Alan Alda, 90, Opens Up About Talking Death With His Wife of Nearly 70 Years
After nearly 70 years of marriage, Alan Alda said he and his wife often talk about death. The 90-year-oldM*A*S*H opened up about the subject at the "Conversation: More Rules for Aging" event at 92NY in New York City on Thursday, May 21.
"One time, we picked Carl Reiner up to take him someplace to dinner, and as we were driving, Carl's wife had just died, and we told him how Arlene and I talk all the time about what we'd do [about] who died first," Alda shared (via PEOPLE).
The Marriage Story star continued, "If I died first, what would her life be like? If she died first, what would I do? And just around then, I drove over to the divider of Sunset Boulevard. A little bit of sidewalk. Just bounced away. And Carl said, 'You know the way you drive, you don't have to worry.'"
Alda went on to talk about turning 90 this year and how he was reminded of his mortality after blowing out his birthday candles and then being praised for being able to do it all by himself.
It's a feeling he's no stranger to after going public with his Parkinson's disease diagnosis in 2018. Alda revealed the progressive medical condition on CBS This Morning three and a half years before the appearance and has been very open about it ever since.
Despite the diagnosis, Alda remains active with his podcast, Clear + Vivid, and takes on selective acting projects, including one episode of The Four Seasons last year, which makes sense because Alda wrote and directed the 1981 film of the same name that the series was adapted from.
Next year, Alda and his wife, Arlene, will celebrate 70 years of marriage after meeting most unusually: while eating rum cake off the floor of a dinner party they both attended a year prior. The pair shares three daughters, Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice.
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This story was originally published May 24, 2026 at 1:50 PM.