TV stars who made a name for themselves in the 80s

Alyssa Milano

I first came across her in the movie Commando and then found out through a good friend she was in a TV show I never watched called “Who’s the Boss?” She didn’t do much else of any real note in the 80s, but I’m sure it all went a long way to her getting cast in “Charmed” in the late 90s.

Bruce Willis

Bruce struck gold when he took on the role of David Eddison in the hit TV show Moonlighting. What a great character to portray and of course he went on to have a huge movie career, especially with the Die Hard movies. 

Christina Applegate

Apparently Alyssa Milano looked down her nose at her fellow child actress because of the trashy character she played on “Married with Children”. From what I can figure out now about these two, Christina was actually the good girl. 

Cybill Shepherd

She had been doing movies up until the 80s, where she suddenly hit the big time in Television. She made a great pair with Bruce Willis in "Moonlighting". 

David Hasselhoff

The Hoff started his TV career in the 70s but would have only been known to people who watched “The Young and the Restless”. However, in 1982, when he was cast as Michael Knight in Knight Rider he became a household name and has had an amazing career ever since. 

Don Johnson

Miami Vice made Johnson a huge star and he even brought out an album, making him yet another 80s musical performer trying to cash in on his acting fame. 

Gerald McRaney

Gerald made appearances on TV shows in the 70s but managed to score his breakout role in "Simon & Simon" in the late 80s. From there he has been a big part of many shows such as "Touched by an Angel", "Deadwood", Designing Women", "24 Legacy"  and even had his own sitcom "Major Dad" in the 90s. , 

Jimmy Smits

Smits came to our attention in LA Law and ever since then his television career has flourished, including such great shows as NYPD Blue, Dexter and Sons of Anarchy. He also made his way into the Star Wars universe.

John Nettles

Known as Bergerac in the 80s and Tom Barnaby now.  He has had two long running TV shows. 

Johnny Depp

Everybody I knew was very surprised when after doing “21 Jump Street”, Depp ended up being cast in big movies. And he was actually really good!  

John Schneider

Starting out as Bo Duke in the hit series "The Dukes of Hazzard", he then went on to a very successful Country singing career. He of course was part of another hit show in the 2000s, "Smallville" as Clarke Kent's father. He now produces his own movies.

Katy Segal

Segal started out as Peg in "Married with Children". She has gone on to star in 3 more big TV shows since then: "Futurama", "8 Simple Rules" and "Sons of Anarchy". 

Michael J Fox

Fox was yet another actor who started out in TV, in the sitcom “Family Ties”, and then had a decent movie career… well he had some gems and of course “Back to the Future”. He then went back to TV after his movie career faded and had another hit show with “Spin City”. Despite his Parkinson's disease he has continued to be active in television, with cameos in such shows as "Scrubs", "Boston Legal" and "Designated Survivor."  Sadly we might not see much more of him as his speech is becoming too hard to understand. Nevertheless, imagine what more he might have been able to accomplish in TV and movies if it wasn’t for Parkinson’s disease.  

Mr T

Mr T made his mark in  the movie “Rocky 3” and also in the hit 80s TV show “The A Team” and even got his own TV show where he played a lawyer, but it never did that well. Despite that, he certainly made a name for himself and everyone still knows who he is.

Pierce Brosnan

Pierce hit the big times with the TV show, Remington Steele and due to the suave character he portrayed, was a no-brainer pick to be the next James Bond, after Timothy Dalton. 

Ricky Schroder

Started out as  a kid in the 80s sitcom "Silverspoons", and then went on to become a very successful adult actor in shows like "Lonesome Dove" and "NYPD Blue". 

 Robert Urich (RIP)

He first came to my attention in the 70s show "Vega$" as Dan Tanna, which ran into the early 80s. Then next thing he was once again back as a PI, this time in "Spenser for Hire". He also starred as the captain for the unsuccessful reboot of "The Love Boat."  Sadly he died young at the age of 55 in 2002. 

Rowan Atkinson

Rowan was known to a lot of us when he did the comedy show “Not the Nine O’Clock” news from 1979 to 1982 (which was sadly way too short lived). Next thing he was doing Blackadder and then Mr Bean.  One of the true outstanding comedians from the 80s. 

Scott Bakula

Ever since Quantum leap, Scott has been on our TV with one hit TV show or another. 

Ted Danson

Everybody knew Danson’s name once  “Cheers” became a hit. Like many TV stars he tried to start a movie career with limited success, but then returned to TV again where he continued to have a strong career. 

Catch him in the hilarious comedy "The Good Place" as the guy in charge of "Heaven". 

Tom Selleck

Another guy who hit the big time in a TV show (Magnum PI) but could never break into cinema. 

Woody Harrelson

Another Cheers star who went on to bigger things. Unlike Ted Danson and Tom Selleck, Harrelson would make a name for himself in cinema, in movies like "Zombieland" and "The Hunger Games".