Top 10 Famous Old People Who Lived to See 2019

Norman Lloyd at Dodger Stadium for the 2018 World Series.

He was about to turn 104.

Well, we made it through another year. A lousy one.

Top 10 Famous Old People Who Lived to See 2019

1. Norman Lloyd, born on November 8, 1914 in Jersey City, New Jersey. Actor, best known for playing a good doctor on St. Elsewhere and a bad prep school master in Dead Poets Society. He's 104.

2. Herman Wouk, born May 27, 1915 in Manhattan, New York, New York. Author, best known for the World War II novel The Winds of War. He's 103.

3. Beverly Cleary, born April 12, 1916 in McMinnville, Oregon. Author of children's books, she created Ramona "the Pest" Quimby and Runaway Ralph the mouse. She's 102.

4. Olivia de Havilland, born July 1, 1916 in Tokyo, Japan, and grew up in Los Gatos, California. Actress, she played Maid Marian in The Adventures of Robin Hood in 1938 and Melanie Hamilton in Gone With the Wind in 1939, of which she is the last surviving castmember. She was still acting as recently as 1979, and now lives in Paris, where she is apparently well. She's 102.

5. Kirk Douglas, born December 9, 1916 in Amsterdam, outside Albany, New York. Another of the last of the Golden Age of Hollywood, he played Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life, and the title role in Spartacus. Also the father of Michael Douglas and the father-in-law of Catherine Zeta-Jones. He's 102.

6. Vera Lynn, born March 20, 1917 in East Ham, in what was then in Essex, but is now in East London. Singer, best known for her hits "We'll Meet Again" in 1939 and "The White Cliffs of Dover" in 1942, making her the voice of a generation in Great Britain. In 2017, her album Vera Lynn 100 made her the 1st centenarian to have a hit album. And we have young people today calling teenage singers "iconic." She's 101.

7. Ieoh Ming (I.M.) Pei, born April 26, 1917 in Guangzhou, Canton, China. Architect, known for his glass-fronted designs, including for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. He's 101 -- a month older than JFK himself would be if he were still alive.

8. Marsha Hunt, born October 17, 1917 in Chicago, Illinois. Actress, another of the last remaining stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood, including the 1940 film version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Because of her left-wing political activity, she was blacklisted from Hollywood in 1947. She began to get roles again in 1957, and more in 1960, after the blacklist was broken by... Kirk Douglas' Spartacus. She's been mostly retired since 1971, but appeared in a film as recently as 2008. She's 101.

9. Katherine Johnson, born August 26, 1918 in White Sulphr Springs, West Virginia. A mathematician, she fought both racism and sexism to work with the early American space program. Taraji P. Henson played her in the 2016 film Hidden Figures. She's 100.

10. Harry Yee, born September 26, 1918 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Perhaps the greatest living bartender, he invented the banana daiquiri. He's 100.

The oldest living former Major League Baseball player is Tom Jordan, 99, who played 29 games as a catcher for the Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Browns and Cleveland Indians from 1944 to 1948. He will be 100 if he makes it to September 5, 2019.

Betty White, successor to George Burns' title as the person most famous for being old, will be 97 if she makes it to January 17.

UPDATE: Betty White has not only lived to see her 97th birthday, but has broken the record of the late Nanette Fabray as oldest former Match Game panelist. I.M. Pei died on May 16, 2019, at age 102. Herman Wouk died the next day, just before his 104th birthday.

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Hours until Arsenal play again: 10, 10:00 AM New York time, home to West London team Fulham. Hopefully, they can bounce back from the 5-1 disaster away to Liverpool this past Saturday.

Days until the Democratic-controlled Congress will convene, and the impeachment process can begin: 3, this Thursday.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 11, on Saturday afternoon, January 12, 2019, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Prudential Center. The next game against the New York Islanders will be on Thursday night, January 17, 2019, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The next game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday night, January 31, 2019, at the Prudential Center.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 21, on January 22, 2019. Just 3 weeks.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 32, on February 2, 2019, a friendly against Costa Rica at Avaya Stadium, home of the San Jose Earthquakes. A little over a month.

Days until the next North London Derby: 60, on March 2, with Tottenham as the home team. Whether the "New Tottenham Stadium" will finally be open remains to be seen. This game could be at the new Wembley Stadium. Or at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes. Or, who knows.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 50, on Wednesday, February 20, away to Atlético Pantoja in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, in the 1st Leg of the Round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": Unknown, as the 2019 MLS schedule has yet to be released, but it won't be any earlier than the 1st weekend of the season, March 3, 2019, 61 days from now. 

Days until the Yankees' 2019 Opening Day: 86, on Thursday, March 28, home to the Baltimore Orioles. Under 3 months.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 105, on Tuesday, April 16, at Yankee Stadium II. Under 4 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 157,  on June 7,  in France. A little over 5 months. The U.S. team is 3-time and defending Champions.

Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 179, on June 29. Under 6 months.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 242, on August 31, home to the University of Massachusetts. Just 8 months.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, because the 2019 schedule hasn't been released yet. Usually, the next season begins on the 1st Friday in September, which would be September 6, which would be 248 days. It has been announced that East Brunswick and Old Bridge would no longer play each other on Thanksgiving Day. That game will now be played earlier in the season, but we don't yet know when.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 333, on Saturday, November 30, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Under 11 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 351, on December 18, 2019. Under 1 year, or under 12 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 385, on January 21, 2020. A little over a year, or under 13 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 570, on July 24, 2020. A little over a year and a half, or under 19 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 672, on November 3, 2020. Now under 2 years, or a little over 22 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 750, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 2 years, or under 25 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 1,130, on February 4, 2022. A little over 3 years, or a little over 37 months.

Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,420, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Just under 4 years, or a little under 47 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.