Health Secrets of Hollywood’s Oldest Stars

Kirk Douglas and Olivia de Havilland both celebrated their 100th birthdays this year, and “Professor” Irwin Corey — The World’s Foremost Authority — is still cracking jokes at 102.

Dozens of Hollywood favorites aren’t too far behind. What gives celebrities their long life? Good genes have to be a part of the mix, but some stars have given hints about their secrets to a long life:

Cloris Leachman. Leachman, who won eight Emmys and competed on “Dancing with the Stars” when she was 82, continues to work at the age of 90. Leachman wasn’t always healthy, she wrote in her book “Cloris.” In her 30s, she had asthma, allergies, arthritis, and insomnia, and decided to cut most meat from her diet, although she eats a little fish and chicken. She concentrates on fresh organic fruits and vegetables.

Leachman also keeps stress at low levels and told Inquisitor.com that she does Egoscue posture-corrective exercises, exercises that keep the body functioning better and eliminate chronic pain.

Dick van Dyke. The legendary star of “The Dick van Dyke Show” and “Mary Poppins” goes to the gym every day as well as to dance rehearsal, and he can still run up a flight of stairs. “Age is more than a number, it’s a mindset,” he told Daily Mail.

Although he admits his favorite meal is fried chicken, he starts every day by eating blueberries. “They’re such good antioxidants,” he said.

Van Dyke was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when he was 42, and the doctor predicted he’d be using a wheelchair in five years. At 90, he’s still going strong. “As long as I keep moving and doing my yoga I’m OK,” he told Daily Mail.

Van Dyke admits he once had a problem with alcohol, but he stopped drinking when he realized how destructive it was. He is also a former smoker. “I started as a teenager,” he told Daily Mail. “It took a doctor showing me a diseased lung to shock me. That was 20 years ago.”

Doris Day. At 92 — although census records and her biographer say she’s 94 — Day still has a passion for animal rights. For her last birthday, the star of “The Man Who Knew Too Much” encouraged well-wishers to make a donation to the Doris Day Animal Foundation in her honor.

“Age is just a number,” she told Daily Mail. “How you feel and live your life is more important.”

Day attributes her longevity to a good attitude, refusing to worry, and staying active. ‘It’s important to stay active,” she said. “I like to walk with my doggies.”

Bob Barker. The famed host of “The Price is Right” says the keys to a long, healthy life are a vegetarian diet and exercise. “I became a vegetarian out of concern for animals, and I was a vegetarian for a very long time before I realized that many people become vegetarians out of concern for their health,” he told the Vegetarian Times. “I think they are absolutely right. I think it is the healthiest way to live. I immediately began having more energy and feeling better.”

“The answer to enjoying life is nutrition,” said the 93-year-old Barker. “I recommend that you become a vegetarian and exercise if you want to enjoy the golden years.”

Kirk Douglas. Although he needs a walker to get around, Douglas fought back from a devastating stroke in 1996 that left him struggling to speak. At 100, though, Michael Douglas says his dad “is rocking.”

“He’s got a walker with wheels,” the younger Douglas said. “He tends to fly, he’s at about a 45 degree angle at all times and moving great,” he told British ITV’s “The Jonathan Ross Show.”

Douglas struggled with depression following his stroke, but said he began to recover when he started thinking about other people. “I was thinking too much about my own misfortune,” he told USA Today. The star of “Spartacus” keeps his mind sharp by working on his 11th book.

Olivia de Havilland. The last surviving female superstar of Hollywood’s Golden Age, the star of “Gone with the Wind” is still elegant at 100. Blessed with an exceptional memory, she told Entertainment Weekly she can remember lying in her crib.

Perhaps her love of champagne has helped keep her mind sharp, which she exercises by working crossword puzzles and by writing her autobiography.

“So how do I feel about older age? ” she told Entertainment Weekly. “Crazy about it! Wouldn’t trade it for anything!

“I’m certainly relishing the idea of living a century,” she said a few weeks before her July 1 birthday. “Can you imagine that? What an achievement.”