Well here I am back again in your home and before you recycle me we are off again down Nostalgia Lane. I am sometimes asked by readers what happened to their favourites stars of yesteryear, so this week let us catch up with the fates of some half-forgotten and still famous names of the silver screen.

I must start by saying goodbye to the famous Hollywood star Burt Reynolds, whom I never met and felt did not really have a great career except for two or three movies. Closer to me is the loss of an old friend, comedy actress Liz Fraser whom I knew for many years and who seemed to appear with every comedy star from the 1950s onwards . In private life Liz could be, shall we say, a bit short tempered, but in my game you got to know how to handle people so we always got on well. I remember we were once walking along Shenley Road in Borehamwood and a lady came up and said "Didn't you used to be Liz Fraser?". A frosted look came across her face and Liz simply replied "I have never heard of her" and instructed me to walk on. I had always wanted somebody to approach an actor in my company and say those words but Liz was not the best person to utter them to. My remaining dream is to jump into a London taxi and shout "follow that car!"

There is good news, with some stars showing the rest of us about living a long time. The lovely Olivia de Havilland, last star of Gone With The Wind, is still with us at 102 and Kirk Douglas has also passed that landmark of 100 not out. Although he retired in 2003, Sean Connery, in my mind the one and only James Bond, is living on a tropical island aged just 88 and young Michael Caine is still working at 85. I have enjoyed the pleasure of meeting them all over the decades and it nice to know that both Sean and Michael started off as extras in the 1950s at Elstree.

It is wonderful that the lovely Doris Day is still going strong aged 95 and the classy Eva Marie Saint, who was the female lead in On The Waterfront and the classic North By Northwest opposite Cary Grant, is only 94.

You may not recall the name but Nancy Olsen starred opposite Gloria Swanson and William Holden in the 1950s classic Sunset Boulevard. Nancy is now 89 and has outlived all of the cast from that movie. Sadly Bill Holden died a lonely death in his apartment. An alcoholic, he tripped on a mat and hit his head on a bedside table. It need not have been fatal but in a drunken state he bled to death and his body was not discovered for several days.

Some stars decided to withdraw from public life as old age in their minds made them feel unwilling to be compared with the old days. Joan Crawford retreated into her apartment towards the end but still engaged in correspondence with her fans and I still have letters from her. The great silent screen star Mary Pickford and the legendary Marlene Dietrich both withdrew to the bottle and their respective bedrooms for several years before the end.

Alas, fate can be cruel and at least three stars ended their lives on or around a toilet, which is not exactly dignified but apparently a number of people depart that way. I am thinking of the legendary Judy Garland, who was found dead sitting on the toilet with her head resting on her lap due to one too many tablets. Poor old Elvis Presley at least managed about four steps away from the great equalising device before dying on the floor from a similar problem. Perhaps the saddest tale is of 1930s star Lupe Velez, who decided to kill herself. Sadly she had a final meal which mixed badly with the drugs and she was found dead slumped over the toilet.

Well now I have cheered you all up I need to powder my nose so hopefully we will meet again next week.