This is a weird potentially morbid trivia list for you coming for no reason whatsoever -or perhaps my birthday? Uff getting older is thumbs down -- but we follow our trivia instincts wherever they take us. Here are the oldest years in each category wherein all the nominees are still living (excluding categories where generally multiple people are nominated for each film, like say Best Picture or Best Makeup)
Earliest Best Actress Race Where All Women Are Still With Us
1971
Julie Christie, McCabe & Mrs Miller
Jane Fonda, Klute ★
Glenda Jackson, Sunday Bloody Sunday
Vanessa Redgrave, Mary Queen of Scots
Janet Suzman, Nicholas and Alexandra
Janet Suzman and Julie Christie appear to have retired now... but both within the past handful of years so maybe it won't stick. The others are still very active of course with Glenda Jackson just finishing the Triple Crown resorting in a big trivia update on our part.
Earliest Best Supporting Actress Race Where all the Women Are Still Us
1975
Ronee Blakley, Nashville
Lee Grant, Shampoo ★
Sylvia Miles, Farewell My Lovely
Lily Tomlin, Nashville
Brenda Vaccaro, Once is Not Enough
All of these actresses have retired except for Lily Tomlin and Brenda Vaccaro. Tomlin co-stars in Grace & Frankie and Vaccaro had a recurring role on Netflix's shortlived Gypsy last year.
And the reason both actress races are by far the earliest races to feature still-living nominees is because the nominees in those fields tend to be much younger than in other Oscar fields. We've discussed it many times in the age disparities of male and female players in Hollywood.
Earliest Best Director Race Where All the Men Are Still With Us
1980
David Lynch, The Elephant Man
Roman Polanski, Tess
Robert Redford, Ordinary People ★
Richard Rush, The Stunt Man
Martin Scorsese, Raging Bull
Rush retired from directing in the 90s but the others are still getting behind the camera. Though it should be noted that Redford has been moving back in front of it instead of directing these past few years. Next up from this field of men? Redford stars in Old Man and the Gun and Scorsese is in post-production (which generally takes him a long time) on The Irishman.
Earliest Best Actor Race Where All the Men Are Still With Us
1983
Michael Caine, Educating Rita
Tom Conti, Reuben Reuben
Tom Courtenay, The Dresser
Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies ★
Albert Finney, The Dresser
Finney appears to have retired about six years ago but the others are still acting.
Earliest Foreign Film Race Where all the Directors Are Still With Us
Yes we're aware that it's technically the country which is nominated but we've always viewed it as the director, too
1985
Agnieszka Holland, Angry Harvest (West Germany)
Emir Kusturica, When Father Was Away on Business (Yugoslavia)
Luis Puenzo, The Official Story (Argentina) ★
Coline Serreau, Three Men and a Cradle (France)
István Szabo, Colonel Redl (Hungary)
Szabo and Holland both directed more than one Foreign Film nominee. Szabo had four nominated films (!) in the 1980s (Confidence, Mephisto, Colonel Redl, Hanussen) winning once, and Holland two during her career (Angry Harvest in '85 and eventually In Darkness in 2011) with an additional nomination for writing Europa Europa (1991), a huge arthouse hit in its day and Golden Globe winner in their parallel category, but which was not submitted to the foreign film category for some reason.
Puenzo won the category and was also nominated that year for Screenplay. 1985 was a big year for the foreign film category with a lot of success at the US arthouse box office for these films.
Earliest Best Original Score Race Where all the Men Are Still With Us
1987
David Byrne, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Cong Su, The Last Emperor ★
George Fenton & Jonas Gwangwa, Cry Freedom
Ennio Morricone, The Untouchables
John Williams, Empire of the Sun
John Williams, The Witches of Eastwick
Earliest Best Film Editing Race Where All the People Are Still With Us
1989
Noëlle Boisson, The Bear
David Brenner and Joe Hutshing, Born on the Fourth of July ★
Steve Rosenblum, Glory
William Steinkamp, The Fabulous Baker Boys
Mark Warner, Driving Miss Daisy
Interesting year for Best Editing since only 2 of the 5 nominees were from a Best Picture contender. That's unusual.
Earliest Best Supporting Actor Race Where All the Men Are Still With Us
1990
Bruce Davison, Longtime Companion
Andy Garcia, The Godfather Part III
Graham Greene, Dances With Wolves
Al Pacino, Dick Tracy
Joe Pesci, Goodfellas ★
Earliest Best Costume Design Race Where All the Nominees Are Still With Us
1990
Milena Canonero, Dick Tracy
Gloria Gresham, Avalon
Maurizio Millenotti, Hamlet
Franca Squarciapino, Cyrano de Bergerac ★
Elsa Zamparelli, Dances With Wolves
Isn't that a strange coincidence -- it's 80% Italian last names (though Zamparelli wasn't Italian). Canonero and Millenotti are still working but the others have retired (at least from cinema).
Earliest Best Cinematography Field Where All the Nominees Are Still With Us
1992
Stephen H Burum, Hoffa
Jack N Green, Unforgiven
Robert Fraisse, The Lover
Tony Pierce-Roberts, Howards End
Phillipe Rousselot, A River Runs Through It ★
None of these men were ever nominated again in the category (though Pierce-Roberts and Rousselot had been nominated previously)
As detailed in a post last year, 1992 is the earliest Oscar year in which all twenty of the acting nominees are still alive.