Aging is a little weird, and Gen X is in the thick of coming to terms with it. Born between 1965 and 1980, the “forgotten generation” finds itself flummoxed by being in its mid-40s to early 60s, fully middle-aged and even a bit beyond.
It’s common to feel younger than our years, but for Gen X, the math really isn’t mathing—especially when discovering how old the “old” actors in shows from their childhood actually were.
Let’s start with Gilligan’s Island, an after-school staple for many a Gen Xer. Remember Thurston Howell III, the wealthy older man with his sweet wife, Lovey? Mr. Howell was played by Jim Backus, who was 51 when the show began. Just sit with that for a second.
The actress who played his wife, Natalie Schafer, was 13 years older than he was, but still. He was only 51? And what about The Skipper? He seemed like an old guy when we were kids, right? Nope. Alan Hale Jr. was only 43, two years younger than Tom Brady was when he retired from the NFL.
What about Carroll O’Connor and Jean Stapleton, who played Archie and Edith Bunker on All in the Family? They had to have been in their 60s at least, right? Nope. They were also in their 40s when the show began.
Remember Julia Sugarbaker in Designing Women, who was the older, wiser one of the group? She didn’t necessarily seem “old-old” when we were kids, but we might have described her as an “older woman.” Turns out Dixie Carter was 47 when she started that role, which is younger than nearly all Gen Xers are now. Oof.
How about the fact that three of the four Golden Girls were supposed be in their 50s in the show? Or that Rue McClanahan, who played Blanche Devereaux, was 51 years old when the series began?
Going back further, do you know how old actor David Tomlinson was when he played Mr. Banks in the original Mary Poppins film? He seemed like a grumpy old man to us as kids, but he was 47.
Mr. Roper on Three’s Company was surely an older gentleman, right? Only if you consider 53 to be old. Are we seriously Mr. Roper now and not Jack Tripper? When did that happen?
On one hand, seeing that we’re now in the age range of these actors—and in some cases even older—is jarring. On the other hand, perhaps we should feel good about the fact that 50 (and sometimes 60) really is the new 40.
Why people look younger now than they did in the ’60s and ’70s
There may be some denial at play in not seeing ourselves in these actors who were our age, but that’s not the whole story. Objectively, some of these people looked much older than people in their 40s and 50s do today. Why is that?
According to McGill University, there are several reasons people looked older, beyond just our bias against outdated hairstyles and clothing styles.
The primary reasons people looked older in the past were environmental and lifestyle factors. The ubiquity of cigarette smoking was a big one, as smoking causes premature aging of the skin. As smoking declined in popularity, its widespread aging effects did, too.
Sun exposure is another factor. Previous generations would slather themselves in baby oil to speed up UV exposure. Now we know that’s unhealthy on multiple levels. Increased use of sunscreen and greater sun avoidance have slowed the aging effects of the sun.
Even the reduction of certain kinds of air pollution has helped keep our skin looking younger. It turns out that fixing the hole in the ozone layer has had some ancillary anti-aging benefits for us all.
The push for health and longevity research since Gen Xers were kids has also led to better dietary habits and increased hydration. There have also been major advancements in medical and cosmetic interventions that help us look younger for longer.
So while it may make us blink twice to see how old the seemingly “old” actors of our childhood were, it’s all good. We may be as old as they were, but we likely don’t look as old as they did. Gen X still has time before “old age” really hits us.
