Before Streaming, These Faces Were Everywhere
Back in the 1970s, made-for-TV movies were everywhere, and so were the stars who appeared in them. From creepy thrillers to heartbreaking dramas, these familiar faces kept millions of Americans glued to their screens. Some became household names, yet today many have almost disappeared from the spotlight.
How many of these once-famous faces can you still put a name to?
Screenshot from Room 222, ABC (1969–1974)
Jan-Michael Vincent
Before starring in Airwolf, Jan-Michael Vincent was one of television's promising young leading men. He appeared alongside Darren McGavin in Tribes (1970), playing a Marine recruit who clashes with military discipline. His striking looks and rebellious screen presence quickly attracted attention. Vincent eventually moved into major theatrical films, but made-for-TV movies helped launch his career.
Kristy McNichol
Kristy McNichol became a teenage sensation playing Buddy Lawrence on Family, winning two Emmy Awards. She also starred opposite Linda Lavin in Like Mom, Like Me (1978), about a divorced mother and her teenage daughter. The film gave McNichol another opportunity to explore complicated family relationships. Her emotional performances made her one of the defining young television stars of the decade.
Screenshot from Family, Spelling-Goldberg Productions (1976–1980)
Susan Dey
Susan Dey became famous playing Laurie Partridge on The Partridge Family, but her television movie roles explored darker territory. In Terror on the Beach (1973), her character's family vacation turns frightening. Two years later, Cage Without a Key cast her as a teenager trapped in the juvenile detention system. These performances helped Dey move beyond the cheerful sitcom that made her famous.
ABC Photo Archives , Getty Images
Robby Benson
With his youthful looks and sensitive performances, Robby Benson became a teenage favorite during the 1970s. His 1977 television movie The Death of Richie explored a young man's destructive drug use and its devastating effects on his family. Ben Gazzara and Eileen Brennan played his parents in the emotional drama. Benson proved he could handle more challenging material than the romances many viewers associated with him.
Barbara Eden
Barbara Eden was already a television icon thanks to I Dream of Jeannie, but her later roles offered some surprises. In The Stranger Within (1974), she played a pregnant woman whose increasingly strange behavior seemed connected to her unborn child. The unsettling science-fiction thriller was written by Richard Matheson. Audiences accustomed to Eden's cheerful sitcom persona encountered a very different performer.
NBC Television
Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons
Lance Kerwin
Lance Kerwin was one of television's most recognizable teenage actors in the late 1970s. He starred in Michael Landon's The Loneliest Runner (1976), playing a boy who turns to running while dealing with childhood humiliation. The following year, Kerwin became the star of James at 15. His natural, understated acting helped distinguish him from other young performers.
Screenshot from James at 15, 20th Century Fox Television (1977–1978), Enhanced
Kay Lenz
Kay Lenz made her mark in Clint Eastwood's Breezy (1973), but television soon became another important part of her career. In The Initiation of Sarah (1978), she played a college student discovering strange supernatural abilities amid a bitter sorority rivalry. Shelley Winters and Morgan Fairchild also appeared in the eerie production. Lenz brought vulnerability to a story combining campus drama with supernatural horror.
Glynnis O'Connor
Glynnis O'Connor became a familiar face through emotionally charged television dramas. She starred opposite John Travolta in The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976), playing the girl who falls for a teenager with severe immune deficiencies. In 1978, she took the title role in Little Mo, a biography of tennis champion Maureen Connolly. These performances made O'Connor a memorable young actress of the era.
Screenshot from The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, ABC Circle Films (1976)
Stockard Channing
Before becoming Rizzo in Grease, Stockard Channing starred in one of the decade's strangest television movies. The Girl Most Likely To... (1973) followed a young woman who undergoes reconstructive surgery after an accident. With a dramatically different appearance, she takes revenge on those who mistreated her. Channing's performance turned the outrageous premise into a memorable dark comedy.
Screenshot from The Girl Most Likely To, ABC (1973)
Melissa Sue Anderson
Audiences knew Melissa Sue Anderson as Mary Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie, but she also explored more mature roles. In Survival of Dana (1979), she played a teenager adjusting to Los Angeles after her parents' divorce. The cast included Robert Carradine, Marion Ross, and a young Judge Reinhold. The troubled modern setting contrasted sharply with the wholesome frontier world that made Anderson famous.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Connie Sellecca
Before starring in The Greatest American Hero and Hotel, Connie Sellecca appeared in the unusual 1978 made-for-TV movie The Bermuda Depths. She played Jennie Haniver, a mysterious woman connected to legends surrounding the Bermuda Triangle. The production mixed romance, supernatural mystery, and a gigantic sea creature. Its bizarre storyline made it one of the decade's more distinctive television movies.
Screenshot from The Greatest American Hero, ABC (1981–1983), Enhanced
Karen Valentine
Karen Valentine won an Emmy in 1970 for playing Alice Johnson on Room 222. Her girl-next-door appeal made her a natural choice for television movies, including Gidget Grows Up (1969) and The Girl Who Came Gift-Wrapped (1974). She later appeared in Disney films including Hot Lead and Cold Feet. For 1970s viewers, Valentine was one of those actresses who seemed to turn up everywhere.
Screenshot from Room 222, ABC (1969–1974)
Vic Morrow
Vic Morrow was already familiar to viewers through the military drama Combat!. In The California Kid (1974), he played a ruthless small-town sheriff who clashes with a young stranger portrayed by Martin Sheen. The thriller featured dangerous driving, an escalating rivalry, and a sheriff who intimidated outsiders. Morrow's commanding presence made him an especially effective television villain.
Kim Darby
Kim Darby was known for appearing opposite John Wayne in True Grit, but one of her creepiest roles came on television. In Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973), she played a woman terrorized by strange little creatures hiding inside her house. Her husband refuses to believe her warnings as the encounters become increasingly dangerous. The movie developed a cult following and inspired a theatrical remake decades later.
Screenshot from True Grit, Paramount Pictures (1969)
David Hartman
Before becoming the original host of Good Morning America, David Hartman worked as a television actor. He starred opposite Barbara Eden in The Feminist and the Fuzz (1971), playing a police officer who unexpectedly shares an apartment with a feminist. The comedy reflected changing attitudes toward relationships and women's independence. Hartman's later broadcasting fame largely overshadowed his acting career.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Morgan Fairchild
Morgan Fairchild later became famous for playing glamorous, scheming characters, but audiences saw an early example in The Initiation of Sarah (1978). She portrayed Jennifer Lawrence, the cruel leader of a college sorority. Her treatment of Kay Lenz's character helped fuel the movie's supernatural conflict. Fairchild became one of the 1980s' most recognizable television actresses through shows including Flamingo Road and Falcon Crest.
Leigh McCloskey
Leigh McCloskey appeared in some of the decade's stranger television productions. He starred in The Bermuda Depths (1978) as Magnus Dens, a man investigating the mysterious circumstances surrounding his father's death. His search draws him into a world of giant sea creatures and supernatural legends. McCloskey later became familiar to Dallas viewers as Mitch Cooper.
Screenshot from The Bermuda Depths, Rankin/Bass Productions (1978)
Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Wagner became a major star playing Jaime Sommers on The Bionic Woman, earning an Emmy for the role. In The Two Worlds of Jennie Logan (1979), she traded action for romantic fantasy. Her character discovers an antique dress that mysteriously transports her into the nineteenth century. The film helped establish the kind of emotional television movies Wagner would make for years.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Cliff De Young
Before becoming a familiar character actor, Cliff De Young was a musician who also starred in the original Broadway production of Hair. His television career included The Night That Panicked America (1975), about the reaction to Orson Welles' War of the Worlds broadcast. De Young played Stefan Grubowski alongside an ensemble that included Vic Morrow and Meredith Baxter. He eventually built a lengthy career in television and film.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Karen Black
Karen Black already had major film credits when she starred in Trilogy of Terror (1975). She played four characters across three horror stories, including a woman terrorized by a murderous Zuni doll. Directed by Dan Curtis, the production featured stories adapted by Richard Matheson and William F. Nolan. Its terrifying final segment became one of the most memorable horror sequences ever broadcast on American television.
Screenshot from Trilogy of Terror, ABC (1975)
Darren McGavin
Long before A Christmas Story, Darren McGavin made television history with The Night Stalker (1972). He played Carl Kolchak, a stubborn reporter investigating murders apparently committed by a vampire. The movie attracted a huge audience and inspired a sequel and television series. McGavin turned an argumentative journalist into one of television's most memorable supernatural investigators.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Carol Lynley
Carol Lynley had appeared in numerous films when she joined Darren McGavin in The Night Stalker (1972). She played Gail Foster, who becomes romantically involved with the reporter investigating a possible vampire in Las Vegas. Her character added a romantic subplot to the popular supernatural thriller. Lynley continued working in film and television, including a memorable appearance in The Poseidon Adventure.
Electronovision-photo by Sinclair for Electronovision, Wikimedia Commons
Meredith Baxter
Years before Family Ties, Meredith Baxter was already appearing in dramatic television productions. She starred opposite Beau Bridges in The Stranger Who Looks Like Me (1974), playing a young woman searching for her biological parents. The movie explored adoption, identity, and the emotional consequences of discovering one's origins. Baxter's mother, actress Whitney Blake, also appeared in the production.
Screenshot from Family Ties, Ubu Productions / Paramount Television (1982–1989)
Dennis Weaver
Dennis Weaver was already famous through Gunsmoke when Steven Spielberg cast him in Duel (1971). The thriller followed a businessman relentlessly pursued by an unseen truck driver on a lonely highway. Weaver carried much of the suspense through his increasingly desperate reactions. The acclaimed television movie helped bring Spielberg wider recognition.
Screenshot from Duel, ABC (1971)
Shelley Fabares
Shelley Fabares had been a teenage favorite on The Donna Reed Show before appearing in Brian's Song (1971). She portrayed Joy Piccolo, wife of Chicago Bears player Brian Piccolo, played by James Caan. The acclaimed drama explored Piccolo's friendship with teammate Gale Sayers during his battle with cancer. Fabares later found renewed television success playing Christine Armstrong on Coach.
Screenshot from Brian's Song, ABC (1971)
Pamela Sue Martin
Before becoming television's Nancy Drew, Pamela Sue Martin appeared in The Girls of Huntington House (1973). She played Gail Dorn, one of several pregnant teenagers living in a maternity home. The cast included Shirley Jones, Mercedes McCambridge, and a young Sissy Spacek. Martin later became a familiar primetime star, playing Fallon Carrington on Dynasty.
Screenshot from Dynasty, Paramount Global (1981-1989)
Patty Duke
Patty Duke had been famous since childhood, but television movies established her as a powerful adult actress. In My Sweet Charlie (1970), she played a pregnant young white woman who befriends a Black lawyer portrayed by Al Freeman Jr. The performance earned Duke an Emmy and demonstrated her dramatic range. She continued exploring challenging roles in productions including Curse of the Black Widow (1977).
Screenshot from My Sweet Charlie, Universal Studios Productions (1970)
Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Montgomery spent eight seasons playing Samantha Stephens on Bewitched, but her television movies revealed a darker side. In The Victim (1972), she played a woman trapped in a house with a murderer lurking nearby. Three years later, The Legend of Lizzie Borden cast her as a woman accused of murdering her father and stepmother. These roles surprised audiences who knew Montgomery as a beloved sitcom star.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
These Faces Made Television Movie History
The 1970s were a remarkable time for made-for-TV movies, and these actors helped define the era. Some enjoyed lasting Hollywood careers, while others faded from view despite once appearing in millions of American living rooms. Their performances live on in thrillers, dramas, and unusual productions that still have devoted fans. Which of these stars had you forgotten, and whose face brought back the most memories?
Youth Parade by Churchills, Wikimedia Commons
You May Also Like:
Made-For-TV Movies From The 1980s That Audiences Still Remember Decades Later
