My picks: Ron Howard, Billy Mumy, Erin Murphy, and Kristy McNichol.

Ron Howard was great in my opinion. There isn't anyone better.

I like Ronnie. I also like the Conner kids, the Brady kids, and the Barone kids.

Ron Howard

Jerry Mathers

Danny Bonaduce

Jerry Mathers? You can't be serious!! I can't figure out how a child can start off as a good actor, which I think he did and then get BAD! :lol: The last couple of seasons of Beaver, I thought he was horrible.

To me, the tops are:

Ronny Howard (I'll never forget the bird ep where he accidently killed the mother and had to nurse the babies through it. He said he drew on the death of his dog when he had to cry - natural method acting).

Jodie Foster

and

Dakota Fanning

I thought Jerry Mathers was pretty good in those early years, granted he got a little annoying as he grew older but still he was a good child actor. :) Thats how I feel about Danny B. too.;)

To me, the tops are:

Ronny Howard (I'll never forget the bird ep where he accidently killed the mother and had to nurse the babies through it. He said he drew on the death of his dog when he had to cry - natural method acting).

Jodie Foster

and

Dakota Fanning

Ronny Howard and Jodie Foster I agree with but Dakota Fanning is the most annoying child star since Robbie Rist.

Ronny Howard and Jodie Foster I agree with but Dakota Fanning is the most annoying child star since Robbie Rist.
:lol: Yeah, but she's laughing all the way to the bank earning $4 million a year at age 13!! ;)


Ya gotta admit she was fantastic in "I Am Sam".


They do seem to get annoying as they get older don't they? Even the legendary Ron Howard. To me, the longer Happy Days ran, the worse he became. I got to the point that Ritchie really annoyed me. It was like he was doing it on purpose because he preferred directing.

:lol: Yeah, but she's laughing all the way to the bank earning $4 million a year at age 13!! ;)


Ya gotta admit she was fantastic in "I Am Sam".


You got me there and I haven't seen "I Am Sam." As far as today's child actors are concerened, I think Liliana Mumy has a lot of potential.

My picks: Ron Howard, Billy Mumy, Erin Murphy, and Kristy McNichol.
My picks exactly, plus these people....

Kurt Russsell
Melissa Gilbert
Drew Barrymore

shirley Temple!!!!!!!!!!!

The kids from Our Gang / Little Rascals were some of the best ever. Including:

George "Spanky" McFarland
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
Tommy "Butch" Boyd
Jackie Cooper
Darla Hood
Eugene "Porky" Lee
Matthew "Stymie" Beard
Allan "Farina" Hoskins
Bobby "Wheezer" Hutchins
Billy "Buckwheat" Thomas

Oddly enough 2 very famous child stars were turned down when they tried out for Our Gang: Mickey Rooney & Shirley Temple.

You got me there and I haven't seen "I Am Sam." As far as today's child actors are concerened, I think Liliana Mumy has a lot of potential.


What does she play on? Any relation to Billy at all?

(oh do yourself a favour, I Am Sam is a really good movie. The only time I've really liked Sean Penn actually.);)

What does she play on? Any relation to Billy at all?

(oh do yourself a favour, I Am Sam is a really good movie. The only time I've really liked Sean Penn actually.);)
She's Billy's daughter. She looks just like him! Here's a list of her credits:

http://imdb.com/name/nm1137414/

She's Billy's daughter. She looks just like him! Here's a list of her credits:

http://imdb.com/name/nm1137414/


Cool - she does alright! She's really pretty actually.



Man do I feel old now....Billy's daughter's old enough to be working regularly and Opie is a grandpa........help! :(

She's Billy's daughter. She looks just like him!
:yeahthat

Early ones:

Shirley Temple
Elizabeth Taylor
Roddy McDowell
Mickey Rooney
Jackie Cooper
Natalie Wood
Patty Duke
Margaret O'Brien

Later ones:

Ronny Howard (the best)****
Kristy MacNicholl
Hayley Mills
Drew Barrymore
Jonathan Gilbert
Jerry Mathers (young)
Jodie Foster
Melissa Gilbert (young)
Tatum O'Neal
Matthew Laborteaux
Anna Paquin

Rusty Hamer

Sherry Jackson

Shelley Fabares

Rusty Hamer

Sherry Jackson

Shelley Fabares

Too bad Rusty never appeared on TZ.

I would probably say ron howard is the greatest one. He can be a director and and actor. Another good child star alyssa milano she hasen't faded away.

Another famous child actor who also hasn't faded yet is Jason Bateman.

Ron Howard

:lol: Yeah, but she's (Dakota Fanning) laughing all the way to the bank earning $4 million a year at age 13!! ;)
.


That alone doesn't mean she's among the best child actors ever.

Jerry Mathers was excellent in the early years of Leave it to Beaver...in fact, just about all of the kids on that show were very natural actors, even Beaver and Wally's friends. Yeah, he got awkward when he got older, but part of the problem was the writers on the show... Mathers was turning 14 and they still had him talking and acting like an 8 year old. Not many kids could pull that off.

The kids from the "Our Gang" talkies of the 1930s were great. It's really not surprising that Mickey Rooney and Shirley Temple were turned down for parts in the Gang... Rooney had a big problem with overacting, it would have required a lot of coaching to tone him down... and Temple wouldn't have made the movies any better, they were just fine with girls like Darla in the female lead. I've heard that Temple's mother wanted Shirley to have top (and on-screen) billing, and Hal Roach was unwilling to do that...whether that's the real story or not, I'm not sure. Seems that Roach just didn't think that Temple had anything to offer that they didn't already have.

Melissa Gilbert was excellent as Laura Ingalls... I've seen a young Kurt Russell in a few things, and he was good too. I've always liked Drew Barrymore as well.

Kristy McNichol was among the best ever. I'd put her way up there.

Ron Howard was great.

Billy Mumy was great in all of his roles (which were numerous).

You got me there and I haven't seen "I Am Sam." As far as today's child actors are concerened, I think Liliana Mumy has a lot of potential.

I hadn't heard of her...but I just looked her up at IMDB.

You can definitely tell she's Billy Mumy's daughter.

What does she play on? Any relation to Billy at all?

(oh do yourself a favour, I Am Sam is a really good movie. The only time I've really liked Sean Penn actually.);)


Penn's best role had to be Jeff Spicoli.

Several people have mentioned Melissa and Jonathan Gilbert from Little House. Their co-stars, Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary) and Alison Arngrim (Nellie) were no slouches either. In the case of Ms. Arngrim, she was/is the best child villain on any TV show, imho.

My # 1 favorite former child actor is Brandon Cruz.

Always A Brandon Cruz Fan,
Liz Crasten

Please check out and join my Yahoo group for Brandon Cruz Fans:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BrandonCruzFans

Several people have mentioned Melissa and Jonathan Gilbert from Little House. Their co-stars, Melissa Sue Anderson (Mary) and Alison Arngrim (Nellie) were no slouches either. In the case of Ms. Arngrim, she was/is the best child villain on any TV show, imho.

Yes, you're absolutely correct.

I would think that Arngrim must have had such a blast playing a character like Nellie.

I think Melissa Sue-Anderson would also get my vote for the "purrtiest" child actress I've ever seen.

I thought all 3 kids on "Father Knows Best" were very good as well, even though I'm not sure we can really count Elinor Donahue as a child actress. Well, maybe we can, since she was 17 when the series started.

Missy Gold (Benson) was a talented child actor as well. Not only was she cute, but she was able to hold her own opposite the adults. That's probably not easy when you're the only kid in the cast.

Ron Howard, Shirley Temple, and Patty Duke.

Yes, you're absolutely correct.

I would think that Arngrim must have had such a blast playing a character like Nellie.

I think Melissa Sue-Anderson would also get my vote for the "purrtiest" child actress I've ever seen.

I thought all 3 kids on "Father Knows Best" were very good as well, even though I'm not sure we can really count Elinor Donahue as a child actress. Well, maybe we can, since she was 17 when the series started.
Alison Arngrim has since revealed that she was sexually abused as a child, and she was happy to be in the role of Nellie as she got to whine, scream, and throw tantrums. She said it was a great release for her. I've seen her in person and she is a peach. Just as wickedly funny as Nellie with none of the meanness.

Check out these pictures from the 2005 cast reunion in Tombstone, AZ. Tons of fun!! http://www.zunshine.com/littlehouse/tombstonepics.html

My favorites are Mary Ingalls, Nellie Oleson, Opie Taylor, Wally Cleaver, Sue Ann from Facts of Life and Lumpy Rutherford.

I hate Oliver on the Brady Bunch and all those other little kids with bowl haircuts that ruined shows like Gimme a Break, The Ropers, Different Strokes, Family Ties, etc.

Alison Arngrim has since revealed that she was sexually abused as a child, and she was happy to be in the role of Nellie as she got to whine, scream, and throw tantrums. She said it was a great release for her. I've seen her in person and she is a peach. Just as wickedly funny as Nellie with none of the meanness.

Check out these pictures from the 2005 cast reunion in Tombstone, AZ. Tons of fun!! http://www.zunshine.com/littlehouse/tombstonepics.html


I didn't realize about the abuse. That's terrible. Wow, she really did take that and channel it into her role in such a way that she created one of the most memorable characters in TV history... but at a great cost to her, unfortunately.

Thanks for the link to those pictures...everyone looks like they had such a great time there!



I particularly liked these pictures:

1) "Nellie" shows "Laura's" (real life) husband a picture of "Laura" kissing another man ("Almonzo")... that's a great one. That's just like something Nellie would have done if she could have (even though she eventually turned into a nicer character).

2) The picture of Michael Landon with the two "Graces". That's a cute one
I'd never seen the two Graces in a picture before.

3) "Nellie" and "Nancy" wearing those wigs, complete with a bow for Nellie. Hilarious! It's nice to see adults who played certain memorable characters as a kid not totally running away from the parts they played (although I can understand why it happens, when it does happen).

I'm glad everybody there seemed to have a great time!

I have to add Kellie Martin to this list - from Life Goes On to Christy to ER to her latest role as mom to a 15-year-old (!!!) in the NBC TV movie The Jensen Project (which aired on Friday night), she's proven that her talent has not diminished one bit since she was a kid. We haven't seen much of her in the past few years as she finished college, got married, and had a baby - but it all goes to show that she has her head screwed on tight.

Nobody mentioned Brice Beckham from Mr. Belvedere?

Shia LeBeauf anybody?? Geez...actually, just about everybody in the juvenile cast of Even Stevens was very good.

Ike Eisenmann, my #1 celebrity crush in adolescence, was no slouch either.

Disney stock players Kevin Corcoran and Tommy Kirk, who played brothers in
both dramas ("Old Yeller") and comedies ("The Shaggy Dog")

Also: Kevin's real-life sister Noreen Corcoran on TV's Bachelor Father

And the aforementioned Shirley Temple, Spanky McFarland, Darla Hood,
Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer, Ron Howard and Jerry Mathers (among others)

And let's not forget Mickey Braddock of Circus Boy (who grew up to be
Micky Dolenz of The Monkees)

D'OH! How could I forget Tommy Kirk, good catch.

Nobody mentioned Brice Beckham from Mr. Belvedere?

Shia LeBeauf anybody?? Geez...actually, just about everybody in the juvenile cast of Even Stevens was very good.

Ike Eisenmann, my #1 celebrity crush in adolescence, was no slouch either.
Brice Beckham is one of the most underrated kid actors ever. I think Wesley was one of the most realistic kids in sitcom history. Others I'm not sure others have mentioned yet - Genie Francis, Kristy McNichol, Ricky Schroeder, etc.

I would have to say Danny Bonaduce, Erin Murphy, Ron Howard (who I had the privilege of being directed by last week) Kirk Cameron, Cole and Dylan Sprouse and Sarah Gilbert and Sarah Chalke of Roseanne.

How can ANY of you SitcomsOnline people forget about JAY NORTH!!! He was great as Dennis The Menace :wave: He was also good as Bamm Bamm.

One of my favorite child actors is Keith Thibodeaux who played Little Rickey on I Love Lucy. (he was billed on the show as Rickey Keith since Lucy and Desi thought that Thibodeaux would be too difficult for most people to pronounce.)

One of my favorite child actors is Keith Thibodeaux who played Little Rickey on I Love Lucy. (he was billed on the show as Rickey Keith since Lucy and Desi thought that Thibodeaux would be too difficult for most people to pronounce.)
Great catch - and I also enjoyed him as Johnny Paul Jason on The Andy Griffith Show. His run on that show ended when his parents divorced and he ended up moving to Louisiana with his mom and siblings.

Great catch - and I also enjoyed him as Johnny Paul Jason on The Andy Griffith Show. His run on that show ended when his parents divorced and he ended up moving to Louisiana with his mom and siblings.
I'd forgotten that he was on The Andy Griffith Show. I also learned from watching the extras on the Lucy Show sesason 2 DVD's that he and Desi Jr. did audience warm-up on The Lucy Show. And when they were done they would go next door where My Three Son's was filming and visit William Frawley!

My Favorite child actors- Melissa Gilbert, Melissa Sue Anderson, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Ronny Howard, Stanley and Barry Livingston,Shirley Temple, Natilie Wood, Anissa Jones, Johnny Whitiker, Margaret O' Brien, Jerry Mathers, Tony Dow, Ken Osmund, Sherry Jackson, Veronica and Angela Cartwright, Erin Murphy, Maureen McCormick, Eve Plum, Susan Olsen, Barry Williams, Christopher Knight, Mike Lokingland, and Cheral Holdridge.

I thought Neil Patrick Harris was good in Doogie Howser M.D. He was really good in that movie he did with Whoopi Goldberg as well called "Clara's Heart".

Angus T. Jones

How can ANY of you SitcomsOnline people forget about JAY NORTH!!! He was great as Dennis The Menace :wave: He was also good as Bamm Bamm.


I thought I mentioned Jay but I didn't. That whole cast of child actors was great especially Jay and Robert John Pittman who played Seymour. Billy Booth who played Tommy died almost 4 years ago and Robert John Pittman also died according to Jeanne Russell (Margaret Wade) but I can't find anything to back it up. Ronny Howard had a recurring role as Stewart but left to do "The Andy Griffith Show." Ronny also has a somewhat unique distinction of starring in two series with characters named Opie. The first is obvious and character actor Dub Taylor played Opie Swanson in several episodes of DTM.