In today’s video, we’ll be discussing several Old Hollywood Actresses who managed to make it past the big 1-0-0. You’ll probably be surprised to learn of a few of the female stars that made it to this big milestone. So join us, as Facts Verse Presents, Old Hollywood Actresses who lived to be 100 years old.
Connie Sawyer
Connie Sawyer, born Rosie Cohen on the 27th of November, 1912, was an American film, television, and stage actress who earned herself the nickname of The Clown Princess of Comedy. Throughout her lengthy Hollywood career, which spanned 86 years, she appeared in more than 140 films and television shows, including When Harry Met Sally, Dumb and Dumber, and Pineapple Express.
After winning a radio contest shortly after graduating from High School, Sawyer got the chance to perform on a radio variety program in San Francisco called Al Pearce and His Gang. This gave her the opportunity to develop her comedy routine. At 19, Sawyer moved to New York, where she began performing in nightclubs and vaudeville theaters.
It didn’t take long for her to transition over to appearing on television. A couple of her early TV credits were for appearances in shows like The Jackie Gleason Show and The Milton Berle Show. In the 1950s, Sawyer appeared in both the Broadway and Hollywood film productions of A Hole in the Head which saw her performing alongside Frank Sinatra.
She went on to appear regularly in TV shows such as The Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-O, Boy Meets World, Home Improvement, Seinfeld, ER, and Ray Donovan – to name a few.
Sawyer continued to act past the age of 100. In 2013, she appeared in NCIS: Los Angeles. The following year, she made another appearance in the sitcom New Girl.
For the last 12 years of her life, Sawyer lived at the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s residential complex for entertainment industry retirees in LA. At 105, Sawyer passed away after suffering a heart attack on January 21, 2018.
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Ethel Owen
Another actress who enjoyed a remarkably lengthy lifespan and professional career was Ethel Owen, who was born Ethel Marguerite Waite on the 30th of March, 1893. Best known for her recurring role on The Honeymooners as Mrs. Gibson – Ralph Kramden’s quick-witted and pesky mother-in-law – Owen’s career really got rolling after appearing as a series regular on the popular 1930s radio serial Gangbusters.
Some of her later credits included turns on Robert Montgomery Presents, Kraft Theater, and the horror and mystery anthology series Inner Sanctum.
Ethel retired from acting in the mid-1960 when she was in her early 70s. She died just six weeks shy of her 104th birthday on February 16, 1997, in Savannah, Georgia. Fascinatingly, she outlived her first husband, Raymond Owens, by nearly 71 years.
Patricia Morison
Born on the 19th of March, 1915, Patricia Morrison was a TV, film, and stage actress from Hollywood’s Golden Age who made her big film debut in 1939 after spending several years performing on stage. Some of her biggest-known films include Fallen Sparrow, The Song of Bernadette, and Dressed to Kill.
In addition to her good looks, acting chops, and frequent casting as a femme fatale, Patricia was also a gifted mezzo-soprano singer. After returning to Broadway later on in her acting career, she achieved her greatest success as the lead in a production of Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate. She followed that up with an equally notable performance in the Roger’s and Hammerstein musical, The King and I.
In the 1950s into the 1960s, Morison made several appearances in TV shows such as Robert Montgomery Presents, The Toast of the Town with Ed Sullivan, and the General Foods 25th Anniversary Show: A Salute to Rodgers and Hammerstein.
In her later years, Morison devoted herself to painting – one of her first great passions. She also made several appearances on stage at various Broadway benefit events. At the age of 103, Patricia Morison died at her home in LA on the 20th of May, 2018.
Marsha Hunt
With a career spanning almost 80 years, Marsha Hunt speared in almost too many films to count. A few of these include Born in the West, Kid Glove Killer, The Human Comedy, The Happy Time, and Johnny Got His Gun.
Hunt was born on October 17, 1917, in the Windy City, Chicago, Illinois. After her family moved to New York City when she was still a child, she began performing in school plays and church productions. After graduating from high school at age 16, Hunt found work modeling for the John powers Agency and started taking acting classes at the Theodora Irvine Studio.
She landed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures at age 17. With Paramount, Hunt made 12 pictures, including Easy To Take, Gentle Julia, and Murder Goes To College. After Hunt’s contract was terminated in 1938, she spent several years doing B-films with the poverty row studios Monogram Pictures and Republic Pictures.
In 1941, she signed a contract with MGM, where she remained for the next six years.
During the infamous McCarthyism era of the 1950s, Hunt was blacklisted by Hollywood film studio executives. During this time, she became active in the humanitarian cause of world hunger. In her later years, she provided aid to homeless shelters, signaled her support for same-sex marriage, helped raise awareness for climate change, and promoted peace in developing nations.
At 104, Hunt died from natural causes at her home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, on September 7, 2022.
Olivia de Havilland
This British-American actress appeared in 49 feature films between 1935 and 1988. She is generally considered to be one of the leading actresses of her time.
De Havilland was born on July 1, 1916. She rose to prominence after appearing alongside Errol Flynn in adventure films such as 1935s Captain Blood and 1938s The Adventures of Robin Hood.
One of the biggest roles of her career was that of Melanie Hamilton in 1939s Gone With The Wind. For that role, she was nominated for her first of five Oscar nominations and her only one for Best Supporting Actress.
In the 1940s, she stepped away from ingenue roles and distinguished herself in films such as Hold Back the Dawn, To Each His Own, and The Heiress. For the latter two, she was honored with Oscar wins for Best Actress.
In addition to her prolific film career, De Havilland also had an active and wildly productive stage career, appearing on Broadway three times. Her first Broadway appearance was in 1951s Romeo and Juliet. She followed that up with performances in 1952s Candida and 1952s A Gift of Time.
On TV, De Havilland appeared in offerings such as the 1979 miniseries Roots: The Next Generations and 1986s Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna.
De Havilland passed away in her sleep of natural causes at her home in Paris on the 26th of July, 2020 at the age of 104.
Gloria Stuart
Born on July 4, 1910, Gloria Stewart was an actress best known for her roles in Pre-code era Hollywood film. For our younger viewers, you might also recall that she played the elderly version of Rose DeWitt Bukater in James Cameron’s 1997 epic summer blockbuster Titanic.
Stuart grew up in Santa Monica, California, where she was born and raised. She started acting while she was in High School. After graduating, she attended UC Berkeley, where she launched a theatrical career performing in local productions and doing summer stock theater in LA and New York City.
She got signed to Universal Pictures in 1932 and went on to appear in films such as 1932s Old Dark House and 1933s The Invisible Man. In 1936, shje shared the screen with Shirley Temple in the musical Poor Little Richard. She followed that up with appearances in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm and The Three Musketeers.
In the 40s, Stuart’s film career began to slow down. She took this opportunity to instead appear in regional theatrical productions in New England. Not long after that, she abandoned her acting career and shifted her focus to art.
In the late 1970s and early 80s, Stuart returned to acting, making appearances in films such as My Favorite Year and Wildcats. While her 1997 Titanic performance is definitely her most notable later role, her final acting credit was for her role in the 2004 film Land Of Plenty.
At age 100, Stuart died of respiratory failure on September 26, 2010.
Well, that about wraps up our discussion of Old Hollywood actresses that lived to be at least 100. What do you think their secret to longevity was? And can you think of any other actresses that have lived to see their 100th birthdays? Let us know in the comments.
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As always, thanks for watching. We’ll see you soon with more videos covering some of your favorite Hollywood stars, films, and television shows.
