The Only Major Actors Still Alive From Matlock
The Kathy Bates-led reboot of "Matlock" may not hit TV screens for a while longer, but in the meantime, fans of the much-loved legal drama can still catch old episodes of the original run, well, pretty much everywhere. For cable-watchers, the show airs reruns in syndication, while home media junkies can get a DVD box set and those who prefer to stream can catch all nine seasons on Prime Video or PlutoTV.
"Matlock" aired for nine years, moving from NBC to ABC partway through its run and switching up its cast list throughout. Though several actors played more than one character throughout the series' run, only a handful appeared in more than 30 episodes of the series, most of them as Ben Matlock's legal associates. Of the main cast, Andy Griffith, Clarence Gilyard Jr., David Froman, and Richard Newton have all since passed away. Several remaining cast members continue to appear on stage and screen, while others have gone on to fulfilling (and eclectic) careers outside of Hollywood.
Nancy Stafford, Michelle Thomas
After appearing as a sex worker in one early episode of "Matlock," Stafford later returned — in a completely different role. Beginning in the sophomore season, the actress portrayed lawyer and Matlock's eventual legal partner Michelle Thomas. Once the series came to a close, Stafford became the host of the fashion and beauty talk show "Main Floor." She also appeared in guest stints on TV shows including "Frasier," "ER," and "The Mentalist," with an 8-episode arc on the Shonda Rhimes drama "Scandal."
Aside from her TV work, Stafford has appeared primarily in Christian films and Christmas movies over the last decade or so, popping up in Columbine massacre drama "I'm Not Afraid" and starring in the 2012 movie "Christmas Oranges" and Pureflix's "War on Christmas" movie "Christmas With a Capital C." Some of her other post-"Matlock" film credits include "A Mermaid's Tale," "The Mulligan," "Faith, Hope & Love," and — an odd one out here — TV movie "Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare."
When she's not working as an actress, Stafford is a Christian speaker and author of books including "Beauty by the Book: Seeing Yourself as God Sees You." According to a biography shared on the website Speak Up Speaker Services, Stafford has appeared on Christian talk shows like "The 700 Club" and "Focus on the Family," hosted multiple TV specials in support of Israel, and works with several religious organizations. In 2014, she told the Christian Post that she returned to religion after she was at some point diagnosed with cancer on her face. "I realized that everything I had built my 'perfect' life on could be taken away in a moment," she told the outlet.
Julie Sommars, Julie March
Golden Globe-winning actress Julie Sommars played Assistant District Attorney Julie March for several seasons of "Matlock," though she disappeared from the show before it ended. According to MeTV, the actress actually left the series when star Griffith asked the show's production to be moved closer to his home of Wilmington, North Carolina. The switch came in tandem with a network change — the show moved from NBC to ABC for its last few seasons — and a few key formula and cast changes. In an interview with the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel (per TV Passport), Griffith confirmed that Sommars left the show in order to stay close to her family in California.
Sommars' exit from "Matlock" marked the abrupt end of her acting career. According to Woman's World, Sommars began working in politics after leaving the show, serving on the California Judicial Performance Commission and The Board of Governors for the State of California from 1999 to 2003. Though she doesn't seem to give interviews, as of 2021, Sommars' IMDb biography says that she lives in California with her family.
Kene Holliday, Tyler Hudson
Actor and former football player Kene Holliday appeared on four seasons of "Matlock" before leaving the show in 1990. In a 2007 piece from The New York Times, Holliday explained that he was fired from the show due to his struggles with drugs and alcohol. By the mid-aughts, Holliday told the outlet he had been sober for nearly two decades, including 10 years he spent as a traveling Christian evangelical putting on what the outlet calls "gospel musicals."
In the '90s, Holliday also put out a book of poetry titled "The Book of K-III: The Contemporary Poetics of Kene Holliday." According to Black Issues Book Review, a friend challenged him to write a poetry book in the '80s, and Holliday finally did by 1998. In the 2007 NYT profile, Holliday said that he had "persevered" despite facing "a lot of obstacles," including getting sober and caring full-time for his mother, who had Alzheimer's. In the wake of her diagnosis, the actor became a spokesperson for the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.
On the acting front, Holliday has continued working, appearing in episodes of shows like "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Diagnosis Murder," and "The Wayan Bros." He's worked alongside actors like Robert De Niro (in "Everybody's Fine") and Lou Gossett Jr. ("The Josephine Baker Story"), and has appeared in intriguing indies like "The Human War" and "Handle Your Business." In 2007, he earned praise and Gotham and Spirit Award nominations for his turn in Craig Zobel's music scene comedy "Great World of Sound."
Daniel Roebuck, Cliff Lewis
Of all the "Matlock" actors still working today, Daniel Roebuck is undoubtedly the most recognizable. The actor played young P.I. Cliff Lewis in the show's later seasons, and he's had a prolific acting career ever since. You've probably seen Roebuck in shows like "Nash Bridges," "Glee," "Sonny With A Chance," "The Man in the High Castle," and "Lost," in which he memorably played oddball plane crash survivor and high school teacher Leslie Arzt. Most recently, Roebuck returned as a guest star on the first responder comedy-drama "9-1-1," christening the show's move from Fox to ABC by playing a guy whose rotten luck culminates in a night spent trapped in a capsized cruise ship alongside the show's heroes.
Roebuck has also appeared in several Rob Zombie movies, most recently playing two different characters in the filmmaker's revamp of "The Munsters." Additionally, some of his post-"Matlock" film credits include "The Fugitive," "Final Destination," and "The Late Shift," in which he played Jay Leno alongside future Matlock Kathy Bates. On the video game front, he's voiced Greez Dritus in two recent "Star Wars" games. It seems like Roebuck never stops working, as evidenced by the incredible 26 title-long list of upcoming projects he's working on according to IMDb.
The actor is one of a surprisingly high number of former "Matlock" cast members who have devoted a lot of his time in recent decades to religious works. Roebuck and his wife Tammy founded the organization A Channel of Peace, which makes movies that, as the official website puts it, counter a "mass media [that] is selling nihilism, despair, and Godlessness to a willing and hungry audience." The couple produce movies through their own company, Magic Bean Entertainment, and Roebuck himself has made movies including "Getting Grace" and "Lucky Louie," the latter of which he co-wrote and directed with his daughter Grace.
Brynn Thayer, Leanne MacIntyre
A rare member of the "Matlock" ensemble who wasn't introduced as a legal associate of Matlock's, Brynn Thayer's Leanne was actually the titular defense attorney's daughter. She appeared in 37 episodes across 3 seasons but left by the end of season 8. Afterward, Thayer continued acting, appearing in multiple episodes of "General Hospital," "7th Heaven," and "The Fosters" and even playing Harvey Specter's mother on the hit USA Network show "Suits."
On the film front, Thayer has appeared in the 2013 Woody Allen film "Blue Jasmine," the '90s TV movie that kicked off "Diagnosis: Murder," and a Lifetime movie about "Survivor" producer Bruce Beresford-Redman — who was convicted of the murder of his wife in Mexico in 2015 — among other titles.
Thayer starred in "One Life To Live" before her turn on "Matlock," and sources list the actress as the co-founder and president of the organization ZazAngels. Though it doesn't currently seem to be active, the group was originally created to advocate for people suffering from ALS after Thayer's "One Life To Live" costar Michael Zaslow, who died in 1998, was diagnosed with the disease. Recently, Thayer honored another loved one gone too soon with the play "Let Me In," a dark comedy she wrote and directed in memory of a best friend who died in a car accident in her 20s (according to Medium's Players, Performers, and Portrayers). The play debuted in Los Angeles in 2023 to positive reviews.