The average life expectancy of a modern person is 65-75 years. But there are people who managed to live much longer. Some people are over one hundred years old. There are only a few such people on the whole Earth, but the whole planet is enthusiastic about them. Many people have already passed away, having been in this world for more than a century. Among the centenarians there are well-known personalities, such as artists. Some of them died a few years ago, while others still live. So who is the oldest actor in the world? In our article, we briefly get acquainted with artists who left us at a respectable age , to put it mildly, and with those Melpomene ministers who live happily today.
Goebbels and Hitler's favorite
If you think about the question of who is the oldest actor in the world, then you can not help but recall the artist who passed away at the age of 108 years. He went on stage even when he was 106 years old, and this man's name was Johannes Heesters. Goebbels and Hitler still admired his talent. His last role was the image of the king in a theatrical production by Rolf Hochhuts.
Heesters was a German artist of Dutch descent. He was a pop artist and a tenor singer, whose career totaled 87 years. Heesters in 1997 entered the Guinness Book of Records, as the oldest acting artist. Almost until the last day, Johannes Heesters continued his concert activity, despite the fact that he was almost completely blind and suffered from macular degeneration.
Russian celebrity
The artist, slightly inferior in life to Mr. Heathers, is Vladimir Zeldin. Few people, more or less watching the movie world, have not heard of this wonderful actor. He passed away at 101. And just like his German colleague, almost until the last he acted in films and played in the theater. After Johannes, Zeldin was considered the oldest actor on Earth. Journalists have always been interested in how Vladimir Mikhailovich managed to live so long. But the actor always replied that it was a secret.
Spouse Zeldina said that her husband ate incredibly small portions, almost doll-like. Every day he spent in the open air at least an hour and a half. At one time, Vladimir kept a dog, which he walked daily three times in any weather. With the pet, he went out into the street even late at night, when he returned tired after a concert or performance. The oldest actor in the world Zeldin was an incredibly popular artist and was remembered by many people for his roles in the films “Ten Little Indians” and “Matchmakers”.
Artist from the United States
The oldest actor in the world, living today, is, of course, a planetary-scale artist Kirk Douglas, the father of no less popular Michael Douglas. In December last year, the maestro turned exactly one hundred years old. Unrivaled Kirk was born in the US state of New York, in the small town of Amsterdam. At the birth of the future star, the Jewish name Issur was given, since the boy's parents were Russian-Jewish immigrants.
From childhood, Issur dreamed of an artist's career, but in those days it was extremely difficult for a person with a Jewish name to break into the world of cinema. That is why the guy one fine day, on the recommendation of the director of the theater studio, changed his name and thereby became Kirk Douglas. Despite his very advanced age, today he writes book novels, memoirs, and also maintains a blog on the Internet. In 94, Kirk was named the oldest blogger on Earth.
Long live Leonid Bronevoy
Leonid Bronevoy is also one of the oldest artists. And although his age does not yet reach the age of the above persons, but also deserves respect. In December 2016, Leonid Sergeyevich celebrated his 88th birthday. He is a national artist of the Soviet Union and is familiar to every admirer of domestic cinema. Armor received his profession at the Tashkent Institute of Theater Arts named after A.N. Ostrovsky. After some time, the meter continued to study at the Moscow Art Theater School. Here he studied with Lyudmila Ivanova, Anatoly Kuznetsov, Irina Skobtseva and Galina Volchek.
Since 1988, Leonid Bronevoy is a member of the Lenkom Theater troupe. The actor’s debut in the movie took place in 1964 with the release of the picture “Comrade Arseny”, where he played the gendarme colonel.
Well, what about women?
Among women, the oldest actress is Irina Skobtseva, who will celebrate her 90th birthday in the summer. Irina Konstantinovna did not plan to become an actress. She even decided to study at Moscow State University at the Faculty of History. And it was there that she played her first roles. After graduating from the university, the Moscow Art Theater invited him to his stage.
In 1955, Skobtseva first appeared on movie screens. She played Desdemona in the film Othello. After that, Irina Konstantinovna woke up famous. And this fame went far beyond the borders of the Soviet Union. Its popularity does not fade today.