Child Stars of 1950s
by BatBanks | created - 08 Jan 2015 | updated - 7 months ago | PublicNot Particular Order.
1. Patty McCormack
Actress | The Master
As a testament to her passion and talent, former 1950s pig-tailed moppet star Patty McCormack has remained a consistent presence on film and TV for over five decades. While the lovely and talented blonde suffered her share of hard knocks and obvious stereotypes in adjusting to an adult career, she ...
2. Patty Duke
Actress | Valley of the Dolls
Patty Duke was born Anna Marie Duke on December 14, 1946 in Elmhurst, New York, to Frances Margaret (McMahon), a cashier, and John Patrick Duke, a cab driver and handyman. She is of Irish, and one eighth German, descent. Her acting career began when she was introduced to her brother Ray Duke's ...
3. Sherry Jackson
Actress | The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima
Gorgeous, brown-eyed, chestnut-maned Sherry Jackson began her promising career as a pig-tailed, pleasant-looking child actress. Born in Idaho on February 15, 1942, she was the only daughter of four children born to Maurita Kathleen Gilbert and Curtis Loys Jackson, Sr. Her father died when she was 6...
4. Natalie Wood
Actress | Rebel Without a Cause
Natalie Wood was an American actress of Russian and Ukrainian descent. She started her career as a child actress and eventually transitioned into teenage roles, young adult roles, and middle-aged roles. She drowned off Catalina Island on November 29, 1981 at age 43.
Wood was born July 20, 1938 in ...
5. Lana Wood
Actress | Diamonds Are Forever
Provocative and ever the temptress in her prime, the dark-maned, gorgeous Lana Wood was born Svetlana Gurdin on March 1, 1946, in Santa Monica, California, to Nick Gurdin (née Nikolai Zacharenko) and Maria Gurdin (known by countless aliases, usually Mary Zudilova), émigrés of Ukrainian and Russian ...
6. Tommy Kirk
Actor | Pajama Party
Scrappy, plucky-looking Kentucky-born Tommy Kirk, who was born on December 10, 1941, became synonymous with everything clean and fun that Disney Entertainment prescribed to in the late 1950s and very early 1960s. One of four sons born to a mechanic, Louie, and legal secretary, Lucy, the Kirk family...
7. Bobby Driscoll
Actor | Peter Pan
Bobby Driscoll was a natural-born actor. Discovered by chance at the age of five-and-a-half in a barber shop in Altadena, CA. and then convincing in anything he ever undertook on the movie screen and on television throughout his career spanning 17 years (1943-1960). Includes such notable movie ...
8. Kathryn Beaumont
Actress | Alice in Wonderland
Kathryn Beaumont was just ten years old when she was chosen for the voice of Alice, in Disney's animated version of the classic children's tale, Alice in Wonderland (1951). Walt Disney was so impressed with Kathryn's long curly blonde hair, sparkling eyes and acting ability, that he chose her as ...
9. Annette Funicello
Actress | Muscle Beach Party
Annette Joanne Funicello achieved teenage popularity starting in October 1955 after she debuted as a Mouseketeer. Born on October 22, 1942 in Utica, New York, the family had moved to California when she was still young. Walt Disney himself saw her performing the lead role in "Swan Lake" at her ...
10. Tim Considine
Actor | My Three Sons
Tim Considine was born on December 31, 1940 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for My Three Sons (1960), Patton (1970) and Executive Suite (1954). He was married to Willett Helen Hunt and Charlotte Stewart. He died on March 3, 2022 in Mar Vista, California, USA.
11. Kevin Corcoran
Actor | Old Yeller
Kevin Corcoran was born on June 10, 1949 in Santa Monica, California, USA. He was an assistant director and actor, known for Old Yeller (1957), Swiss Family Robinson (1960) and Pollyanna (1960). He was married to Laura Soltwedel. He died on October 6, 2015 in Burbank, California, USA.
12. Sal Mineo
Actor | Exodus
Salvatore (Sal) Mineo Jr. was born to Josephine and Sal Sr. (a casket maker), who emigrated to the U.S. from Sicily. His siblings were Michael, Victor and Sarina. Sal was thrown out of parochial school and, by age eight, was a member of a street gang in a tough Bronx neighborhood. His mother ...
13. Brandon De Wilde
Actor | Shane
Brandon De Wilde was born into a theatrical family and made a much-acclaimed Broadway debut in "The Member of the Wedding" at age 9. He was the first child actor to win the Donaldson Award, and went on to repeat his role in the film version, directed by Fred Zinnemann in 1952. As the blond-haired, ...
14. Michael Chaplin
Actor | A King in New York
Michael Chaplin was born on March 7, 1946 in Santa Monica, California, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for A King in New York (1957), Act of Betrayal (1988) and The Sandwich Man (1966).
15. Ron Howard
Producer | Arrested Development
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Howard is one of this generation's most popular directors. From the critically acclaimed dramas A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Apollo 13 (1995) to the hit comedies Parenthood (1989) and Splash (1983), he has created some of Hollywood's most memorable films.
Howard ...
16. Carol Lynley
Actress | The Poseidon Adventure
Blonde and blue-eyed with an attractively feline appeal, Carol Lynley began her professional career as Carolyn Lee. She learned ballet at age seven, became a successful child model at age 10 (eventually working for the Sears & Roebuck department store in New York), and got her face nationally ...
17. Christopher Walken
Actor | The Deer Hunter
Lead and supporting actor of the American stage and films, with sandy colored hair, and pale complexion. He won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Deer Hunter (1978), and has been seen in mostly character roles, often portraying psychologically unstable individuals, though...
18. Tuesday Weld
Actress | Once Upon a Time in America
Susan Ker Weld was born on August 27, 1943 (Friday), in New York City. When her father, Lathrop Motley Weld, died three years later at the age of 49, the cute little girl, whose name by then had somehow been transmogrified into "Tuesday", took over the role of the family breadwinner. She became a ...
19. Tony Dow
Actor | Leave It to Beaver
Tony Dow was an American actor, film producer, television director, and sculptor from Los Angeles, California. His most famous role was that of athletic adolescent Wallace "Wally" Cleaver in the popular sitcom "Leave It to Beaver" (1957-1963). Dow played the older brother to the series' protagonist...
20. Cubby O'Brien
Actor | Zane Grey Theatre
Carl Patrick O'Brien was the youngest of three sons of Haskell "Hack" O'Brien, a well-known professional drummer. His oldest brother Haskell Junior played trumpet, while the middle brother Warren played drums. Cubby got his nickname from his mother, who thought he looked like a bear cub as an ...
21. Johnny Crawford
Actor | The Rifleman
Johnny Crawford was born on March 26, 1946 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor and producer, known for The Rifleman (1958), Hellboy (2004) and The Thirteenth Floor (1999). He was married to Charlotte Samco. He died on April 29, 2021 in Los Angeles, California, USA.
22. Angela Cartwright
Actress | The Sound of Music
Born in England, Angela is the younger sister of actress Veronica Cartwright. As a child she was cast as the cute little stepdaughter, Linda Williams, on The Danny Thomas Show (1953). She was on the show from 1957 to 1964. After that, she was cast as Brigitta in the popular Julie Andrews movie The ...
23. Beverly Washburn
Actress | Old Yeller
Beverly Washburn was born on November 25, 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Old Yeller (1957), Star Trek (1966) and When the World Came to San Francisco (2015). She is married to Michael Radell.
24. Brenda Lee
Soundtrack | Joy Ride
Brenda Lee was born on December 11, 1944 in Lithonia, Georgia, USA. She is a music artist and actress, known for Joy Ride (2001), Dick Tracy (1990) and Reindeer Games (2000). She has been married to Charles Ronald 'Ronnie' Shacklett since April 24, 1963. They have two children.
25. Barry Gordon
Actor | A Thousand Clowns
Barry Gordon was born on December 21, 1948 in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for A Thousand Clowns (1965), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) and Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron (1993). He has been married to Dr. Gail Schaper-Gordon since 1993. They have two ...
26. Frank Bank
Actor | Leave It to Beaver
Frank Bank was born on April 12, 1942 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Leave It to Beaver (1957), The New Leave It to Beaver (1983) and Life with Archie (1962). He was married to Rebecca Fink, Jeri Lynn Handelman and Marlene Kay Blau. He died on April 13, 2013 in Los ...
27. Susan Gordon
Actress | The Five Pennies
Susan Gordon was born on July 27, 1949 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. She was an actress, known for The Five Pennies (1959), Tormented (1960) and Ben Casey (1961). She was married to Avraham Aviner. She died on December 11, 2011 in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA.
28. Cheryl Holdridge
Actress | Leave It to Beaver
Cheryl Holdridge was born on June 20, 1944 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. She was an actress, known for Leave It to Beaver (1957), The Donna Reed Show (1958) and Life with Archie (1962). She was married to Manning J. Post, Albert James Skarda and Lance Reventlow. She died on January 6, 2009 in ...
29. Rusty Hamer
Actor | Make Room for Daddy
A deadpan, freckle-faced, curly red-haired, highly talented child actor of the late 50s, Rusty Hamer entered films and TV at age 5 and became a precocious TV celebrity the very next year, trading clever quips with volatile top comedian Danny Thomas as his smart-alecky son, Rusty Williams, on the ...
30. Jimmy Boyd
Actor | Inherit the Wind
Jimmy Boyd was born on January 9, 1939 in McComb, Mississippi, USA. He was an actor, known for Inherit the Wind (1960), A Dirty Shame (2004) and Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974). He was married to Anne Elaine Forrey, Sheila Kae Lauritsen and Yvonne Craig. He died on March 7, 2009 in Santa Monica, ...
31. Sandra Dee
Actress | Gidget
Sandra Dee was born Alexandria Zuck on April 23, 1942 in Bayonne, New Jersey, to Mary (Cymboliak) and John Zuck. She was of Carpatho-Rusyn descent. Her mother envisioned a show business career for her daughter and would often lie about her age in order to get Sandy where she wanted to go. For ...
32. Dean Stockwell
Actor | Quantum Leap
Dean Robert Stockwell grew up in North Hollywood, the son of Broadway performers Harry Stockwell and Elizabeth "Betty" Stockwell (née Veronica). His vaudevillian father was a replacement Curly in the original production of "Oklahoma!". He was also a decent tenor whose voice was used for the part of...
33. Richard Beymer
Actor | West Side Story
Born in Avoca, Iowa and moved with his parents to Hollywood, California in the late 1940s, Richard Beymer acted in various films while attending North Hollywood High School. He enjoys making his own films and has a film used in a PBS series on the civil rights movement.
34. Jerry Mathers
Actor | The Trouble with Harry
Jerry Mathers was born on June 2, 1948 in Sioux City, Iowa, USA. He is an actor and director, known for The Trouble with Harry (1955), Leave It to Beaver (1957) and The Love Boat (1977). He has been married to Teresa Modnick since January 30, 2011. He was previously married to Diana Platt and ...
35. Frankie Lymon
Soundtrack | American Graffiti
Frankie Lymon was born on September 30, 1942 in Harlem, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for American Graffiti (1973), October Sky (1999) and The Big Fix (1978). He was married to Emira Lymon, Zola Taylor and Elizabeth Waters. He died on February 28, 1968 in New ...
36. Doreen Tracey
Actress | Westward Ho, the Wagons!
Doreen Tracey was born on April 3, 1943 in St Pancras, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Westward Ho, the Wagons! (1956), Annette (1958) and The Donna Reed Show (1958). She was married to Robert A Washburn. She died on January 10, 2018 in Thousand Oaks, California, USA.
37. Tommy Rettig
Actor | The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.
Tommy Rettig was a successful child actor in 1954 when he was chosen out of a field of 500 to play Jeff Miller in the TV series Lassie (1954), which premiered on September 12, 1954, making him the first boy who tagged after Lassie during the famous collie's 20 years on the CBS television network. ...
38. Jon Provost
Actor | Lassie
Forever associated with a heroic TV collie whom he frequently had his arms lovingly wrapped around, blond tyke Jon Provost actually was a veteran performer by the time he won the role of "Timmy Martin" at age seven in the series Lassie (1954). Los Angeles born (March 12, 1950) and bred, Jon was ...
39. Sheila James Kuehl
Actress | The Stu Erwin Show
Babyboomers remember well the diminutive (4'10"), dark-haired comedienne Sheila James who raised a smile with her portrayals of tomboyish kid sisters and boy-crazy high schoolers on late 50s and early 60s TV. For a while she was a huge hit backed by her characters' plaintive, pony-tailed presences,...
40. Zina Bethune
Actress | Planet of the Apes
Lovely, lithe and light-haired Zina Bethune, noted ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher, also had a promising acting career during the late 1950s and 1960s.
The native New Yorker was born on February 17, 1945, the daughter of William Charles Bethune (who died in 1950 when Zina was 5) and ...
41. Tony Blankley
Producer | Child Abuse
After working as a prosecutor in the office of the California Attorney General, Tony Blankley worked in the Reagan administration as a speechwriter and senior political analyst before he became a spokesman for and an adviser to Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (1990-1997). Blankley later served ...
42. Lauren Chapin
Actress | Father Knows Best
Lauren Ann Chapin (born May 23, 1945, Los Angeles, California) is an American former child actress, most remembered for her role as the youngest child "Kathy Anderson" (nicknamed "Kitten") in the television show Father Knows Best which was produced between 1954 and 1960. She appeared in 203 ...
43. Don Grady
Music_department | My Three Sons
Born Don Agrati in San Diego, California, Don Grady became a Mousekeeter, along with 23 others, when that show debuted in 1955. In 1960, he joined My Three Sons (1960), which debuted in 1960 and ran for 12 years. As an enthusiast of music after "My Three Sons" ended, he continued in music as a ...
44. Billy Gray
Actor | The Day the Earth Stood Still
Billy Gray was born on January 13, 1938 in Los Angeles, California, USA, as the son of famous actress Beatrice Gray. He was a successful child actor, known for Father Knows Best (1954), On Moonlight Bay (1951), and as Bobby in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). He went on the become an inventor ...
45. Wayne Newton
Actor | Vegas Vacation
Wayne Newton was born on April 3, 1942 in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Vegas Vacation (1997), Licence to Kill (1989) and The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990). He has been married to Kathleen McCrone since April 9, 1994. They have one child. He was previously ...
46. Billy Chapin
Actor | The Night of the Hunter
Billy Chapin was born on December 28, 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for The Night of the Hunter (1955), Tobor the Great (1954) and Violent Saturday (1955). He was married to Susan Carole Briere. He died on December 2, 2016 in the USA.
47. Gayla Peevey
Soundtrack | The Kid Detective
Gayla Peevey was born on March 8, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. She has been married to Clifford Henderson since August 25, 1963. They have one child.
48. Darlene Gillespie
Actress | The New Adventures of Spin and Marty
Darlene Gillespie was born on April 8, 1941 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She is an actress, known for The New Adventures of Spin and Marty (1957), Corky and White Shadow (1956) and Dr. Kildare (1961). She was previously married to Jerry Joseph Fraschilla, Donald Laverne McDavid and Phillip David ...
49. Frazer Hines
Actor | Emmerdale Farm
Frazer Hines has a particular distinction in the world of Doctor Who (1963) as the most prolific companion in the original 26-year run of the series; only the first four Doctors, William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Jon Pertwee and Tom Baker, appeared in more episodes. He was born and raised in ...
50. Sally Jane Bruce
Actress | The Night of the Hunter
Former child actress and singer Sally Jane Bruce was born on December 2, 1948 in Los Angeles California, to country singer Jewell Edwards. Her big break came when she won a contest by singing with a full orchestra. She had already worked on TV, radio and on Kids Will Be Kids (1954) when she was ...
51. Geraldine Chaplin
Actress | Hable con ella
Geraldine Leigh Chaplin was born in Santa Monica, California, to Oona Chaplin (née O'Neill) and legendary entertainer Charles Chaplin (A.K.A. Charlie Chaplin). She is a granddaughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill and a great-granddaughter of stage actor James O'Neill. She attended the Royal Ballet ...
52. Kathy Garver
Actress | Family Affair
Kathy Garver was born in Long Beach, California Her break-through performance came as one of the young slaves in The Ten Commandments
She is most well known for starring as the teenage niece of Uncle Bill Davis, Cissy Davis on Family Affair (1966). The show was nominated for Emmys in various ...
53. Luana Patten
Actress | Fun & Fancy Free
One of the first two contract players for Walt Disney Studios, she made her debut in Song of the South (1946) as a poor white child fascinated by the stories told by Uncle Remus. She made several more films as a child star, then left film for 8 years. She returned as an ingénue in Rock, Pretty Baby!...
54. Richard Eyer
Actor | The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
Born in Santa Monica, California, in 1945, Richard Eyer was the kid with the clean-cut, all-American look who won a number of "personality contests" and other competitions before he made his film debut in the early 1950s. Mainstream audiences may remember Eyer best as the youngster who runs "afowl"...
55. Terry Burnham
Actress | Imitation of Life
Terry Burnham was born on August 8, 1949 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Imitation of Life (1959), Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958) and Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! (1966). She died on October 7, 2013 in Long Beach, California, USA.
56. Paul Petersen
Actor | The Donna Reed Show
He's been through practically the worst that can happen to a former child star when the Hollywood tide suddenly turns and one is no longer a part of the neat elite. Unlike others, however, such as Anissa Jones, Rusty Hamer and Dana Plato, he survived. As a result, actor Paul Petersen, today, is THE...
57. Mimi Gibson
Actress | One Hundred and One Dalmatians
One of the hardest working child actresses of the 1950s, Mimi Gibson earned over $100,000 (in 1963 dollars) from appearances in 35 movies and over 100 Television Shows. Her mother took Mimi and her sister to Los Angeles after her father's death when she was a baby. Her mother lived off her acting ...
58. Robert 'Rusty' Stevens
Actor | Leave It to Beaver
Robert 'Rusty' Stevens was born on November 25, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor, known for Leave It to Beaver (1957), Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958) and The New Leave It to Beaver (1983). He is married to Theresa Marinelli. They have one child.
59. Charles Herbert
Actor | 13 Ghosts
Charles Herbert was a mildly popular 1950s child actor with a trademark sulky puss and thick, furrowed eyebrows, who was known for playing inquisitive kids besieged by alien beings, including a robot, as well as by a human fly and several house-haunting ghosts. He racked up over 20 films, 50 TV ...
60. Joey Scott
Producer | Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything
Joey Scott was born on June 15, 1953 in the USA. He is a producer and production manager, known for Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything (2015), Growing Pains (1985) and The Secret Princess.
61. Peter Lazer
Actor | Shirley Temple's Storybook
Peter Lazer was born on April 12, 1946 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958), Hombre (1967) and Kraft Theatre (1947). He died on November 14, 2008 in Woodstock, New York, USA.
62. Evelyn Rudie
Actress | Playhouse 90
Evelyn Rudie was born on March 28, 1949 in Hollywood, California, USA. She is an actress and assistant director, known for Playhouse 90 (1956), The Cut-Throats (1971) and The Gift of Love (1958). She has been married to Chris DeCarlo since August 24, 1970. She was previously married to Tim O'Kelly.
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