While some actors star in a hit show and then go on to have a highly successful (and lucrative) acting career, other actors have that one hit and then are rarely heard from again, save a few reunion specials.
Here, let’s look at some memorable faces who enjoyed the spotlight while starring in some of the most popular shows of the 1970s and ’80s.
Find out what they pursued once their hit shows wrapped. (And click here to check out some of the most popular TV episodes of the 1980s.)
Pam Dawber
circa 1979: American comedian and actor Robin Williams, wearing a woman's bathrobe, furry hat, and sunglasses, being hugged by American actor Pam Dawber, in a still from the television series, 'Mork and Mindy'. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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- Played Mindy McConnell on “Mork and Mindy”
- Currently 72 years old
- Had moderate success on “My Sister Sam” with Rebecca Schaeffer
- Married to Mark Harmon since 1987
- Semi-retired from acting
Jimmie Walker
American actor and comedian Jimmie Walker goes for snacks at a Los Angeles Dodgers versus celebrities baseball game, Los Angeles, USA, 21st August 1976. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
- Played J.J. on “Good Times”
- Appeared in 133 episodes
- Currently 76 years old
- Has had bit parts in film and TV since “Good Times”
- Still performs stand-up comedy
Demond Wilson
Actors Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson of the TV show Sanford & Son pose for a portrait in circa 1974. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
- Played Lamont Sanford on “Sanford and Son”
- Currently 77 years old
- Wrote “Second Banana: The Bittersweet Memoirs of The Sanford and Son Years”
- Has written 11 children’s books
- Lives in Palm Springs, California with his wife Cicily
Marla Gibbs
- Played Florence Johnson on “The Jeffersons”
- Currently 92 years old
- Appeared in 207 episodes
- Enjoyed success on “227”
- Owned a jazz club for 18 years in South Central Los Angeles
Paul Benedict
The Jeffersons 1980
- Played Harry Bentley on “The Jeffersons”
- Served in the U.S. Marine Corp
- Had acromegaly, a condition in which the body makes too much growth hormone causing bones and tissue to grow quickly
- Also played The Number Painter on “Sesame Street”
- Died of a brain hemorrhage at age 70
Bonnie Franklin
- Played Ann Romano-Royer on “One Day at a Time”
- The daughter of Jewish immigrants
- Began acting at age 9
- Got an English degree from UCLA
- Died at age 69 of pancreatic cancer
Joyce DeWitt
- Played Janet Wood on “Three’s Company”
- Currently 74 years old
- Began stage acting at age 13
- Arrested for drunk driving in 2009
- Appeared in a music video for Davisson Brothers Band’s song “Home” in 2023
Priscilla Barnes
- Played Terry Alden on “Three’s Company”
- Age 69
- Discovered by Bob Hope and performed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center with his troupe in 1973
- Posed nude in Penthouse in 1976
- Called “Three’s Company” the “three worst years of her life”
Celia Weston
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 23: Celia Weston attends the 2023 Sundance Film Festival A Little Prayer Premiere at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2023 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)
- Played Jolene Hunnicut on “Alice”
- Currently 71 years old
- Appeared on “Ryan’s Hope”
- Lives in New York City
Bernie Kopell
- Played Dr. Adam Bricker (“Doc”) on “The Love Boat”
- Currently 90 years old
- Served in the U.S. Navy
- Drove a taxi and sold Kirby vacuums early in his acting career
- Still performing on stage
- Has been married three times and has two sons
Robert Hegyes
- Played Juan Epstein on “Welcome Back, Kotter”
- Held degrees in Speech/Theater and Secondary Education
- Acted in and directed episodes of “Welcome Back, Kotter”
- Cousins with Jon Bon Jovi
- Died in 2012 at the age of 60 of a heart attack
David L. Lander
From left to right, actors Meredith MacRae, Cindy Williams and David Lander at a Los Angeles Dodgers versus celebrities baseball game, Los Angeles, USA, 21st August 1976. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
- Played Andrew Helmut “Squiggy” Squiggman on “Lavergne & Shirley”
- Real name is David Leonard Landau
- Was an actor as well as a comedian, musician, and baseball scout
- Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1984
- Died in 2020 at the age of 73 due to complications from MS
Erin Moran
- Played Joanie Cunningham on “Happy Days”
- Began acting at age 5
- Accused her father of physical and mental abuse
- Appeared on VH-1’s “Celebrity Fit Club”
- Struggled with depression
- Died in 2017 from complications of stage four squamous cell carcinoma of the throat
Conrad Bain
HOLLYWOOD - MARCH 2: Actor Conrad Bain attends the TV Land Awards 2003 at the Hollywood Palladium on March 2, 2003 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Robert Mora/Getty Images)
- Played Phillip Drummond on “Diff’rent Strokes”
- Was an identical twin
- Became a U.S. citizen in 1946
- Had two sons and a daughter
- Died of a stroke in 2013 at age 89
Larry Wilcox
- Played Jonathan “Jon” Baker on “CHiPs”
- Age 76
- Is a Vietnam Veteran
- Married three times and has five children
- Races cars and has his pilot’s license
James Best
- Played Rosco P. Coltrane on “The Dukes of Hazzard”
- Born Jewel Franklin Guy in Powderly, Kentucky
- His uncle was Ike Everly of the Everly Brothers
- Served in the U.S. Army in World War II
- Began acting in 1949
- Died at age 88 of complications from pneumonia
Fred Berry
American actor Fred Berry (1951 - 2003) at the Third Annual Bert Convy Boys Club of Hollywood celebrity football classic in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, 13th January 1979. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
- Rerun on “What’s Happening!”
- Grew up in the inner-city of St. Louis
- Was a member of L.A. street dance troupe “The Lockers”
- Was a millionaire by age 29
- Was a Baptist minister
- Died in 2003 at age 52 while recovering from a stroke
Gary Sandy
- Played Andy Travis on “WKRP in Cincinnati”
- Currently age 77
- Born on Christmas day
- Has appeared in more than 100 stage shows
Marsha Warfield
- Played Rosalind “Roz” Russell on “Night Court”
- Currently 69 years old
- Comedian
- Appeared in Season 4 of “The Upshaws” on Netflix
- Waited until her mother passed to come out as gay
Ashley Johnson
- Played Chrissy Seaver on “Growing Pains”
- Took the role of Chrissy at age 6
- Currently age 40
- Plays guitar, piano, violin and cello
Greg Evigan
- Played Joey Harris on “My Two Dads”
- Currently age 70
- Began his career in theater
- Classically trained pianist
- Married with three children