Hollywood’s Oldest Working Actress, Connie Sawyer, Passes At 105
Hollywood’s oldest working actress, Connie Sawyer, has passed.
The longstanding actress who enjoyed a career that spanned almost nine decades passed on Monday at her Woodland Hills home in Los Angeles.
She was 105-years-old.
According to Deadline, Sawyer began her career in show business as a teen before notching memorable roles on TV and movies for over 87 years.
Her TV acting resume included classics from the 60s like Bonanza, The Andy Griffith Show, and The Fugitive. In the 70s, her acting abilities landed her roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Starsky & Hutch, All in the Family, Kojak, and Welcome Back, Kotter.
Connie Sawyer was still very much around in the 80s and was on Dynasty, Laverne & Shirley as well as Silver Spoons. The hardworking actress also got recurring roles on shows from the 90s like ER, Seinfeld, and Home Improvement.
Her most recent TV features were Ray Donovan, The Office, 2 Broke Girls in 2012, NCIS: Los Angeles in 2013 and New Girl in 2014.
Sawyer’s most notable movies included 1989’s When Harry Met Sally, 1994’s Dumb and Dumber starring Jim Carey, and 2008’s Pineapple Express, starring Seth Rogen and James Franco.
Connie Sawyer, born in 1912, credited the good genes she inherited from her parents for her longevity.
Connie Sawyer, late-blooming comic actress, dies at 105 https://t.co/mGia9fOjAF pic.twitter.com/utDD0qo30P
— The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) January 23, 2018
“My parents lived a long time. Papa died at 91 and my mama was 89, so I had good genes too.”
Sawyer granted her last interview to People magazine when she turned 105, explaining that an active lifestyle also helped to contribute to her long-standing health.
“There aren’t that many people around who are 105. I always say you have to move, you have to get off the couch. I used to swim, play golf, tap dance, line dance—I was always moving and I was lucky.”
#RIP, CONNIE SAWYER, #Hollywood's oldest working #actress, who has left us at age 105. (We will always love you!) More about Connie's remarkable life: https://t.co/6oP9sprcCo #ConnieSawyer #Showfolk @ShowfolkFilm #MPTF @MPTF #TCMParty pic.twitter.com/6GVqDSLES5
— Monica Lewis Tribute (@songbirdmonica) January 23, 2018
When she was not working, Sawyer functioned as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. She also ensured that she voted during the Oscars. According to her, she watched some of the contending movies twice before casting her vote.
A reminiscing Sawyer revealed that there was plenty of love working in the earlier times, adding that the present Hollywood was very cold and distant.
In her last interview, the longstanding actress offered advice to young people wishing to tow her path, telling them not to give up, but “hang in there, do the work and eventually, it will come to you.”
Connie Sawyer is survived by two daughters, four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
