It is always nice to write about folks, especially famous ones, who are older than I am; unfortunately, only one of these is my “senior!” Fortunately, they are all still alive and well and living active lives at the time of this writing.
MICHAEL J. FOX (60 years)—came to fame in the television show, “Family Ties,” and continued his successes in movies, such as Back to the Future and Teen Wolf, and then on television again in “Spin City.” Although he has battled Parkinson’s Disease for years and years and has recently “retired” again from 12-hour workdays and memorizing script lines, he remains active with many pursuits and says that “he will be slowing down a bit but not to count him totally out; that could change, because every thing changes!” One of his latest works is his 2020 memoir, No Time Like the Future.
F O R E S T WHITAKER (60 years)—is preparing to play the father/manager of Aretha Franklin in a “biopic” called Respect. He was born in Longview, Texas, and was a star high school quarterback, winning a college scholarship. His first bigscreen feature was in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and he has had a “prolific” screen career with Platoon, Bird, R e a d y to Wear, Ghost Dog, The Butler, and Southpaw. He won an Oscar for portraying Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland and has also been a producer and director. The question has often been asked concerning Whitaker’s drooping left eye. His answer is that it stems from “Ptosis,” or “lazy eye,” which is hereditary and not painful. He considers having it “fixed,” but wonders if that would alter his contemplative and intriguing look.
LINDA CARTER (70 years)—1956 saw her musical debut in a talent show in her hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. In 1973, she won the Miss World— USA title and will probably always be remembered as “Wonder Woman” on television; Carter has recently “lost” her husband, Robert Altman, to whom she refers as the “love of my life.” In addition to her long and successful acting career, she is also an accomplished singer, who has performed before numerous “sold-out” crowds. She has also produced and starred in at least five highly rated, Emmynominated television specials. When she had children, this star left the “touring road” to “raise” them, but since then and still today, she remains very active in performances of varying types.
MARTHA REEVES (80 years)—most remembered (still performing along with her sisters, Lois and Delphine) as part of the Motown Legendary, “The Vandellas.” 1963, Barry Gordy signed her to a contract as part (lead singer) of the “to become famous” “Martha and the Vandellas,” and the rest is, as they say, HISTORY, with hits, such as “Come and Get These Memories,” “Love Is Like a Heat Wave,” “Dancing in the Streets,” “Nowhere to Run,” “Quicksand,” “Jimmy Mack,” and “Honey Chile.” Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and is married to Willie Dee.
I salute these four, who have added much (and still do) to our entertainment lives through the years and today!
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