In early February 2020, famous actor Kirk Douglas died at his estate in Beverly Hills at the age of 103. What other celebrities managed to celebrate their 100th anniversary?
Kirk Douglas - 103 years old (December 9, 1916 - February 5, 2020)
The future actor was born in Amsterdam, New York, on December 9, 1916, and his name did not sound like that at all: Iser Danilovich. Later, his family took the surname Demsky. He was the fourth child and only son in a Jewish family that moved to the United States from the Belarusian town of Chausy in 1910. From childhood, the boy dreamed of playing on stage, and his parents tried to give him an education. In parallel with his studies in college, he worked hard and in 1939 entered the Academy of Dramatic Arts. There was no money for education, but the talented guy was given a scholarship.
The head of the troupe Karl Malden came up with Iser's first and last name, by which he became known to the whole world. Douglas fought for two years - he served in the Pacific Fleet, where he fell ill with dysentery and returned home barely alive. He married Diana Love Dill, and in 1944 they had a son, the now famous actor Michael Douglas. Former classmate Lauren Bacall helped him land his first film role, in Martha Ivers' Strange Love. The talented actor was snapped up and got himself the best terms of the contract with the film studio.
After the films "The Great Sinner" and "Champion" world fame came to him. Then he divorced his first wife (and they continued to raise two sons together) and married Ann Bidens, they had two more sons. Douglas' famous films include Spartacus, Lust for Life, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. But it is interesting that Kirk won the Oscar only in 1996 - for his contribution to cinema. By that time, he had acted in almost a hundred films, became the director of several, and also participated in Broadway productions.
After a stroke in the same year, he never fully recovered, although he lived for another 23 years. In 2010, Kirk was recognized as the oldest famous blogger - he wrote notes in MySpace.
Olivia de Havilland - 104 years old (July 1, 1916 - July 26, 2020)
Hollywood actress Olivia de Havilland was born in Tokyo, where her lawyer father worked. A year later, her sister Joan was born. In 1919, after a divorce, the girls' mother moved with them to the United States. Both wanted to become actresses, but Olivia made it to the movies first. She made her film debut in Captain Blood's Odyssey in 1935 and became a world star in 1939 after playing the role of Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind.
The actress won two Oscars: To Each His Own (1947) and The Heiress (1950). Between films, she managed to marry the writer Marcus Goodrich and give birth to a son, Benjamin. In 1956, from her second husband, journalist Pierre Galante, gave birth to a daughter, Giselle. The constant rivalry with Joan Fontaine took away her strength. It got to the point that the sisters stopped talking. Joan sarcastically remarked that she was ahead of her sister in marriage and receiving an Oscar, and also hoped to die first. And so it happened - she passed away in 2013, and Olivia died in the summer of 2020, marking her 104th anniversary.
Bo Gilbert - 102 years old (January 12, 1916 - May 12, 2018)
Marjorie Gilbert, known as Bo, became a global star in May 2016. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of Vogue magazine, British clothing store Harvey Nichols invited the 100-year-old woman to star in their ad. However, the concept of "old woman" here was not very appropriate. Bo looked much younger, stated that she liked to dress beautifully, and was glad that now women can wear whatever they want. She wore heels after her centenary and never left the house without makeup!
David Rockefeller Sr. - 101 (June 12, 1915 - March 20, 2017)
Grandson of the first dollar billionaire John, brother of the 41st US President Nelson - this centenarian has an excellent biography! It has Harvard, and a beautiful wife, and six children, and money that will never be spent … And there are also three years of service in intelligence during World War II. After the war, he worked for Chase National Bank in Latin America, where he achieved great success. He subsequently became chairman of the merged Chase Manhattan Bank.
It is curious that Rockefeller visited the USSR in 1964 and spoke personally with Nikita Khrushchev. His bank became the first foreign bank in the Union and brought considerable profit to its shareholders. After retiring in 1980, Rockefeller was involved in charity work and the development of education, in 2002 he wrote a memoir. He owned the world's largest collection of beetles - more than 150 thousand copies.
David Rockefeller died in 2017 from heart failure. It is interesting that the billionaire had a heart transplant 7 times (!) to prolong his life, but this could not continue indefinitely. The first time they resorted to this was in 1976, when he got into a car accident. He received his last heart at the end of 2016, just a week after his previous transplant. In addition, the billionaire had two kidney transplants: in 1998 and 2004.
Igor Moiseev - 100 years old (January 8, 1906 - November 2, 2007)
The famous choreographer was born in Kyiv and lived in Paris for several years. He came to ballet at the age of 14 at the insistence of his father, who was afraid that his son would grow up to be a bully. Soon a talented guy was accepted into a ballet school. Since 1924, the artist danced at the Bolshoi Theater, a few years later he became not only a soloist, but also a choreographer. In 1937, Igor Moiseev created a folk dance ensemble and for many years was its permanent leader. Interestingly, he is one of the few famous people who never joined the Communist Party. But his merits were so great that they turned a blind eye to it.
Moiseev was married three times, in 1943 his daughter Olga was born. Until recently, he attended concerts of his ensemble, died of coronary heart disease.
Vladimir Zeldin - 101 years old (February 10, 1915 - October 31, 2016)
Actor Vladimir Mikhailovich Zeldin was born in the Tambov province in the family of a musician and a teacher. He dreamed of dancing in ballet, but his father insisted on music, and the boy played the trumpet in the orchestra for several years. He became an actor almost by accident, having come to an audition at a workshop at the Moscow City Council Theater in 1930 after a shift at a factory where he worked as a mechanic. He was accepted and trained, and then sent to work at the Operetta Theater. In 1940, Zeldin made his film debut - in the film "The Pig and the Shepherd" - and became famous throughout the Soviet Union.
Vladimir also played in the films "Carnival Night", "Ten Little Indians", "Woman in White" and many others. Since 1945, he appeared on the stage of the Theater of the Soviet Army, where he celebrated his 100th anniversary. Zeldin was married three times, but his only son died in 1941 from pneumonia. The actor himself died in Moscow from multiple organ failure at the age of 101.
Queen Mother Elizabeth - 101 (August 4, 1900 - March 30, 2002)
The mother of the now-living 95-year-old British queen lived to be 101 years old. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon was born into a noble family, but there are still rumors that her real mother was either a maid or a cook. And all because Elizabeth was the ninth child of a not very he althy mother. In any case, nothing has been proven. In 1923, she married Prince Albert, who offered her his hand and heart several times in a row. Elizabeth did not want to become a victim of royal etiquette, but Bertie managed to persuade her.
After the death of her father-in-law, King George V, she became queen in 1936. Her husband ascended the royal throne under the name of George VI. Elizabeth was known for her unbending will, even Adolf Hitler was afraid of her. During the war, she refused to leave London with her children. After the death of her husband from lung cancer, her daughter ascended the throne, but the Queen Mother participated in the public life of Great Britain to the best of her ability.
Since 2000, she has been haunted by fractures, and for the last 4 months of her life - a severe cold. On February 9, 2002, her youngest daughter, Margaret, died of a stroke. Before the funeral, Elizabeth broke her arm, but went to the ceremony anyway. On March 30, the Queen Mother died.
Isabella Yuryeva - 100 years old (September 7, 1899 - January 20, 2000)
The singer was born in Rostov-on-Don in a large family. She began to sing since childhood, and already at school it became clear that she would be a famous singer. Before her first appearance on the big stage, she changed her Jewish surname Livikova to Russian - Yuryeva. Since 1922, Yuryeva toured the cities of Russia, her repertoire included Russian romances, gypsy songs, and pop hits. The singer's administrator was her husband Joseph Arkadiev (Epstein).
The peak of popularity came at the end of the 30s and wartime, after which Yuryeva was forgotten. Only in the 90s, the performer of the songs “Only Once”, “About Love and Friendship”, “First Ball” was remembered and awarded the title of People's Artist. Yuryeva died in her bed from cardiac arrest.
Gloria Stuart - 100th Anniversary (July 4, 1910 – September 26, 2010)
Actress Gloria Stewart was born in California and since childhood dreamed of performing on stage. She is known for roles in the films A Scandal in Rome, Land of Plenty and The Invisible Man, and from 1944 to 1975 she retired from cinema, saying that she was tired of filming. However, in 1997, she played a major role in her career.
Yes, yes, it was she who became the aged Rose in Titanic! The actress was 87, but she was aged to a hundred. And for good reason: for this role she received many awards, including the Oscar. By the way, after the "Titanic" she continued to act in episodic roles. Gloria Stuart died of respiratory failure after years of battling lung cancer.