49 and Feelin' Fine

Last year, I started a rather morbid tradition of identifying folks who had died at my current age, then 48.

The idea wasn’t for me to raise some kind of alarms, but instead to imagine what might have been, had their lives not been cut so short. Included in that list were James Clerk Maxwell and Whitney Houston:

Okay, so it’s not really a tradition yet, but this year, I want to take things in a different direction. Instead of folks who died at my current age, I want to talk about a group of folks who mainly only got started around the age of 49.

It’s not like Alan Rickman wasn’t already a known Hollywood actor as he approached his 49th trip around the Sun, but he probably had no idea what was in front of him. I certainly recognized him when I was dragged to the theater to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in December of 2001 in Miami. I wasn’t too keen on seeing a young adult fantasy at the ripe, cynical age of 26, but my hosts wanted to attend and I was at their mercy.

I’m not going to suggest that Rickman’s portrayal of Severus Snape saved the film for me, but he was absolutely the highlight. I remembered him from his iconic Hans Gruber in Die Hard, where he played a worthy screen adversary—while Bruce Willis’s performance redefined what an action star could or should do. Willis was a titan in that movie, and Rickman was the perfect foil.

Still, Harry Potter was different. Overnight, Rickman became globally recognized, unable to utter a single sentence without being recognized by someone, no matter where he was. Off in the distance: I loved you in Harry Potter!

While Rickman was already famous at 49, Julia Child was essentially unknown to the general public. She was, however, highly respected among professional chefs and restauranteurs, having helped to bring French culinary techniques to modern American kitchens.

1961 was absolutely Julia’s breakthrough year. She was 49 years old, and at a career inflection point, having just written and published her own cookbook for the first time, after years of editing existing tomes.

Here’s how Brian Perrine (

BrianAlfred1983

) describes Mastering the Art of French Cooking:

This two-volume masterpiece not only introduced French cuisine to American shores but also revolutionized the gourmet dining scene. Historian David Strauss credited it in 2011 as the single most influential event of the last half-century in reshaping the culinary landscape.

The book was notable enough, but its commercial success gave Child the opportunity to host her own television show, and that’s where the magic really happened. For nearly four decades, people at home were treated to an educational and entertaining ride. Julia’s warmth and candid nature were what made the show truly successful, and she paved the way for future culinary TV stars like Emeril Lagasse in the 90s and Anthony Bourdain in the 2000s.

49 is a great time for an acting or culinary career to really take off, but it seems a bit less than ideal for a professional boxer. Nevertheless, that’s what happened to Bernard Hopkins in 2014, as he became the oldest world champion in boxing history.

If you’ve never competed in a combat sport, this might not seem shocking to you, but it’s truly hard for me to articulate how mind-blowing this is. I’ve been doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, judo, or wrestling for most of my life now, probably tallying something like 35 years total. During that time, I competed more than nearly anyone else. I was completely obsessed for a few years.

Back in 2008, I won a tournament I still consider to be a notable accomplishment: the IBJJF Pan Ams. Here’s how I described what that event meant to me to win at age 32:

Still, there was one event I really wanted to win: the IBJJF Pan Ams. This was the first really big event I competed in, and I lost in the finals as a blue belt. The division I was in had 60 competitors, which seemed like an awful lot for 2003, and it was, although today’s numbers dwarf those ancient competitor counts.

After a few more tries (and another medal at purple belt adult), I finally returned to win—this time, the division was called “masters”, which means “over the age of 30” in BJJ-speak.

Thirty-two, folks! I was still very young, close to the prime of my athletic career. Even still, I elected to compete in the masters’ division (over 30). I would have considered doing adult, but there was just no hope of winning adult by the time I was 32. The advantages of youth were just too much to overcome.

That’s why it’s so impressive for me to consider Hopkins now. Dude was already a champion in boxing, but at the very same age I’m at right now, he became number one in the world. I get tired just thinking about competing with 20-year-olds in jiu jitsu.

Hopkins didn’t end up having a long career after winning the world title at 49. In fact, he retired just two years later, so perhaps it’s a stretch for him to be on this list… but I can’t help but include him today since I feel like I can appreciate it more than most.

Last year, I ended on a bit of a morbid note, asking if you knew of some folks who had died at the same age you are today. This time, let’s flip the script a bit. What are some truly big things folks who are your age or older have done? If you can identify someone the same age as you right now who did a remarkable thing, that counts double.