Alan Alda, Mel Brooks and more celebs turning 90 or 100 this year

Happy birthday, Hawkeye.

On Wednesday, veteran actor and former Water Mill resident Alan Alda turns 90, with roughly seven of those decades spent in show business. But he isn't the only big name celebrating a milestone in 2026. Here are some other soon-to-be nonagenarians as well as three stars turning 100.

Mel Brooks

BORN June 28, 1926

CLAIM TO FAME He's the comic master behind such screen gems as "The Producers" (1967), "Blazing Saddles" (1974) and "Young Frankenstein" (1974).

OFF CAMERA Brooks and Oscar-winning actor Anne Bancroft had one of Hollywood's happiest marriages from 1964 until her death in 2005. They met in 1961 when she was in rehearsal for "The Perry Como Show."

FUN FACT As a U.S. Army combat engineer during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944, he helped to clear German land mines so Allied troops could advance. 

Lee Grant

BORN Oct. 31, 1926

CLAIM TO FAME She appeared in such classic films as "The Detective Story" (1951) and "In the Heat of the Night" (1967) and earned an Oscar for "Shampoo" (1975).

OFF CAMERA She was blacklisted in Hollywood for 12 years after refusing to testify against her first husband, screenwriter Arnold Manoff, before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1951. During that period, she had occasional Broadway roles and worked as an acting teacher.

FUN FACT In her 2014 memoir "I Said Yes to Everything," Grant recalls turning down the role of Dorothy on "The Golden Girls" because she didn't want to play a grandmother.

Gene Shalit

BORN March 25, 1926

CLAIM TO FAME Sporting bushy dark hair, black horn-rimmed glasses, colorful bow ties and a mile-long handlebar mustache, film critic Shalit was a sight to behold on the "Today" show from 1970 to 2010.

OFF CAMERA Before his TV success, Shalit wrote for numerous publications including Ladies' Home Journal and Look magazine.

FUN FACT In 2007, he provided the voice of TV food critic Gene Scallop in an episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants." 

Alan Alda

BORN Jan. 28, 1936

CLAIM TO FAME He had us in stitches as the radical, fun-loving surgeon "Hawkeye" Pierce on the Korean War-set sitcom "M*A*S*H" (1972-83)

OFF CAMERA In 2009, he established the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University in 2009 to help scientists get their messages across to the lay public. An avid science enthusiast, Alda also hosted the PBS series "Scientific American Frontiers" from 1993 to 2005.

FUN FACT In the 1980s, Alda was approached about running on the Democratic ticket in the New Jersey Senate race but declined.

Ursula Andress

BORN March 19, 1936

CLAIM TO FAME She was the original Bond girl — with the sweet moniker Honey Ryder — in the first 007 flick "Dr. No" (1962). 

OFF CAMERA Her love life often overshadowed her screen work. Among her many boyfriends were actors James Dean, Ryan O'Neal and Harry Hamlin, with whom she had a son, Dimtri Alexander Hamlin. From 1957 to 1966 she was married to actor John Derek.

FUN FACT Due to her heavy Swiss-German accent, her lines in "Dr. No" were dubbed by Nikki van der Zyl. 

Engelbert Humperdinck

BORN May 2, 1936

CLAIM TO FAME The English balladeer — whose real name is Arnold George Dorsey — had females swooning with hits like "Release Me" (1976) and "After the Lovin' " (1976).

OFFSTAGE In his 2005 memoir "Engelbert: What's in a Name?," he wrote about his near-fatal bout with tuberculosis, his many extramarital affairs and appearing in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.

FUN FACT When he began performing in clubs, he did a mean impression of Jerry Lewis, which prompted friends to call him Gerry Dorsey.

Bill Wyman

BORN Oct. 24, 1936

CLAIM TO FAME He played bass guitar with the Rolling Stones from 1962 to 1993. He also had the lead vocals on "In Another Land," which he wrote for the group's 1967 album "Their Satanic Majesties Request."

OFFSTAGE Wyman is an avid photographer whose images have been exhibited in the French commune of Saint-Paul de Vence and London's Rook & Raven Gallery.

FUN FACT For 32 years, he ran a popular London restaurant named Sticky Fingers.