Only 1 I know of is Wayne Rogers from MASH, he now works as stock market adviser, he’s on TV in that role.
Wil Wheaton, of “Shut up, Wesley!” fame, seems to have pretty much left acting. He worked for Amiga for a while in the 90s, and I think he’s still in the tech sector, though I don’t really know. He also enjoys a considerable following in the blogosphere: http://www.wilwheaton.net/
Thought of another guy - Christopher Knight of the Brady Bunch also got into the tech field but he still does TV , he did a reality show.
He’s married to a much younger model
Grace Kelly
OJ Simpson?
Kal Penn of “Harold & Kumar” fame left House to be an associate director for the Obama’s Office of Public Liaison. He says he won’t go back to acting until Obama’s term(s) is up.
I gather we’re excluding people who went into politics?
Good to see your arm has nothing to do with your wit today!
The day I pass up a chance to make an OJ joke, hack me up and bury me!
No, I forgot about people who went into politics such as Reagan and Arnold. Fred Thompson left acting for politics, went back to acting and then ran for president (very badly) I guess he’s back to acting again.
Lots of child stars. Spanky McFarlane of Our Gang, for instance. There’s also Margaret O’Brien and Shirley Temple Black.
Fred appearently uses acting as a part time job to support him between political gigs.
Fred Thompson started out as a lawyer, he was asked to be in a movie based on a true story that he was involved in. He’s a rare case of a real lawyer playing one on TV.
But did these people leave? Or were they unable to find acting jobs so they went into another line?
Peter Ostrum, the kid who played Charlie Bucket in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, quit acting after that one film, despite being offered a three-picture deal. He’s a large animal vet in rural New York state. IMDb quotes him thusly:
Grace Kelly married a rich prince , I guess that’s a good reason to quit acting.
Some of them left acting on their own, others may have been forced to find another line of work.
Danica McKellar (Winnie on The Wonder Years) became a mathematician and author, though she still does act occasionally.
or Shirley Temple Black
And frame OJ for the act!
Was absolutely enchanting as Liesl in The Sound Of Music. Now runs her own decorating company. Or did; she may be retired now.