by Marcia Studley

Created on: June 04, 2009

The 1960's had a bumper crop of successful child stars, from the darling five and six year olds to the swinging teenagers who were actually young adults in age. In choosing the top child TV stars of this decade, though, I felt it was only fair not to include those who really were much older than perhaps we remember them being. Several performers who were in their 20's appeared on screen as teenagers. The daughters of Petticoat Junction are among those, as are Tony Dow, Ken Osmond, Shelley Fabares, Tim Considine, Don Grady, and Sally Field.

Also eliminated from consideration are Brandon Cruz (The Courtship of Eddie's Father) as well as Maureen McCormick and most of The Brady Bunch kids. This is because most of their success came in the 70's and they are more closely identified there than in the 1960's.

Presented below for your consideration is my list of the top child stars of the 1960's:

15) Michael Burns

For five years, Michael Burns starred as Barnaby West on the hit western, Wagon Train. When the show ended, he went on to appear in numerous series, including McHale's Navy, Bonanza, and Dragnet 1967, on which he gave a standout performance as a drug addict nicknamed Blue Boy. He was highly sought after, but after much more success in the 70's, he left acting to teach. He's never looked back.

14) Angela Cartwright

Angela Cartwright went right from Make Room for Daddy to Lost in Space, two highly visible and successful shows of the day. We watched her grow up in front of us. Her up front, sometimes challenging and cute-in-spite-of-herself persona was something we loved to watch. In the sixties, she was one of the most loved child stars. She also appeared in the classic movie, The Sound of Music.

13) Darby Hinton

As Israel Boone, Darby Hinton's yen to follow in his father's footsteps captured our hearts. Though his main claim to fame was during his years on Daniel Boone, Hinton did appear in a few other sixties programs, such as Wagon Train. Even with the limited credits, the boy made a strong impact in the highly visible Daniel Boone western.

12) Barry Livingston

Barry Livingston began the 1960's by appearing on multiple episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. After guest shots on other series such as The Lucy Show, he joined the cast of My Three Sons, first as a foster child who lived next door and then as the adopted son of Steve Douglas. His look was off the mainstream, but he had his own charm. That may be why he was so popular. He wasn't

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