Poorly aged child actors

[Bayoublue33]

Benjamin Salisbury(Brighton, the nanny) hands down number 1! That poor guy, holy smokes.

[Edward216]

Really? I wouldn't know I haven't seen him since The Nanny went off the air. But if we're going to have this discussion I'll start it with Clint Howard (actor/director Ron Howard's younger brother) he like Ron was a child actor and played the character Mark on the 1960s series Gentle Ben. He was also on a very early episode of the original Star Trek while still a boy as a member of an alien race. Although they had him wearing some sort of bald cap and his voice was dubbed over by an adult male actor so you don't hear his actual voice saying any of his character's lines, and he's not seen until the end of the episode. He's just not a good looking man, and I'm sorry to say he was kind of a homely kid too.

Ed.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Edward216

Really? I wouldn't know I haven't seen him since The Nanny went off the air. But if we're going to have this discussion I'll start it with Clint Howard (actor/director Ron Howard's younger brother) he like Ron was a child actor and played the character Mark on the 1960s series Gentle Ben. He was also on a very early episode of the original Star Trek while still a boy as a member of an alien race. Although they had him wearing some sort of bald cap and his voice was dubbed over by an adult male actor so you don't hear his actual voice saying any of his character's lines, and he's not seen until the end of the episode. He's just not a good looking man, and I'm sorry to say he was kind of a homely kid too.

Ed.

Here's a relatively recent photo of Benjamin Salisbury, who is 43 years old now. He is roughly around the same age now as his TV father Charles Shaugnessy was when The Nanny began 30 years ago. Admittedly, Benjamin was already losing his hair in the latter seasons of The Nanny when he was only 18/19, so it's hardly a surprise.

[icecream]

David W. Harper- Jim-Bob on The Waltons. He looked terrible in their last movies that were made in the 90s.

[Bayoublue33]

All good choices and speaking of the Howard's, Ron certainly didn't age well either, but is definitely better looking than Clint.

[stevea]

Originally Posted by icecream

David W. Harper- Jim-Bob on The Waltons. He looked terrible in their last movies that were made in the 90s.

Wow -- what happened to him? Too much McDonald's?

[mistermike]

Really? I mean, I'm not trying to be the thread police, but a thread about which child actors grew up to be ugly? Surely we can be better than this.

[Edward216]

Originally Posted by TMC

Here's a relatively recent photo of Benjamin Salisbury, who is 43 years old now. He is roughly around the same age now as his TV father Charles Shaugnessy was when The Nanny began 30 years ago. Admittedly, Benjamin was already losing his hair in the latter seasons of The Nanny when he was only 18/19, so it's hardly a surprise.

Hmmm, well yeah he's gone bald but other than that I don't think he looks so bad really.

Ed.

[Dianne3]

I was curious about this, so I googled him and I also don't think he looks bad.

[TMC]

What happens when the cutest kid on TV doesn’t stay a kid?
In this video, we’re looking at 10 child characters who grew up and quietly broke their shows—not because they were bad actors, but because the series around them refused to grow up too.

From Kevin Arnold in The Wonder Years and Punky Brewster to Rudy Huxtable (The Cosby Show), Jennifer Keaton (Family Ties), Ben Seaver (Growing Pains), and the Taylor boys from Home Improvement, we break down how puberty, rushed “Very Special Episodes,” and desperate “replacement cute kids” changed these shows forever. We’ll also revisit the aging Brady Bunch clan, Ricky Stratton in Silver Spoons, Stephanie Tanner in Full House, and Arnold Jackson in Diff’rent Strokes to see where things started to feel… off.

If you grew up on ’70s, ’80s and ’90s TV, you probably remember that moment when your favorite sitcom didn’t feel the same anymore. This episode of Throwback Network dives into that exact feeling: when the adorable kid grew up, the tone shifted, and the magic was gone.

👉 Which child character do YOU think changed their show the most once they hit those awkward years? Drop your picks in the comments and tell us what we should cover next!