Celebrities Born 100 Years Ago

Ever wondered what has become of those celebrities born nearly 100 years ago? We’re here to help you find out with details about 100 of the most famous people born in 1918. Who is still living today, and what have they accomplished in their lives? Which professions tend to live longer? Which professions have the most on-the-job casualties? Read on to learn about the trends pulled from the data about the famous people born 100 years ago.

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Professions with the longest lifespan

A total of 13 celebrities born in 1918 lived to be 95 or older, and of those 13 folks, five are still alive today. Interestingly enough, all of the 13 folks who lived to be 95 years old or older held one of the same four jobs: Actors and Actresses, Artists, Politicians, and Professional Sports Players. There must be something about these four jobs that make those working in lead long and healthy lives.

• Actors and Actresses

  • Diana Serra Cary (living)
  • Billy Graham (living)
  • Allan Arbus
  • Don Pardo
  • Ellen Dow

• Artists

  • Frank Popper (living)
  • Artur Brauner (living)
  • Hutton Gibson (living)
  • Gerald Wilson
  • Bernard Redmont

• Politicians

  • Konstantinos Mitsotakis
  • Helmut Schmidt

• Professional Sports Players

  • Bobby Doerr

Professions with the shortest lifespan

On the other hand, there is one job that results in multiple deaths at young ages in comparison to our oldest surviving professions. In fact, both Alberto Ascari and Bill Vukovich died at age 37, the second youngest age of death on our 1918 celebrities list. Their job? Professional race car drivers. Both Ascari and Vukovich died during a race.

• Race Car Drivers

  • Alberto Ascari
  • Bill Vukovich

Alberto Ascari died in a 1000 km Monza race testing a Ferrari. Ascari, who was not supposed to drive that day, flipped the Ferrari on the third lap. The crash happened on one of the most challenging high-speed corners of all time, the Curva del Vialone. The corner was renamed after Ascari’s passing in his honor.

Bill Vukovich died in a chain-reaction crash during the 1955 Indianapolis 500. Vukovich was following three other cars, the first of which swerved due to a gust of wind. Vukovich’s car burst into flames. Fellow race car driver Ed Alisaian stopped his car, which had not been affected by the pileup, in an attempt to save Vukovich, however, he was unable to do so. Vukovich was the second defending Indy 500 champion to die during the race.

Youngest death

The youngest death on the list of celebrities born in 1918 is that of George Welch. A World War II Flying Ace and a Medal of Honor nominee, Welch was also the first man to break the sound barrier in level flight with the F-100 Super Sabre. In continuing his tests on this plane, one test failed and the plane disintegrated. Welch was 36 years old when he passed away, making him the youngest on the list. He is mentioned in the 1970 film Tora! Tora! Tora!

Celebrities Still Alive Today

We’ve covered the longest and shortest-living professions and the youngest deaths, but now it’s time to dive into the lives of the five living celebrities born in 1918. One of these famous icons knew Martin Luther King Jr. and advised Barack Obama, one has won an Academy Award, one is a Jeopardy! grand champion and a couple even offer up advice on long-living. One thing is for certain, this is an amazing bunch of people who have had some pretty eventful lives.

Billy Graham, 99

When this post was originally published on Monday, February 19th, 2018, Billy Graham was alive. However, two days later on Wednesday, February 21st, Graham passed away in his home. Read on for a tribute to Graham and his impactful life.

Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, this well-known Evangelical Christian and ordained baptist rose to fame internationally after 1949, two years after the first annual Billy Graham Crusades television event which he started in 1947. Graham was the host of Hour of Decision, a popular radio show which began in 1950 that continued on for four years. Having preached to live audiences of 215 million people in more than 185 countries, Graham is widely regarded as the most influential preacher of the 20th century. He has even provided spiritual counsel to every president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. Graham’s best friend was Lyndon B. Johnson.

Graham once bailed Martin Luther King out of jail in the 1960s when he was arrested for his protests. He has appeared 60 times since 1955 on Gallup’s list of most admired men and women, which is more than any other individual in the world. Graham retired in 2005. Perhaps his close relationship to God is the reason he’s still around today. He is by far the most famous person on our list.

Graham’s son shared his father’s secrets for long living in an interview back in 2015. Franklin Graham reported that he thinks his father is still alive to serve as a comfort for Christians. In the interview, Franklin said that “Especially now that we see Christians under attack in this country — and this is something, we’re going to see more and more of this — my father is still present. Even though he’s not able to speak as much as he used to, he’s still present, and I think that is a great encouragement to many people to know that Billy Graham is still with us.”

Artur Brauner, 99

Having produced over 300 films since 1946, Artur Brauner is a German film producer born in Łódź, Poland. When Brauner was a young man, he saw the film The Testament of Dr. Mabuse which reportedly was the film that inspired him to begin his career producing movies himself.

His latest film is the 2011 film Wunderkinder and his earliest film was the 1948 Morituri.

In his lifetime, his films have received two Golden Bear awards, one German Federal Film Award, one nomination for a Golden Globe, a Golden Globe, one Academy Award, was nominated two more times for an Academy Award.

Frank Popper, 99

Frank Popper, Professor of Aesthetics and Science of Art and the University of Paris VIII and historian of art and technology is still working to this day. Born in Prague, Czech Republic, Popper has written two books, both about art and technology.

Diana Serra Cary, 99

Born Peggy-Jean Montgomery and formerly known as Baby Peggy, Diana Serra Cary is a former child actress from Merced, California. She was also an author and historian. She is most notably the last living film star of the silent era.

The Hollywood silent movie era was home to three major American child stars: Jackie Coogan, Baby Marie, and Baby Peggy. Cary has been in over 150 short films between 1921 and 1923. With many adoring fans, she was nicknamed “The Million Dollar Baby” due to her $1.5 million a year salary.

However, fame proved to be fleeting in Cary’s case as by 1930, she was working as an extra in the film industry and received very little pay. From then on, with the name Diana Serra Cary, Cary switched gears and started up a career in writing and as a silent film historian. She is the author of several books and became an advocate for child stars’ rights.

In an interview with Tom Lamont, published in The Guardian in 2015 when Cary was 96, Cary said “I feel better now. I feel very, very liberated. I find you’re not surprised by unexpected things as you get older. You’ve had lots of experience, and that’s valuable. Priceless, really. Yes, I find that old age is much more pleasant than youth.”

Hutton Gibson, 99

Hutton Gibson has done a lot more with his life than birth the famous actor Mel Gibson. He is a writer, a World War II vet, and the 1968 Jeopardy! grand champion. Gibson is also the father of 10 more children other than actor Mel for a total of 11 kids. Gibson’s first wife, Anne Patricia Reilly and him married in 1944 and together they had 10 children and adopted one. As of 2003, Gibson had 48 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

Curious about other trends? Plot your own map today to see trends and secrets that are near impossible to see any other way, including trends in history like 100 Years Later: Major 1918 Events Mapped Out.