Since the dawn of cinema, the vast majority of Hollywood romances and marriages have notoriously been short-lived and tumultuous. So, when a star-studded couple actually manages to keep their love alive for the long haul, it’s seen as almost a miraculous feat.
Celebrity couples come and go. That’s just the way it is. In fact, keeping up with who’s still together in Tinsel Town can be quite tiring, but that being said, not all famous people end up breaking up. Some of them are able to defy the odds and keep their marriages afloat for a lifetime – and honestly, that’s always refreshing to see.
In this video, we’ll be taking a closer look at a few Hollywood stars who seemed to find true love in one of the most chaotic dating realms there is.
Facts Verse Presents: Hollywood Celebrities That Have Been Married for 50+ Years
Barry Gibb and Linda Gray
Barry Gibbs is the last surviving member of the iconic musical group The Bee Gees. He and his brothers, Barry, Robbin, and Maurice, rose to international fame with hit songs that constantly topped the Billboard charts. Some of their best-known songs include the Disco staples “How Deep Is Your Love” and “Staying Alive”.
Barry was previously married to a woman named Maureen Bates, whom he tied the knot with when he was 19. The same year that the young couple exchanged their vows, The Bee Gees released their breakthrough hit song “Spicks and Specks’ which ended up gaining them worldwide recognition.
Sadly – and honestly not surprisingly – Barry’s first marriage didn’t last very long. By 1970, the couple was divorced. Still, it didn’t take long for Barry to meet the love of his life.
When he first met Linda Gray, she was working as a model and was also the former winner of the Miss Edinburgh contest. The year was 1967, and the two met on the set of the British TV show Top of the Pops. While the two shared what Gibbs would later describe as an ‘instant connection’, he was still married at the time to his first wife.
Still, they couldn’t deny the chemistry that they shared. From the moment that they laid eyes on each other, sparks flew – and sure enough, despite his marital status, Gibbs struck up a passionate romantic relationship with Gray.
After Gibbs and Bates’ divorce was finalized, Barry and Linda got married on September 1, 1970. Ever since then, they’ve remained happily and committedly married to each other. As of 2023, they’ve been married for 52 years and have successfully thwarted off temptation to step outside of that arrangement.
Throughout their long marriage, Gibbs and Gray have welcomed the birth of five children. Their first son, Stephen, was born in 1973. Four years later, they welcomed the birth of their second son, Ashley, in 1977.
In 1981, the Gray gave birth to the couple’s third son, Travis. In 1984, they had yet another son whom they named Michael. Their fifth and last-born child, a daughter named Alexandra, was born in 1991.
Christopher Walken and Georgianne Thon
Actor Christopher Walken met his wife Georgianne in 1963 while the two were both starring in a touring production of West Side Story. In seemingly no time, a passionate relationship developed, ultimately leading to the two getting married in January 1969.
After getting hitched, Georgianne gave up her career to support her husband’s, but she eventually found her own success in show business working as a casting director. Despite the fact that they’ve been married for decades and are quite wealthy, the couple has enjoyed a very simple life together.
They still seem to thoroughly enjoy each other’s company. In a throwback to simpler times, Georgianne reportedly enjoys paying the bills and handling household matters, while Christopher seems to love cooking for his wife.
The couple have no children, and Walken has stated on numerous occasions that being child-free is one of the primary reasons why he has been able to maintain such a prolific career. Although they’ve never expanded their family with kids in the last 53 years together, Christopher and Georgianne reportedly have a cat named Bowtie, whom they both love immensely.
Dolly Parton and Carl Dean
The reigning queen of Country music has been married to her beloved husband, Carl Dean, for the last 56 years. In fact, the couple will be celebrating their 57th anniversary on May 30, 2023.
Dean is a retired operator of an asphalt road-paving business in Nashville, Tennessee. Parton first met Dean when she was 18, and he was 21. Not long after they began dating, the couple got married in 1966.
Like any other couple, Parton and Dean have had their fair share of ups and downs, however, they remain as committed to each other as they’ve always been. Dolly has even revealed that the two still enjoy good laughs and intimacy and that the spark that first brought them together is still very much so alive.
To symbolize their continued devotion, the two renewed their marriage vows in 2016, and since then, Dolly has announced that she is no longer interested in touring. Instead, she would rather spend time at home caring for her husband, who has been experiencing a number of health difficulties in recent years.
When asked what she thinks is the key to keeping a healthy relationship afloat, Parton has said that it’s always important to maintain a healthy sense of humor with one’s spouse. And while she claims that she and Dean have never had any serious arguments, they’ve both said things to each other that they later had to take back. She further believes that part of what keeps a marriage healthy is being able to admit when you’re wrong while actively listening to the other’s point of view.
After all these years, Carl still loves all of Dolly’s songs. Despite his failing health, he still wants nothing more than for his wife to feel happy and fulfilled.
Brenda Lee and Ronnie Shacklett
Brenda Lee is best known for her musical career as a singer. Throughout her time in the music industry, she’s performed in a wide array of genres, including country, pop, and rockabilly.
When Lee was 18, she surprised the world when she married her boyfriend of not even six months, Ronnie Shacklett. The two had met in November 1962 at a Bo Diddley and Jackie Wilson concert held at the Nashville Fairgrounds Coliseum. They tied the knot officially on April 24, 1963.
Lee and Shacklett went on to have two children together, daughters Jolie and Julie, whom they named after Patsy Cline’s daughter. They’ve been happily married for 59 years and are gearing up to celebrate their 57th anniversary in April 2023.
Ronnie has consistently stood by his wife throughout her music career. He is commended for ensuring his wife’s lifelong financial success and for his ability to deal with the notoriously scandalous industry that she has been a part of.
Bob Newhart and Virginia Quinn
Newhart is an actor and comedian best known for his stammering delivery style and deadpan humor. He first rose to fame in 1960 when he released a comedy album titled The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart, but he later gained international fame with his TV series The Bob Newhart Show. Since then, Newhart has appeared in films and television series such as Elf, The Librarians, The Big Bang Theory, and The Rescuers Down Under.
Bob’s long-time friend and colleague Buddy Hackett introduced him to Virginia “Ginnie” Quinn, the daughter of actor Bill Quinn in 1962. The two got married on January 12, 1963, and have been together ever since.
They attribute much of their marriage’s success to the fact that they are both Roman Catholic. Besides sharing each other’s faith, Quinn has consistently been very supportive of her husband’s acting career.
In the last 60 years that they’ve been married, the couple have welcomed the birth of four children, Robert, Jennifer, Courtney, and Timothy. They also have ten grandchildren.
Martin Sheen and Janet Templeton
Actor Martin Sheen and his lovely wife Janet Templeton are just as happily married today as they were 61 years ago when they exchanged their vows on December 23, 1961. The two met in 1960 and quickly fell head over heels for each other.
Throughout their time together, the “Apocalypse Now” alum and his wife have been through thick and thin. In 1976, Sheen was on the verge of death when Janet pulled him back from the brink of despair and taught him how to live a happy, healthy life.
Apparently, Sheen was so focused on being featured in Apocalypse Now that his ego drove him to not stop at anything before ensuring that that dream became a reality. Even though he ended up landing the role, he soon found himself at odds with the film’s director, Francis Ford Coppola. On set, Sheen and Coppola constantly but heads. Tensions flared, and the overall vibe on set was nothing short of vitriolic.
To appease Coppola’s nitty gritty vision for his character, Sheen was forced to start drinking heavily. He soon became ill and suffered significant weight loss. During the filming of the movie, Sheen was walking along the road alone when he suffered a heart attack. Fortunately, he was able to board a bus, and a wardrobe van took him back to the production office.
Once at the office, he requested to see a priest who could perform his last rites. He was then rushed to the hospital where he went into cardiac arrest and suffered a nervous breakdown. Throughout the whole ordeal, all he wanted was to be by his wife’s side.
After being stabilized, Templeton stayed by Sheen’s bedside all night, sleeping on the floor beside him. Upon her request, Sheen saw a professional psychologist until he recovered from the nightmarish experience. He now credits Templeton’s sound advice for saving his life.
Years later, Sheen’s wife once again was the grounding force in his life that helped him find stability and comfort after undergoing a quadruple bypass heart surgery in 2015.
Paula Prentiss and Richard Benjamin
Paula Prentiss and her husband Richard Benjamin appeared on-screen together in their short-lived 1967 sitcom He & She. While that show came to an end decades ago, Prentiss and Benjamin have been happily married ever since.
The two actors’ love story began at Northwestern University, where they met while studying drama and acting. The two got married in 1961 and in 2021, they celebrated their 60th anniversary. Throughout their time together, Prentiss and Benjamin have continued to support each other in their respective acting careers. They have also had two children together.
Alan Alda and Arlene Weiss
The M*A*S*H star met his wife of 62 years at a dinner party after the hostess’s rum cake suddenly fell from the top of the refrigerator to the floor. While no one else dared take a bite of the soiled cake, Alda and Weiss both attempted to indulge in a few bites with spoons. After sharing that moment, the two clicked and subsequently started dating. They’ve been inseparable ever since.
Alda and Weiss got married later that year on March 15, 1956, shortly after Alan’s graduation. They went on to have three daughters, Elizabeth, Beatrice, and Eve.
The Aldas have spent the last six decades as residents of Leonia, New Jersey. While both are still alive, Alda announced in 2018 that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Weiss, being the loving spouse that she is, has dutifully cared for him ever since.
William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett
Daniels is best known for playing Mister Feenie on Boy Meets World. On June 30, 2023, he and his wife, Love of Life actress Bonnie Bartlett, will celebrate their 72nd anniversary.
The two love birds tied the knot on June 30, 1951. At 71 years, the two enjoy the longest active Hollywood marriage. Daniels is currently 95 years old, while Bartlett is 93.
In 1961, Bonnie gave birth to a son who sadly passed away just 24 hours later. The couple later adopted two sons, Michael and Robert – both of which have found success in the entertainment industry as well.
Well there you have it! That wraps up our rundown of the longest-surviving marriages in Hollywood. Did you know that Martin Sheen and his wife have been with each other for more than 60 years and that William Daniels and his spouse have the longest active marriage in Hollywood? Let us know in the comments, and as always, thanks for watching.
