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People you thought were dead, but who are, in fact, alive:


Angie in VA
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I remember Rose Kennedy's funeral.  I even watched it.  I also remember watching Grace Kelly's funeral.  This was the days before cable, and the local UHF station had a Grace Kelly marathon.  I stayed home (or maybe it was a weekend) and became a total Hitchcock fan!

 

I remember when John-John's plane went missing because I was in DC for a job interview right out of grad school.  It actually turned out to be the side topic during much of my interview.

 

Regarding the Kennedy family....for me, it's kind of like the Kardashians.  There's a lot I don't admire (although I will say, for the Kennedy family, they do seem to have a good public service value...and the Peace Corps and Special Olympics are both great)..... but what I do admire is that both families seem very close and very supportive of each other.  I hope that for my kids, without the reality TV series, sex tapes, and assassinations. ;)

 

I used to love this old film star named Deanna Durbin.  They say she "saved Universal".  She used to sing opera in her films.  She gave up her Hollywood career, moved to France, and basically refused to interact regarding her early life as a film star.    She died in 2013.

 

When Joan Fontaine died, I thought Olivia would be next.  They were reported to have such a rivalry.  I wonder if Olivia thought, "Ha, I won....I lived longer than her!"

 

 

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I remember Rose Kennedy's funeral.  I even watched it.  I also remember watching Grace Kelly's funeral.  This was the days before cable, and the local UHF station had a Grace Kelly marathon.  I stayed home (or maybe it was a weekend) and became a total Hitchcock fan!

 

I remember when John-John's plane went missing because I was in DC for a job interview right out of grad school.  It actually turned out to be the side topic during much of my interview.

 

Regarding the Kennedy family....for me, it's kind of like the Kardashians.  There's a lot I don't admire (although I will say, for the Kennedy family, they do seem to have a good public service value...and the Peace Corps and Special Olympics are both great)..... but what I do admire is that both families seem very close and very supportive of each other.  I hope that for my kids, without the reality TV series, sex tapes, and assassinations. ;)

 

I used to love this old film star named Deanna Durbin.  They say she "saved Universal".  She used to sing opera in her films.  She gave up her Hollywood career, moved to France, and basically refused to interact regarding her early life as a film star.    She died in 2013.

 

When Joan Fontaine died, I thought Olivia would be next.  They were reported to have such a rivalry.  I wonder if Olivia thought, "Ha, I won....I lived longer than her!"

 

My understanding is that she did in fact say something like this.  Very sad. 

 

Sorry, but I don't really agree about the Kardashians vs Kennedy's.  Yeah, the Kennedy's were probably not people with the most scruples and they had lots of scandal too, but at least they seemed to hold down actual jobs.  What do the Kardashians do except prance around? 

 

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I mean no disrespect by such a silly thread, but when I saw Erin Brockovich years ago, I was both surprised and delighted to see Albert Finney in it! I thought he was long dead! He's 78 and still alive. Not sure why I thought he was so much older?

 

 

A few years ago a friend saw Fiddler on the Roof starring, wait for it...Topol! In Texas at some on-the-road production. What? "Tevye" is still around? Wonderful! They made him look older for the movie, so I guess I thought he was older. He's 78 now.

 

 

Today, for some odd reason, I looked up Henry Kissinger and saw that he's still alive. He's 91 now. Wow. Just WOW!

 

 

Anyone you were (gladly) surprised to learn is still alive? Please tell me I'm not alone!

 

 

Angie

who has too much free time on her hands today, but baseball will take care of that starting tomorrow!

 

 

Edited for typos and edited the subject line for clarification for at least one board member, lol. ;)

Dick van Dyke was on "The Middle" with his brother, regular character, Jerry van Dyke a week or two ago.  He's in great shape!  Danced, sang....better shape than Jerry, who is something like 8 years younger, actually. 

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This is such an interesting thread. Many of these I thought were dead as well. 

I have no one to add, but just have to say, every time I scan the board and see this thread title, I read it "If you thought you were dead, but are, in fact, alive…"  :lol:

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Using the multi-quote function just because I can again. Yay!

 

This is such an interesting thread. Many of these I thought were dead as well. 

I have no one to add, but just have to say, every time I scan the board and see this thread title, I read it "If you thought you were dead, but are, in fact, alive…"  :lol:

 

Aw, man! I've already changed it once. How can I make it better? 

 

Mikhail Baryshnikov

 

I have no idea why I thought he was dead. Maybe I was mixing up Baryshnikov and Nureyev in my head?

 

*Gasp!* Don't even think that about Misha!

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  • 4 months later...

I'm reviving this thread because Yogi Berra died. He was 90. I didn't realize he was still alive (well, he isn't anymore but you know what I mean)

 

I thought he had died a long time ago, too.

 

Ds and I had a good couple of moments this morning reading some of his famous quotes.  My favorite:  "When you come to the fork in the road, take it." :)

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I'm reviving this thread because Yogi Berra died. He was 90. I didn't realize he was still alive (well, he isn't anymore but you know what I mean)

 

I didn't realize he was still alive either. I was confused when I saw someone post about it this morning on Facebook.

 

I think he would have probably been amused by AP's earlier headline goof, er, boo boo.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Well, this isn't a person, buuut...

 

I thought Betamax was dead. Like, DECADES ago. I thought it died in the 1980's, didn't it?

 

Turns out, it's been around. Just saw this news article saying that SONY has officially announced that it will stop making Betamax.

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34776424

 

Who knew?

I told dh and he said, "I thought it died in the 80s." So, you are not alone! My first steady babysitting job folks had a Betamax (and a microwave!). They were very high tech.
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Using the multi-quote function just because I can again. Yay!

 

 

Aw, man! I've already changed it once. How can I make it better? 

 

 

*Gasp!* Don't even think that about Misha!

 

Wow, I didn't realize he's done so much tv and movies.  I  saw him dance at the Kennedy Center back in the 70's and I LOVE White Nights.  I might have to check out some of these other movies.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Abe Vigoda died today.  I thought he had died years ago.  He seemed old in the sitcom Barney Miller and that was back in the 70s.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/abe-vigoda-sunken-eyed-character-actor-dead-94-36528884

 

I just read about his death. There were websites dedicated to whether or not he's still alive, and he had a sense of humor about them. The rumors go back years and years. He laughed and joked about it. They all changed their status today. :(

 

Just two of many.

 

http://isabevigodadead.com/

 

http://www.abevigoda.com/

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Abe Vigoda died today.  I thought he had died years ago.  He seemed old in the sitcom Barney Miller and that was back in the 70s.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/abe-vigoda-sunken-eyed-character-actor-dead-94-36528884

 

This makes me irrationally sad.  I love watching him in Barney Miller.  My grandmother and I would watch that show together.  *sniff*  Now I miss my grandmother too. 

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  • 7 months later...

Jerry Lewis! I just saw a trailer for a new movie, Max Rose

 

I truly thought he died years ago. The volume  was down as the trailer ran, but I saw a man who looked like Jerry Lewis. I thought, "Nah. Can't be. Wonder who that is." At the end of it, I saw "Jerry Lewis" written on the screen. I looked up his age. He's 90. 

 

Wow.

Edited by Angie in VA
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You are going to totally think this is made up, but right after college, a family member of mine called and told me she read in her local paper about a guy who died in a motorcycle accident that I had dated in college. Fast forward a year and I am working in a restaurant in my home town and in walks this guy I "thought" had been killed in an accident.  I turned around and saw him standing there grinning saying "surprise" and I don't remember anything after that.  The hostess said I just fainted dead away right there in the middle of the restaurant.  I didn't say anything, just fell backwards.  The first words I uttered when I came to were "I thought you were dead" which created more confusion.  Needless to say, there was more than one "ex boyfriends name" living in West Virginia! 

 

So, glad to find out he was still alive!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I'm watching this documentary and i thought of this thread:

 

http://www.netflix.com/title/70219764

 

I actually didn't realize he was still alive either.  Great documentary - esp. for those of us  who remember the 70s.  Lots of memories.

 

 

I swore Ally Sheedy died a few years ago or a drug overdose but nope - alive and kicking!

 

Arctic Mama's post and wording reminded me of the documentary PrincessMommy posted here. I finally watched that a month or so ago. Glad it was still on Netflix, since I waited so long. 

 

Thanks again, PrincessMommy. 

 

Arctic Mama, did she battle drugs? I hope not. Glad she's alive and well. :)

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I'm watching this documentary and i thought of this thread:

 

http://www.netflix.com/title/70219764

 

I actually didn't realize he was still alive either.  Great documentary - esp. for those of us  who remember the 70s.  Lots of memories.

 

 

That reminds me of the running SCTV gag - Perry Como: Still Alive! (Young John Candy makes an appearance)

 

Edited by Lady Florida.
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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 year later...
14 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I saw Jane Goodall meeting Prince Harry in the news today and had no idea she was still alive! Maybe my brain merged Koko's death with hers. 

She did a presentation and question and answer session for my kids' online school a few years ago. It was so cool hearing about her talk about her fascinating life. One of the highlights was when a kid asked if monkeys were her favorite animal, and she said no, she actually prefers dogs!

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Carol Burnett. A friend of mine just showed tickets to something on FB, saying she gets to meet her all-time idol, Carol Burnett. I legit was like, “Wait...she’s still alive?!” 

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On 7/24/2019 at 5:03 PM, Æthelthryth the Texan said:

I saw Jane Goodall meeting Prince Harry in the news today and had no idea she was still alive! Maybe my brain merged Koko's death with hers. 

 

On 7/24/2019 at 5:35 PM, Quill said:

Carol Burnett. A friend of mine just showed tickets to something on FB, saying she gets to meet her all-time idol, Carol Burnett. I legit was like, “Wait...she’s still alive?!” 

I didn't know either were alive. Hadn't thought about Jane Goodall in ages but dh was flipping channels the other night and The Carol Burnett Show was on one of the digital channels. We both wondered if she's still alive but neither of us remembered to look it up later. 

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  • 6 months later...
16 hours ago, Lady Florida. said:

I'm pulling up this thread because I just read that Kirk Douglas died at age 103. I thought he passed away years ago. 

https://www.npr.org/2020/02/05/156511592/kirk-douglas-hollywood-tough-guy-and-spartacus-superstar-dies-at-103

 

Oops. Wrong link. Fixed it.

 

1 hour ago, VaKim said:

Same here! I was so surprised to see this today.

just so you're not surprised in future - Olivia de Havilland is still alive.  she's 103.

 

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