.

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