The mixed fortunes of 80s sitcom stars - from Full House to The Golden Girls

Bob Saget graduated with a degree from the Center for the Performing and Cinematic Arts in 1978 but wouldn’t find major mainstream success until a decade later, a 10-year gap he filled with work as a comedian and several minor acting roles. Widower Danny Tanner proved to be the job that would make his career as Saget got a starring role in Full House (1987-1995). Once the show had established itself in its third season, the actor became a household name. 

The comedian then moved onto directorial projects For Hope (1996) and Dirty Work (1998) before he returned to his sitcom roots between 2001 and 2002 as Matt Steward in Raising Dad and as a narrator for How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014) as an older Ted Mosby. 

In 2016, Saget returned for 15 episodes to the Full House franchise with Fuller House which followed the lives of his on-screen children and grandchildren. In 2022, he died at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Orlando, Florida at the age of 65, from a blunt head trauma most likely caused by a fall.

Paul Pfeiffer's nerdy best friend disappeared from our screens in 1993 after a 5 year run and Josh Saviano has similarly started afresh. Aside from dipping his toes back in the televised water with three episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Josh has transitioned into a career in law off-screen. 

The Wonder Years’ actor read political science at Yale University before receiving a JD degree from Yeshiva University. He became a partner at the New York firm Morrison Cohen LLP where he was based between 2003 and 2015 and then left to build his own company, Act 3 Advisors, which assists with entertainer branding, and in 2018 co-founded Spotlight Advisory Group. 

He has since taken on a position as chief intellectual property officer at NuCo Entertainment. The sitcom star married Jennifer Romer in 2002 and the couple share one daughter, Noa Saviano. 

Whether it was making a name for herself as Sue Ann Nivens in The Mary Tyler Moore Show or breaking records as one of the first produce and star in a sitcom with 1955’s Life with Elizabeth, Betty White made an impact. 

But it’s as Rose Nylund in the iconic 80s sitcom The Golden Girls that the actress is perhaps best remembered. One of the four main Golden Girls, Rose Nylund rents a room from Blanche Devereaux when she’s kicked out of her apartment. She’s sweet, dim-witted and rambling but a firm fan favourite.

Betty also found favour with a new generation, slinging back vodka with David Letterman and joining Sandra Bullock in  2009 romcom The Proposal. The actress passed away on 31 December 2021 at 99. She was married to game show host Allen Ludden until his death in 1981 and was stepmother to his three children. 

Ted Danson has a talent for sitcom fame, building a solid reputation as Sam Malone in Cheers (1982) and winning over a new generation in The Good Place (2016-2020). His role in Cheers earned the actor 11 Emmy nominations and 2 wins, as well as 2 Golden Globes. He has since starred in series Gulliver’s Travels (1996) and Thanks of a Grateful Nation (1998) and is featured in films like Three Men and a Baby (1987), Made in America (1993) and Saving Private Ryan (1998).

The Sam Malone actor has worked as a producer and has hosted his podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson (Sometimes) since 2023. He married fellow actor Mary Steenburgen, known for Bookclub (2018), Elf (2003) and Back to the Future Part III (1990), in 1995. Ted Danson has two children from his previous marriage and is a step-father to Mary’s two children from her marriage to Malcolm McDowell. 

Julie Anne Haddock was born on 3 April 1965 in Los Angeles. She is best known for her role in The Facts of Life (1979-1988) as sports-focussed Cindy Webster, despite her role being reduced significantly following series one when the show failed to become a hit in its first season. Her last acting role was a guest role in a season eight episode, visiting the rest of her cast as the now-fashion model Cindy Baker. 

Since leaving The Facts of Life gang, Julie has led a relatively private life. She married seven-time Emmy-winning technical director Eric Becker in 1997. They divorced 21 years later in 2018 and share one child together, son Brody. She appeared on an episode of the 80sthen80snow podcast to talk about her time on The Facts of Life in 2025 and before that spoke to Mike Rand on The Mike Rand Show in 2024. 

Eighties sitcom star Lisa Bonet starred in multiple seasons of hit 80s TV show The Cosby Show before going on to lead the first series of A Different World which followed Lisa’s Denise Huxtable during her time at Hillman College. The series started by exploring the experience of roommates Denise, Maggie and Jaleesa and has been praised for realistic depictions of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities experience as well as talking about subjects including sexual assault, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and racism. 

Then married to Lenny Kravitz (they divorced in 1993), Lisa left the show after season one when she announced she was expecting but returned to The Cosby Show in latter seasons. Her daughter, Zoe Kravitz, was born in December 1988. She married actor Jason Momoa in 2017, with whom she shares two children, and the couple finalized their divorced in 2024. 

Kristy McNichol first became a recognisable 80s star when she appeared on Family, the 86-episode series which ran between 1976 and 1980. Before this, she got a regular role at just 12 years old in Apple’s Way. It was 1988’s Empty Nest, the Golden Girls spin-off, however, that wrote her into the pop-culture history books. While Kristy found success during her time on-screen, she decided to step away from acting after Season 5, aside from a few voice-acting roles, and officially retired in 2001. 

She explained her departure to Parade, saying: “Many people have asked me why I left the show. It was because I was suffering from manic depression [commonly called bipolar disorder], but I didn’t want to talk about it at the time. It was very private. Now I want to tell people the truth.” She addressed the press again in 2012 following tabloid rumours around her sexuality, confirming a decades-long relationship with partner Martie Allen. Her publicist told People magazine: “She hopes that coming out can help kids who need support.”