Oscar Winners Who Made the Move to TV

In 1971, Ryan O’Neal was a best actor Oscar nominee for his performance as preppie Oliver Barrett IV in “Love Story.” Who would have thought two decades later O’Neal would be starring in a struggling sitcom (CBS’ “Good Sports”)?

O’Neal is not alone on the list of Oscar nominees or winners who have ended up doing TV series.

In recent memory, there is Louis Gossett Jr.: Since winning best supporting actor for 1982’s “An Officer and a Gentleman,” Gossett Jr. starred in the ABC series “Gideon Oliver.” Howard E. Rollins, supporting actor nominee for 1981’s “Ragtime” has appeared in two NBC series: the soap opera “Another World” and the current drama “In the Heat of the Night.” And William Hickey, supporting actor nominee for 1985’s “Prizzi’s Honor,” is a regular on ABC’s sitcom “Baby Talk.”

Going back further, one-time Oscar nominees later to appear on television include Carolyn Jones (Morticia of “The Addams Family”) Agnes Moorehead (Endora on “Bewitched”), Eve Arden (“Our Miss Brooks”), Robert Vaughn (“The Man From U.N.C.L.E.”) and William Bendix (“The Life of Riley”).

Why do Oscar winners do television? The most common reason, of course, is that the little statuette ended up doing little for their film careers.

Such was the case with Shirley Booth. A veteran Broadway performer, she won the best actress Oscar for 1952’s “Come Back, Little Sheba.” The award, however, led to just a few roles in forgettable films. Booth found stardom as a ditzy maid on the comedy series “Hazel,” which aired from 1961 to 1966 on NBC and CBS.

Character actor Ernest Borgnine was a surprise best actor Oscar winner for 1955’s low-budget sleeper “Marty.” Like Booth, he didn’t hit his stride until his first TV series: ABC’s comedy “McHale’s Navy,” 1962-66. The irony: The sitcom spawned two feature films.

After playing goody-goodies in films for more than a decade, Donna Reed received a best supporting actress award as a social club hostess (a.k.a. prostitute) in 1953’s “From Here to Eternity.” The Oscar didn’t bring her better film roles. Reed turned to television in 1958 and became a small-screen superstar as the perfect wife and mother for eight seasons on ABC’s “The Donna Reed Show.”

Like Reed, Shirley Jones shed her sweet ingenue image and won a best supporting actress Oscar for her role as a hooker in 1960’s “Elmer Gantry.” Although she starred in the 1962 award-winning “The Music Man,” most of her post-”Elmer” films consisted of inane comedies such as “Fluffy.” She found a whole new audience and career as the model ‘70s mom in the ABC series “The Partridge Family,” 1970-74.

Loretta Young had been acting for three decades when she won best actress for the 1947 comedy “The Farmer’s Daughter.” Although Young received another nomination for 1949’s “Come to the Stable,” her film career was over by the time she was 40 four years later. Young found new life as the host and star of NBC’s “The Loretta Young Show,” 1953-61.

Most baby boomers fondly remember Walter Brennan as foxy Grandpa Amos McCoy on the comedy “The Real McCoys” (1957-62 ABC, 1962-63 CBS). But the veteran character actor was the very first best supporting actor to win an Oscar, receiving the award for 1936’s “Come and Get It.” He also won supporting awards for 1938’s “Kentucky” and 1940’s “The Westerner,” and was nominated for 1941’s “Sergeant York.” After “McCoys,” Brennan starred in ABC’s “Tycoon” (1964) and “The Guns of Will Sonnett” (1967-68).

“The 63rd Annual Academy Awards” air Monday at 6 p.m. on ABC.