Roctogenarians : late in life debuts, comebacks, and triumphs Cover Image

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Roctogenarians : late in life debuts, comebacks, and triumphs / Mo Rocca and Jonathan Greenberg.

Rocca, Mo, (author.). Greenberg, Jonathan, (author.).

Summary:

"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.

Contents:

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.

Item details

ISBN: 9781668052501
ISBN: 1668052504
Physical Description: vii, 372 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Edition: First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Publisher: New York : Simon & Schuster, 2024.

Contents / Notes

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 335-372).

Formatted Contents Note:

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.