Where Are the Most-Popular Child Actors of the ’60s & ’70s Now?

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1. Melissa Sue Anderson

Best known for play­ing Mary Ingalls on Lit­tle House on the Prairie, Ander­son earned an Emmy nom­i­na­tion at just 11. Today she lives in Mon­tre­al with her hus­band, pro­duc­er Michael Sloan, and their two chil­dren. She occa­sion­al­ly acts and wrote the mem­oir The Way I See It, reflect­ing on her TV years.

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2. Butch Patrick

The lov­able were­wolf Eddie Mun­ster of The Mun­sters (1964–66) became a hor­ror-con­ven­tion favorite. Patrick still appears at fan events and con­tin­ues to embrace his cult-icon sta­tus, often repris­ing the role in par­o­dies and ret­ro­spec­tives.

3. Jerry Mathers

4

America’s orig­i­nal “Beaver” from Leave It to Beaver lat­er served in the Air Nation­al Guard, earned a busi­ness degree, and worked in bank­ing and real estate. Now in his late 70s, Math­ers enjoys semi-retire­ment, fam­i­ly life, and nos­tal­gic TV appear­ances.

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4. Nicholas Hammond

4

Friedrich von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Ham­mond lat­er appeared on Broad­way and in Australia’s TV scene. He remains active as both actor and direc­tor, divid­ing his time between Syd­ney and Los Ange­les.

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5. Debbie Turner

4

Mar­ta von Trapp from The Sound of Music trad­ed Hol­ly­wood for Min­neso­ta, where she runs a flo­ral-design busi­ness. She occa­sion­al­ly joins cast reunions and doc­u­men­taries about the clas­sic film.

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6. Duane Chase

4

After play­ing Kurt von Trapp, Chase left show busi­ness, earned degrees in geol­o­gy and forestry, and worked in envi­ron­men­tal sci­ence. He lives a qui­et life in the Pacif­ic North­west with his fam­i­ly.

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7. Angela Cartwright

4

Played Brigit­ta in The Sound of Music. Began act­ing at age 3 and lat­er also pur­sued pho­tog­ra­phy and writ­ing along­side occa­sion­al act­ing.

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8. Marc Copage

4

Played Corey Park­er in the TV series Julia (1968–71). He stepped away from the lime­light some time ago.

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9. Mary Badham

4

Famous for play­ing Scout in To Kill a Mock­ing­bird (1962). At 14 she stepped away from main­stream act­ing and lat­er returned occa­sion­al­ly; now she works in art restora­tion and advo­cates.

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10. Susan Dey

4

Starred as Lau­rie Par­tridge in The Par­tridge Fam­i­ly (1970–74). Lat­er took on dra­mat­ic roles and has kept a low­er pro­file in recent years.

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11. Johnny Whitaker

4

Best known for Fam­i­ly Affair (1966–71) and The Lit­tlest Angel. He’s faced ups and downs, but has been involved in advo­ca­cy and small­er screen work.

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12. Hayley Mills

4

Major Dis­ney child star of the 1960s (Pollyan­na, The Par­ent Trap) who still acts occa­sion­al­ly. Busi­ness Insider+1

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13. Maureen McCormick

4

Best known as Mar­cia Brady on The Brady Bunch (1969–74). Lat­er wrote a mem­oir about her life after child star­dom.

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14. Christopher Knight

4

Played Peter on The Brady Bunch. Tran­si­tioned into tech/business and only spo­radic act­ing. Stack­er

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15. Gary Coleman

4

Star of Dif­f’rent Strokes (1978–86). Trag­i­cal­ly died in 2010; his life high­light­ed many chal­lenges of child star­dom. Stack­er

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16. Kim Richards

4

Child actor in the ’70s (Dis­ney films) who lat­er appeared on real­i­ty TV (Real House­wives). Stack­er

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17. Barry Livingston

4

Starred on My Three Sons. Has con­tin­ued act­ing into adult­hood. Busi­ness Insid­er

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18. Leif Garrett

4

Teen idol in the 1970s with numer­ous act­ing and music cred­its; lat­er bat­tled legal and per­son­al issues. Wikipedia

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19. Jimmy McNichol

4

Child/teen actor in the late 1970s who shift­ed to real estate and envi­ron­men­tal activism. Wikipedia

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20. Bonnie Langford

4

Eng­lish child star of the 1970s (e.g., Just William), lat­er appeared in musi­cals and TV, and still active. Wikipedia