Do You Remember These ‘Highway to Heaven’ Guest Stars?
Highway to Heaven ran for five seasons with only two steady stars: Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, an angel who traveled from town to town helping people in need, and Victor French as Mark Gordon, a retired cop who aided Jonathan on his quest.
That set-up left a lot of room for guest stars, and hundreds of actors appeared in the show’s 1984-1989 run. Some were beloved character actors, some were superstars, and a few would become familiar faces in the ’90s and ’00s. Do you remember all these actors who got some angelic assistance on Highway to Heaven?
Bob Hope
In the season four episode “Heaven Nose, Mr. Smith,” king of comedy Bob Hope showed up, playing one of Jonathan’s fellow angels, there to deliver his assignment of the week: stop another angel on earth from ruining his son’s marriage.
Barry Williams
The former Greg Brady starred in a two-part season two episode about a camp for children with cancer. In the episodes, Jonathan and Mark become counselors at Camp Good Times. Williams plays Miki Winner, a singer whose younger brother, Jason, is attending the camp.
Williams is pictured here with the actor who played Jason — Joshua John Miller, who made a name for himself playing evil children in dark ’80s classics like Near Dark and River’s Edge. You also might remember him as the younger brother in Teen Witch. Today, Miller is a writer-director, most recently of the Russell Crowe film The Exorcism. He is also the half-brother of Jason Patric.
Giovanni Ribisi
The other star of this two-parter? Young Giovanni Ribisi, who was going by “Vonni” Ribisi at the time. It was the future Saving Private Ryan and Avatar star’s very first acting credit.
Shannon Tweed
Depending on your own personal interests, you might know Shannon Tweed best as a former Playboy Playmate of the Year, as the star of multiple cable erotic thrillers, or as the wife of KISS frontman Gene Simmons. But in this season three episode, Tweed took a break from thrills and rock ‘n’ roll, playing a cold-hearted gold digger who pursues Mark after he wins $5 million in a contest.
Peter Billingsley
To many viewers, he’ll always be Ralphie from A Christmas Story. But Peter Billingsley wasn’t shooting anyone’s eye out in this season two episode, where he played a young boy in a town where an unusual-looking artist is treated as a “monster.”
Ernest Borgnine
The McHale’s Navy star had already shown up on an episode of Little House on the Prairie years before — ironically, playing Laura’s guardian angel.
In this season three episode, Borgnine plays a man whose son died in the Vietnam War — but not before fathering a son of his own. When Jonathan puts him in touch with his half-Vietnamese grandson, Borgnine’s character struggles to connect with him.
Shannen Doherty
Doherty‘s early career was intertwined with Michael Landon’s: her first role, in 1981, was on the Landon-created Father Murphy, and the following year, she won the role of Jenny on Little House. In a 2024 podcast interview, Doherty said that she “adored [Landon]. He was a mentor. He taught me so much.”
So naturally, she turned up on Highway. She appeared in a season two episode, playing the younger sister of a teenage girl who just discovered that she was adopted.
Leslie Nielsen
The Naked Gun and Airplane star Nielsen showed up in season three as a cold-hearted businessman who has no desire to change his cruel ways … until he is shot by a robber.
Carrie Snodgrass
The Academy Award-nominated star of Diary of a Mad Housewife, Snodgrass, showed up in the series’ third episode, as the mother of a terminally ill child.
Ed Asner
The man best known for playing Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show popped up on the show’s second season. Asner played an errant angel who was forever getting into trouble due to his wacky, failed plans for making mortals happy.
Eli Wallach
Emmy and Tony-winning actor Eli Wallach played opposite his real-life wife, Anne Jackson, and daughter Katherine Wallach, in this season three episode about a family struggling to deal with their son’s coma.
Helen Hayes
In the series pilot, Hayes — an acclaimed Broadway actress and the first woman to ever win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony — played a woman unhappily living in a retirement home.
Ned Beatty
The beloved (and Academy Award-nominated) character actor, who appeared in everything from Deliverance to Back to School, showed up in two different episodes of Highway. In this one, from the first season, Beatty played a kind-hearted homeless man who magically swapped places with a wealthy businessman.
5 Divinely Fun Facts About ‘Highway to Heaven’ to Celebrate the 40th Anniversary
Hollywood Heaven
April 2021
Take the high road to Hollywood Heaven with feel-good TV shows, movies, music and more!
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