Thank you to still-surviving classic film stars

flixtime · 03-27-08, 11:38 AM

The recent passing of Richard Widmark and the related discussion in that thread got me to thinking of who might still be alive among classic film personalities of old Hollywood. Actually I’ve considered starting a discussion like this in the past but was leery of putting a hex on anyone. However, it seems discussion of these golden era stars often only comes about with their passing (and I do miss the old days when (now-retired?) DVDTalkers Vampyr, DimensionX, and others used to initiate so many classic film discussions).

So let’s have at it and give thanks for those still among us. To set some parameters, let’s go with the following two guidelines:

1) The film personality in question should have been born prior to 1929

AND

2) This individual should have been active in film or film/TV in the mid-1950s or earlier

Here are some of those that come to mind:

Karl Malden – born 1912
Eli Wallach – born 1915
Olivia de Havilland – born 1916
Kirk Douglas – born 1916
Ernest Borgnine – born 1917
Maureen O’Hara – born 1920
Mickey Rooney – born 1920
Harry Carey Jr. – born 1921
Christopher Lee – born 1922
Richard Attenborough – born 1923
Charlton Heston – born 1924
Paul Newman – born 1925
Tony Curtis – born 1925
Cliff Robertson – born 1925
Jerry Lewis – born 1926
Sidney Poitier – born 1927
L.Q. Jones – born 1927
James Garner – born 1928
Shirley Temple – born 1928

So put your thinking caps on and do some searching over at IMDb, and let’s see what we can come up with…feel free to list directors, cinematographers, music composers, character actors, etc.

KillerCannibal · 03-27-08, 12:24 PM

He's not a classic film star, but I'm still thankful that Ennio Morricone (1928) is alive and well.

Charlie Goose · 03-27-08, 12:35 PM

Kevin McCarthy - 1914
Harry Morgan - 1915
Olivia de Havilland - 1916
Carl Reiner - 1922
Sid Caesar - 1922

MoviePage · 03-27-08, 02:33 PM

Why did I think that Karl Malden had died a few years ago? I guess I was thinking of Elia Kazan, who was so closely associated with him.

redcon1 · 03-27-08, 02:44 PM

Dick Van Dyke - 1925.
And still as spry as ever(or at least he was in "Night At The Museum").

flixtime · 03-27-08, 03:16 PM

Mel Ferrer – born 1917
Joan Fontaine – born 1917 - hadn't realized she was Olivia de Havilland's sister
Nehemiah Persoff – born 1919
Ricardo Montalban – born 1920
Rhonda Fleming – born 1923
Martha Hyer – born 1924
Steve Forrest – born 1924
Leslie Nielsen – born 1926
Roger Moore – born 1927
Hardy Kruger – born 1928
Stuart Whitman – born 1928
Earl Holliman – born 1928

And to DVDTalker MoviePage, you and I were on the same wavelength in regard to Karl Malden...anyway, thumbs up that he's still kicking about.

rw2516 · 03-27-08, 03:51 PM

Patricia Neal-1926
Jane Russell-1921
Esther Williams-1921
Peter Graves-1926
James Arness-1923
A little young, Elizabeth Taylor-1932/Debbie Reynolds 1932

Lauren Bacall-1924

Gerry P. · 03-27-08, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flixtime

Mickey Rooney – born 1920

His first film appearance was in 1926 and he has four 2008 credits listed on IMDb.

Zen Peckinpah · 03-27-08, 06:44 PM

Hal Holbrook - born 1925

And though he's a 1930 birth, Clint Eastwood owns a huge debt to this list. I'm convinced that man is immortal.

03-27-08, 11:38 AM	#1
flixtime DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 2,493	Thank you to still-surviving classic film stars The recent passing of Richard Widmark and the related discussion in that thread got me to thinking of who might still be alive among classic film personalities of old Hollywood. Actually I’ve considered starting a discussion like this in the past but was leery of putting a hex on anyone. However, it seems discussion of these golden era stars often only comes about with their passing (and I do miss the old days when (now-retired?) DVDTalkers Vampyr, DimensionX, and others used to initiate so many classic film discussions). So let’s have at it and give thanks for those still among us. To set some parameters, let’s go with the following two guidelines: 1) The film personality in question should have been born prior to 1929 AND 2) This individual should have been active in film or film/TV in the mid-1950s or earlier Here are some of those that come to mind: Karl Malden – born 1912 Eli Wallach – born 1915 Olivia de Havilland – born 1916 Kirk Douglas – born 1916 Ernest Borgnine – born 1917 Maureen O’Hara – born 1920 Mickey Rooney – born 1920 Harry Carey Jr. – born 1921 Christopher Lee – born 1922 Richard Attenborough – born 1923 Charlton Heston – born 1924 Paul Newman – born 1925 Tony Curtis – born 1925 Cliff Robertson – born 1925 Jerry Lewis – born 1926 Sidney Poitier – born 1927 L.Q. Jones – born 1927 James Garner – born 1928 Shirley Temple – born 1928 So put your thinking caps on and do some searching over at IMDb, and let’s see what we can come up with…feel free to list directors, cinematographers, music composers, character actors, etc.

03-27-08, 12:24 PM	#2
KillerCannibal DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Behind the Orange Curtain Posts: 17,041	He's not a classic film star, but I'm still thankful that Ennio Morricone (1928) is alive and well. __________________ DVDAf Horror Movie Challenges: 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

03-27-08, 12:35 PM	#3
Charlie Goose DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Sesame Street (the apt. next to Bob's) Posts: 19,347	Kevin McCarthy - 1914 Harry Morgan - 1915 Olivia de Havilland - 1916 Carl Reiner - 1922 Sid Caesar - 1922 __________________ Ohwa Tagu Siam

03-27-08, 02:44 PM	#5
redcon1 Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 210	Dick Van Dyke - 1925. And still as spry as ever(or at least he was in "Night At The Museum"). __________________ "How tall was King Kong?"- Eli Cross

03-27-08, 03:51 PM	#7
rw2516 DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 4,355	Patricia Neal-1926 Jane Russell-1921 Esther Williams-1921 Peter Graves-1926 James Arness-1923 A little young, Elizabeth Taylor-1932/Debbie Reynolds 1932 Lauren Bacall-1924 Last edited by rw2516; 03-27-08 at 04:44 PM.

03-27-08, 02:33 PM	#4
MoviePage DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 6,119	Why did I think that Karl Malden had died a few years ago? I guess I was thinking of Elia Kazan, who was so closely associated with him.

03-27-08, 03:16 PM	#6
flixtime DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 2,493	Mel Ferrer – born 1917 Joan Fontaine – born 1917 - hadn't realized she was Olivia de Havilland's sister Nehemiah Persoff – born 1919 Ricardo Montalban – born 1920 Rhonda Fleming – born 1923 Martha Hyer – born 1924 Steve Forrest – born 1924 Leslie Nielsen – born 1926 Roger Moore – born 1927 Hardy Kruger – born 1928 Stuart Whitman – born 1928 Earl Holliman – born 1928 And to DVDTalker MoviePage, you and I were on the same wavelength in regard to Karl Malden...anyway, thumbs up that he's still kicking about.

03-27-08, 06:44 PM	#9
Zen Peckinpah DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 2,889	Hal Holbrook - born 1925 And though he's a 1930 birth, Clint Eastwood owns a huge debt to this list. I'm convinced that man is immortal. __________________ "The next time the motherfucker call, tell him I said suck my dick. I don't give a fuck, whatever the fuck make the people laugh, say that shit. Do the people laugh when you say what you say? I said, 'Yes.' He said, 'do you get paid?' I said, 'Yes.' He said well tell Bill I said have a Coke and a smile and shut the fuck up! The Jello puddin'-eating motherfucker!"