The news of Mr. Randall’s late fatherhood — and that of other celebrity SODs around the same time — evoked a fair amount of tut-tutting. Some joked that these creaky specimens wouldn’t be able to head off their tykes as they marred the walls with crayon or played in traffic. Others thought SODs inherently selfish, knowing they might die before their new children were grown. “To intentionally deprive a child of a father is an awful sin,” one reader wrote in reaction to my article.

Under the circumstances, it seemed natural to check in with some of the same fathers 10 years later to see how they are faring in their eighth or even ninth decade. Mortality is the issue paramount in most of their minds, although whether it is more so compared with other men their age is difficult to say.

A decade ago, Sy Coopersmith, a psychotherapist who lives in Great Neck, N.Y., told me that his young daughter, Andie, “wants to know if I’m going to live, and I say, ‘I hope so — until you’re a grown woman.’ ” So far, so good. Andie is 16, and Mr. Coopersmith is 75. That he could die before his daughter reaches adulthood “is a reality that I live with,” he said. “When we got married, my wife had me promise that I’d give her at least 10 years.”

Mr. Coopersmith could be reasonably confident about keeping that promise: when Andie was born, he was just shy of 60. At that age, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, the average American man can expect to live 20.5 years longer.

Many well-known figures have lately joined the SOD ranks. Among them are Rod Stewart, who had a son when he was 60; Paul McCartney (a daughter at 61); and Kenny Rogers (identical twin boys at 65). In 2004, at 63, the actor George Lazenby had a son; a twin boy and girl followed in 2005. Julio Iglesias, 63, is expecting his wife to give birth shortly.