Roctogenarians : late in life debuts, comebacks, and triumphs

Rocca, Mo, author.

First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.

Book

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2024.

vii, 372 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

"Eighty has been the new sixty for about twenty years now. In fact, there have always been late-in-life achievers, those who declined to go into decline just because they were eligible for social security. Journalist, humorist, and history buff Mo Rocca and coauthor Jonathan Greenberg introduce us to the people past and present who peaked when they could have been puttering--breaking out as writers, selling out concert halls, attempting to set land-speed records--and in the case of one ninety-year-old tortoise, becoming a first-time father ... In the vein of Mobituaries, Roctogenarians is a collection of entertaining and unexpected profiles of these unretired titans--some long gone (a cancer-stricken Henri Matisse, who began work on his celebrated cut-outs when he could no longer paint), some [until recently] still living (the original EGOT, Rita Moreno). The amazing cast of characters also includes Mary Church Terrell, who at eighty-six helped lead sit-ins at segregated Washington, DC, lunch counters in the 1950s, and John Goodenough, who was more than good enough to score a Nobel Prize at ninety-seven for inventing the lithium-ion battery. Then there's Peter Mark Roget, who began working on his thesaurus in his twenties but completed it at ninety years old"-- Provided by publisher.

Older people -- Biography.

Older people -- Psychology.

Celebrities -- Biography.

Aging -- Social aspects.

Success.

Biography -- Miscellanea.

Biographies.

Greenberg, Jonathan, author.

Octogenarians

Fast-food legends: Colonel Sanders and Clara Peller -- Old money: Warren Buffett -- Like fine wine: Mike Grgich (and other things in your kitchen that have no expiration date) -- Old country: Willie Nelson -- The players: Estelle Getty, Rita Moreno, and Morgan Freeman -- Old spice: Sophia Loren -- Playing for herself: Ruth Slenczynska -- Old chestnut: Rockin' around the Christmas tree -- The writers: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Frank McCourt, and Peter Mark Roget -- The readers -- Old testament: Methuselah -- The changemaker: Mary Church Terrell (and other late-in-life activists) -- Old navy: Jimmy Carter -- Old soldiers never die, they just reenlist: Samuel Whittemore, John L. Burns, and Yoda -- Old glory: "The Star Spangled Banner" -- It could happen to you: Third act personal milestones : Marriage: Carol Channing & Harry Kullijian, Suzanne Pleshette & Tom Poston ; Parenthood: Mr. Pickles the tortoise and Sarah ; Coming out: Kenneth Felts -- Old yeller: Ethel Merman -- The widows: Madame Clicquot, Mary Delany, and Myrlie Evers-Williams -- Old news: Mike Wallace -- Turning loss into gain: Henri Matisse, Jorge Luis Borges, and Sam & Betsey Farber -- Old English: Judi Dench -- Ageless Architects: Frank Lloyd Wright, I. M. Pei, and Yasmeen Lari -- Old town: St. Augustine, Florida -- No signs of slowing down: Ed Shadle -- Old ironsides: Jack LaLanne -- A trifecta of horse stories: Michael Blowen and old friends retirement home, Snowman the show jumper, and John Henry the thoroughbred -- Old faithful: Sister Jean -- Founding fathers of comedy: Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, and Norman Lear (and the Norman Lear Players ) -- Old jokes: Eddy Goldfarb -- Unfinished business: Diana Nyad and Brian May -- Old smoky: Tootsie Tomanetz -- It's about time: Tyrus Wong, Carmen Herrera, and John Goodenough -- Old-fashioned: Ann Roth -- Misspent old age: Rudy Giuliani, Phil Spector, John Tyler, and Ezra Pound -- Old fogey: John Fogerty -- An old story: Ebenezer Scrooge -- An appreciation: Maria Luisa Rocca.

9781668052501