Still With Us

[Brock]

Happy 92nd birthday to Sir David Attenborough, former Controller of BBC2 and BBC Director of Programmes. Although I think he's made one or two programmes of his own since then :-)

[Ian Wegg]

Happy birthday Milton Johns, 80 today.

[Brock]

Not only is Sheila Hancock still working at the age of 85, she became the oldest person to climb Suilven during the filming of Edie, which has just been released in cinemas. (And she's still excellent value on Radio 4's Just a Minute.)

[Ian Wegg]

After watching The Iron Maiden yesterday I was pleased to discover that Michael Craig is still alive, aged 90. He has apparently been living and working in Australia since 1972.

[For some inexplicable reason (which may be a subject for another thread) I occasionally confuse Michael Craig with John Gregson, which might explain why I thought he was no longer with us. Curiously it seems that Michael's real name is actually Michael Gregson although the two are not related.]

~iw

[Brock]

Happy 95th birthday to Nicholas Parsons. I've mentioned him a few times before but I continue to find it incredible that he's still presenting Radio 4's Just A Minute with as much enthusiasm as ever. He missed a couple of programmes earlier this year because of the flu (with Gyles Brandreth as an excellent deputy) but, apart from that, his record on the programme since 1967 is unblemished. It's difficult to think of many other presenters on TV or radio who come close to it.

[Brock]

Bernard Cribbins is 90 today. Happy birthday!

[Brock]

And it was only when I heard the report of his MBE today that I realized that the magician David Berglas is still with us, at the age of 92. One of the first magicians to appear on British television, but he sort of disappeared after the 80s.

[perov]

And it was only when I heard the report of his MBE today that I realized that the magician David Berglas is still with us, at the age of 92. One of the first magicians to appear on British television, but he sort of disappeared after the 80s.

His ultimate trick?

[rosalyn]

Apologies if anyone has already mentioned British character actor Patrick Jordan, born 20th October 1923. He's been popping up in guest roles in many old shows I've been watching recently, and is still with us at the age of 95.

[Mark]

David Berglas appeared in that Magic and Comedy Show for Prince Charles's 70th Birthday, last year, he was in the audience.

[SgtPepper]

Not sure if she's been mentioned and I don't have the will to read the whole thread, but I was channel hopping and GOLD was playing Only Fools and Horses (not exactly a chance happening in itself). The episode was the chandelier one and in a moment of boredom I looked up the older actors on IMDB to see if they were still around. The lady of the manor was played by Elizabeth Benson. Quite a familiar face in a lot of bit parts and allegedly still alive aged 93.

[Brock]

Not sure if she's been mentioned and I don't have the will to read the whole thread

Is there a rule against mentioning the same person twice then? I mentioned Nicholas Parsons when he was 89 and again on his 95th birthday. If he makes it to 100 I'm certainly not going to ignore it.

There's something slightly depressing about reading through the start of this thread and realizing how many people no longer qualify for it.

[SgtPepper]

Watching Soccer Saturday on Sky and thinking about sport on TV on Saturday afternoons in the 70’s. Not really given much (or indeed any) thought to Frank Bough and Dicky Davies in recent years. Both still with us aged 86 and 83.

[Brock]

Bamber Gascoigne is 84. The main reason why I mentioned him is that I only discovered today that his first name is actually Arthur. Wouldn't have sounded the same in the opening to University Challenge, would it? "Asking the questions... Arthur Gascoigne!"

[David Boothroyd]

It's Leslie Phillips's 95th birthday today. IMDB says his film career goes back to 1938 and his first TV role was 1948.

[Brian F]

And Pete Murray (94?) was on good form that the NFI Music Believed Wiped event in NFT 1 yesterday with David Hamilton.

[Brock]

Not really given much (or indeed any) thought to Frank Bough and Dicky Davies in recent years. Both still with us aged 86 and 83.

Dickie Davies was, in fact, 86 yesterday. (I've just edited his Wikipedia page which claimed he was 90!)

[Ian Wegg]

Not sure if she's been mentioned and I don't have the will to read the whole thread

Is there a rule against mentioning the same person twice then? ... There's something slightly depressing about reading through the start of this thread and realizing how many people no longer qualify for it.

I’ve been through the entire topic and found that in its 6+ years of existence 157 names have been mentioned in this thread.

Of those, we can celebrate that the 70 listed below are still amongst us.

Kirk Douglas 102
Olivia de Havilland 102
Vera Lynn 102
Earl Cameron 101
Marsha Hunt 101
Norman Lloyd 101
Marge Champion 99
Nehemiah Persoff 99
Betty White 97
Carl Reiner 97
Elizabeth Sellers 96
Janis Paige 96
Larry Storch 96
Micheline Presle 96
Valentina Cortese 96
Glynis Johns 95
Jimmy Lydon 95
Leslie Phillips 95
Michael Medwin 95
Nicholas Parsons 95
Patrick Jordan 95
Rhonda Fleming 95
William Russell 94
David Attenborough 93
Elizabeth Benson 93
Glyn Houston 93
Gudrun Ure 93
Honor Blackman 93
June Lockhart 93
Leonard Fenton 93
Pete Murray 93
David Berglas 92
Peter Mark Richman 92
Stanley Baxter 92
Cleo Laine 91
David Hedison 91
Michael Craig 91
Tom Lehrer 91
Bernard Cribbins 90
Brian Tesler 90
Gerald Harper 90
Philip Latham 90
Bob Newhart 89
Chris Barber 89
Colin Jeavons 89
John Astin 89
Irene Sutcliffe 88
Barbara Bain 87
Des O'Connor 87
Dickie Davies 86
Frank Bough 86
Murray Melvin 86
Peter Lupus 86
Sheila Hancock 86
Joan Collins 85
Robert Fuller 85
Tom Baker 85
Bamber Gascoigne 84
Barry Cryer 84
Jean Marsh 84
Melvyn Hayes 84
Michael Parkinson 84
Wanda Ventham 83
Barbara Steele 81
Max Baer Jr 81
Milton Johns 81
Harry Fielder 79
Ian Thompson 79
David Warner 77
Peter Noone 71

For the other 87 people who sadly no longer qualify I’ve created a new topic: No Longer Still With Us

All data from Wikipedia / IMDB. Corrections welcome.

[Mark]

Was Kenneth Cope mentioned, he's 88 now.

[Don Satchley]

I was pleasantly surprised to see Julian Holloway in the current BBC drama Summer of Rockets. Thought he had passed a long time ago.

[ian b]

Corrections welcome.

You'd better bump Norman Lloyd up to the top of the list - born in November 1914, so 104 at present.

[SgtPepper]

There must be literally hundreds of celebrities older than Peter Noone.
Even David Jason is 79 (gasp).

[Mark]

Stephanie Turner 72

[SgtPepper]

Irene Sutcliffe (Maggie Clegg in Coronation Street) has passed away aged 88, so can be removed from the list.


RIP.

[ian b]

Without wanting to jinx things, we can add Leslie Phillips’ NAVY LARK compatriot Heather Chasen - who will be 92 in July.

[Ian Wegg]

Corrections welcome.

You'd better bump Norman Lloyd up to the top of the list - born in November 1914, so 104 at present.

Curiously the day after I viewed it Norman's Wikipedia entry was amended to change his date of birth and add his date of demise (including cause of death and place of rest). The edit was reverted almost immediately. Either way, his age was a miscalculation by me.

There must be literally hundreds of celebrities older than Peter Noone.
Even David Jason is 79 (gasp).

True. I merely hoovered up all the names in this thread, including this reply...

It's alarming when you realise that everyone you remember from when you were growing-up is either dead or over 70!
I was relieved the other day when I heard that Peter 'Herman' Noone is neither of the above.

Clearly the original context was that Peter Noone actually doesn't belong here (although, three years on, he has now passed the 70 threshold).

It took me two afternoons to compile the list and I haven't the will to maintain it. Corrections are still welcome but will remain in the form of topic replies.

[Mark]

Watching "Get Some In" on Forces TV, the brilliant Tony Selby is 81 now.

[SgtPepper]

I was sure David Graham (he of the Thunderbirds voices and loads of other stuff) had been mentioned, but seemingly not. He's 93, a month short of 94.

[David Boothroyd]

The splendid character actor Morris Perry who was in many a quality drama in the 1960s and 1970s, including a starring role in 'Special Branch', is 94.

[Brock]

June Spencer will be 100 on Friday - still playing Peggy Woolley in The Archers, and the only surviving member of the original cast (she had a break of seven years to look after her family, but has been in the role continuously since 1962).