Season 32, episode of Saturday Night Live, December 9th, 2006, 
Justin Timberlake hosting. During the news segment:
Seth Meyers: Elizabeth “Lizzie” Bolden, the world’s oldest person, died Monday in a Memphis nursing home at the age of 116. Man, it’s like that title, “World’s Oldest Person”, is cursed or something.
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Jeanne Calment was not cursed at all. I was amazed by her life story. Below is a picture of her in 1897 at age 22. She had met Vincent van Gogh at age 13. I have been to various museums across Europe to see his paintings, and I am currently doing a series on the artists mentioned in Woody Allen’s movie “Midnight in Paris” and Vincent van Gogh is one of the artists I will be discussing in an upcoming post. I have put links below to some of the other posts in that series.
Jeanne Calment is my favorite. Super longevity is a fascinating topic for me. Considering that the maximum human lifespan possible is considered to be 123 – 125 years of age, makes Jeanne very special indeed. She definitely overstayed her time here on Earth.
Jeanne Louise Calment was a French supercentenarian from Arles. She outlived her daughter and her grandson. She was very well known at age 113 on the centenary of Vincent Van Gogh’s visit to Arles. She was the last person living to have personally met the artist. Her lifespan has been thoroughly documented, with more proof of her age than for any other case.
Funny Fact: Calment had no living heirs in 1965 at age 90. She made a deal to sell her apartment to lawyer Andrea-Francois Raffray on a contingency contract. This is often referred to as a reverse mortgage. He agreed to pay her 2500 francs every month until her death. Sounds like a smart move on his part considering she was 90 years old. He ended up paying her what equates to $180,000, which is more than double the apartment’s worth. After Raffray’s death in 1995 from cancer at age 77, his wife continued the payments until Calment’s death. How silly would you feel making that deal then having her live over 32 years after age 90?
Calment met Vincent Van Gogh in 1888 when he came to her father’s shop to buy some paint and pencils. She described him as dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable. She remembers this visit clearly along with watching the Eiffel tower being built.
At age 85 Jeanne took up fencing and at age 100 she was still riding a bicycle. She claimed to never have been athletic or fanatical about health and fitness. Calment lived alone until just before her 110th birthday. It was decided that she would be better off in a nursing home after a cooking accident nearly killed her. Jeanne was in great health and was able to walk right up until age 114 and 11 months when she fractured her femur from a fall. after an operation on the broken limb she required a wheelchair. She became ill with the flu just before her 116th birthday. She smoked right up until she was 117. Calment ascribed her longevity and youthful looks to olive oil. She rubbed it on her skin, drank it and used it in cooking. She enjoyed port wine and ate almost one kilogram (2.2lbs) of chocolate per week.
Other posts with Woody Allen:
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 15, Luis Bunuel)
Belle de Jour Presentation In a film class my partner and I did a video presentation on the film Belle de Jour and the filmmaker Luis Bunuel. Bunuel was a surrealist, so if the video doesn’t quite makes sense, its not supposed to. ___________________________________________________ I am presently going through the characters referenced in Woody Allen’s […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 14, Henri Matisse)
I am currently going through the characters referenced in the Woody Allen movie “Midnight in Paris.” Today I am looking at Henri Matisse. Below is a press release from a museum in San Francisco: the steins were known for their saturday evening salons, where artists, writers, musicians, intellectuals, and collectors gathered to discuss contemporary art, […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 13, Amedeo Modigliani)
Adriana and Gil are seen above walking together in the movie “Midnight in Paris.” Adriana was a fictional character who was Picasso’s mistress in the film. Earlier she had been Modigliani’s mistress and later Georges Braque’s mistress before moving on to Picasso according to the film story line. Actually Picasso had taken girls from others […]
The characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 12, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel)
An article from Biography.com below. I am currently going through all the personalities mentioned in Woody Allen’s movie “Midnight in Paris.” Today I am spending time on Coco Chanel. By the way, I know that some of you are wondering how many posts I will have before I am finished. Right now I have plans […]
The characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 11, Rodin)
The Thinker (1879–1889) is among the most recognized works in all of sculpture. In fact, below you can see Paul who constantly is showing up Gil with his knowledge about these pieces of art. He shows off while describing Rodin’s life story when all four of them are taking in “The Thinker.” However, he is […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 10 Salvador Dali)
Artists and bohemians inspired Woody Allen for ‘Midnight in Paris I love the movie “Midnight in Paris” by Woody Allen and I am going through the whole list of famous writers and artists that he included in the movie. Today we will look at Salvador Dali. In this clip below you will see when Picasso […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 9, Georges Braque)
2011 Roger Arpajou / Sony Pictures Classics Lea Seydoux as Gabrielle in “Midnight in Paris.” Adriana and Gil are seen above walking together in the movie “Midnight in Paris.” Adriana was a fictional character who was Picasso’s mistress in the film. Earlier she had been Georges Braque’s mistress before moving on to Picasso according to […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 8, Henri Toulouse Lautrec)
How Should We Then Live 7#3 2011 Roger Arpajou / Sony Pictures Classics Owen Wilson as Gil in “Midnight in Paris.” Paul Gauguin and Henri Toulouse Lautrec were the greatest painters of the post-impressionists. They are pictured together in 1890 in Paris in Woody Allen’s new movie “Midnight in Paris.” My favorite philosopher Francis Schaeffer […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 7 Paul Gauguin)
How Should We Then Live 7#1 Dr. Francis Schaeffer examines the Age of Non-Reason and he mentions the work of Paul Gauguin. 2011 Roger Arpajou / Sony Pictures Classics Kurt Fuller as John and Mimi Kennedy as Helen in “Midnight in Paris.” I love the movie “Midnight in Paris” by Woody Allen and I am […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 6 Gertrude Stein)
Midnight In Paris – SPOILER Discussion by What The Flick?! Associated Press Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas in 1934 This video clip below discusses Gertrude Stein’s friendship with Pablo Picasso: I love the movie “Midnight in Paris” by Woody Allen and I am going through the whole list of famous writers and artists that […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 5 Juan Belmonte)
2011 Roger Arpajou / Sony Pictures Classics Gad Elmaleh as Detective Tisserant in “Midnight in Paris.” I love the movie “Midnight in Paris” by Woody Allen and I am going through the whole list of famous writers and artists that he included in the movie. Juan Belmonte was the most famous bullfighter of the time […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 4 Ernest Heminingway)
Woody Allen explores fantasy world with “Midnight in Paris” 2011 Roger Arpajou / Sony Pictures Classics Corey Stoll as Ernest Hemingway in “Midnight in Paris.” The New York Times Ernest Hemingway, around 1937 I love the movie “Midnight in Paris” by Woody Allen and I am going through the whole list of famous writers […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 3 Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald)
What The Flick?!: Midnight In Paris – Review by What The Flick?! 2011 Roger Arpajou / Sony Pictures Classics Alison Pill as Zelda Fitzgerald and Tom Hiddleston as F. Scott Fitzgerald in “Midnight in Paris.” 2011 Roger Arpajou / Sony Pictures Classics Owen Wilson as Gil in “Midnight in Paris.” 2011 Roger Arpajou / Sony […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 2 Cole Porter)
The song used in “Midnight in Paris” I am going through the famous characters that Woody Allen presents in his excellent movie “Midnight in Paris.” This series may be a long one since there are so many great characters. De-Lovely – Movie Trailer De-Lovely – So in Love – Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd & Others […]
The Characters referenced in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (Part 1 William Faulkner)
Photo by Phill Mullen The only known photograph of William Faulkner (right) with his eldest brother, John, was taken in 1949. Like his brother, John Faulkner was also a writer, though their writing styles differed considerably. My grandfather, John Murphey, (born 1910) grew up in Oxford, Mississippi and knew both Johncy and “Bill” Faulkner. He […]
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