About

Morrie Markoff never set out to meet the rare milestones that he has achieved. He was married to his wife Betty for 80 years. Betty passed away in 2019 at age 103.

Morrie had his first gallery showing at the age of 100, even though he never trained to be an artist. He had his first book signing at age 103.

A retired Los Angeles entrepreneur who was born in a New York tenement in 1914 and lived in the Avenel Housing Project during the McCarthy era, Morrie was trained as a machinist at the suggestion of his father, a Russian-born immigrant, but starting out in the heart of the Depression, Morrie took whatever jobs he could get and eventually settled on vacuum repairman.

From repairman to salesman, Morrie moved to Los Angeles and eventually opened his own business after WWII, in which his machinist skills were once again used, this time for making artillery for the war effort.

One day, a part from a toilet he was fixing inspired his metal sculptor years, and a chance meeting at some bus stop decades later led to his first gallery showing.

Morrie only has this advice for those looking to reach 100, mainly because he has not led the healthiest lifestyle, “Good luck and Keep Breathing.”