Long-timeLurker

An interview from earlier in the year seems to show Vera is not ill in any specific way but has more or less retired from Public life. http://www.shropshirestar.com/news/2013/01/28/dame-vera-lynn-still-going-strong-at-95/

By all accounts Angela and James Earl Jones are doing very well in the Australian production of Driving Miss Daisy. From the clips I have seen she is moving about the stage without any problems, unlike other Broadway stars of her age (Elaine Stritch and Carol Channing are both using wheelchairs). Though of course Angela is not too good at remembering the lines and has to wear an earpiece.

Elaine seems to be recovering from her hip operation: http://broadwayworld.com/article/Theater-Talk-Presents-The-Elaine-Stritch-Birthday-Bash-This-Weekend-20130213 From the clips on youtube I would not say she looks well but equally she has not looked 'well' for years.

Happy Birthday Elaine! She has made it to 88.

Barbara Walters seems to have had a few health problems over the past few years. I did not realise she was as old as she is, though 83 is relatively young compared to some of those on the list. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-whoopi-goldberg-barbara-walters-view-20130122,0,3167818.story

There were a lot of rumours about Elaine's health being in decline long before her fracturing her hip. A few months ago there was talk of her retiring and moving back to her home town. She also is gaining a reputation for forgetting her lines on stage, though this is not uncommon for a person of her age; Carol Channing can no longer get through Hello Dolly without prompts, Angela Lansbury wears an earpiece and has lines prompted to her. If Elaine can manage to get through this latest health problem and the many issues that come with it, I think she only has a few years left at best. Though old lady actresses seem to cling on loner than most.

I think that it is a good list. I think the likes of Parsons and Sallis are trying to replace (or at least fill the void of) Dunn. Though I think Sallis is far more likely to go to that great sitcom in sky than Parsons.

It does not look like Angela will be leaving us any-time soon: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2251673/Angela-Lansbury-takes-cute-car-spin-shopping-trip-Beverley-Hills.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Luise Rainer is a definite contender not least because of her age. She was recently honoured in Germany and was described as being "very frail" but whether that means she is just really old or at deaths door is debatable.

Elaine has broken her hip, at 87 and it being Winter could this be the beginning of the end for her? http://www.contactmu...ken-hip_3425128

Is Niemeyer going to pull a Zsa Zsa? Will he last until the new year? According to most news sources, he has got at the most a few days but that has been said before.

Dame Vera usually makes one or two appearances over the Remembrance weekend, this year I have not seen anything of her. Has anybody else? If not could it be a sign of declining health, though at her age she might just be suffering from old age rather than actual illness.

Perhaps I am just being too cynical about the Royals, I shall defer to your greater experience (even if I do think she has the staying power of Dunn, Gabor and Thatcher. Which probably means Zsa Zsa and Maggie will be gone very shortly ).

I did not mean she was going to live for another fifty years. I was just suggesting that we should not have such a romantic view of the Royals, they are of course people but we should not underestimate the sense of duty that is drummed into them. She has been taught from a very young age that the continuation of the monarchy is far more important than the feelings of any one individual. I just do not think that the death of Philip will automatically mean she needs to be placed on the critical list. That being said, at her age a sneeze could be the beginning of the end.

I think Queen Lizzie will be able to live on for a few years after Philip goes the way of the Greek economy. Though she might not reign for that long afterwards. Her mother lived for a very long time after her father died, Victoria reigned for decades after the death of her beloved Albert. I think part of the problem is our 'romantic' view of the monarchy, she will be Queen until she drops dead or is unable to remember her own name.