You'll never guess how old these stars were when their shows started!

When it comes to launching a hit show, age is just a number!

Images: The Everett Collection

All you have to do is look at J. Lo or Paul Rudd to know that 50-years-old today looks a lot different than 50-years-old looked 50 years ago.

That can make guessing the age of actors pretty tough. The facial hair, makeup and hairstyles of classic television can make actors look older or younger than you expect.

Here are some iconic television stars from throughout history. We grabbed images of them from the start of the series. 

Can you guess how old these actors were on the day that their shows premiered?

  1. How old was Lucille Ball when 'I Love Lucy' premiered?
  2. How old was series creator and narrator Rod Serling when 'The Twilight Zone' kicked off in 1959?
  3. How old was Leonard Nimoy when 'Star Trek' blasted off in 1966?
  4. How old was Ponderosa patriarch Lorne Greene when 'Bonanza' premiered?
  5. Let's visit Mayberry. How old was Frances Bavier in "The New Housekeeper"?
  6. What about Andy? How old was he in that 'Andy Griffith Show' debut?
  7. How old was Raymond Burr when 'Perry Mason' premiered?
  8. How old was Vicki Lawrence when 'Mama's Family' began in 1983?
  9. How old was the beloved Betty White when 'The Golden Girls' premiered in 1985?
    Image: Buena Vista Television
  10. Aaaayyy! How old was Henry Winkler really when the Fonz made his debut on 'Happy Days' in in 1974?
  11. How old was Mary Tyler Moore as Laure Petrie when 'The Dick Van Dyke' show began?
  12. How old was Eve "Jan" Plumb in the premiere of 'The Brady Bunch'?
  13. How old was Michael Chiklis when 'The Commish' began in 1991?
    Image: Cannell Distribution
  14. How old was Gabe Kaplan when 'Welcome Back, Kotter' kicked off?
    Image: Warner Bros. Television
  15. Just one more thing… how old was Peter Falk in the first Columbo mystery, 1968's "Prescription Murder"?

You'll never guess how old these stars were when their shows started!

Your Result...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Pellentesque nec ante ipsum. Mauris viverra, urna et porta sagittis, lorem diam dapibus diam, et lacinia libero quam id risus.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?
Close

67 Comments

Sachelle 25 months ago
7/15. I have a hard time believing some of these actors were in their thirties. They looked much older.
MargieO13 44 months ago
7/15. I should have went with my first guess on most of them but would have got some wrong.
It was fun !
Lillyrose 44 months ago
6 out of 15. I knew how old Lucy was when "I Love Lucy" premiered -- 40! She was born in 1911. The rest were just guesses.
JewelsChuck 44 months ago
6/15 I was never good at guessing people’s age and I’m still not good at it.
JewelsChuck JewelsChuck 44 months ago
Oh and Lucy was a great big shocker!!
kimmer 44 months ago
8/15....that was a fun one!
BubbaPacha77511 44 months ago
13/15 i have no idea how i got so many correct...except grandma white (call her that cuz shes like americas crazy/cool grandma). i remember hearing that maybe on ths the golden girls.
MikefromJersey 44 months ago
11 for 15. When I read that I am now older than Pa Cartwright(Lorne Greene) when Bonanza
started, that hit me like a ton of bricks! Holy smokes, he was a geezer in my eyes when I was a kid.
By the way, did you guys know that Lorne Greene and Michael Landon are buried next to each other?
Greene was the first stable adult male authority figure in Landon's life, Lorne a very moral and good
man. Canadian Greene was known as "The Voice of Canada" for his radio and voice over work there.

073149METV 44 months ago
I was terrible at that!! 7/15
daDoctah 44 months ago
A few years ago, inspired by coming across a DVD of Lash LaRue westerns at a dollar store, I looked up Lash's sidekick, "Fuzzy Q Jones" played by Al St John (nephew of Fatty Arbuckle). Fuzzy was a comic "dusty old coot" character with a bushy white beard, baggy jeans, and no teeth. I'm now six years older than St John was the first time he teamed with Lash LaRue.

So my 7/15 on this quiz is forgivable.
Are you sure you want to delete this comment?