It's a tale as old as time. An actor finds success young. They greet us in a series of squeaky-clean roles, adopting a "gee shucks" persona that just doesn't serve anyone past a certain age. So, then what? When you grow up, you've got to shake off the trappings of what came before. It's not an easy feat if viewers are used to only seeing you one way. 

The list of adolescent actors who struggle to transition into adult stars is huge. The story of James MacArthur, though, is interesting. Sure, he was no kid when he starred in Swiss Family Robinson in 1960. But it was a Disney movie, one of a few MacArthur starred in for the studio. So, MacArthur had quite the family-friendly reputation as the following decades approached.

However, a new show on CBS offered him the opportunity to shed that G-rated reputation. In June of 1969, MacArthur spoke with the Toledo, Ohio Blade— perhaps the newspaper with the coolest name, ever— about why he was excited to co-star in Hawaii Five-O.

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"After an actor has done a few years of films for Disney, the chance to play a cop is a wonderful copportunity to overhaul the image. After all, I'm getting too old to be a wide-eyed juvenile in Spencer's Mountain or films like it."

Hawaii Five-O was never the grittiest or most realistic show on TV, but it was definitely a far cry from Disney.

The island locale was another nice change of pace for the native New Yorker. With a six-day work schedule, he had no choice but to shack up in Hawaii for much of the series' run. There are worse fates for a working actor, but MacArthur didn't seem totally Zen the way you might expect a guy who only has to pretend to be a warm-weather cop for a living.

"Of course you can only do so much surfing and swimming, but the show itself keeps me so busy I don't have that much time for relaxation. I think when youre putting in the hours required for a TV series it doesn't matter where you're living... It's a rough routine."

Now, if you'll excuse us, it seems we've replaced the world's tiniest violin. It has to be lying around here somewhere...