People who "Made it" later in life
People who "Made it" later in life
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#1People who "Made it" later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 10:35am
So I have a friend- her birthday was this week. he had told everyone she was 33 but she's actually 41. I was hurt & upset she'd lied. I'm past that now and I want to console her that it's not so bad to be 41.
So can anyone think of a performer or celebrity who had their biggest success or "made it" in middle age- their 40's?
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#5re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 10:52am
After decades of flops and settling for a career as a disappointed but beloved schoolteacher, Alfred Uhry won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for DRIVING MISS DAISY...
...at age 50.
#6re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 10:54amJayne Houdyshell
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#8re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 10:58amTom Selleck?
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation." PRS
#9re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:02amGloria Stuart got her first Oscar nomination at 87!
#10re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:05am
Way past your friend's age, but I instantly thought of Ruth Gordon, who, upon receiving an Oscar at the age of 72, brought down the house by saying, "You have no idea how encouraging a thing like this can be."
Updated On: 11/7/08 at 11:05 AM
Mamie
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/26/04
#11re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:08am
Phyllis Diller is always the first to come to my mind.
Although she had studied music in school, she never considered herself a good enough pianist to make a career of it. She became a housewife and mother and worked as a copywriter.
Her career in comedy didn't start until the 50's, when she got her first 'gig' as a standup comedian (age 37) at the "Purple Onion". Her first appearance in front of the country came on Groucho Marx's show "You Bet Your Life", when she was 41. Her second appearance came on the Jack Paar show a couple of years later. Of course once the country had been given the chance to see her, her career took off and though she's been slowed down lately (due to health issues) she's never actually stopped.
(Her long lost hopes to be a concert pianist did eventually happen for her. By the year 2000 she had performed as a piano soloist in over 100 symphony orchestras across the country.)
A click for life.
mamie4 5/14/03
#12re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:09am
That woman who played the hairdresser in Legally Blonde.
What was her name?
Oh! Jennifer Coolidge!
Better late than never
Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#13re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:11am"Colonel" Harland Sanders owns this thread. At the age of 65, and with his first Social Security check, he started franchising Kentucky Fried Chicken.
#14re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:13amGrandma Moses began painting in her seventies after abandoning a career in embroidery because of arthritis.
miss pennywise
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/7/04
#15re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:14amGeorge Bernard Shaw and Edith Wharton
http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html
**********
"If any relationship involves a flow chart, get out of it...FAST!"
~ Best12Bars
#16re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:16amSarah of the Bible had her first kid when she was 90. And it has to be true, because it's in the Bible.
#17re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:17am
Not according to Google!
Updated On: 11/7/08 at 11:17 AM
#18re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:18amHelen Mirren
#19re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:19am
Am I going to be banned for posting this?
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#20re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:20amTaz your suggestion of Jennifer Coolidge made me think of Orfeh. Her first big hit was Legally Blond and she was 40- almost twice the age of most of her costars. My friend & I watched her on MTV so that will be a good reminder that it's "Not too late" just because you're 40 plus.
#21re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:29amKathryn Joosten (Karen McCluskey) didn't start working as an actor until she was 42. While she has appeared in over 100 TV shows and won two Emmy's, her greatest success has been in the last 5 years on The West Wing and on Desperate Housewives. And, she must be in about 20 commercials airing right now.
blueroses
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/18/04
#22re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:32amDanny Aiello and Vince Curatola
Unknown User
Joined: 12/31/69
#23re: People who 'Made it' later in life
Posted: 11/7/08 at 11:54amWait- I thought Orfeh was 41- that's what Wikipedia said.
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