See how TV characters changed from first episode to last episode
Stars of Andy Griffith, Gunsmoke, Mary Tyler Moore and more grew up before our eyes.
![](https://cdnmetv.metv.com/O2ApS-1455917676-692-blog-firstend_opie.png)
Nothing adds gray hairs like being the President. Our leaders rapidly age from inauguration to farewell. It's a stressful job. But how do two terms in the White House compare to, say, logging 11 seasons on a television sitcom?
We thought we'd take a look at actors at the beginning and end of their runs. It's fascinating to see how characters' faces and fashions evolve over the course of a series. Some grow up before our very eyes. Some hardly change a hair.
Check out some the the evolution of some classic TV characters from their debut to their finale.
Andy Taylor
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/aOLcv-1455917363-embed-firstend_andy.png)
Not quite ready for Matlock yet.
Opie Taylor
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/Nfrlg-1455917382-embed-firstend_opie.png)
If you think this is drastic, check out Arrested Development. Now that's an ironic title in this case.
Hawkeye Pierce
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/M5gnZ-1455917405-embed-firstend_hawkeye.png)
Hawkeye and Hot Lips are the only two characters to appear in the first and final episodes.
Sam Malone
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/OA3dR-1455917420-embed-firstend_sam.png)
Eleven seasons and several hundreds of bottles of hairspray later.
Columbo
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/X3Ubi-1455917432-embed-firstend_columbo.png)
Which is which?
Jim Rockford
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/yeq8a-1455917447-embed-firstend_rockford.png)
Living on the beach in Malibu is good for your complexion.
Roy DeSoto and John Gage
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/3ouNF-1455917463-embed-firstend_emergency.png)
Haircuts got hairier in the 1970s.
Fonzie
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/wacJ4-1455917480-embed-firstend_fonz.png)
Henry Winkler was pushing thirty when Happy Days kicked off and on the edge of 40 when it wrapped in '84.
Laverne & Shirley
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/zCx0f-1455917501-embed-firstend_ls.png)
Cindy Williams left early in the eighth and final season. This was her final episode, "Window on Main Street."
Mary Tyler Moore
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/LxQhy-1455917525-embed-firstend_mtm.png)
It was an entirely different world in 1977 than it was in 1970.
Little Joe Cartwright
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/J5Sqy-1455917544-embed-firstend_bonanzalandon.png)
Michael Landon was not so "Little" when he directed himself in the series finale 14 years later.
Miss Kitty
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/lRW7d-1455917559-embed-firstend_mitty.png)
Amanda Blake did not make it to the 20th and final season, bowing out at the close of the 19th.
Lucy and Ethel
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/iVEQU-1455921355-embed-firstend_lucyethel.png)
BFFs.
Lassie
![](https://metvcdn.metv.com/7qiPr-1455917575-embed-firstend_lassie.png)
Yes, yes, we know this is not the same dog 19 years later. The series went through six canine actors.
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