Is There a Fountain of Youth Out There?

(I apologize to my readers outside the United States - these people and shows may not be familiar to you but these individuals were all part of my childhood so I hope you will bear with me.)

There's a fundraising commercial for a famous children's hospital that was co-founded by actor Danny Thomas.  His daughter Marlo Thomas (who is married to Phil Donahue) acts as their National Outreach director, and appears in this particular commercial.

I remember Marlo Thomas in a series called That Girl.  She was 28 when she started that series in 1966.  I was a teenager at the time.  I still see her as 28.

A little quick math and Internet research indicates that Marlo Thomas is 86.

Her husband Phil Donahue, whose talk show I also remember, is 88.

Remember the TV show I Dream of Jeannie?  Barbara Eden is 92.  She was 31 when I Dream of Jeannie first aired in 1965.

Other actors of my youth:

Joyce Randolph (the Honeymooners) is 99. Dick Van Dyke turned 98 last month.   Julie Andrews of The Sound of Music Fame is 88.  June Lockhart (I absolutely loved Lassie) is 98.  And let's not remember William Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk on the original Star Trek - he will be turning 93 in March.  Not that he's slowed down any.  He even went into space (for real, not via Hollywood) when he was 90.

For my European readers, I must mention Branka Veselinović, who, sadly passed away last year at the age of 104.

I wonder why this longevity?  And apparently, I'm not the only person who has wondered.  I found this one study but there are others.

But maybe not necessarily?  Here's another look done by obituary site Legacy, although it studied statistics from the pandemic year of 2020.  They concluded that the best field to enter if you want to live to an advanced age is - politics.

Politics?  I am not even going to go there.  As for my occupation (not politics!), I wouldn't know if there is even a mortality study of it.

So, is there a fountain of youth out there?  We all want to age with grace.  But is it possible for many of us?  

I wish I could know what their secret is.