Jack Klugman Dead at 90 - Which Old Sitcom Stars Are Still Alive?

When Jack Klugman died the day before Christmas, flashbacks of his messy alter ego, Oscar Madison, brought smiles to former viewers of “The Odd Couple.” The schlubby sports writer didn’t mean to annoy his fussy roommate, Felix Unger, who exhibited signs of OCD and hypochondria before they became pop-psych buzzwords. Unger was played by actor Tony Randall, who died at 84, less than a decade after marrying a 25-year-old woman with whom he fathered two children.

Because sitcom characters visit our living rooms every week, they often feel like old friends, or even family members — people with whom we form strong emotional bonds. When Andy Griffith died on July 3 this year (ironically, the day before another major holiday), many baby boomers felt like they had lost a second father.

Yet unlike real friends and relatives — or even Facebook friends about whom we seemingly know everything — our beloved sitcom stars sometimes die without our knowing it. We find ourselves wondering, “Is so and so still alive? I haven’t seen him in anything lately.”

The good news is that some of these older comic treasures are still among us. One — Betty White — even landed a new TV half-hour show, “Hot in Cleveland,” just three years ago. At almost 81, the “Golden Girl” has a booming career many 20-something starlets would envy. And she’s not the only sitcom legend who’s still among us.

Whether still punching the clock or retired from show biz, here are some classic sitcom actors who are still alive:

Ginger or Mary Ann?

Tina Louise, the actress who played glamorous movie star Ginger on “Gilligan’s island,” is still alive at 78. Save for a few bit acting parts, she has retired from show business and now devotes her time to writing children’s books and advocating for children.

Dawn Wells, the actress who played girl-next-door Mary Ann on the goofy precursor to “Lost,” is also still alive and runs a not-for-profit actor’s “boot camp” in Idaho. Wells had a Lindsay Lohanesque brush with scandal five years ago after police observed her swerving her car across the road and found marijuana in her car. After providing evidence the drugs belonged to another person who drove her vehicle that day, the one-time Miss Nevada was not charged with possession and was given probation on the driving mishap (she claimed she was just adjusting the heating controls).

Florence Henderson not-so-very Brady after all

Florence Henderson may be known to younger viewers as the Wesson oil lady or “Dancing with the Stars” contestant, but to children of the ’70s she will always be Carol Brady, the widow “who was bringing up three very lovely girls” — Marcia, Jan and Cindy — before hitching up with handsome Mike Brady, her male counterpart. Still very much alive, Henderson published a memoir two years ago in which she revealed that in her wilder days she contracted crabs from a one-night stand with the then-mayor of New York City.

At 78, the first woman ever to host “The Tonight Show” still makes guest appearances on various TV shows and hosts her own cable TV show geared to the senior set. Henderson’s TV husband, Mike Brady, played by actor Robert Reed, preceded her in death in 1992. Though he died of colon cancer, HIV was listed as a “significant condition[s] contributing to death,” and the media made a big deal of his keeping his gay identity a secret.

Other older sitcom stars who are still alive include Bill Cosby (75) of “The Cosby Show,” Dick Van Dyke (87) of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and Mary Tyler Moore (75) who played Van Dyke’s wife before getting her own eponymous show. Ironically, the ubiquitous Betty White appeared on that show, too, playing a domestic diva named Sue Ann Nivens a decade before Martha Stewart turned the concept into a multi-billion dollar business.

At 69, Ken Osmond who played Eddie Haskell on “Leave it to Beaver” is still giving people “the business, as are Wally, the Beaver and all of the boys’ other friends. The actors who played the parents on the show have all died, most recently iconic ’60s housewife Barbara Billingsley who died two years ago at 94.

Jack Klugman Dead at 90 — Which Old Sitcom Stars Are Still Alive?

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