87 or Older: Four Hitchcock Blondes & Many More Actresses Persist in Living

Jane Fonda: I was supposed to be the new Vera Miles.

Jeff Bridges: Who?

Jane Fonda: Exactly. I was supposed to replace someone no one knew was missing.

(Love that scene from The Morning After)

R1 I forgot about that! Wasn’t that supposed to be Fonda’s “retirement” role?

I can't imagine being that old

in 30 years time we'll be celebrating 105 year old Cher.

The generation that grew up in the depression and WW2 seem to be pretty long lived (as long as they survived childhood illnesses and quit smoking early enough). Probably a combination of wholesome food and plenty of exercise when they were younger and advances in medicine as they got older.

Tina Louise is 87

Monica Vitti has had dementia for years and years now. So I really would count anybody who is not living a fulfilling life and I doubt she is.

Janis Paige (1922) is still with us. She was a hoot in Silk Stockings.

Also, Priscilla Pointer (1924). She played the queen in a campy 80s Rumpelstiltskin movie, directed by her husband and starring her daughter, Amy Irving.

R8 I remember Stereophonic Sound…had no idea she was around, much less 99!

no r2 She did Stanley and Iris and Old Gringo in the next few years. Both were supposed to be big Oscar Holiday films and got pushed back to Jan/Feb when they turned out to be disappointing. I don't think she ever announced a retirement. She probably was hugely disappointed in those films (especially after Burt Lancaster sued her for firing him from Old Gringo.) Then she met Ted Turner and he didn't want her to work. She says now she was incredibly depressed in the last few years of her marriage to Tom Hayden and that would be around the time of those films.

So I don't think she ever really thought about retiring. She just got worn down by it all and escaped to a new life in Atlanta with Turner.

Actually come to think of it Agnes of God the year before was marketed as a comeback. She didn't do a film in four years. (She did do The Dollmaker for TV and won an Emmy. I wonder why she didn't do that as a theatrical film.)

R8 I'll drink to that!

Ann Blyth - aka Veda Pierce - recently turned 93.

Eva St. Marie on the set of 'North by Northwest II: the Next Day'.

You forgot Rose, [italic]Rose[/italic].

I had nightmares after watching “The Dollmaker” - specifically about the scene where Jane Fonda’s daughter is crushed in a train accident.

Jane Fonda really should have sprung for that facelift prior to taking her role as a school teacher opposite Robert DeNiro. Then when she handed out that test paper with those wrinkled hands. The movie could have been called Stanley & Papyrus.

Don't forget about me, bitches.

Barbara Eden is 90.

Amateurs!

The great Barbara Barrie turned 90 this year.

Let's not forgot Terry Moore. Born in 1929 and still working.

Another legend born in 1929 - Irene Papas

Cara Williams born in 1925 is still with us.

R21 Here. My bad - Terry Moore was mentioned in OP.

Marisa Pavan born in 1932. Got Oscar nominated for The Rose Tattoo.

Nancy Olson from Sunset Boulevard born in 1928

Shirley MacLaine turned 87 this year. Wonder who old she lived to in her previous lives?

Leslie Caron born in 1931

Lee Grant born in 1925 who will be 96 this coming Sunday.

The great Dame Joan Plowright born in 1929.

June Lockhart born in 1925.

Gena Rowlands, 91

Six time Academy Award Nominee (with one award) Ellen Burstyn born in 1932 aged 88

Not just an actress (occasionally) but a writer and director, Elaine May born in 1932.

Nina van Pallandt born in 1932

Harriet Anderson born in 1932. One of Bergman's muses.

Petula Clark born in 1932

Siân Phillips born in 1933 aged 88

I've been at events with Eva Marie Saint and she is a living doll. It's been awhile and her husband has since died, so I hope she's still doing well.

The great Brazilian actress Fernanda Montenegro (GOOP stole her Oscar) Born in 1929

88 year old Datalounge Legend Carol Burnett

Oscar Winner Louise Fletcher, aged 87 earlier this year

Wendy Craig turned 87 in June this year.

To be fair, actresses were a part of the prop department when Hitchcock was making films. He took care of his props.

Edit: the only women who were not part of the props budget at this time were Katharine Hepburn and Ingrid Bergman. Hitchcock was in love with Ingrid and thought Hepburn was too loud.

French actress Judith Magre born in 1926 and still working

First thing first, NOT BEING MORBIDLY OBESE.

Marion Ross born in 1928

Marion Ross born in 1928

Marsha Hunt (Pride and Prejudice) is 104.

Shirley MacLaine, though not a blonde, was also a Hitchcock star.

Don't forget the amazing Helen Gallagher, 95 years old.

I read Ellen Burstyn's memoir and she never lies about her birthdate because of her mother. Her mother was a bit of a whack-a doddle and was separated/divorced/whatever from Ellen's father. One day Mom was having a gentleman caller over for a date and she wanted Ellen to pretend that she was her sister instead of her daughter in order to make Mom appear to be younger than she actually was. Ellen said the whole things was terribly embarrassing and she got very tired of her mother pretending to be younger than she was. She vowed to be always open and honest about her age and she has been, even in youth oriented Hollywood.

R52 Ellen Burstyn was born on December 7, 1932, currently 88 years of age and proud of it! And honest!

They look ancient and wretched. Is this what I have to look forward to 55-60 years from now?

Broadway and daytime TV star Constance Towers is 88.

Wow, this post makes me crave a luncheon with these women, but I had better hurry! Plus, as other posters have pointed out, some of them are in terrible shape and some of them have just distanced themselves from public life. I knew Tina Louise at one time and she was extremely concerned about her looks...more than most beautiful actresses...it took her a full day to get her to an evening event. So, maybe my fantasy luncheon will be with the ones who are ambulatory, do not have Alzheimers, and are easygoing...a tall order for nonagenarian actresses!

Meanwhile, I had no idea Marisa Pavan (jeez Pier Angeli has been dead so long) was alive. Same with Gena Rowlands. Wow.

Kind of forgot Barbaras Bain and Barrie, as well. But I am shocked Nina Van Pallandt was born in '32. I thought she was 10 years younger.

My parents subscribed to something called "Hollywood Studio Magazine in the 1970s and 1980s". It was fun, kind of like a gossip monthly glossy for the stars of the 40s and 50s. They would publish publicity photos of Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney being visited backstage at Sugar Babies by Kathryn Grayson and Van Johnson and Esther Williams. It was a hoot.

Except for the Oscar winners (Eva Marie Saint), those who carved out a place (Novak) and the TV stars (Ginger, Jeannie, etc) a lot of these women are/will be forgotten by the majority of the public so it is nice to discuss them.

Barbara Bain is 90 years old. I liked her on Mission Impossible.

Hitchcock’s sperm was life enhancing.

Tina Louise is 87. Then and now - speechless.

Marla Gibbs is 90. Though she almost always looked older than her age.

R59 Yes, Tina was very dewey and voluptuous even earlier than GI. She was a pinup from the early to mid-50s. She did hundreds of photo shoots, there are thousands of images of her from even before she got to Hollywood. She was a real babe.

Notorious soap and theater actress Ellen Holly is about to turn 91.

Julie Andrews at 86 is another of Hitchcock's leading ladies still with us. TCM or someone should get them all together before it’s too late!

Do I count?

It was in the 80s but Tina looked really good on Married with Children.

Baby Doll Carroll Baker turned 90 last May.

Joanne Woodward is still alive, at age 91.

Barbara Rush is 94. She and Woodward are the two last surviving adult actors from one of my favorite old films, No Downpayment, which was the inspiration for Knots Landing.

Brenda Vaccaro (81)

Bitches didn't have drive down a winding mountain road with a cunt like my daughter Stephanie

OP- Michelle Philips had a HUGE amount of high quality rock n roll COCK and it didn't help her. She looks so frail and elderly nowadays.

R69 Sorry hon. We all love Brenda Vaccaro but this thread is for the 87+.

If we went down to 81 the thread would go on and on.

R72 You are on point, brother. Thank you.

Rosemary Harris still going strong at 94.

How could we forget the great Glynis Johns who recently celebrated her 98th birthday!

Phyllida Law an accomplished actress in her own right (even if her annoying daughter Emma Thompson is more well-known). She recently turned 89.

Shirley Jones turned 87 earlier this year.

I just have to say these older actresses look great. There is hope. Of course, great plastic surgery helps. Also, Angie Dickinson and Sophia Loren. I saw the recent video of Angie Dickinson the oher day and felt a bit depressed for bygone days when she was near flawless.

Actress Rosemary Prinz is 90.

Anouk Aimée, 89

R44 Was Katherine Hepburn ever in Hitchcock movie? I don’t recall it…

Susan Lucci, 96.

Miss Nanette Newman, aka the Widow Forbes, is 87.

Yvonne Furneaux (La Dolce Vita, Repulsion) is 95.

DL fave Joyce Bulifant is 83. And she still looks terrific.

Mary Louise Wilson will be 90 next week.

Frances Sternhagen is 91.

Gina Lollobrigida .....94 years old and still smokin'!

R81, she wasn't

Susan Lucci will be 97 next year...

Kim Cattrall has to be mid-80s. She looked 40 when when she guest starred on Charlie's Angels 45 years ago! Old and over the hill.

Sophia Loren just turned 87 and just recently had a new movie released.

Brigitte Auber, the French chick who had the hots for Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, is 96 and still working.

I'm the only one STILL WORKING! I'll probably die on a movie set! And I still look fabulous.

R93 I like her. She reminds me of a French Joanne Woodward.

Ellen Burstyn will be 89 in 3 weeks. I hope she makes it through the Blumhouse Exorcist…it’s not expected for two more years.

Eternally Sexy.

R97 Deep Fake.

But the Brits do it best, and they REALLY keep working:

MAGGIE SMITH 86

EILEEN ATKINS 87

VANESSA REDGRAVE 84

JUDI DENCH 86

and baby HELEN MIRREN 76

Has anyone mentioned 2 of the loveliest of the 7 Brides:

RUTA LEE, age 86

JULIE NEWMAR, age 88

[quote][R97] Deep Fake.

And ruined the thread for me.

Carol Burnett is 88!

I can't wrap my head around Carol being 88. I grew up on the syndicated Carol Burnett & Friends reruns starting in the late 70s and she just seemed eternally youthful.

This thread makes me so happy. I’m so glad all these great old ladies are still alive. Some of them it’s shocking how old they are; others it’s just shocking they’re still alive. Gena Rowlands would be at the top of that list—I had no idea she was still alive.

Still makes me feel so bad for those who are gone, some far too soon. The great Barbara Harris, Patty Duke, Margot Kidder… Carrie Fisher and the mother she killed when she OD’d and died on the plane…

I own this thread cunts!

[quote]Brigitte Auber, the French chick who had the hots for Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, is 96 and still working.

For R93

Nancy Kovack turns 87 in a few months.

(Darrin's ex on Bewitched; Medea in Jason and the Argonauts; Star Trek)

R107 Nancy married very very well. Money and respectability. This article is ancient, but she would have made a great 1990s Real Housewife of BH.

Nearly the full rundown...

Shirley Jones and Shirley MacLaine are both 87.

Taina Elg from Les Girls is 91

Virginia McKenna is 90

French actress Micheline Presle is 99

Debra Paget is 88

Marianne Koch

[quote] Taina Elg.... Virginia McKenna.... Marianne Koch

Who, who, and WHO???

To anyone who remembers the massive hit BORN FREE, Virginia McKenna is hardly a “who,” r115.

Taina Elg was Olympia Buchanan, mother of Bo and Clint! Plus she was in Les Girls!

Virginia McKenna with “Elsa”

R118 I have a B&W autographed photo like that, somewhere. My mom helped me pen a fan letter when I was 5 or 6!

If you haven't seen Les Girls you should be banned from DL.

Arlene Dahl successfully resisted persisting.

r121 I wonder who will be next? its that time of year.

Nita Talbot

Anne Vernon is 97. Deneuve's mother in Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Mara Corday

Their diet

Geneviève Page is 93 (94 in a couple of days)

These ladies seem like the perfect candidates for Democratic Supreme Court justice nominees.

Good genes and they have spent the past 80 years living on salmon, greens, steamed potatoes and spring water.

r23 Not anything 😢

Cara Williams has died aged 96.

Now Cara Williams is gone

Judi Dench turned 87 a few days ago.

Miss Dench is not long for this world

R133 She is still working.

I caught Louise Fletcher on an episode of Maverick today. She, too, is 87.

R135 meet R42

[quote]Anne Vernon is 97. Deneuve's mother in Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

This post reminded me about Deneuve's real mother, French stage actress Renée Simonot, who last I heard was still alive and extremely old. I just looked her up though and she died in July at the age of 109.

R136 Oh honey, for all I know they both could be me. I sometimes find myself reading older posts on DL, laughing out lout, and then pondering "wait, did I write that?" So, while it's lovely to meet r42 ... r42 may very well be me. I wouldn't possibly recall a post from 6 weeks ago.

The great Sylvia Sims turned 87 earlier this year.

Barrie Chase — she of Cape Fear, Mad Mad World, and Fred Astaire’s final, regular dance partner — recently turned 88. She still gives the occasional interview and recently lamented that she had just had a baby and felt fat during her kooky dance in It’s a Mad…World.

Glynis Johns is 98.

^ She used to be sexy once

Longevity has absolutely NOTHING to do with genes (unless you have a cancer gene).

It has to do with moderation with everything you do, and maintaining a consistent body weight on the lower side of your body type, as well as your work occupation. I would guess you also tread carefully after 60 so you don’t wear out any body parts too soon, but amazingly, I found the most important piece is HOW YOU MANAGE STRESS.

My key to living well I learned from my husband- is to “keep my side of the street clean” and to quickly IDENTIFY YOUR PART IN when something goes terribly awry, instead of being emotional, you have established some sort of belief system that clinically evaluates and addresses it- and make amends swiftly to others if necessary-

And if at all possible as a life goal, NEVER put yourself into a place where you seethe with hate or resentment IN THE FIRST PLACE. Stress kills.

I also say for a happy, enduring relationship, “Don’t put your your penis where it don’t belong”

R143 And not smoking helps!

Not movie stars or anything, but Jerry and George's mothers from Seinfeld, Liz Sheridan and Estelle Harris, are both still alive at 92 and 93. Liz claims to have dated James Dean.

[quote] Liz claims to have dated James Dean.

That woman is decidedly unappealing which makes you realise that if Dean were alive he'd be equally unappealing, as well as fat, wrinkled and myopic.

R145 r146 Oh brother. Because who would date Ursula Andress when you could date Liz Sheridan? Look at these two. Liz probably bought him coffee and a roll at the 5 & 10 and now refers to it as a date.

Andress, Angeli, Sheridan. A trifecta a beauties.

A trifecta OF beauties, I meant.

I wonder how wealthy or poor some of these women are today? Whenever I read obituaries of semi famous old starlets it seems like they always married some rich executive and had kids. I wonder if any are living in small studio apartments or mobile homes with just a meager SS check off of which to live. Have some of them not learned how to age? Do they dance around like Baby Jane reciting the lines from their most famous roles over and over. Does Seinfeld's mom constantly telling the newspaper boy she gave James Dean a blow job?

R147 Liz and Jimmy lived in an apartment together when Jimmy was poor and trying to make it as an actor. Playmate Alice Denham corroborated that in her juicy memoir Sleeping with Bad Boys: A Juicy Tell-All of Literary New York in the the 1950s and 1960s. How serious their relationship was is open to interpretation, but they did live together.

R150 I think many of them are in assisted living while some, in fact, may be deceased, it just hasn’t reached the media yet. It’s going to take a communication to alert the media and some (some) of these ladies may have relatives who have no idea how to do so.

R151 This sounds like a book I would eat up.

R153 I definitely recommend it. It’s available on Kindle.

Liz Sheridan wrote a whole book about her liaison with Dean.

[quote] I can't imagine being old

[quote]—Mrs Michael Douglas

[quote] The great Barbara Barrie turned 90 this year.

Ah … how old is the lousy one?

Lois Smith is still alive at 91 and she recently won a Tony.

[quote] I wonder if any are living in small studio apartments or mobile homes with just a meager SS check off of which to live.

Not Hitchcock or over 1987, but was wondering the same thing recently. Was watching Wings and realized Crystal Bernard has not worked much since the show was over in 1997. Did she earn enough to live comfortably to go into semi-retirement before age 40 twenty-five years ago, does she have a partner with money, or is she barely scraping by.

Let me get this straight. The OP is trying to make a big deal over the fact that older actresses who are still alive are still alive?

Shit.

"Mystical, dude. Like, wow."

Maggie Smith turned 87 a few days ago.

Carol Lawrence is going on 90…

Legendary Japanese actress Ayako Wakao is 88.

Has Julie Newmar been mentioned? She is 88 and very healthy. This photo is from an LA Times piece from about 2 1/2 years ago.

Mamie Van Doren owns two homes in the Norma Triangle area, as well as a Sunset Plaza commercial property. If these ladies were smart enough to invest in real estate back in the 50's and 60's, they're likely quite wealthy.

Joan Van Ark will be 108 this year!

Carole Cook — 98

^^^Wearing the coat Lucille Ball wore in the ILL episode where she heads to the hospital to give birth to Little Ricky.

R165, Mamie never rose above b-level fame, so good for her for investing wisely.

Constance Towers is 88 and Joanna Barnes is 87.

Brigitte Bardot is 87

And Raquel Welch is 81.

She was reported unwell. Any updates?

Genevieve Page

Maureen Arthur…aka Hedy LaRue…will soon be 88.

Leslie Parrish is 87. Her hunky Lil Abner co star Peter Palmer died at 90 about 6 months ago.

Kim Novak looks fucking horrendous.

When she dies, they're going to have to melt down that plastic face so it doesn't pollute the groundwater.

If you’re that old you grew up smoking and lying in the sun.

Ziva Rodann—the poor mans’s Haya Harareet—is 89.

The Dataloungers are going senile.

Starting a new thread while the other thread is less than a month old. Starting a new thread to natter about what's in this thread.

Barbara Feldon is 89. I wonder if she’ll make it to 99?

Angie Dickinson is going on 91. She’s probably been mentioned but she’s so cool and awesome, she bears repeating.

R143 died of a stroke yesterday at the age of 52, reportedly distraught at the treatment of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Queen's Jubilee. He is survived by his two cats, Harry and Meghan. There will not be a viewing but he wants everyone to know he looked 28.

Debra Paget will be 89 in August.

I just watched most of 1963’s Cleopatra…Jean Marsh (Upstairs/Downstairs) played Octavia. She’ll be 88 on July 1.

Chita Rivera is 89 and still appearing at award shows.

May Britt is now 88. Her daughter with Sammy Davis Jr. died in 2020.

R63 Thanks. People always forget Julie Andrews in these "old actresses" lists. Maybe because she didn't make a movie until she was almost 30 (and seems younger than some other stars, for that reason).

Ruth Buzzi, Joanne Worley, Lily Tomlin, Goldie Hawn from Laugh In, all still alive as far as I know. You bet your sweet bippy.

Hello? Modern medicine has lead to the increase the numbers of the very old, among those de who have the means and will for the care. This is usually the more affluent that includes actresses from past eras. Surely you know this OP?

OP, does G know that picture is floating around?

[quote] if at all possible as a life goal, NEVER put yourself into a place where you seethe with hate or resentment IN THE FIRST PLACE. Stress kills.

Well, this place is out.

Is dear Delilah-Judith still with us?

Wonder if "Elena" from Seinfeld is still alive?

R193 Close…but she died 4 years ago at 89.

R194 Too bad...

Fish, sadly, are healthier and live longer than men.

Why do Jewish men die before their wives?

They want to.

--Henny Youngman

Bump for bug

Bump for bug 2

Barbara Rush is 95. It feels like she has been around FOREVER. She evidently survived Covid-19 shortly after this SF Chronicle profile in 2019.

I did not know that—just like Eve Harrington—Rush won the Sarah Siddons Award.

Eva Marie Saint, now 98, has lived long because of her healthy lifestyle. She loved her husband and family, and put them BEFORE her career, and never had the desperate NEED like so many actors do to remain in the public eye.

She's still going strong. This is from a year ago...

"In a recent email I told her that many of her fans had written to me expressing their concern and wondering if she had been vaccinated yet.

She told me in a February email: “I’ll receive my second Moderna vaccination on March 7th. Tell my dear fans I am so happy they think of me and tell them to take good care of themselves.”

Guess they're not old enough for this thread but Diane Baker of Hitchcock's Marnie is 84. Her costar from The Diary Of Anne Frank is also 84 - Millie Perkins.

Claire Bloom is 91.

Fish, sadly, are stronger and healthier than men.

Ever notice that 90% of customers in health food stores are fish?

Actress Kathryn Grant, mother of Mary Crosby (Kristin Shepard from Dallas) and widow of Bing Crosby is 88.

R205, and she looks like THIS now.

Patricia Routledge, 93

Priscilla Pointer turned 98 in May.

r206 she looks cute and smiley, like a spicy grandma

Elsa Cardenas (Dennis Hopper’s Mexican wife in Giant) is 89.

Jenn

Anne Haywood is soon to be 91.

^ She had a tiny career in the 1950s and was forgotten for 20 years.

She had another tiny career in the 1970s and was forgotten for 50 years.

R213 And to continue with the indignities…I misspelled her last name.

^ She probably misspelled that name as well— seeing as how it was fake name.

Pat Suzuki is 92.

OP- With your survey I answered Vivian Vance. I ALWAYS choose her if I'm given the option to do so.

I remember when Eva Marie Saint presented at the Oscars in 2018 I think it was. She was well into her nineties and still so lovely :-)

I’m always surprised that many old Hollywood actors are still alive or got really old, especially considering that they smoked, drank and were exposed to things like asbestos snow at work.

Someone should study their habits and reveal their secret to a long life. They can’t all have incredible genes.

If you wanna see these old broads gone..

just give them a role that Marlo Thomas wants to play

r96, they filmed almost all of her heavy scenes earlier this year, just in case. They had a long hiatus and starting to film again.

Julie Newmar is 89. Still a goddess.