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The Big Valley, among others. He also made the Walt Disney film, The Happiest Millionaire. In truth, by the time the end of the 60's came and Petersen filmed Gidget Grows Up with Karen Valentine, he was no longer a child actor, but with over half the decade as teenager, he qualifies for the list. Petersen is now an advocate for child actors and still acts from time to time.

6) Kurt Russell

Still one of Hollywood's hardest working actors, Kurt Russell was a staple of television in the 1960's. He starred in The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters and appeared in shows such as The Dick Powell Show, Gilligan's Island, The Fugitive, Daniel Boone, and Then Came Bronson. During this time, he also filmed several motion pictures for Walt Disney including The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, which is one of my all-time favorites. The son of actor Bing Russell, young Kurt learned his craft well and was one of the most sought after child actors of the decade.

5) Johnny Whitaker

Johnny Whitaker was one of the cutest little boys in all of TV in sixties. He won our hearts as Jody on Family Affair. but even before that family comedy had begun in 1966, he'd made some splashes on network TV, including being the original Scotty Baldwin on General Hospital. One of my favorite projects of Whitaker's was a made-for-TV movie entitled The Littlest Angel. He was adorable. His red hair and freckles helped him to stand out in all the right ways.

4) Jay North

Jay North was one of America's cutie pies in the early sixties. He played the role of the always unpredictable and very precocious Dennis Mitchell in Dennis the Menace. After that, he continued to guest star on shows and then as a young teenager, he appeared in Maya, about an American boy teaming up with an Indian boy and his elephant in India. It was quite the different show, and it kept Jay North on top as the decade came to a close.

3) Bill Mumy

Bill Mumy may be second only to Ron Howard for instant recognition by TV viewers of the sixties. This youngster was everywhere. While it was his series, Lost in Space, that put him on the map, Mumy was in a long line of memorable TV shows. His Twilight Zone episode, It's a Good Life, still scares me, in fact. He was plain evil in that show. Then you'd see him in something like Wagon Train, playing a cute little boy just looking for a family. That episode starred Art Linkletter, and they made great a pair. Mumy was everywhere in the 60's, and today, his children, Seth

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