≡ Where Are These Iconic '60s TV Stars Now? ➤ Brain Berries

Television got wonderfully weird in the 1960s. A suburban family could have a pet dragon under the stairs, and an astronaut could come home to a genie. And the actors who sold us those ideas became familiar faces for generations. Many have since died, but several stars are still around to share their memories.

Here are some of the most memorable stars of hit ’60s TV shows and what became of them.

Ron Howard, 72

Ron Howard’s days as little Opie Taylor feel like several lifetimes ago. After The Andy Griffith Show, he found even more success playing Richie Cunningham on Happy Days, then built an enormous career behind the camera.

The red hair is sadly gone these days, but the smile still feels warm and nostalgic. His directing credits include Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind, the latter of which earned him Oscars for directing and producing. Being the youngest on this list, Howard has done pretty well for himself.

Sally Field, 79

Sally Field is probably best known for her role as the surfing teenager in Gidget. Then came The Flying Nun, in which audiences had to accept a world where a light breeze could send people soaring.

Eventually, she won two Oscars and became quite famous for her dramatic performances. Field’s unique smile is easily recognizable, even to people who have never watched her early sitcoms. Still, the fact that the flying-nun phase was one of her most ridiculous roles will always feel unreal.

Goldie Hawn, 80

Goldie Hawn was put on the radar after she brought her bubbly vibe to the rapid-fire comedy show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. Then, a few years later, Hawn won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Cactus Flower.

Her signature blonde hair and adorable face still make her instantly recognizable, even at 80. Later, fans were blessed with hits like Private Benjamin and Overboard, although her Laugh-In fame still lives on.

Lily Tomlin, 87

Lily Tomlin was also featured on Laugh-In and, just like Goldie Hawn, her performance made a splash. Her bit as the phone operator Ernestine, who treated customer service as an opportunity for psychological warfare, still holds up.

Decades later, Grace and Frankie introduced her to a new generation of fans. Her curls have gone gray, and that wonderfully skeptical expression still looks ready to puncture somebody’s nonsense. Ernestine would probably have strong opinions about automated phone menus.

George Takei, 89

George Takei needs no introduction, but in case you’ve been living under a rock, he helped steer the USS Enterprise as Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek. The series was initially a flop, but it eventually found a devoted fan base.

With his silver hair and velvety voice, Takei is still one of the most iconic actors of the ’60s–’90s era. Not to mention his voice acting work and LGBTQ+ advocacy.

Walter Koenig, 1936–2026

Walter Koenig joined Star Trek as Pavel Chekov in 1967. He even had a cool hairstyle designed to appeal to younger viewers. For some reason, they also made his character Russian, but the ’60s were a wild era.

He later played Alfred Bester in Babylon 5, which is in the same ballpark as Star Trek, so fans were easily won over. Still, his Enterprise days were what put him on the map. Koenig also returned to the franchise with a voice role in Star Trek: Picard in 2023. Sadly, the actor died on October 25, 2026, at the age of 90.

Pat Priest, 90

Pat Priest played Marilyn on The Munsters, where her family thought that Marilyn’s conventional beauty would hurt her romantic prospects. Yes, this was an actual plot point and a joke Priest handled amazingly well.

These days, she largely keeps to herself, but for viewers revisiting the series, she remains the cute blonde cousin surrounded by relatives who desperately needed a reality check and a better mirror.

Tina Louise, 92

Tina Louise’s Ginger gave Gilligan’s Island its resident movie star with a real sense of fashion, despite being stranded on an island.

Now that she’s pretty much done with acting, Louise remains associated with her red hair and Ginger’s sophisticated image. Sadly, she is also the last surviving member of the sitcom’s main cast.

William Shatner, 95

William Shatner’s Captain Kirk made commanding a starship look easy. Really, all a captain needed was a lot of swagger. Sure, he later starred in T.J. Hooker and Boston Legal, but Star Trek has remained his bread and butter for decades.

In 2021, at 90, he actually traveled to space aboard a Blue Origin flight. That’s a fairly spectacular addition to a résumé that’s largely made up of Star Trek titles.

John Astin, 96

The oldest living legend on this list is none other than John Astin, aka Gomez Addams—the most enthusiastic husband in TV history. His devotion to Morticia helped make The Addams Family surprisingly wholesome.

Now 96, Astin is the last surviving principal cast member of the original series. The dapper Gomez image is part of television history, but his mischievous smile still gives off the same vibes. You can practically hear the fingers snapping and the theme music playing every time you see his face.