5 Stars from the 1950s Who Are Still Thriving Today

      Clint Eastwood, who celebrates his 95th birthday this Saturday, heads our list of stars from the 1950s who remain active today.

      Here’s the complete list.

      Clint Eastwood

      20th Century Fox – Credit: C/O

      As the most active among the lasting stars of the 1950s, Clint Eastwood found fame in 1950s films such as Francis in the Navy, The First Traveling Saleslady, and Ambush at Cimarron Pass (above), while also making appearances on TV shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Highway Patrol.

      The 1960s saw him take on a regular role in the TV series Rawhide, and he became an iconic figure of that decade through Sergio Leone’s "Man With No Name" trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966).

      He dominated the following twenty years with his Dirty Harry series, but his most significant impact on cinema may come from his directing work: he won four Oscars, two for directing and producing The Unforgiven (1993) and Million Dollar Baby (2005). Other notable films include Mystic River (2003), Letters From Iwo Jima (2006), and American Sniper (2014).

      He continues to direct movies — his latest, Juror #2, is currently streaming on Max. He turns 95 this Saturday, May 31.

      Rita Moreno

      Singin’ in the Rain. MGM

      At 93, Rita Moreno became a prominent star of the 1950s with roles in classics like Singin’ in the Rain (above) and The King and I, before achieving significant recognition for her part in 1961’s West Side Story.

      She has since attained rare EGOT status by winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, among numerous other accomplishments in her career, which also includes the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Kennedy Center Honor, and a Peabody Award. Her extensive filmography features titles like 1969’s Popi, 1981’s The Four Seasons, 1998’s The Slums of Beverly Hills, and Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of West Side Story.

      Recently, she garnered laughs in 80 for Brady and appeared in Fast X. She remains as active as ever.

      Warren Beatty

      CBS

      Warren Beatty, at 88, gained recognition as one of the most adored TV stars during the 1950s, appearing in the beloved sitcom The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (above), and quickly became a matinee idol with his role in the 1960 film Splendor in the Grass alongside Natalie Wood, which catapulted them both to stardom in the 1960s.

      In the subsequent decades, he enjoyed a remarkable career with films such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967), McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), The Parallax View (1974), and Shampoo (1975), later stepping into directing and starring in Heaven Can Wait (1978), Reds (1981), and the uniquely eccentric Bulworth (1998). He received the Best Director Oscar for Reds. He co-starred with Annette Bening in the 1991 film Bugsy, and the couple has been married for over thirty years.

      While Warren Beatty has not appeared in many projects since directing and starring in 2016’s Rules Don’t Apply, he still remains vibrant: he surprised fans by appearing last year in the TCM special Tracy Zooms In, engaging with questions while embodying a comic-book character.

      His family is blessed with good genes; his older sister is also included on this list…

      Shirley MacLaine

      MGM

      Shirley MacLaine was a renowned Broadway star in the 1950s before debuting in films with Alfred Hitchcock’s 1955 The Trouble With Harry. She also starred that year in Artists and Models (above) and later in Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Some Came Running (1958), and Ask Any Girl (1959).

      She began the 1960s with a memorable and emotional performance in the comedy The Apartment (above), alongside Jack Lemmon.

      She solidified her status as one of the greatest stars of the 1960s with roles in The Children’s Hour (1961), Irma la Douce (1963), and Sweet Charity (1969). She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for 1983’s Terms of Endearment and received numerous accolades for films like Steel Magnolias (1989), Postcards From the Edge (1990), and Bernie (2011).

      Most recently, the 91-year-old delivered a notable performance in the second season of Only Murders in the Building.

      Mel Brooks

      Mel Brooks in To Be or Not to Be