The question about older people getting online made me think of this. What is the oldest person to actually appear on television? Even though it's probably an impossible question to answer with certainty, this guy might be a strong candidate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_iq5yzJ-Dk

Samuel J. Seymour was born on March 28, 1860, and was five years old when he saw Abraham Lincoln get shot by John Wilkes Booth. He was 95 years old when he appeared on this episode of I've Got a Secret, and he died just two months later.

Before I even opened the thread, I was going to mention the exact same example you gave. There is an article on wikipedia dedicated to the last survivors of historical events and that was one of the ones that fascinated me.

I think that guy is indeed a good candidate for the oldest to ever appear on television, but it wouldn't surprise me if there were even older people who did.

I believe PT Barnum and Pope Leo XIII, both born in 1810, might be the earliest born people to appear on film period.

I also read about a woman named Rebecca Clarke who was born in the 1790s and appeared in a Kinora reel with a kitten. It's called "Rebecca Clarke and the Kitten" but I have never seen the footage or any stills.

I just saw a woman on TV who's 105. She drives herself to this place she volunteers to a few days a week and they threw her a birthday party.

Regularly?

Andy Rooney was 92 and still doing his piece on 60 Minutes and what about George Burns who appeared on shows often
up until his death at 100.

I think Machine is looking for the "earliest born" person to appear on television, not necessarily the oldest at any point in time. No one alive today or the last 50 years could be a candidate for the earliest-born.

I think Machine is looking for the "earliest born" person to appear on television, not necessarily the oldest at any point in time. No one alive today or the last 50 years could be a candidate for the earliest-born.


Yeah, that's what I meant. I think there's a good chance that Samuel Seymour is the oldest person ever on TV, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that a person born in the 1850's, or perhaps even 1840's, could have appeared on TV at some point given how quickly the medium rose to popularity in the 1950's.

Yeah, that's what I meant. I think there's a good chance that Samuel Seymour is the oldest person ever on TV, but it's not out of the realm of possibility that a person born in the 1850's, or perhaps even 1840's, could have appeared on TV at some point given how quickly the medium rose to popularity in the 1950's.


I'm sure it's archived somewhere.  If they had a confirmed 105 year old person appear on television in 1947, that person would have been born in 1842. 

The oldest person I saw appear on TV was in 1997 when Jeanne Calment of France having reached the verified age of 122 years appeared on television.  She was born in 1875 and remembered meeting Vincent Van Gogh when she was a teenager!

Really interesting video! Thanks for sharing!  8)

I'm sure it's archived somewhere.  If they had a confirmed 105 year old person appear on television in 1947, that person would have been born in 1842. 

The oldest person I saw appear on TV was in 1997 when Jeanne Calment of France having reached the verified age of 122 years appeared on television.  She was born in 1875 and remembered meeting Vincent Van Gogh when she was a teenager!


Very true. In fact, it's even possible that someone born in the late 1830's could have appeared on television if they lived to be over 110, which is really amazing if you think about it.

I read an incredible story once about a man who claimed to be nearly 130 years old being interviewed on television sometime during the 1970's. He claimed to have been born a slave in 1842, and the interview took place around 1975 or so. His age was never verified, so his story is obviously suspect.

Very true. In fact, it's even possible that someone born in the late 1830's could have appeared on television if they lived to be over 110, which is really amazing if you think about it.

I read an incredible story once about a man who claimed to be nearly 130 years old being interviewed on television sometime during the 1970's. He claimed to have been born a slave in 1842, and the interview took place around 1975 or so. His age was never verified, so his story is obviously suspect.


I have heard about that case before, but I don't think his claim is true. What I find baffling is that the wiki article I linked you to above lists the last surviving slave as a woman named Eliza Moore who was born in 1843 and died in 1948. Slavery was abolished in 1865, so I find it hard to believe that none of the babies born into slavery in the early 1860s wouldn't have outlived Moore. I would imagine the last surviving born-slave would have died in the 1970s, even if they were only an infant/toddler who never did any real labor. It's possible Moore was the last who actually regularly performed the regular duties of a slave, but considering she was 22 when it ended, I still find it hard to believe none younger than her outlived her.

Could I say Kirk Douglas? He's 96 years old.

Very true. In fact, it's even possible that someone born in the late 1830's could have appeared on television if they lived to be over 110, which is really amazing if you think about it.

I read an incredible story once about a man who claimed to be nearly 130 years old being interviewed on television sometime during the 1970's. He claimed to have been born a slave in 1842, and the interview took place around 1975 or so. His age was never verified, so his story is obviously suspect.


These guys with the 130+ claims show up from time to time.  Calment of France is the only supercentenarian verified by Guinness as living to 120 years.  Guinness demands official documents such as hospital birth certificates before they print a record.  The first person Guinness verified as living to 120, Shigechiyo Izumi from Japan, was subsequently challenged and delisted.  Turns out he had his deceased older brother's birth certificate.  His brother's name was also Izumi and his parents named him after the brother.  The younger Izumi was a mere 105 years old when he died.  I remember Guinness always prefaced their longevity section with: No single subject is more obscured by vanity, deceit, falsehood, and deliberate fraud than the extremes of human longevity.

But that doesn't mean nobody has lived longer than Calment.  Maybe that old guy really was a born a slave in 1842, but if that's the case, it would be impossible for him to break the official record because slaves didn't get official birth certificates.  In fact, few people did until the 20th century.  Often times names and birth dates were just scribbled down in a family Bible. 

However, if you look at the records for official supercentenarians, only 29 attained the age of 115 with only eight of those reaching 116 and only two surviving past age 118, Sarah Knauss (119), and Calment (122).  People just don't seem to be designed to live much past 110 years.  There are hundreds of longevity researchers out there who would love nothing better than to verify a 130-year-old person, but none have so far and I wouldn't hold my breath.

Senor Wences and George Burns lived to be a combined total of 203 years old.

George died in 1995  at the age of 100 and Senor Wences died in 2007 at the age of 103.  :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_AwOIs2buE

:D

I would think it would be this man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO04zWdh8_Y