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160 Legendary Old Hollywood Actors. The greatest actors of the pre-60's, Hollywood's Golden Age. Here are all the actors worth mentioning from this era. (The first 25 are ranked after AFI's 25 greatest actors of all time, the rest are not ranked in order!)
- Rebecca Sargeant
- Fred Astaire. Hollywood's main song-and-dance man. Fred Astaire is one of the best-known dancers of Hollywood's Golden era. Starring opposite the likes of Ginger Rogers and Audrey Hepburn, Astaire's decorated filmography saw him awarded multiple Oscars, Grammys, and Golden Globes, to name but a few.
- Henry Fonda. Flexible & adaptable. Henry Fonda's commercial success came from his performance in The Grapes of Wrath, which set him up to be an extremely sought-after performer across the 1940s and '50s.
- Judy Garland. Darling Dorothy & beyond. Cultural icon Judy Garland's most notable role was as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, which launched her to superstardom.
- Marlene Dietrich. Breaking out of stereotypes. Marlene Dietrich is best remembered for smoking and wearing a tuxedo, breaking out of female stereotypes during her rise to prominence in the 1930s.
- Fred Astaire. “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Balding. Can dance a little.” This was said to have been some movie producer’s comment on Astaire’s very first screen test.
- Lionel Barrymore. The Barrymores are perhaps the most famous acting family of all time. Siblings John, Lionel and Ethel all became distinct film stars on their own right.
- Humphrey Bogart. Born in New York, on Christmas day, 1899, Humphrey DeForest Bogart had a wealthy background. His father was a surgeon and his mother a renowned magazine illustrator.
- Marlon Brando. Method acting exponent Marlon Brando rose to fame when he reprised his Broadway role of Stanley Kowaski in the screen adaption of Tennessee William’s A Streetcar Named Desire.
Chance encounters with supportive movie icons like Elizabeth Taylor and Alec Guinness played an important role in kick-starting his career. It enabled Frankham to quickly establish himself as a character actor in episodic television, often typecast as British officers.
- Mel Brooks. A man whose movies, like 1974’s Young Frankenstein and Blazing Saddles, have influenced generations of comedians, the great-grandfather of comedy 97-year-old Mel Brooks is even still working, having done a voice appearance on the animated series Little Demon in 2022.
- Bob Newhart. Quite possibly your dad’s or grandad’s favorite sitcom actor, Bob Newhart of The Bob Newhart Show and later Newhart surprisingly did not win his first Emmy until 2014—after receiving his first nomination in 1962.
- William Shatner. Oh captain, my captain! The O.G. starship captain, Star Trek’s William Shatner has more energy at 92 than most people do at 31. Not only is he still making appearances like a recent one at LA Comic Con, but he also appears to have three projects in the works as of this writing.
- Dick Van Dyke. Sitcom legend Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 97th birthday Dec. 13 2022, a few days after he was spotted running errands in Malibu. When asked by reporters what his secret to long life was, the funnyman replied, “Well, if I'd known I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself," before adding, “Well, I don't know, all my friends are dead, so I'm not going to complain!"
Jul 17, 2023 · From noir stars like Humphrey Bogart to song and dance men like Gene Kelly, these are classic Hollywood's most famous and beloved actors.
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May 7, 2021 · From former screen sirens that still look glamorous well into their 90s, to the actor with the one hundred year career, we've put together a rundown of the oldest living Hollywood stars.
