Almost The Entire Main Cast Of These TV Series Have Passed Away
The next time you watch a movie or television series created before, say, 1975, consider this sobering thought: there's a good chance that some, if not many, of the actors have passed away. Not to bring you down or anything, but with each passing year, entertainment figures from all forms of media become part of those mournful "Celebrities We've Lost in [Insert Year Here]" lists. There is an upside to such remembrances: they give us an opportunity to reflect on those individuals' best moments — their finest or most loved movies, TV series, or other creative endeavors — and appreciate them anew.
Following is a list of shows from the 1970s through the 1990s, that have lost a significant number of their main cast members; in some cases, all or nearly all of their regular cast have passed away in the years since the shows left the airwaves. You'll find major stars and award-winning series here, and maybe a chance to think about and appreciate their work one more time.
Sanford and Son
A hit with viewers for most of its six-season run on NBC, the Emmy-nominated "Sanford and Son" remains well remembered and still popular in reruns. The comedy, created by Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin, introduced many mainstream TV viewers to Redd Foxx, a popular stand-up comic whose career began in the 1950s. Foxx tapped many of his comedy peers to appear on "Sanford," including LaWanda Page (Aunt Esther), Don Bexley (Bubba), Slappy White (Melvin), Leroy Daniels and Ernest Mayhand (Leroy and Skillet) and even former "Our Gang" member Matthew "Stymie" Beard (Otis), all of whom passed away between 1981 and 2002. Foxx died on October 11, 1991, during rehearsals for his short-lived comeback series "The Royal Family."
Of the remaining cast, only Demond Wilson, who played Fred's son, Lamont, Howard Platt and Hal Williams (police officers "Hoppy" Hopkins and "Smitty" Smith respectively), and Lynn Hamilton (Fred's girlfriend, Donna) are alive today. Whitman Mayo, who stole scenes as Grady, died in 2001, while Nathaniel Taylor (Rollo) died in 2019. Taylor also briefly joined Foxx and Page in a follow-up, "Sanford," in 1981; of that cast, only three recurring cast members — Clinton Derricks-Carroll, Suzanne Stone, and Cathy Cooper — remain alive today.
The Incredible Hulk
Long before Mark Ruffalo handled the human side of the Incredible Hulk, TV regular Bill Bixby played Dr. David Bruce Banner from 1978 to 1982 on CBS's "Incredible Hulk" series, based on Marvel Comics' long-running title and character. Bixby not only played Banner in the series but also directed a Season 4 episode, "Bring Me the Head of the Hulk," as well as two reunion TV movies in 1989 and 1990. Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1991, he died of complications from the disease at the age of 59 on November 21, 1993.
Since the premise of the "Hulk" series concerned David Banner trying to end his transformations into the Hulk, there were only three series regulars — Bixby, Lou Ferrigno as the Hulk, and Jack Colvin as reporter Jack McGee — with the rest of each episode's cast comprised of guest stars. Only Ferrigno, who lent his voice to the MCU's live-action iterations of the Hulk from "The Incredible Hulk" to "Thor: Ragnarok," remains alive today; Colvin died in 2005, while actors Ted Cassidy and Charles Napier, who provided the Hulk's roars (and in the case of Cassidy, the program's opening narration), died in 1979 and 2011, respectively.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The death of Betty White on December 31, 2021, brought to a close one of the most celebrated ensemble casts in television comedy history. White was the last surviving series regular from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," which set a record for the most Emmy Award nominations (67) and wins (29) that went unbroken until "Frasier" earned its 30th Emmy in 2002. White, who won two of those Emmys as Sue Ann Nivens, was preceded in death by Cloris Leachman, who also won two Emmys as Phyllis Lindstrom. Leachman died on January 27, 2021, and was followed by Ed Asner — a five-time Emmy winner as Lou Grant on "Mary" – on August 29, 2021, while Gavin MacLeod passed away on May 29 of that year.
Valerie Harper, who played Mary's friend, Rhoda, and Georgia Engel, who played Ted Baxter's girlfriend Georgette, both passed away in 2019, while Moore, who won four Emmys as Mary Richards, died on January 25, 2017. Ted Knight, who won two Emmys as clueless news anchor Ted Baxter, died of complications from colon cancer surgery on August 26, 1986. Today, the series cast is represented by actors who played recurring roles, like John Amos, who played weatherman Gordy Howard before starring on "Good Times."
Rhoda
The CBS series "Rhoda" was the first of three spin-offs from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (the others being "Lou Grant" and "Phyllis") and enjoyed its own successful run from 1974 to 1978. Series creators James L. Brooks and Allan Burns netted multiple award nominations during its five-season run, including Emmy and Golden Globe nods for Best Series, but a ratings decline precipitated its cancellation in late 1978.
Only two original series regulars are alive today: "Simpsons" voice actor Julie Kavner, who co-starred as Rhoda's sister Brenda, and Ray Buktenica, who played Brenda's fiancé, Benny Goodwin. Star Valerie Harper, who won four Emmys for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Rhoda," died of cancer at the age of 80 on August 22, 2018. David Groh, who played Rhoda's husband, Joe Gerard, also succumbed to cancer in 2008, as did Ron Silver, who co-starred as Rhoda's neighbor, Gary Levy, in 2009, and actor-writer Lorenzo Music, who provided the voice of Carlton the Doorman, in 2001. Nancy Walker and Harold Gould, who played Rhoda's parents on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Rhoda," passed away in 1992 and 2010, respectively, while character actor Kenneth McMillan, who appeared as Rhoda's boss, Jack Doyle, died in 1989.
Kojak
One of the more popular titles in the 1970s glut of detective shows on network TV, "Kojak" gave character actor Telly Savalas a chance to play a lead as New York City cop Theo Kojak. Savalas's Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning performance — equal parts streetwise toughness and charm — boosted him briefly to star status, while Kojak's catchphrases ("Who loves ya, baby?") and ever-present Tootsie Pop became pop culture touchstones. The series ran for five seasons (1973 to 1978) on CBS and earned 15 Emmy nominations, including two wins.
Savalas, who also directed five episodes of "Kojak," reprised the role in seven TV movies before his death from prostate and bladder cancer on January 22, 1994. His brother George, who played Detective Stavros on "Kojak," died nearly a decade earlier on October 2, 1985, while character actor Dan Frazer, who served as Kojak's boss, Captain Frank McNeil, passed away on December 16, 2011. The 2020 death of actor Kevin Dobson, who essayed Detective Bobby Crocker on "Kojak" before starring on "Knots Landing," along with the 2018 death of Vince Conti (Detective Gino Rizzo), left Mark Russell (Detective Mark Saperstein) the sole surviving main cast member of "Kojak."
Baretta
Though his name today is inextricably linked to the 2001 murder of second wife Bonny Lee Bakley (for which he was acquitted), actor Robert Blake was a Hollywood veteran who began his career as a child actor and eventually graduated to such memorable films as "In Cold Blood" and "Lost Highway." In the 1970s, he was a household name thanks to "Baretta." The ABC crime series, which aired from 1975 to 1978, starred Blake as a tough police detective with a talent for disguises and netted him an Emmy Award in its debut season.
Nearly all of the "Baretta" cast has passed away in the ensuing four decades. Blake was felled by heart disease at the age of 89 on March 9, 2023, while Tom Ewell, who earned an Emmy nomination as Baretta's ex-cop confidante, Billy Truman, died in 1994. Dana Elcar and Edward Grover, who played Baretta's superiors, passed away in 2005 and 2016, respectively, while John Ward and Chino "Fats" Williams, who appeared as Baretta's fellow detectives, died in 1995 and 2000, respectively. Only Michael D. Roberts, who co-starred as Baretta's informant Rooster, and Ron Thompson, who appeared as Detective Nopke, are alive today.
Wonder Woman
In 2020, Lynda Carter made an impressive return to the comic book property that launched her into stardom with her brief cameo as the goddess Asteria at the end of "Wonder Woman 1984." Of course, Carter played the title role in — and is the sole surviving cast member from — the ABC/CBS "Wonder Woman" TV series, which brought DC Comics' Amazonian warrior princess to television from 1975 to 1979. Lyle Waggoner, who played Wonder Woman's love interest, Steve Trevor, died of cancer at the age of 84 on March 17, 2020.
All three of Diana and Steve's bosses also passed: Richard Eastham, who played General Blankenship in Season 1, died in 2005, while John Randolph, who played a different General Blankenship in the 1975 pilot movie "The New Original Wonder Woman," died in 2004. When "Wonder Woman" moved its time period from World War II to the 1970s in Season 2, Norman Burton took over as Inter-Agency Defense Command chief Joe Atkinson. He passed on in 2003, while Beatrice Colen, who played Diana's friend Etta Candy in Season 1, died in 1999.
Barney Miller
The celebrated ABC police comedy "Barney Miller" paid tribute to castmate Jack Soo (Sgt. Nick Yemana) after his death in 1979 with a retrospective of his best moments on the series. Fans of the Emmy-winning program have honored, in their own ways, other "Barney Miller" talents who passed away following the show's final episode in 1982.
Just three original stars from the "Barney Miller" cast are still alive: Hal Linden, who starred as Captain Barney Miller; Barbara Barrie, who played his wife, Liz; and Max Gail, whose Stanley "Wojo" Wojciehowicz rose from detective to sergeant during the show's eight-season run. James Gregory, who played the crusty Deputy Inspector Luger, died in 2002 and was followed in 2007 by comedian Ron Carey, who began his run as Officer Carl Levitt in Season 3.
Fellow comic Steve Landesberg, who joined the 12th Precinct as the philosophical Sergeant Arthur Dietrich in Season 2, died in 2010, while Ron Glass, who earned an Emmy nomination as Detective Ron Harris, died in 2016. Harris passed the same year as Abe Vigoda, who netted three Emmy nods and earned a brief spin-off series as Detective Phil Fish. And Gregory Sierra, who departed the show after two seasons as Detective Chano Amenguale, died in 2021.
The Odd Couple
Though the television version of Neil Simon's play "The Odd Couple" featured a large cast of recurring and guest actors, the ABC sitcom, which aired from 1970 to 1975, had just two stars: Tony Randall as the fastidious Felix Unger, and Jack Klugman as his less-orderly friend and roommate, Oscar Madison. Both won Emmy Awards for their performances in the series, which was produced by Garry Marshall and Jerry Belson (who were themselves nominated for three Emmys for Outstanding Comedy Series).
Both Randall and Klugman reprised Oscar and Felix on numerous occasions, most notably for the 1993 TV movie "The Odd Couple Together Again" and various commercials. Randall died of pneumonia after heart surgery on May 17, 2004; Klugman, who lost a vocal chord to throat cancer in 1988, succumbed to the disease on December 24, 2012. The series' most frequently recurring guest stars — Al Molinaro, who played police officer Murray Greshler, and Penny Marshall, who played Oscar's secretary, Myrna, before finding fame on "Laverne and Shirley" and as a director — died in 2015 and 2018, respectively.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
The 1972 made-for-TV chiller "The Night Stalker" was a ratings hit but also a hugely influential production, inspiring not only the 1973 sequel "The Night Strangler" but also the 1974-1975 series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker." All three starred Darren McGavin as reporter Carl Kolchak, whose investigations into the supernatural live on in print and comic form. It also helped to generate a mini-boom in horror-related TV movies and was a primary influence on "The X-Files."
The "Kolchak" series lasted just 20 episodes before being canceled, but was the subject of renewed interest upon its release on Blu-ray in 2021. First-time viewers may be dismayed to discover that nearly all of its cast members died in the years between its network broadcast and Blu-ray debut. Darren McGavin, who played Kolchak and co-produced the series, also enjoyed pop culture immortality as the Old Man in "A Christmas Story" before his death in 2006. Simon Oakland, who played Kolchak's editor and foil, Tony Vincenzo, died in 1983, while Ruth McDevitt and Carol Ann Susi, who played Kolchak's fellow staffers at the Chicago Independent News Service office, died in 1976 and 2014, respectively. Jack Grinnage, who played reporter Ron Updike, is the only surviving cast member.
Archie Bunker's Place
CBS wanted more of "All in the Family" when it ended its nine-season run in 1979, so star Carroll O'Connor was convinced to return as Archie Bunker in a new sitcom, "Archie Bunker's Place." The series netted five Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and enjoyed initial ratings success, but never matched "Family" in popularity or influence.
Most of the ensemble cast from "Archie Bunker's Place" passed away after its conclusion in 1983. O'Connor, who later starred on "In the Heat of the Night," died in 2001, while Jean Stapleton, who reprised Edith Bunker during the first season of "Archie Bunker's Place," passed away in 2013. Oscar and Tony winner Martin Balsam, who played Archie's business partner, died in 1996, while Jason Wingreen (bartender Harry Snowden) and regulars Allan Melvin (Barney Hefner), Bill Quinn (Mr. Van R), and Danny Dayton (Hank Pivnik) all departed this realm between 1994 and 2015.
Anne Meara, who won an Emmy as cook Veronica Rooney, and Celeste Holm, who played the grandmother of Archie's ward, Stephanie Mills (Danielle Brisebois), died in 2015 and 2012, respectively. Only Brisebois — now a successful singer-songwriter – Barry Gordon (who played Archie's business manager, Gary), and Dean Scofield (waiter Fred Rooney) are alive today.
The Golden Girls
The NBC sitcom "The Golden Girls" continues to earn fans and tributes long after its cancellation in 1992. The series, about four older women who share a house in Miami, Florida, ran for seven seasons on NBC and gave a new boost in popularity to its four stars: TV veterans Beatrice Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, all of whom won Emmys for their performances. The series generated multiple spin-offs ("Empty Nest"), stage and international versions, and remains exceptionally popular in reruns.
Sadly, there's no chance for a cast reunion of the original "Golden Girls" lineup. Arthur died of lung cancer at the age of 86 on April 25, 2009, while McClanahan died after a brain hemorrhage on June 3, 2010. Getty passed away shortly before her 85th birthday on July 22, 2008, and as previously mentioned, White reached the age of 99 before dying on December 21, 2021.
The Jeffersons
The "All in the Family" spin-off "The Jeffersons" ran for 11 seasons on CBS from 1975 to 1985, and gave the Bunkers' neighbors, George and Louise Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford) an array of family and friends to support their antics. "The Jeffersons" earned 14 Emmy nominations, including a historic moment for Isabel Sanford, who was the first Black winner for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.
Zara Cully, who played George Jefferson's mother, was the first death in the "Jeffersons" cast: she passed during Season 4 in 1978. Cancer claimed the lives of Roxie Roker, who played neighbor Helen Willis, and Mike Evans, who played the Jeffersons' son, Lionel, for several seasons. Franklin Cover (Helen's husband, Tom) died from pneumonia in 2006, while Paul Benedict, who played eccentric neighbor Harry Bentley, died of a brain hemorrhage in 2008. Isabel Sanford preceded them both, dying from natural causes in 2004, while Sherman Hemsley died in 2012. However, Marla Gibbs, who earned five Emmy nominations as the Jeffersons' housekeeper Florence, is still alive; so is Damon Evans, who played Lionel from Seasons 2 through 4, and Berlinda Tolbert (Helen and Tom's daughter Jenny).