# Who's left from early TV? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218 "2014-02-13T03:45:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/1 "2014-02-13T03:45:55Z")
The passing of Sid Caesar had me wondering about other early stars of TV, and how few of them are still alive. The only one that instantly popped into my head was [Nanette Fabray](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanette_Fabray). Who else from early TV (say pre-1958) is still with us? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/2 "2014-02-13T03:50:01Z")
Betty White. I watched her on TV around 1953 in a show called [Life with Elizabeth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045407/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/3 "2014-02-13T03:51:32Z")
Jerry Lewis? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/4 "2014-02-13T03:53:35Z")
Abe Vigoda started in 1949. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/5 "2014-02-13T03:58:33Z")
Bob Barker began hosting _ **Truth or Consequences** _ in 1956. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/6 "2014-02-13T03:58:48Z")
Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner both wrote for Sid Caeser. Brooks is 87 years old and Reiner is 91. June Lockhart is 88. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/7 "2014-02-13T03:59:51Z")
Kids from “Father Knows Best.” The mom from “Make Room For Daddy” (Marjorie Lord) is alive at 95. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/8 "2014-02-13T04:00:57Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Abe Vigoda started in 1949. He’s still alive? I thought he died in 1987. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/9 "2014-02-13T04:05:56Z")
James Garner was on _Maverick_ starting in '57. For that matter, Roger Moore was on the show in '59. They’re both in their mid-80s. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/10 "2014-02-13T04:12:04Z")
Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Ken Osmond, the Cartwright sisters, and Jay North are all still around. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/11 "2014-02-13T04:14:21Z")
Ann B. Davis of “Love That Bob,” who is of course better known as Alice from the Brady Bunch, is still with us. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/12 "2014-02-13T04:14:44Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > He’s still alive? I thought he died in 1987. 😉 There’s an easy way to check…[AbeVigoda.com](http://www.abevigoda.com/) Dick Van Dyke is still around. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/13 "2014-02-13T04:19:33Z")
Both Shatner and Nimoy got started in television in the '50s, as did George Takei. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/14 "2014-02-13T04:23:56Z")
Robert Conrad’s TV debut was apparently in 1959 (close enough). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/15 "2014-02-13T04:26:30Z")
Roger Moore was _ **Ivanhoe** _ in 1958. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/16 "2014-02-13T04:32:01Z")
Wow! Jayne Meadows Allen (Audrey’s sister, Steve’s wife; b. 1919) is still alive! First TV appearance: 1952! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/17 "2014-02-13T04:47:49Z")
Johnny Crawford, Sherry Jackson, Shelley Fabarae. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/18 "2014-02-13T04:50:15Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Roger Moore was _ **Ivanhoe** _ in 1958. William Russell, _ **The Adventures of Sir Lancelot** _ (NBC, 1956–57). The prime-time schedules for all US TV networks from 1946 on can be found **here:** > **[1946–47 United States network television schedule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946%E2%80%9347_United_States_network_television_schedule)** > > The 1946–47 United States network television schedule was nominally from September 1946 to March 1947, but scheduling ideas were still being worked out and did not follow modern standards. > This was the first "network television season" in the United States, and only NBC and DuMont operated networks. CBS only operated one television station, WCBS, and had yet to send out its programs to areas other than New York City. Additionally, several other companies—including Mutual, Paramount, and ABC—ha... ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/19 "2014-02-13T05:04:15Z")
One more: Noreen Corcoran, the daughter on _ **Bachelor Father** _. Still alive at age 70. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2014, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218/20 "2014-02-13T05:04:24Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner both wrote for Sid Caeser. Brooks is 87 years old and Reiner is 91. > > June Lockhart is 88. Carl Reiner was just on an episode of Two and a Half Men. With Betty White, probably one of the few in this thread still on the air. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-left-from-early-tv/681218.md?page=2)