Noun
grand old man (plural grand old men)
A male leading light; a man who is the most senior exponent of a particular field.
Is it vanity that I should take great pleasure in being hailed as the Grand Old Man of India? No, that title, which speaks volumes for the warm, grateful and generous hearts of my countrymen, is to me, whether I deserve it or not, the highest reward of my life. Dadabhai Naoroji
Remembered for a lascivious persona, the Snopes website describing him as "the grand old man of dirty laughter", citation he became known for his amiability in his later television work. Source: Internet
The grand old man of German postwar politics had to be dragged—almost literally—out of office in 1963. Source: Internet