Strollerderby : young Hollywood

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the 'Spellbound' Kids?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:28:00 GMT

The Scripps National Spelling Bee crowned Kavya Shivashankar its new champion last week. All the media attention on the Kansas girl who clinched a victory by correctly spelling the word "Laodicean" may have reminded some observers of the 2002 documentary "Spellbound," which followed the often intense competition between several smart young wordsmiths during the 1999 bee.

Since 10 years have passed since that sharply captured showdown in Washington, D.C.'s took place, it's only natural to wonder what has happened to some of the key kids who starred in "Spellbound." Allow me to attempt to provide a few answers A-S-A-P. (That spells, um, ASAP.)

While filmmaker Jeffrey Blitz introduced us to several kids in "Spellbound," eight children played more prominent roles. Here's the rundown on what all of them are doing now, based on info I could readily track down via the World Wide Web.

Neil Kadakia went on to attend the University of California, Berkeley, enrolling as a freshman at the ripe age of 16. The sparse public information found on his Facebook page indicates that he graduated from Berkeley in 2007, but it's unclear exactly what he's doing now. (Got some intel? Please share it below in the comments.)

Emily Stagg attended Carleton College in Minnesota and, according to her Facebook page, is currently a grad student at Yale. Back in 2006, she wrote this essay for the New York Times, in which she argued that some modifications to the bee's traditional format could benefit its participants.

Ashley White has perhaps the most compelling post-"Spellbound" story. The D.C. native got pregnant and had a child at the age of 18, but managed to work part-time jobs while earning an undergraduate degree at Howard University and raising her daughter. As of last year, according to this Washington Post story, Ashley was planning to get a master's degree in social work and was even looking farther down the road at a Ph.D.

April DeGideo, whose doting, adorable mother was one of my favorite people in "Spellbound," earned a degree in journalism in 2007, according to Wikipedia. If this LinkedIn page is accurate, she currently works at Progressive Business Publications in Philadelphia.

Harry Altman, a kid who possessed an unparalleled talent for making bizarre faces, went on to major in math and computer science at the University of Chicago. He appears to be pursuing graduate studies at the University of Michigan and currently has 419 friends on Facebook.

Angela Arenivar has made her love of the Spanish language a focus of her life. Her Linked In page says she earned a B.A. in Spanish at Texas A&M University, and is following that with a master's in Spanish from the University of New Mexico, where she also acts as a teaching assistant.

Nupur Lala, who won the "Spellbound" bee, went on to attend the University of Michigan, graduating in 2007. Wikipedia says she is now a technical assistant in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT.

And lastly, the saddest of the "Spellbound" stories. Ted Brigham, a Missouri native, died in 2007 while pursuing medical school in Kansas City. It's unclear what the cause of death was, but it's certainly clear that he left this world much too soon.

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Gummi Bear Girl?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 26 May 2009 14:58:00 GMT

Twenty-three years ago, she offered a "warm and soft" gummi bear to a defeated high school principal while riding an Illinois school bus in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." As a result, she has been dubbed the "gummi bear girl" -- or as IMDB calls her in a slight improvement, "Girl on Bus." But young actress Polly Noonan went on to do more impressive things than merely offering sweet, squishy candy to older men in John Hughes movies.

Noonan, who now lives in New York City, has remained committed to the craft of acting. Her film credits may be few; most notably, she appeared with Johnny Depp in a little-seen film called "Arizona Dream" and, later, in the Steve Martin film "Novocaine." But Noonan has made a real name for herself in the theater.

She has spent many years appearing in plays written by Sara Ruhl, including "Passion Play" and "Dead Man's Cell Phone," both of which earned her Helen Hayes Award nominations when the productions ran in Washington, D.C. This bio from her stint in Steppenwolf Theatre's production of "Dead Man's Cell Phone" in Chicago lists a number of her other extensive theater credits.

Also, in a fascinating side note, Noonan can be spotted (partially) on the cover of the Lemonheads album "It's a Shame About Ray." Her voice can be heard on the eleventh track of the Lemonheads release that preceded "Ray," "Lovey."

I wasn't able to figure out what exactly she's up to at this moment in time. (She was in a production of "Cell Phone" in Florida earlier this year.) But the fact that she went from wearing ridiculously horrendous Coke bottle specs in "Ferris Bueller" to becoming a serious, working stage actress is enough of a reason to take some time to celebrate what she's accomplished.

Related Links:

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Edward Furlong?

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

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Staci Keanan?

Images: 80s.com and chicagomag.com

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.

Related Links

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Staci Keanan?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Banks Children?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Skippy From 'Family Ties'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Mara Wilson?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:02:00 GMT

You undoubtedly recall the angelic, young face of Mara Wilson, who spent part of the '90s starring in movies like "Mrs. Doubtfire," the remake of "Miracle on 34th Street" and "Matilda." She pretty much cornered the market on cute little brunette girls for a while there. But after those few active years -- a time when the young actress sadly lost her mother to breast cancer -- Wilson disappeared from the acting scene.

So where is Mara Wilson today?

After graduating from a performing arts high school in Burbank, Calif., in 2005, Wilson enrolled at New York University. The 21-year-old is still a student at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she is reportedly studying theater. Her choice of major indicates she still hasn't shaken the acting bug, so perhaps she'll return to the big screen in the not-too-distant future.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any photos from her college years, so I had to go with this one from three years ago, when Wilson starred in a production of "Cinderella." (Sorry, Mara! But feel free to send me some pics to post!) Expect to see young Wilson's face again a few hundred times when that "Miracle" remake starts making the rounds on cable this Christmas.

Rich or Rehab appears every Tuesday morning on Strollerderby.

Related Posts:

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Robby Benson?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Wyatt From 'Weird Science'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Ernie From 'My Three Sons'?

Images: Columbia-Tristar and Ector Theatricals

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Ernie From 'My Three Sons'?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:58:00 GMT

You may have to dip pretty far back into the recesses of your TV memory to recall "My Three Sons," a sitcom about a widower (Fred MacMurray) raising a trio of boys (hence the name) as a single dad. Well, not entirely single. He had some help from his father-in-law during the first few years of the show, then from housekeeper Uncle Charlie. (A male housekeeper? Kinda forward-thinking for a show that ran during the '60s and early '70s.)

In one of the many storyline changes that occurred during the comedy's run, MacMurray decided to adopt a friend of his son Chip's after the boy's parents died in a car accident. The kid's name was Ernie and he was cute, a little nerdy and an obvious attempt to keep the three sons concept alive after the eldest, Mike, was written out of the show. Ernie Douglas was played by Barry Livingston, who happened to be the real-life brother of Steve Livingston, the actor who played Chip. After "My Three Sons" ended its run in 1972, what became of the boy we knew and loved as Ernie?

This is one of those Rich or Rehab stories that doesn't quite have a twist ending. As it turns out, Livingston kept on acting. His resume, seen here on imdb, is pretty long, filled to the brim with TV credits on shows such as "Ironside," "Hart to Hart," "Doogie Howser" and "Ally McBeal." You even may have seen him more recently on "Mad Men" and "Two and a Half Men," or in the movie "You Don't Mess With the Zohan."

Livingston, who turns 55 later this year, is also married and the father of two children. Okay, so he doesn't have three sons. But it looks like the guy is doing pretty well for himself. Uncle Charlie would be proud. Here is what Livingston looks like now:

And, for old time's sake, here is the opening of "My Three Sons." Enjoy.

Rich or Rehab appears every Tuesday morning on Strollerderby.

More Rich or Rehab:

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Blossom?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Cousin Oliver From 'The Brady Bunch'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Older Brother From 'E.T.'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Blossom?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:02:00 GMT

Most of us remember Blossom Russo as that teenage girl with an endless array of funky outfits, a friend named Six and a brother who added layers of meaning to the word "Whoa."

But Blossom also happened to be Mayim Bialik, the young actress who played the character on the NBC sitcom in the early 1990s. So what is Bialik up to these days ... and does it involve wearing totally rad hats?

After "Blossom" went off the air in 1995, Bialik, like so many child stars, did voice work for a few animated series, including "Recess" and "Hey Arnold!" Then she took a detour from the Hollywood scene and decided to focus on her studies, earning an undergraduate degree in neuroscience, Hebrew and Jewish studies from UCLA. She has been working toward a Ph.D in neuroscience, which it appears she has not yet completed.

But that could be because Bialik has been busy. She is married and the mother of a two-year-old son. And Wikipedia indicates that she and her husband are expecting their second child sometime this fall, so we could be seeing Blossom's name in the celebrity baby headlines soon.

Bialik also hasn't totally abandoned acting. You may have spotted her in recent years on Showtime's "Fat Actress" or in a few installments of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." So it sounds like Bialik is following her own instincts and interests in her career and life in general. And that definitely sounds more interesting than a very special episode of "Blossom."

Rich or Rehab appears Tuesdays on Strollerderby.

Related Links: