They Don't Make Faces Like This Anymore

Today, people in movies and on TV look almost inhumanly perfect—teeth, hair, face, body, you name it. It makes us miss the 1970s, when our screens had character actors with faces that had "life" spelled all over them. How many of these B-list actors can you remember seeing on TV in the 70s and 80s?

McCloud, Universal Television via IMDB

M Emmet Walsh Had The Face You Never Forgot

M Emmet Walsh started turning up on screen in the late 1960s, then became a familiar presence through 1970s films and TV. He appeared in Little Big Man, What’s Up, Doc?, Slap Shot, and The Jerk. His gift was making small roles feel oddly specific and lived-in. By the time he became a cult favorite in Blood Simple and Blade Runner, he already looked like someone audiences had known forever.

Screenshot from Blood Simple and Blade Runner, Warner Bros. (1982), Enhanced

Strother Martin Made Every Line Sound Dangerous

Strother Martin was already unforgettable before the 1970s, but the decade gave him even more room to roam. He appeared in Hannie Caulder, Pocket Money, SSSSSSS, Slap Shot, and Up in Smoke. His wiry voice and nervous intensity made him perfect for crooks, oddballs, and men who looked like they had bad news. Even when he had only a few scenes, he could steal the rhythm of an entire movie.

Screenshot from Up In Smoke, Paramount Pictures (1978), Enhanced

John Fiedler Was Quietly Everywhere

John Fiedler had one of the gentlest voices in Hollywood, which helped make him a go-to actor for nervous clerks, doctors, and fussy neighbors. In the 1970s, he appeared on shows including Columbo, Banacek, Alice, Three’s Company, The Rockford Files, and Fantasy Island. He was also the original voice of Piglet in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh projects. That soft, careful delivery made him instantly recognizable, even if his name often escaped viewers.

Screenshot from Columbo, Universal Television (1968-2003), Enhanced

William Schallert Was Television’s Reliable Authority Figure

William Schallert had a résumé that seemed to run through the whole history of television. During the 1970s, he appeared on Gunsmoke, Kung Fu, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Little House on the Prairie, and The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. He could play a judge, professor, father, doctor, or politician without ever feeling interchangeable. He was the kind of actor who made a scene feel properly staffed.

CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons

Charles Lane Played The Man Behind The Desk

Charles Lane built a career out of tight-lipped officials, suspicious clerks, and people who looked ready to deny your application. In the 1970s, he appeared in The Aristocats, Nanny and the Professor, Sybil, Family, Movie Movie, and Soap. His timing was dry enough to make a single raised eyebrow feel like a punchline. Few actors were better at turning bureaucracy into comedy.

Chesterfield Motion Pictures Corporation, Wikimedia Commons, Enhanced

Murray Hamilton Became The Mayor Everyone Remembered

Murray Hamilton had already appeared in major films before the 1970s, including Anatomy of a Murder, The Hustler, and The Graduate. Then Jaws gave him one of the decade’s most famous supporting roles as Mayor Larry Vaughn. He returned for Jaws 2 in 1978. Hamilton made the character funny, frustrating, and believable, which is why audiences still remember that blazer.

Screenshot from Jaws 2, Universal Pictures (1978), Enhanced

Vic Tayback Turned Grumpiness Into A Sitcom Skill

Vic Tayback played Mel Sharples in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore before carrying the role into the sitcom Alice. That made him one of the rare actors to move from the original film into the long-running television version. His Mel was loud, cranky, and oddly lovable. The character could bark at everyone in the diner, but Tayback made sure there was a human being underneath the bluster.

Screenshot from Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Warner Bros. Pictures (1974), Enhanced

Val Avery Specialized In Tough Guys With Texture

Val Avery had the face and voice of someone who had seen every bad corner of town. In the 1970s, he appeared in films including Papillon, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, and The Wanderers. He also turned up repeatedly on Columbo. Avery could play cops, mobsters, bartenders, and hustlers, but he always gave them a little more life than the script strictly required.

Screenshot from Columbo, Universal Television (1968-2003),

John Hillerman Was Posh Before Magnum

John Hillerman is best remembered now for Magnum, P.I., but he was all over 1970s film and television first. He appeared in The Last Picture Show, What’s Up, Doc?, Paper Moon, Chinatown, and Blazing Saddles. He also co-starred as Simon Brimmer on Ellery Queen. Hillerman had a polished, theatrical style that made him useful whenever a scene needed intelligence, arrogance, or a little comic self-importance.

CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons

David Doyle Was The Calm Center Of Charlie’s Angels

David Doyle became widely recognizable as John Bosley on Charlie’s Angels. He stayed with the series through its full run from 1976 to 1981. While the Angels handled the glamour and action, Doyle gave the show a steady comic center. He was warm without being dull, and that balance made Bosley feel essential.

Screenshot from Charlie’s Angels, ABC (1976-1981), Enhanced

Allan Melvin Was Sitcom Comfort Food

Allan Melvin was a familiar sitcom presence long before viewers knew his name. In the 1970s, he played Sam the Butcher on The Brady Bunch and Barney Hefner on All in the Family and Archie Bunker’s Place. He also had a long career in voice work and commercials. Melvin had the easy timing of someone who could walk into a kitchen scene and immediately make it feel funnier.

CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons

Richard Stahl Made Awkwardness Look Effortless

Richard Stahl was one of those comedy actors who could make discomfort do all the work. He appeared in Five Easy Pieces in 1970 and later showed up in shows such as The Odd Couple, Columbo, Barney Miller, and Laverne & Shirley. His delivery often felt dry, puzzled, and slightly wounded. That made him perfect for the kind of 1970s comedy where everyone was trying to act normal and failing beautifully.

Screenshot from The Odd Couple, Paramount Television (1970-1975), Enhanced

Severn Darden Brought Improv Weirdness To The Screen

Severn Darden came out of the Chicago comedy world and brought an offbeat intelligence to his screen roles. He appeared in the Planet of the Apes films of the early 1970s, including Battle for the Planet of the Apes. His performances could be sly, strange, or faintly menacing. That unpredictable quality made him stand out in a decade full of eccentric supporting players.

Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons

Logan Ramsey Was Built For Villainy

Logan Ramsey had a long career in television and film, but the 1970s made strong use of his stern presence. He played John Witter in the Walking Tall films and appeared in titles including Busting, Cornbread, Earl and Me, and Farewell, My Lovely. He also worked across television on shows such as MASH*, Maude, Charlie’s Angels, and Quincy, M.E.. Ramsey looked like a man who knew where the bodies were buried, which made him useful in almost any crime story.

Screenshot from Star Trek: The Original Series, NBC(1966-1969)

Woodrow Parfrey Could Make Small Roles Feel Strange

Woodrow Parfrey specialized in characters who seemed slightly off before they even spoke. In the 1970s, he appeared in Papillon, Charley Varrick, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Backstairs at the White House. He also appeared in the television movie The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, the pilot for The Waltons. Parfrey made nervous energy feel cinematic.

Screenshot from The Waltons, Warner Bros. Television (1972-1981)

Barbara Colby Was Gone Too Soon

Barbara Colby was building a strong television career when her life was cut short in 1975. She appeared on Columbo, The Odd Couple, McMillan & Wife, Kung Fu, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Her performance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show led to a role on the spin-off Phyllis. She filmed only three episodes before she was murdered in Los Angeles, a tragedy that froze a rising career in place.

Screenshot from Phyllis, Viacom Enterprises (1975-1977), Enhanced

Sorrell Booke Was More Than Boss Hogg

Sorrell Booke became famous at the end of the decade as Boss Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard. Before that, he had appeared in films and television shows including What’s Up, Doc?, Hawaii Five-O, Cannon, and The Rockford Files. Booke was Yale-trained, multilingual, and much sharper than his most famous role suggested. He turned Boss Hogg into a cartoonish villain without losing the craft underneath.

CBS, Wikimedia Commons, Modified

Paul Benedict Was The Jeffersons’ Perfect Neighbor

Paul Benedict became familiar to sitcom viewers as Harry Bentley on The Jeffersons. The character joined the show from its 1975 beginning and gave George Jefferson a wonderfully polite irritation. Benedict also appeared on Sesame Street as the Number Painter. His lanky frame and gentle, formal delivery made him instantly recognizable in 1970s comedy.

CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons

Robert DoQui Had Scene-Stealing Authority

Robert DoQui appeared in Coffy in 1973 and worked with Robert Altman on Nashville in 1975. He also appeared in Buffalo Bill and the Indians in 1976 and voiced Pablo Robertson on Harlem Globetrotters. DoQui could bring command, humor, and danger into the same performance. He later became familiar to 1980s audiences through the RoboCop films, but his 1970s work had already made him a force.

Screenshot from Coffy, American International Pictures (1973), Enhanced

Kathleen Freeman Made Bossy Funny

Kathleen Freeman spent decades playing maids, teachers, nurses, secretaries, and neighbors who knew exactly what everyone else was doing wrong. In the 1970s, she appeared in Lotsa Luck, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Kojak, and Police Woman. She had a comic bite that never felt lazy. Freeman could enter a scene, scold someone, and leave the audience grateful for the interruption.

unknown (Columbia Pictures), Wikimedia Commons

Joyce Van Patten Was The Smart Second Lead

Joyce Van Patten had been acting since childhood, and by the 1970s she had become a dependable character actress in film, television, and theater. She appeared in The Bad News Bears in 1976. Her screen persona often mixed warmth with a sharp edge. She was especially good at playing women who seemed friendly until they decided to say exactly what they thought.

Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons

Jack Weston Made Anxiety Entertaining

Jack Weston was a comic character actor with a gift for panic, frustration, and wounded pride. In the 1970s, he earned a Golden Globe nomination and kept moving between film, television, and stage work. He had already appeared in films such as Cactus Flower, and his later work showed the same knack for exasperated comedy. Weston made nervous energy feel generous rather than grating.

Zodiac Photographers, Wikimedia Commons

Nehemiah Persoff Brought Weight To Every Guest Role

Nehemiah Persoff appeared in more than 200 film, television, and stage productions across a long career. In the 1970s, he remained a regular presence in character parts on screen. He could play authority figures, immigrants, criminals, and men carrying private histories. His performances often made a guest role feel like part of a larger life.

Maureen McCarty, pulbic relations, NYC, Wikimedia Commons

Richard Dysart Was The Quiet Professional

Richard Dysart had a serious stage background before becoming familiar to film and television audiences. In the 1970s, he appeared in That Championship Season on Broadway and later in films including The Hindenburg, An Enemy of the People, Prophecy, and Being There. Dysart had a grounded, intelligent presence that made him ideal for doctors, officials, and men under pressure. Before L.A. Law made him a television staple, he was already doing essential supporting work.

Screenshot from Prophecy, Paramount Pictures (1979), Enhanced

Elisha Cook Jr Was The Old-School Face In New Hollywood

Elisha Cook Jr was a classic Hollywood character actor whose career stretched back decades. In the 1970s, he appeared in films and TV projects while carrying the aura of noir history with him. His earlier credits included The Maltese Falcon and The Big Sleep, which gave his later appearances an extra charge for movie fans. Whenever he appeared, he seemed to bring an entire older Hollywood world into the room.

my own screen capture, Wikimedia Commons