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-two years ago)

(Richard Widmark)

― Gear! (Gear!), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 10:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Saddam Hussein, obv

― Ste (Fuzzy), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 11:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Stanley Baxter

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 12:21 (twenty-two years ago)

(Inverting the question completely) Thora Hird.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 12:22 (twenty-two years ago)

she was famous.

― RJG (RJG), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 13:25 (twenty-two years ago)

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-two years ago)

Clive Dunn is the obvious one.

― Chriddof (Chriddof), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 14:43 (twenty-two years ago)

Dennis Hopper, every time.

― TOMBOT, Wednesday, 24 December 2003 14:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Mickey Rooney

― Bryan (Bryan), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 14:59 (twenty-two years ago)

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-two years ago)

So I guess it's only half-inverted.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 15:12 (twenty-two years ago)

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

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

I'm always vaguelly confused that he even exists.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 15:15 (twenty-two years ago)

George Jones.

― Carey (Carey), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 15:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Elvis Presley

― jewelly (jewelly), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 19:25 (twenty-two years ago)

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

― miloauckerman (miloauckerman), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 19:26 (twenty-two years ago)

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-two years ago)

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-two years ago)

That guy from the Von Bondies

― Lynskey (Lynskey), Wednesday, 24 December 2003 19:53 (twenty-two years ago)

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-two years ago)

Ursula Moray Williams

― robin carmody (robin carmody), Thursday, 25 December 2003 20:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Reg Varney

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

Dave Allen

― stevem (blueski), Friday, 26 December 2003 19:50 (twenty-two years ago)

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-two years ago)

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

― jaymc (jaymc), Friday, 26 December 2003 20:01 (twenty-two years ago)

GENE WILDER. I swear he died.

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

Reg Varney's still alive?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Saturday, 27 December 2003 02:01 (twenty-two years ago)

richard pryor.

― cozen (Cozen), Saturday, 27 December 2003 02:22 (twenty-two years ago)

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

― isadora (isadora), Sunday, 28 December 2003 08:39 (twenty-two years ago)

Windsor Davies

― Ricardo (RickyT), Sunday, 28 December 2003 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

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

― s1utsky (slutsky), Sunday, 28 December 2003 21:52 (twenty-two years ago)

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 (twenty-two years ago)

I was surprised that Bosko even lived.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 14 June 2004 16:15 (twenty-two years ago)

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 (eighteen years ago)

Zsa Zsa Gabor just turned 91 a few days ago.

― Roz, Friday, 8 February 2008 07:03 (eighteen years ago)

abe vigoda

― remy bean, Friday, 8 February 2008 07:11 (eighteen years ago)

I think Ernest Borgnine is still at it too.

― nickn, Friday, 8 February 2008 07:52 (eighteen years ago)

doris day

― Frogman Henry, Friday, 8 February 2008 08:00 (eighteen years ago)

she's getting a grammy tomorrow

― tremendoid, Friday, 8 February 2008 08:03 (eighteen years ago)

two years pass...

Shirley Temple

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

!!!

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

Leonard skinner, but he's now dead.

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

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 (sixteen years ago)

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

― just1n3, Thursday, 23 September 2010 19:24 (sixteen years ago)

four months pass...

Louie Anderson

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

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

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

Kenneth Mars, but once again after he was dead.

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

Jane Russell

― Alba, Friday, 18 February 2011 09:00 (fifteen years ago)

Clive Dunn

― Alba, Friday, 18 February 2011 09:01 (fifteen years ago)

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John Boorman, 93.

― Dan Worsley, Sunday, 5 July 2026 18:17 (three months ago)

Knew Angie was still around, but Boorman surprised me.

― cryptosicko, Sunday, 5 July 2026 18:18 (three months ago)

The reverse of this thread scenario is that I just learned that one of the kids Melissa Etheridge had with David Crosby's donation died of an opioid overdose. I recall at the time people pointing out that having Crosby as the biological father was tempting fate, and, well ...

― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, 5 July 2026 19:28 (three months ago)

Mel Brooks hit 100 last month!

― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 13 July 2026 20:18 (three months ago)

Mitch McConnell

― Karmic posing as I always do 🧘 (wins), Monday, 13 July 2026 20:23 (three months ago)

mitch mcconnell

ffs xp

― Wichita Referee's Assistant (darraghmac), Monday, 13 July 2026 20:23 (three months ago)

Chantal Goya, 84.

― clemenza, Monday, 20 July 2026 19:23 (three months ago)

Johnny Pate, jazz bassist and later producer and arranger (notably on "Superfly"), 100.

Still with us, now 102.

― stanes on the knees and blood on the jumber (Tom D.), Monday, 27 July 2026 18:02 (two months ago)

Knew Angie was still around, but Boorman surprised me.

Saw him do a short q&a before restored Zardoz; definitely not as sharp as he used to be but just seeing him in the flesh was already an honour.

― a ZX spectrum is haunting Europe (Daniel_Rf), Monday, 27 July 2026 18:45 (two months ago)

Peggy Dow, 98

Also, apparently 3 actresses who were romantically linked to Howard Hughes are still with us:
Terry Moore, 97
Debra Paget, 92
and a thread MVP, Mamie Van Doren, 95

― Judi Dench's Human Hand (methanietanner), Monday, 27 July 2026 19:17 (two months ago)

Well, technically Jimmy Cricket:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c70g94zr1zgo

Although as of this writing he isn't actually alive any more. Surprisingly he was only 80.

― Ashley Pomeroy, Monday, 3 August 2026 21:11 (two months ago)

Koyaanisqatsi director Godfrey Reggio, 85, who I could have sworn died a while ago but no

― mime is money (bastard) (Matt #2), Monday, 3 August 2026 21:16 (two months ago)

In the summer of 2006, I came home to my parents’ house from my summer job and took a righteous bong rip in the backyard then settled down to watch Koyaanisqatsi. My dad came home early, a totally unheard of thing for him to do even on a Friday (he had had a late dentist appointment), and sat down with me in the TV room. I was exceptionally toked. After a few minutes, my dad said to me, “Ted, is this a movie for people on drugs?” and after clearing my throat and saying “No!” in as firm a tone I could muster, he said, “Let’s take a walk, it’s a gorgeous evening.” And that’s what we did, but as a result, I have never seen all of the film.

― out of the cradle endlessly party rocking (the table is the table), Monday, 3 August 2026 22:35 (two months ago)

Wait no, it was 2007, but oh well.

― out of the cradle endlessly party rocking (the table is the table), Monday, 3 August 2026 22:35 (two months ago)

not surprised she's alive, but I had no idea that Martha Steward is 85

― Andy the Grasshopper, Tuesday, 4 August 2026 01:15 (two months ago)

“Let’s take a walk, it’s a gorgeous evening.”

This sounds lovely tbh. I really want to see Koyaanisqatsi too, tho.

― Generalissimo Mitch McConnell is still dead (stevie), Wednesday, 5 August 2026 09:37 (two months ago)

i’s seen it before on home video, but many years later I saw it screened at the Kennedy Center (RIP) with the Philip Glass Ensemble (with the man himself) providing a live soundtrack. After a particularly intense passage that ends abruptly in silence one person in the audience exclaimed “wow!”.

― Luigi No...No!!! (Boring, Maryland), Wednesday, 5 August 2026 12:07 (two months ago)

Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, director of Hitler: a Film from Germany, 90.

― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 5 August 2026 13:12 (two months ago)

I had my dad take me to see Koyaanisqatsi when I was 12 or so.

― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 5 August 2026 13:14 (two months ago)

Guitarist John McLaughlin, 84.

― Josh in Chicago, Wednesday, 5 August 2026 15:11 (two months ago)

(xps) I thought I'd posted Syberberg before itt but apparently not.

― Happiness is a warm gurn (Tom D.), Wednesday, 5 August 2026 15:14 (two months ago)

He's not to be confused with the Frank Zappa character "Sy Borg"

― Halfway there but for you, Wednesday, 5 August 2026 15:49 (two months ago)

Guitarist John McLaughlin, 84.

Mistook this for the obituary thread and started a frantic Google search. Don't do that!

― wipes chooser (unperson), Wednesday, 5 August 2026 15:56 (two months ago)

He released a new album last year!

― mime is money (bastard) (Matt #2), Wednesday, 5 August 2026 16:15 (two months ago)

Songwriter Jeff Barry, 88.

"In 2025, Barry served as one of the songwriters for A Chuck E. Cheese Christmas, along with his son, Jon Colton Barry."

― bulb after bulb, Wednesday, 5 August 2026 16:31 (two months ago)

the last famous person you were surprised to discover might still be alive - Ingrid Superstar, went out to buy some cigarettes 40 years ago this year, hasn't been seen since.

― Happiness is a warm gurn (Tom D.), Thursday, 6 August 2026 11:22 (two months ago)

Mistook this for the obituary thread and started a frantic Google search. Don't do that!

Ha, sorry! But I *was* surprised he was still alive! Even the "new" album I think was cobbled together from old sessions, right?

― Josh in Chicago, Thursday, 6 August 2026 13:18 (two months ago)

Mr. T, only 72 but obv his days of glory are long past -- and I guess I didn't realize how young he was in the '80s.

― jaymc, Friday, 14 August 2026 13:50 (two months ago)

(currently on the WGN morning news wearing a Cubs jersey)

― jaymc, Friday, 14 August 2026 13:51 (two months ago)

Just put Kathryn Beaumont (the voice of Alice and Wendy for Disney in 1951/1953) in a mix, and delighted to find she is still alive.

― Camaraderie at Arms Length, Friday, 14 August 2026 14:04 (two months ago)

Watched Mrs. Miniver (1942) recently and was pleased to see the boy who played the eponymous heroine’s son, Toby, is still alive.

He had seven siblings who were all child actors. Sadly, only one other, Winston, is still alive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Severn

― Dan Worsley, Friday, 14 August 2026 14:38 (two months ago)

Lana Turner's daughter Cheryl Crane, 83, notable for fatally stabbing her mother's mobster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato in 1958.

― lols ulrich (Matt #2), Friday, 14 August 2026 23:19 (two months ago)

I had a feeling she was still around but good check and find that Nana Mouskouri is alive at 91.

― Alba, Sunday, 16 August 2026 20:09 (two months ago)

Weird, perhaps, but I could have sworn that Jay Leno died. I was wrong! Still with us

― out of the cradle endlessly party rocking (the table is the table), Monday, 17 August 2026 13:00 (two months ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBZUz4C6kqk

― Generalissimo Mitch McConnell is still dead (stevie), Tuesday, 18 August 2026 18:19 (two months ago)

Jasper Johns, 96

― completely suited to the horny decadence (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 18 August 2026 19:02 (two months ago)

I could have sworn that Jay Leno died

I think he routinely lights himself on fire or falls off a motorcycle, but manages to survive

― Andy the Grasshopper, Tuesday, 18 August 2026 19:22 (two months ago)

jasper johns is genuinely shocking to me

― mobb derp (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 18 August 2026 19:36 (two months ago)

Shirley Bassey

― cryptosicko, Wednesday, 19 August 2026 20:59 (two months ago)

Louis Farrakhan

― Happiness is a warm gurn (Tom D.), Friday, 28 August 2026 13:51 (one month ago)

Leslie Caron, 95

― visiting, Thursday, 3 September 2026 17:45 (one month ago)

Jasper Johns reminds me, by way of alliteration, that actress Jackie Joseph is still alive at 92 (starred in the 1960 Little Shop of Horrors; a regular on The Doris Day Show; the voice of "Melody" in the original Josie and the Pussycats cartoon)

― Josefa, Thursday, 3 September 2026 20:46 (one month ago)

Carol Kaye, 91, I assumed she'd died years ago

― grobbing thistle (Matt #2), Sunday, 6 September 2026 12:30 (one month ago)

two weeks pass...

Shirley Jones, 92.

― Happiness is a warm gurn (Tom D.), Wednesday, 23 September 2026 08:58 (four weeks ago)

Another Match Game one:

Alan Oppenheimer (60s/70s actor, later the voice of Skeletor), 96

― cryptosicko, Wednesday, 30 September 2026 02:05 (three weeks ago)

Ian Botham (not a pleasant surprise)

― Andrew Farrell, Thursday, 8 October 2026 14:29 (one week ago)

Caren Marsh (Doll), 107. Best known as Judy Garland's stand-in on The Wizard of Oz, but an actor/dancer in her own right.

― Infanta Terrible (j.lu), Thursday, 8 October 2026 16:12 (one week ago)

Corinne Marchand, 94.

― (energetic rock music continues) (Tom D.), Saturday, 17 October 2026 17:37 (four days ago)

Beatles drummer for two weeks, Jimmie Nicol, 87

― nate woolls, Tuesday, 20 October 2026 19:14 (yesterday)

That's a tricky one. No confirmed death but no confirmed sighting for many years either.

― Alba, Tuesday, 20 October 2026 19:36 (yesterday)

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