When you are a fan of the entertainment industry, be it in TV shows, films, or stage performances, you can’t help but wonder what has become of your favorite stars that wowed audiences during their time. While some of our old favorites are still in the latest movies with credits to their name, some are comfortably in their retirement. As their star-shining days, one can only expect them to retire in style and glamor or living their past roles. Regardless, these are the famous stars from decades past who can say for sure how they have thoroughly enjoyed the fruits of their success and the stunning net worth accumulated from their careers.
MORGAN FREEMAN
Morgan Freeman remains to be one of the most bankable actors in the world to this day. Since July of this year, he ranks fifth-highest box office star with combined total box office gross of $4.522 billion for all his film credits in the industry. Who can still remember his 1970’s debut performance in Who Says I Can’t Ride a Rainbow! a family drama starring Jack Krugman? How about who can’t recognize him in numerous blockbusters that he is a part of to this day?
His recent film was 2019’s Angel Has Fallen which he plays the role of Flanders Galen Trumbull. It seems Freeman’s retirement is still about a career and net worth that can’t help but go from strength to strength as he is now said to be worth a whopping $250 million and growing with movie projects coming in for the reel.
GENE HACKMAN
Gene Hackman is a retired award-winning actor, who has two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, a Screen Actors Guild Award and two from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). His first film credit was in the 1964 film Lilith. From then on, his movie performances had just been nothing but something to look forward to and note. His final film before his retirement was the 2004 comedy film, Welcome to Mooseport.
Today, though he is no longer seen in the limelight of cinema, as he is sure of his retirement from acting, he remains to be in the industry of entertainment as he now writes novels and already has five books to his credit. He has written several historical novels named Wake of the Perdido Star, a sea adventure of the 19th century, Justice for None, a Depression-era tale of murder, and Escape from Andersonville which is a story about a prisoner who escapes during the American Civil War.
ALI MACGRAW
Ali MacGraw is one of Hollywood’s biggest success stories of all time. She started from being a production assistant, who later on was noticed for her striking looks and given the opportunity to land in film project roles. From her humble beginnings, she is not one who remained to be just a face. She made sure that she showcased her talents in every role she was entrusted with. Her performances in classics like The Getaway and Love Story were her most notable film credit roles.
Yet despite her success in the industry, her career was soon disrupted by personal struggles. Fortunately, she discovered yoga to help her cope up. Up to this day, she remains to be an avid practitioner. In addition, she co-produced a yoga video with yoga masters, which is very popular and influential. As some would say, it’s probably the secret behind her still youthful look.
NORMAN LLOYD
Norman Lloyd, who is considered as a living legend, is a Hollywood actor with over 60 film credits to date. The last movie he did was in 2015, Trainwreck. With this actor’s age, he is one who has weathered many historical moments, seen most changes happen – if not all – and worked with different iconic figures of all ages in Hollywood. To name a few, he has had a great time working with fellow legends Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, and also good friends with Charlie Chaplin.
As an artist, he also had the knack for exploring all opportunities in the industry. He has been on the stage, screen, and even as a director and producer. As to this day, he has been around in the industry for eight decades and people may think that he’s probably got enough of it. Watch out for him, though, as he currently stars in the TV show, Fly.
LEX LUGER
Known for his ring name as Lex Luger, this former WWF professional wrestler is actually a mellow guy. In the ring, though, he is sought for the tactics he would come up with to intimidate his opponents. In wrestling, he is the character that sets the thrills in the ring to the degree that it solicits different reactions from the audience. His career in the limelight began when he played football for the NFL team, the Miami Hurricanes.
However, he has booted off the team. It was in 1985, in a celebrity golfing event, where Luger met Bob Roop, and the opportunity opened for Luger to try out possibilities in the professional wrestling world. After a long and fruitful career as a wrestler, he took some time off and emerged in 2011, coming out of his semi-retirement to work on the WWE Wellness Policy and club, which promotes healthy practices among its athletes.
TERRY MOORE
Terry Moore is a film and television actor from the ‘40s. She worked as a child model when she was young. She’s been known for her credit roles in films, Mighty Joe Young and Peyton Place. Her performance in Come Back, Little Sheba earned her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her career has developed rapidly because she joined Columbia Pictures and signed long-term cooperation.
During the period, she participated in the production and appeared in some movies. It was only in the ‘60s that her career started to slow down when she appeared in a string of B-movies. Despite the slowdown, her early successes in the industry were enough for her to be recognized and honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. To date, she walks as one of the surviving stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age.
LONI ANDERSON
Loni Anderson is most remembered for her iconic credit role as the receptionist in the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. The show run from the late ‘70s to the early ‘80s and earned Anderson a number of Golden Globes and Emmy nominations. Though popularly identified in her receptionist role, it was actually a decade before that she debuted her career in show business in an uncredited role in the 1966 film, Nevada Smith.
To this day, she is still visible in television acting, most recently appeared in the pilot of the Amazon series, Love You More. However, she is more focused on her advocacy against lung diseases. She has witnessed the serious effects of COPD, which is usually caused by smoking, and her parents are typical cases. She became the spokesperson of COPD in 1999, and during the COPD education campaign, she became acquainted with her future husband Bob Flick.
JULIE ANDREWS
Julie Andrews is an English actress, singer, and author. She was a child actor and singer who started her career and rose to prominence in Broadway. There is no question of doubt of what Julie Andrews can do, and to say that she is a gifted actress is an understatement. With her debut in her iconic role and performance in the wildly popular 1964 movie, Mary Poppins, she made sure that it would hit and count. It was for this film credit that she won her first Academy Award for Best Actress.
Today, after many years of entertaining generations of fans, the art of acting has not left Julie, as she too remains active in the industry. At her age, she has adapted other fields such as voicing credits for characters in animated movies, Shrek and Despicable Me 3. Although there may be signs of slowing down, fans should know that there is no stopping this award-winning actress.
JACQUELINE BISSET
Jacqueline Bisset is an English-born, multi-awarded actress from the mid-’60s. At the age of 75, she is still very active in the industry to this day, but mostly in the foreign film niche. Her career began when she received her credit role in a Roman Polanski film, Cul-de-sac, in 1966. Since then, she’s been cast in numerous iconic characters, including a Bond girl stint in the James Bond satire Casino Royale. At the peak of her career, she became famous in the United States with The Deep.
Some scenes in which she wore a white T-shirt and appeared underwater are particularly impressive. Some of other roles also gained popularity because of her outstanding performances. On other news, she is one of the few in the industry who never married, let alone, had a divorce, despite stories of her high-profile relationships through the years. But she has also had excellent boyfriends, many of whom are real estate tycoons, actors, etc.
DENISE AUSTIN
Denise Austin is known to be one of the faces of fitness in the late ‘80s to early ‘90s. She was seen regularly as a fitness instructor in her longest-running fitness show on ESPN2, Getting Fit with Denise Austin. She is now succeeded by her daughter, who is also into fitness and owns her own fitness brand, Get Fit with Katie. She even has her own fitness app. In addition, she is also a fitness trainer like her mother and has her own YouTube channel.
To those who are missing Austin, reruns of her fitness show are still aired on TV despite it ending years ago, or you can even catch her every now and then on social media for some of her updated fitness tips. Most of her fitness programs are motivating. At the age of 63, she seemed to be one who won’t need a health insurance plan.
RHONDA FLEMING
Actress Rhonda Fleming was referred to as the “Queen of Technicolor” when Technicolor was first introduced in television and films, because of her bright red hair and fair complexion that stood out. Fleming’s most notable performance is known from her big break in an Alfred Hitchcock film credit, Spellbound. In all her services, she was able to make more than 40 Hollywood film credits to her name.
When she officially retired as an actress, she became a strong advocate of her charity works, especially with healthcare and medical insurance. She, together with her then-husband, Ted Mann, established the Rhonda Fleming Mann Clinic For Women’s Comprehensive Care at the UCLA Medical Center. In 1960, she had gradually withdrawn from film and television and began to invest in real estate.
JACK NICHOLSON
Jack Nicholson is known for his wide range of starring and supporting roles, which include comedy, romance, and darkly comic portrayals of anti-heroes and evil characters alike. Although he was last seen in his 2016 TV credit, The Fight Game With Jim Lampley, Nicholson has never officially announced his retirement from acting. So whether it may seem that he already retired, simply resting or merely just taking time with his family, we owe that time away to him and rightly so as he has been in the business since 1953.
At 83, Nicholson is also remembered to have risen to fame with the 1969 road drama, Easy Rider. His other iconic film credits include Terms of Endearment and As Good as It Gets. Nicholson is a collector of 20th century and contemporary art, including Tamara de Lempicka, Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol and Jack Vettriano.
VIRGINIA PATTON
irginia Patton is an actress from Hollywood’s Golden Age. She was a student at the University of Southern California when she would audition for acting parts and role in plays and films. It was only after a series of small credit roles that she became a familiar face to this day. Patton was the only one signed on into contract by no other than Capra, for her first significant credit role as Ruth Dakin Bailey in the all-time favorite film, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Such a movie is still being watched today, especially in holiday seasons. However, retirement from the business came early for Patton, as she decided to quit the film industry to concentrate on raising a family after her marriage in 1949. To this day, in her senior years, she still gives interviews, especially if it is about popular movies.
JOANNE WOODWARD
Joanne Woodward enjoyed a six-decade-long successful movie career – a rare feat that very few get this lucky in the industry. This is the reason why she is one of those referred to be legendary in the business. Over the years, Joanne earned many major movie and TV awards, especially in her excellent performances in The Three Faces of Eve, Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams, and Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, among other movies.
Given her age, it comes as no surprise that she is now in her retirement. Her last project was a movie credit of her incredible voice in the 2013 comedy-drama, Lucky Them. In the area of family, she lived a happy and harmonious marriage to a fellow actor, Paul Newman, who she married in 1958. Woodward served as the artistic director of Westport Country Theatre from 2001 to 2005. In addition, she has also served as an executive producer of film programs.
