1964 Classic TV Shows: 15 Series Celebrating 60 Years

Every year brings with it a slew of new television series premieres, whether it’s on the networks or various streaming services. But 1964 classic TV shows gave us quite a number of them that have managed to survive the passage of time and still being viewed around the world today.

Considering we’re in 2024, it means that the 1964 classic TV shows are all celebrating their 60th anniversary. What better excuse does one need to take a look back and see what some of those series are, their subject matters ranging from comedy to sci-fi, prime time and daytime soap operas, Westerns, fantasy sitcoms and more?

Hop aboard our convenient time machine and let’s get started.

1. The Addams Family

TITLE: The Addams Family

SEASONS/EPISODES: 2 Seasons (1964 to 1966), 64 Episodes

CAST: John Astin (Gomez Addams), Carolyn Jones (Morticia Addams), Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester), Ted Cassidy (Lurch), Blossom Rock (Grandmama Addams), Lisa Loring (Wednesday Addams), Ken Watherwax (Pugsley Addams)

PREMISE: Based on the comic strips of Charles Addams, the show takes trappings of the typical sitcom and turns them on their head, with the macabre family dynamics and situations frequently bumping heads with the rest of the outside world.

MUST-READ: 10 Creepy and Kooky Secrets About the Original Addams Family

2. Another World: 1964 Classic TV Shows

TITLE: Another World

SEASONS/EPISODES: 35 Seasons (1964 to 1999), 8,891 Episodes

CAST: In the year the show premiered, cast members included Vera Allen (Grandma Matthews), Liza Chapman (Janet Matthews), Jacqueline Courtney (Alice Matthews Frame), Augusta Dabney (Laura Baxter), Virginia Dwyer (Mary Matthews), Joseph Gallison (Bill Matthews), Mark Lenard (Dr. Ernest Gregory), Audra Lindley (Liz Matthews), Geoffrey Lumb (Mitchell Dru), William Prince (Ken Baxter), Nicholas Pryor (Tom Baxter), Carol Roux (Melissa Matthews), Michael M. Ryan (John Randolph), Shepperd Strudwick (Jim Matthews), Joey Trent (Russ Matthews), Susan Trustman (Pat Matthews Randolph)

PREMISE: The life in the Midwestern town of Bay City, and the love, loss, trials, and triumph of its residents, who come from different backgrounds and social circles. (IMDB)

MUST-READ: Another World — See What Happened to the Show’s Long-Time Cast Members

3. Bewitched

TITLE: Bewitched

SEASONS/EPISODES: 8 Seasons (1964 to 1972), 254 Episodes

CAST: Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha Stephens), Dick York (1964 to 1969, Darrin Stephens), Agnes Moorehead (Endora), David White (Larry Tate), Alice Pearce (Mrs. Kravitz), Erin Murphy (Tabitha Stephens), Dick Sargent (1969 to 1972, Darrin Stephens)

PREMISE: Advertising executive Darrin Stephens marries Samantha, who turns out to be a witch. The couple nonetheless does its best to live a normal life, which is made virtually impossible due to the fact that her family keep popping in, bringing with them magical mischief.

MUST-READ: Much more about Bewitched!

4. Daniel Boone: 1964 Classic TV Shows

TITLE: Daniel Boone

SEASONS/EPISODES: 6 Seasons (1964 to 1970), 165 Episodes

CAST: Fess Parker (Daniel Boone), Patricia Blair (Rebecca Boone), Veronica Cartwright (Jemima Boone), Darby Hinton (Israel Boone), Ed Ames (Mingo)

PREMISE: Set before, during and after the Revolutionary War, Daniel Boone is a hero of the frontier, going out on expeditions, conducting surveys and at all turns interacting with Native Americans, some hostile and some friendly.

5. Flipper

TITLE: Flipper

SEASONS/EPISODES: 3 Seasons (1964 to 1967), 88 Episodes

CAST: Brian Kelly (Porter Ricks), Luke Halpin (Sandy Ricks), Tommy Norden (Bud Rick), Andy Devine (Hap Gorman), Flipper (the dolphin)

PREMISE: Frequently referred to as “Aquatic Lassie” at the time, the show follows Porter Ricks, the chief warden at the Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve, and his sans Bud and Sandy, in adventures they get into that often involve their bottlenose pet dolphin, Flipper.

6. Gilligan’s Island: 1964 Classic TV Shows

TITLE: Gilligan’s Island

SEASONS/EPISODES: 3 Seasons (1964 to 1967), 98 Episodes

CAST: Bob Denver (Gilligan), Alan Hale, Jr. (Skipper), Jim Backus (Thurston Howell III), Natalie Schafer (Mrs. Howell), Tina Louise (Ginger Grant), Russell Johnson (Professor Roy Hinkley), Dawn Wells (Mary Ann Summers)

PREMISE: Seven castaways try to survive on the island they’ve been shipwrecked on, all of which is played strictly for laughs — this is not in any way, shape or form Lord of the Flies. One of the most enduring sitcoms from the 1960s.

MUST-READ: Join the Seven Castaways in our stories on Gilligan’s Island

7. Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

TITLE: Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

SEASONS/EPISODES: 5 Seasons (1964 to 1969), 150 Episodes

CAST: Jim Nabors (Private First Class Gomer Pyle), Frank Sutton (Gunnery Sergeant Vincent Carter), Ronnie Schell (Private First Class — later Corporal — Gilbert “Duke” Slater), Elizabeth MacRae (Lou-Ann Poovie)

PREMISE: In this spin-off from The Andy Griffith Show, Gomer Pyle joins the Marines and drives pretty much everybody crazy, though his good-hearted nature usually wins them over in the end. Gomer’s primary foil (though he would never intend him to be so) is Sgt. Carter.

8. Johnny Quest: 1964 Classic TV Shows

TITLE: Johnny Quest

SEASONS/EPISODES: 1 Season (1964 to 1965), 26 Episodes

VOICE CAST: Tim Matheson (Johnny Quest), John Stephenson and Don Messick (Dr. Benton C. Quest), Jeff Chandler (Roger T. “Race” Bannon), Danny Bravo (Hadji Singh)

PREMISE: A more adult animated series from Hanna-Barbera, the show focuses on young Johnny Quest who joins his father, a scientist, on a wide variety of adventures, many of them involving elements of science fiction.

9. The Magilla Gorilla Show

TITLE: The Magilla Gorilla Show

SEASONS/EPISODES: 3 (1964 to 1967), 31 Episodes

VOICE CAST: Allan Melvin (Magilla Gorilla), Howard Morris and Don Messick (Mr. Peebles), Jean Vandery Pyl (Ogee)

PREMISE: The comic mis-adventures of Magilla, the Gorilla who lives in the window of Peebles’ Pet Store, hoping that someone will adopt him. His best pal is the little girl Ogee. That’s pretty much it, but kids loved it and Magilla Gorilla continues to pop up in modern projects.

10. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: 1964 Classic TV Shows

TITLE: The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

SEASONS/EPISODES: 4 Seasons (1964 to 1968), 105 Episodes

CAST: Robert Vaughn (Napoleon Solo), David McCallum (Illya Kuryakin), Leo G. Carroll (Alexander Waverly)

PREMISE: Inspired by the mania surrounding the James Bond films of the 1960s, the series follows the espionage exploits of U.N.C.L.E. (United Network Command for Law and Enforcement) agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin doing their best to keep the world safe from the enemy organization Thrush. From today’s vantage point, you’d have no idea just how big this show was in its day, but you can trust us: it was.

11. The Munsters

TITLE: The Munsters

SEASONS/EPISODES: 2 Seasons (1964 to 1966), 70 Episodes

CAST: Fred Gwynne (Herman Munster), Yvonne De Carlo (Lily Munster), Al Lewis (Grandpa), Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster), Beverly Owen (Marilyn Munster, Ep. 1 to 13), Pat Priest (Marilyn Munster, rest of series)

PREMISE: Take the classic Universal horror movies from the 1930s and 1940s, mix them with sitcom The Donna Reed Show and you’ve got The Munsters. They’re just making their way through life like any of us, though they don’t seem to be like us at all (but looks are deceiving).

MUST-READ: Our profiles of cast members from The Munsters

12. My Living Doll: 1964 Classic TV Shows

TITLE: My Living Doll

SEASONS/EPISODES: 1 Season (1964 to 1965), 26 Episodes

CAST: Bob Cummings (Dr. Bob McDonald), “Rhoda” (Julie Newmar), Henry Beckman (Dr. Carl Miller)

PREMISE: Psychiatrist Dr. Bob McDonald is given the lifelike android AF 709 (nicknamed “Rhoda”) to protect and keep secret from the government when its creator, an Air Force scientist, is transferred to Pakistan. It sounds serious, but it’s not as McDonald tries to keep the secret, but Rhoda’s innocence and quest to learn about humanity makes things comically difficult.

MUST-READ: Julie Newmar — A Look at the Life, Loves and 70-Year Career of the Original Catwoman

13. Peyton Place

TITLE: Peyton Place

SEASONS/EPISODES: 5 Seasons (1964 to 1969), 514 Episodes

CAST: The cast in the first season included Dorothy Malone (Constance MacKenzie), Warner Anderson (Matthew Swain), Ed Nelson (Dr. Michael Rossi), Mia Farrow (Allison MacKenzie), Ryan O’Neal (Rodney Harrington), Barbara Parkins (Betty Anderson), Christopher Connelly (Norman Harrington), Paul Langton (Leslie Harrington), Kasey Rogers (Julie Anderson), Mary Anderson (Catherine Harrington), Patricia Breslin (Laura Brooks)

PREMISE: Offers the official description, “People married and divorced, loved and lost. Murder, illicit passion, insanity, and secrets were the staples of Peyton Place.” Note: At its height, Peyton Place aired on ABC three nights a week

14. Underdog: 1964 Classic TV Shows

TITLE: Underdog

SEASONS/EPISODES: 3 Seasons (1964 to 1967), 62 Episodes (124 15-minute segments)

VOICE CAST: Wally Cox (Underdog/Shoeshine Boy), Norma MacMillan (Sweet Polly Purebread), Allen Swift (Simon Bar Sinister and Riff Raff)

PREMISE: An animated take off on Superman with canines as the lead characters. Underdog was fairly beloved in the 1960s, the superhero always speaking in rhymes and boosting his strength with an energy pill in his ring.

15. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

TITLE: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea

SEASONS/EPISODES: 4 Seasons (1964 to 1968), 110 Episodes

CAST: Richard Basehart (Admiral Harriman “Harry” Nelson), David Hedison (Captain Lee Crane), Robert Dowdell (Lieutenant Commander Chip Morton), Derrik Lewis (Lieutenant Commander O’Brien), Henry Kulky (Chief “Curly” Jones)

PREMISE: Based on the 1961 film of the same name, it follows the crew of the Seaview as they’re sent into the sea to uncover the mysteries of the deep (many of them with sci-fi elements).

Enjoy much more of our Classic TV coverage!