Copyright New York Post
Turns out you can teach an old dog new Tiks. A senior living community in The Bronx is churning out the newest generation of social media stars. The “Old Friend Club” — a group of eight residents at RiverSpring Living — have already garnered nearly 2 million followers across Instagram and TikTok since launching last month. “My daughter says, ‘Oh Mother, you just keep going on, we’re going to see you in Hollywood!” said Shirley Johnson, 85, a native Manhattanite who has lived at the Riverdale nursing home for nearly five years. Johnson and her pals have become famous online for imparting their collective centuries of wisdom — and for not being shy about mincing word — since the group launched online in October. The seniors play games, comment on pop culture, like the Sonny Angel doll craze, but the show’s center focuses on the life advice they are eager to pass on to the younger generations. Participating in the group has provided a sense of excitement and fulfillment that Johnson struggled to sustain after losing her husband of 55 years in 2021 and having to have her left leg amputated, she told The Post. “[My fans] said seeing me here has helped them also because now they know what will happen, they might have to end up in a place like this, but it’ll be alright. The purpose is to keep on living,” she said. Uplifting the elderly community is what originally led Publity, a UK-based social media company, to launch the Old Friend Club, first at a UK nursing home last September, and then in the US after learning a significant bulk of its viewers were American. Dozens of seniors at RiverSpring auditioned by submitting tapes to the media company showcasing their personalities, and the cast was eventually whittled down to eight standouts: Johnson, Lita Gottesman, Irma H. Clement, Irv Liebowitz, Sal Gonzalez, Amy Storch, Annita Treacy and Marvin Marcus. Gottesman, 88, has made waves with her profanity-laden life motto: “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” “I’m just a little old Jewish grandma who adores her family, and I’m very happy,” Gottesman, who has lived at RiverSpring for one year, said. Living by her axiom has forced her to cut out many people in her life, but resulted in a strong and supportive circle of friends — a move she feels inclined to share with younger generations, Gottesman said. “People seem to be affected by what other people say or do about them, and that’s wrong,” she said. “I get every morning and I look in the mirror after and I go, ‘Oh God, did I get old?’ — I like myself. And if I like myself, you’re going to like me.” Other seniors also pop in for guest appearances throughout the social media series. “What’s so lovely — and you see it in the comment sections — people aren’t just learning from these people, and it isn’t just about the incredible wisdom they’ve got, but they also really relate to them,” said Ollie Williams, Pubity’s creative director. “They actually form connections and say, ‘So-and-so’s answer is exactly what I would have said.’ And what you realize is we really are not far from each other,” Williams said. “We might have a huge gap in terms of age, but not really in terms of how we respond to things and people’s take on the world.” Johnson gained her own fan following last month when she went viral for correctly matching five celebrities to their romantic partners — despite only being familiar with one of the famous people. Now known as “The Matchmaker,” Johnson said that the experience helped remind her that her golden years are meant to be spent having fun and finding community with her fellow seniors. “Follow your dreams and life is worth the work you put into it! You will be rewarded,” she said. Gottesman added that participating in the Old Friends Club for her was also about pursuing happiness — and living without regret. “At 88, I want to move forward. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to live,” she said. “I’ve always looked at birth as the beginning of a disease: you’re born, you die, you know the outcome. It’s how you play the game in the middle. I want to enjoy it. I don’t want to die saying, ‘I wish I had.'” Clement — the oldest of the club at age 105 — said her goal for her golden years was to “have fun.” Plus, the experience makes her feel young again, she said. “This is a spirit of wholesome belonging,” said Clement. “It’s uplifting, something different, and I think spiritually inspiring.” When asked by The Post what her secret to living to 105 was, Clement kept her cards close to her chest, but instead shared a poem she wrote that she teased might have extended her lifetime. “For a life fulfilled, one should sparkle like a diamond, shine like a star, show a radiant spirit wherever you are.”
