They Had The World...Then They Grew Up
For a lot of these actors, the phone practically rang off the hook throughout the 60s and 70s. Then the 80s arrived, and suddenly…the ringing stopped. How many of these names do you recognize or remember?
Johnny Whitaker
For a while, Johnny Whitaker was everywhere. If Disney made a family movie, there was a decent chance he was in it. If you watched Family Affair, you probably felt like he was part of your own family. Then he grew up... and the offers slowed to almost nothing. Hollywood loved the kid. Adult Johnny? Not nearly as much.
Michael Mally, Los Angeles Times, Wikimedia Commons
Susan Olsen
Being Cindy Brady made Susan Olsen famous for life. Unfortunately, it also made her Cindy Brady for life. Producers couldn't seem to picture her as anyone else, no matter how many years passed. Outside of Brady reunion projects and the occasional guest appearance, the starring roles everyone expected simply never showed up.
ABC Television.,Wikimedia Commons, Enhanced
Mike Lookinland
Poor Bobby Brady never really got to leave The Brady Bunch behind either. Mike Lookinland spent years trying to convince Hollywood he could play somebody besides the youngest Brady brother. Hollywood wasn't buying it. Eventually, he found steadier work behind the camera than he ever did standing in front of one.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Lance Kerwin
If there was a made-for-TV movie in the late 70s, there was a pretty good chance Lance Kerwin would show up in it. Add James at 15 to the mix, and it honestly looked like he had the next twenty years mapped out. Then... almost overnight... he didn't. By the early 80s, the leading roles had become surprisingly hard to find.
Ike Eisenmann
Disney couldn't have asked for a better young star than Ike Eisenmann. Escape to Witch Mountain was a huge hit, and plenty of people figured he was going to be Disney's next long-term leading man. Instead, once he got older, Disney quietly moved on. Hollywood did too. By the 80s, most of his work came in much smaller roles and voice acting.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Kim Richards
Long before The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Kim Richards was one of Hollywood's busiest child actresses. She worked constantly throughout the 70s, especially in Disney productions and television. She continued acting into the 80s, but the momentum wasn't the same, and she never became the major adult star many people thought she would.
ABC Television Network, Wikimedia Commons
Eve Plumb
Ask almost any Baby Boomer who Jan Brady was, and they'll answer before you finish the question. That's how famous Eve Plumb became. The downside? Hollywood never quite stopped seeing Jan Brady either. She kept working throughout the 80s, but outside of Brady-related projects, the big breakout career many people expected never really arrived.
NBC Television Network., Wikimedia Commons
Kathy Coleman
Kids absolutely loved Land of the Lost. That made Kathy Coleman one of the most recognizable young faces on television during the mid-70s. But children's television fame doesn't always age very well. By the time the 80s rolled around, Hollywood had mostly moved on to a whole new crop of young stars.
Screenshot from Land of the Lost, NBCUniversal (1974-1976), Enhanced
Rodney Allen Rippy
There was a time when Rodney Allen Rippy's commercials were almost as popular as the TV shows they aired during. That's hard to imagine today, but he really was one of the most recognizable kids in America for a while. Unfortunately, commercial fame has an expiration date, and by the 80s, the offers had slowed dramatically.
Erin Murphy
Tabitha on Bewitched could make almost anything happen with a twitch of her nose. Finding adult acting roles turned out to be a little more difficult. Like so many sitcom child stars, Erin Murphy discovered that millions of people remembered the character... but casting directors struggled to see much beyond it.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons, Enhanced
Patty Duke
Imagine winning an Oscar at just 16 years old. That's exactly what Patty Duke did. Then she landed her own hit sitcom, The Patty Duke Show, and became one of the biggest young stars in America. If you'd asked people in the mid-60s where her career was headed, most would have said straight to the top. Instead, while she continued working steadily—especially on television—the big-screen leading-lady career many expected never quite happened.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Lisa Gerritsen
Lisa Gerritsen looked like one of television's future stars after memorable roles on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Phyllis. Then something surprising happened. Instead of becoming an even bigger name, she quietly walked away from acting while she was still young. Sometimes Hollywood moves on. Sometimes people decide they're ready to move on first.
CBS Photo Archive, Getty Images
Brandon Cruz
As Eddie on The Courtship of Eddie's Father, Brandon Cruz became one of television's most recognizable kids. Adult Hollywood wasn't nearly as interested. Instead of spending years chasing auditions, he took a completely different path and became the lead singer of the punk band Dr. Know.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Adam Rich
For a few years, Adam Rich's haircut was almost as famous as he was. Eight Is Enough turned him into one of television's biggest child stars practically overnight. But once childhood ended, so did most of the big acting opportunities.
American Broadcasting Company, Wikimedia Commons
Tatum O'Neal
Winning an Academy Award at age 10 sounds like the beginning of a legendary career. In some ways, it can also become the standard you're expected to live up to forever. Tatum O'Neal continued acting throughout the 80s, but Hollywood never quite found another role that captured the same magic audiences saw in Paper Moon.
UCLA Library Special Collections, Wikimedia Commons
Jay North
As Dennis Mitchell on Dennis the Menace, Jay North became one of the most recognizable child actors of the early 60s. Audiences loved him as the mischievous kid next door, but they also had trouble seeing him as anybody else. By the 80s, substantial acting roles had become few and far between.
Quinn Cummings
Getting an Oscar nomination at just 10 years old is usually supposed to be the beginning of something huge. For Quinn Cummings, it wasn't. After The Goodbye Girl and Family, acting opportunities gradually became less frequent, and she eventually found success as a writer instead.
ABC Photo Archives, Getty Images
Pamelyn Ferdin
There's a good chance you saw Pamelyn Ferdin on television dozens of times without even realizing it. During the late 60s and early 70s, she was one of Hollywood's busiest young actresses, appearing in everything from sitcoms to dramas while also becoming one of the industry's most in-demand voice actors. Then the work gradually slowed.
Walt Disney Television Photo Archives, Getty Images, Enhanced
Lee Montgomery
Movies like Ben and Burnt Offerings made Lee Montgomery one of the more promising young actors of the 70s. Plenty of people assumed bigger things were just around the corner. They weren't. Although he continued acting into the 80s, he never became the major adult leading man many expected he would.
United Archives, Getty Images, Enhanced
Angela Cartwright
Not many child actors can say they were part of The Sound of Music and Lost in Space. Angela Cartwright can. That's an incredible résumé. Even so, Hollywood eventually started looking elsewhere for its next young stars. By the 80s, acting had become only one part of her creative life as she increasingly focused on photography and other artistic pursuits.
CBS Television., Wikimedia Commons
Stanley Livingston
Growing up on My Three Sons meant Stanley Livingston spent more than a decade on one of America's biggest sitcoms. Unfortunately, once the show ended, Hollywood didn't exactly have another hit waiting for him. In later years, he found success producing, directing, and working behind the scenes instead.
Hollywood Is Always Looking For The Next Kid
Every generation has child stars people assume will be around forever. Most aren't.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
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