Four score and then...
It’s the 80s all-stars. MARION McMULLEN looks at the celebrities who became octogenarians this year ahead of whatat wouldou d havea e bee been Jo John Lennon’se os landmark birthday
AFITTING birthday present is being unwrapped for what would have been John Lennon’s 80th birthday. A Beatles song never heard before by the public will be played as part of a new radio series celebrating what would have been the Beatle’s landmark birthday.
John would have been 80 on October 9 and his son Sean is hosting a radio show about his father to mark the occasion. Sean’s older brother Julian Lennon, Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Elton John are among those taking part in the two-part BBC Radio 2 show.
Sir Paul says of meeting Lennon: ennon: “I look back on it now like a fan, n, how lucky was I to meet this strange nge Teddy Boy off the bus, who played music like I did and we get together and d boy, we complemented each other!” er!”
Paul also plays an excerpt of a song they never recorded called alled Just Fun. Only the most die hard Beatles fans are aware of the existence of the song, which is believed to have been written in late 1957 or early 1958.
Fellow Beatles drummer Ringo Starr celebrated his 80th birthday on July 7 with a star-studded YouTube concert in aid of charity. He live-streamed the show from his home with guest contributions from the likes of Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters and Sheryl Crow.
The pandemic meant he had to rethink his original birthday plans. He said: “I had ad big plans for all my kids and d grandkids coming from England land and my pals to have a huge thing. That is just how it is.”
Sir Tom Jones reached his s 80th birthday on June 7 and the Welsh singer revealed he stays in shape hape by hitting the gym daily to pound nd on the cross trainer listening to his favourite workout track, Great Balls Of Fire.
Star Trek and X-Men actor Sir Patrick Stewart became an octogenarian on July 13 and his fellow Star Trek cast members helped him to celebrate a socially distanced birthday with Sir Ian McKellen reading him a sonnet from Shakespeare online and wishing him “a very happy birthday, dear Patrick”.
Harry Potter actor Sir Michael Gambon is counting down to his 80th birthday on October 19. He was born in Dublin and joined the National Theatre when Sir Laurence Olivier was in charge. He once said of growing up: “I used to be a Teddy Boy. Feeling slightly inferior and wanting to cause a bit of bother and get some action going on in the room rather than being bored stiff.”
American acting star Al Pacino marked his birthday during the coronavirus pandemic on April 25. Fans marked the day by sharing the best moments from his career from films like The Godfather, Scarface and Scent Of A Woman.
The New Yorker began as a stand-up comic and once joked of his movie career: “People always said that time, the 70s, was about pretty boys... and then I came along.”
West Wing actor Martin Sheen was 80 on August 3 and has talked of missing out on the role of Michael
Corleone in the 1972 movie of The Godfather. He said: “I was wrong for it, but you never pass up an opportunity. I remember saying to Francis Ford Coppola ‘If you don’t use Al Pacino in this part, it will be like benching Joe DiMaggio in his prime.”
James Caan, who played Sonny Corelone in The Godfather movies, turned 80 on March 26 and once said: “My acting technique is to look up at God just before the camera rolls and say ‘Give me a break’”.
Born in The Bronx, he said appearing in Funny Lady in 1975 with Barbra Streisand was one of his career highlights. “People say they didn’t know I could sing and dance. Well, nobody ever asks me. It’s always ‘punch this guy’”.
Raquel Welch made her name in movies like One Million Years BC and
Fantastic Voyage and played Lust in the 1967 Peter Cook and Dudley Moore film comedy Bedazzled.
She reached her 80th birthday on September ber 5 and once said: “Americans have always had sex symbols. It’s a time honoured tradition and I’m flattered to have been one, but it’s hard to have a long, fruitful career once you’ve been stereotyped that way. That’s why I’m proud to say I’ve endured.”
Singing star Dionne ne Warwick is known all
over the world for songs like Walk On By, I Say A Little Prayer and I’ll Never Fall In Love Again and will be joining the 80s all all-stars sta on December 12. “I’ve ha had some incredible mome moments in my life... thus far,” the A American singer has said said. “I hope a lot more ar are coming.”