Unsolved Mysteries original hosts Robert Stack, Raymond Burr, and Karl Malden: What happened to them?

Netflix’s reboot of the classic docuseries Unsolved Mysteries is back with volume 3, debuting the first three episodes on Tuesday, Oct. 18. Each story follows cold cases of true crime, the paranormal, nightmares, and other strange and unexplainable events. Just in time for Halloween, we’d highly recommend you check out the first batch of episodes in the latest installment. They’ll make you scratch your head and mourn for the families who have lost dear loved ones.

Of course, if you’re an OG fan of Unsolved Mysteries, you’ll know the series looked a little different back in the day. For starters, there used to be a host who would introduce the cases and talk about what happened. Netflix has not introduced a host in their series yet, but none would be as iconic as the original host fans loved to watch on their screens, Robert Stack.

But before Unsolved Mysteries was picked up and Stack was hired, two other hosts filled in for the job. We’re here to talk about their careers and what happened to them after they appeared on the spooky docuseries.

Unsolved Mysteries host Robert Stack

Robert Stack is best known for hosting Unsolved Mysteries and is often considered the original presenter because he had the job for over a decade! After Raymond Burr and Karl Malden hosted a few episodes, Stack took over and was the face of the docuseries during the rest of its original run. Stack was an acclaimed actor, being nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the 1956 movie Written on the Wind, and he won an Emmy in 1960 for his performance in the show The Untouchables.

Stack hosted Unsolved Mysteries just about up until his death in 2003. During his time on the docuseries, he also served as a narrator and voiced characters in shows like Hercules, The Angry Beavers, Butt-Ugly Martians, King of the Hill, and more. He died at the age of 84 of heart failure.

Unsolved Mysteries host Raymond Burr

Actor Raymond Burr joined Unsolved Mysteries in 1987 to host the first special, which turned into the pilot. Burr appeared in movies such as M (1951), Rear Window (1954), and multiple Godzilla installments in the ’50s-’80s. He was known to play a villain in film noir. His most notable role, however, was playing the titular character in the show Perry Mason, which ran from 1957 to 1966. He also starred in 26 Perry Mason TV movies.

After his quick stint on Unsolved Mysteries, Burr went on to star in several Perry Mason TV movies and appeared in two 1991 films — The Legend of Kootenai Brown and Delirious. In 1993, he passed away from cancer.

Unsolved Mysteries host Karl Malden

After Burr but before Stack was actor Karl Malden in the Unsolved Mysteries hosting job. He presented the second and third specials, which turned into episodes of the show once it was picked up. Prior to the docuseries, he appeared in several acclaimed films, including On the Waterfront (1954), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), and Patton (1970).

After Unsolved Mysteries, Malden appeared in a handful of TV movies like Back to the Streets of San Francisco (1992) and They’ve Taken Our Children: The Chowchilla Kidnapping (1993). His final acting credit was in 2000 with the role of Father Thomas Cavanaugh in the show The West Wing. The actor passed away in 2009 due to natural causes. Reportedly, he suffered from bad health for some time.

The original Unsolved Mysteries is not available on Netflix, but you can currently stream select seasons on Hulu.