For the record, Jack McKeon is younger than
- Bob Newhart, who's still touring and (occasionally) acting;
- Barbara Walters, who still occasionally co-hosts The View;
- Zbigniew Brzezinski, who still does all sorts of things;
- Hosni Mubarak, who until recently did whatever the hell he wanted;
- James Randi, who continues to do God's work;
- Adam West, still heard regularly on one of American's top animated comedy programs;
- Elie Wiesel, probably the most unlikely survival story on this list, continues to spread the word;
- Noam Chomsky, who continues to engage in spirited debates with anyone he can find;
- Vin Scully, still one of the very best in his business;
- Hugh Hefner, who still seems to be enjoying himself as few men have;
- Don Rickles, who -- like his good friend Bob Newhart -- continues to entertain audiences around the country;
- Joe Paterno, perhaps the best analogue for McKeon;
- Yogi Berra, who's still Yogi Berra;
- Elmore Leonard, who just keeps on writing incredibly readable novels;
- Jimmy Carter, who still flies all over the world trying to convince people to stop killing each other;
-
Eli Wallach, who at 95 is still acting; and ...
of course no list of this sort would be complete without Betty White, who at 89 is still headlining her own popular television show.
This is merely a cursory list, of course. I'm sure there are many hundreds of brilliant and talented octa- and nonagenerians who are doing brilliant work in their chosen spheres, particularly if they haven't been limited by strict retirement policies. I wouldn't suggest that 80 is the ideal age for a manager ... but that doesn't mean there's not an 80-year-old on the planet who can't do it well. And I suspect that if such a fellow exists, it actually is Jack McKeon.