How old is Alan Alda? Veteran filmmaker opens up about Parkinson's diagnosis

Devangee Halder Tue, October 6, 2026 at 6:26 AM UTC

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Alan Alda attends "Marriage Story" New York Premiere at Paris Theater on November 10, 2019 in New York City. ©Getty

Alan Alda, 90, is speaking openly about living with Parkinson's disease. In a CBS News Sunday Morning interview published October 4, 2026, he said,

"I really think reality is my friend. I don't want to wish it away. I can't wish it away. I can't hope for a better future. I gotta accept what is."

He added that he does not want to wish the illness away. Entertainment Weekly covered the interview the same day, noting that he turned 90 earlier this year. The outlet said he went public with the diagnosis in 2018, three and a half years after receiving it.

Alan Alda is best known as Hawkeye Pierce on MAS H*, which aired on CBS for 11 seasons beginning in 1972. Five of his six Emmy Awards came for that work, CBS News noted.

More about Alan Alda's Parkinson's diagnosis

Alan Alda said his first symptom appeared at 79. It was not a typical early sign of the disease, he told CBS:

“I had no twitch, no tremor, no problems with my voice."

Alda's symptom was one few people linked to the disease at the time. He acted out his dreams in his sleep. In one dream, someone attacked him, and he grabbed a sack of potatoes to throw at them. The "sack" was really a pillow, and he threw it at his wife, Arlene Alda, he told CBS.

Alda has chosen to meet the illness with humor. He told CBS he does not let Parkinson's define him and called it "just a hobby." While he writes emails, he joked, "Dr. Parkinson" drags his hand across the screen and deletes things he needs. Frustration comes now and then. He then looks for the funny side and tells Arlene.

More about Alan Alda's life

Alan Alda's path to his career began with a difficult childhood. At seven, he caught polio before a vaccine existed, CBS reported. His father, Robert Alda, had just started shooting a film in which he played George Gershwin. His parents treated him at home with almost scalding wool packs on every limb.

The theater gave him a different kind of education. Robert Alda was in the original Broadway cast of Guys and Dolls, and his son watched from the wings every Saturday. His mother, Joan, a former beauty pageant winner, had schizophrenia and paranoia. Alda said that pushed him to work out what was real, and left him more curious.

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He later worked toward his interest in connection to science. Stony Brook University founded the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science in 2009, after years of his concern that experts speak in language the public cannot follow. Since 2018, he has hosted the podcast "Clear+Vivid," with guests including Paul McCartney and Michael J. Fox.

Clear+Vivid

@aldaLINK

It's PODCAST DAY! Season 7 of #ClearAndVivid continues with another spectacular guest,

@PaulMcCartney

. He &

@alanalda

discuss how his amazing career came to be, & Paul even shows him how he writes a song! Listen now on your favorite podcast destinations

Alda met Arlene at a friend's dinner, where she reportedly laughed at his jokes. The couple will mark 70 years of marriage in March, he told CBS. They have three daughters and eight grandchildren. EW reported that Alda said at a 92NY event earlier this year that the two often talk about death.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”