Strollerderby : where are they now?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the 'Young Tom Hanks' From 'Big'?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 12 May 2009 16:02:00 GMT

Before Tom Hanks ever tried to solve Vatican mysteries in "Angels & Demons," he played a boy trapped in a grown man's body in another summer movie hit, 1988's "Big." But in the scenes prior to Hanks's takeover of the life of young Josh Baskin, the character was portrayed by a genuinely young actor, a kid named David Moscow.

And that leads me to the question you know I'm just waiting to ask: whatever happened to that boy?

The aforementioned pivotal role in "Big" kickstarted the career of the then 13-year-old New York City native, leading Moscow to parts in TV movies like "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and theatrical films like "Newsies." His resume was a bit spotty in the '90s perhaps because, according to Wikipedia, he attended Hampshire College during a portion of that decade.

He eventually resumed his acting career, though, picking up an appearance in an episode of "Seinfeld," a regular part on the sitcom "Zoe, Duncan, Jack and Jane" and roles in movies like "Riding in Cars with Boys," "Just Married" and the Jessica Alba instant classic, "Honey."

During the past two years, Moscow has been particularly busy, appearing in a string of independent and direct-to-DVD films, including the Corbin Bernsen-directed effort "Dead Air." Based on the information I was able to find, he is not married and does not have kids; he was engaged to actress Kerry Washington for a few years but the relationship ended.

If he ever does have children, I have to assume that Moscow will be the first one to tell them not to rush into growing up. After all, if anyone knows that skipping over childhood isn't a good idea, it's this "Big" star.

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Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Staci Keanan?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:58:00 GMT

Children of the '80s, surely you remember the girl who had "My Two Dads." Her name was Staci Keanan and for three seasons on NBC, she played sitcom daughter to Paul Reiser and Greg Evigan. Presumably, many of you have spent many sleepless nights wondering what happened to the young actress. Well, here's the update. Consider your insomnia cured.

After her stint on "My Two Dads," Keanan popped up on a few other series here and there until she landed a more permanent gig on that other sitcom that made her famous, "Step by Step." After that comedy ended its run in 1998, the Pennsylvania native's bio gets a bit ... vague.

According to imdb, she majored in art history at UCLA. But I coudn't dig up any information about when she graduated. What is apparent is that Keanan eventually returned to acting. She appears to have done some theater and, in recent years, a few more movie credits have appeared on her resume. Among them: a pair of recent roles in Christian-themed films slated for release this year: the comedy "Holyman Undercover," scheduled to come to DVD in September, and a film that ChristianCinema.com describes as "pro-life", "Sarah's Choice."

It's unclear what's on tap next for Keanan, but she seems to be working semi-steadily. Meanwhile, "My Two Dads" made its DVD debut earlier this year. You can catch her reminiscing about the experience on the box set's special features. Who knows? Perhaps a "My Two Dads" renaissance is just around the corner.

Here's a semi-recent picture of Keanan, proof that the 33-year-old has aged pretty well.

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Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Harold From 'Harold and Maude'?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:58:00 GMT

"Harold and Maude" didn't make a particularly huge splash at the box office when it was released back in 1971. But the quirky May-December (really May-December) love story about an elderly woman (Ruth Gordon) and a jaded teen (Bud Cort) has since become a cult classic that influenced numerous filmmakers.

Sadly, as many may recall, Gordon died in the mid-1980s. But everyone may not know what became of Cort, even though they've probably seen him in numerous other movies and TV shows over the years. TMZ recently caught up with him at an event in Hollywood, snapped his photograph and offered a brief update on his life. But surely you want more details. So what is the story with Harold?

After getting his show business start as a teenager who popped up here and there on various TV shows, Cort broke into movies in the early '70s, with roles in Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H*," "Brewster McCloud," and, of course, "Harold and Maude." (For the record, he was 22 when he played the part of Harold. So from a child star perspective, I am cheating a little in this Rich or Rehab installment. But the baby-faced Cort still assumed the role of a teen back then so, you know, that counts for something.)

After his memorable turn in that iconic film, life took an unfortunate detour. Cort nearly died in a car accident on the Hollywood Freeway in 1979 and, as TMZ noted, fully recovered after years of surgery and physical therapy.

Meanwhile, he kept acting, amassing a heap of credits during the past two-plus decades. Without even realizing it, you may have spotted Cort in "Dogma," "Coyote Ugly," "Pollock," "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou," "Ugly Betty" or playing himself in an episode of one of TV's greatest comedies ever, "Arrested Development":

Other Cort fun facts: He lived off and on in Groucho Marx's mansion. And he provided the voice of the computer in "Electric Dreams," an '80s romantic-comedy-thriller that myself and maybe two other people on the planet probably remember.

The guy is clearly a survivor. Some of the lessons Maude taught Harold about embracing life -- lessons that, of course, were further emphasized by the sweet sounds of Cat Stevens -- must have rubbed off on Cort, too

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Images: homevideos.com and Filmwad.com

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Tia From 'Witch Mountain'?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:42:00 GMT

Moms and dads who grew up in the 1970s may have fond -- or at least pleasantly fuzzy? -- memories of the "Witch Mountain" movies, the Disney flicks about a pair of orphaned siblings with extraordinary powers. This weekend, Disney -- with a little help from The Rock -- attempts to revive that franchise with "Race to Witch Mountain," an updated version that casts Alexander Ludwig as Seth (a character called Tommy in the original movies) and AnnaSophia Robb in the role of Sara (the superpowered sister formerly known as Tia).

Of course, before there was Ludwig and Robb, we '70s kids had Ike Eisenmann (a former subject in Rich or Rehab) and Kim Richards, a pretty young child star who, in addition to doing her "Witch Mountain" time, appeared in the series "James at 15" and another sitcom that stands as one of the finest of its era: "Hello, Larry." (Okay, I was exaggerating with that "finest of its era" line. But, um, I remember the theme song.) So whatever happened to Richards? And is it possible she may show up in the new "Witch Mountain"?

To answer that first question, Richards continued acting for a while, doing guest stints on TV shows like "CHIPS," "Magnum, P.I." and "The Dukes of Hazzard." In the mid '80s, she also made appearances in the films "Meatballs, Part II" and "Tuff Turf," which also starred James Spader, Robert Downey Jr., and their respective heads of moussed-up '80s hair. (Watch this totally awesome clip, and revel in Kim's fashionable headband, as well as Spader's singing talent.)

If imdb is to be believed, Richards decided to take a long hiatus from acting to raise her four children. But she made a comeback a few years ago by playing the role of Christina Ricci's mom in "Black Snake Moan." And as the above teaser implied, she and her old "Witch Mountain" bro Eisenmann do indeed pop up in this new "Witch Mountain" movie.

It's unclear if she has any other projects in the works, but I can share this fun fact that connects her to yet another previous Rich or Rehab subject: she is the sister of Kyle Richards (another former child star best known for her role in "Halloween") and Kathy Hilton, which makes her Paris Hilton's aunt. So does that mean that, by the transitive property of child stars who played people with otherworldy powers, Paris Hilton also has otherworldly powers by association? I'll let you make that call.

Images: childstarlets.com and celebritynooz.com

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Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Anna Chlumsky?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:28:00 GMT

It's okay. You can admit that you cried during "My Girl," the bittersweet 1991 story of two kids discovering the meaning of friendship and the very bad things that sometimes happen because of bee stings. You also can admit that you were thoroughly charmed by Anna Chlumsky, the young girl who played the role of Vada in the coming-of-age drama and its sequel, the creatively titled "My Girl 2."

Sometime in the mid-1990s, you may have lost track of Miss Chlumsky. So whatever happened to her and, more importantly, is she still friends with old pal Macauley Culkin?

The answer to that second question appears to be no; she told People Magazine in 2007 that she didn't have her former co-star's address. But there are plenty of good things happening to "our girl" lately.

After earning a degree in international studies from the University of Chicago in 2002, she moved to New York where she worked for Zagat and a division of Harper Collins. But after a few years, she decided to return to acting, based on advice she received from both a psychic and Roberta Flack, who she ran into at a nail salon. (Note to self: Next time a psychic AND Roberta Flack tell me to do something, I will follow their instructions to the letter.)

The decision seems to have paid off. She has since appeared in episodes of "30 Rock" and "Law & Order" and co-starred with James Gandolfini in "In the Loop," which was acquired by IFC earlier this year at Sundance. In addition to all that career success, Chlumsky, now 28, last year married an Army Reservist named Shaun So. (Feel free to view several lovely photos from their wedding.)

So the child star seems to be making a comeback. Who knows? She might even agree to do a "My Girl 3" one of these days.

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Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Paul Pfeiffer From 'The Wonder Years'?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:02:00 GMT

We all know what happened to Winnie Cooper -- she grew up and published books about how awesome math is. Kevin Arnold? He did a little acting here and there, then got a Razzie nomination for his notable direction of "Daddy Day Camp." But whatever happened to Paul Pfeiffer, Kevin's best friend on "The Wonder Years," a nerdy kid with a goofy sister who was allergic to virtually everything except the flirtations of one Carla Healey? Did he really turn into Marilyn Manson, as pop culture legend would have us all believe?

Um ... no. Paul, otherwise known as actor Josh Saviano, first got America's attention by starring in ABC's beloved comedy, where he got to do cool things like pretend he was Spock in a "Wonder Years" parody of "Star Trek":

After "Years" ended in 1993, Saviano moved on with his life, attending Yale University and majoring in political science. He later went to law school and passed the New York bar.

So where is he now? He's a corporate lawyer at Morrison Cohen LLP in New York. Seriously, his profile is listed on their Web site, complete with his e-mail address and phone number. But please, don't leave him messages asking to verify that he's really not Marilyn Manson. Pfeiffer deserves his privacy. After all, he wound up on the rich, not rehab, side of the child star equation, as you can see below:

Photos: Internet Accuracy Project and Morrison Cohen LLP