Christmas films take us back, and like Christmas songs, new
ones rarely catch on, so every year, we indulge in the same childhood
favourites. Jingle All The Way has already appeared on the box this year, and
Arnold Schwarzenegger has returned to our screens with his awkward portrayal of
desperate Dad Howard Langston. We all know Arnie’s career trajectory from
blocky bodybuilder to Governor of California, but what happened the child actor
who played his son in the 1996 festive flick. Jake Lloyd was that kid who pined
for super-toy, Turbo Man, but the now 24-year-old is retired from acting, and has been
for quite a few years. Since Jingle All The Way, Lloyd’s only considerable role
has been as Anakin Skywalker in ‘Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace’ in
1999. Having described his experience with Star Wars as a disaster, and fulfilling
appearances as Skywalker in the franchise video games, the young actor vowed
never to act again. However, he did return to the screen as Mike McCormick in
2005 film, Madison. He swapped Hollywood for Chicago, where he studied film and
video, and is now said to be devoting his attention behind the camera as an
editor, rather than as the star. But never fear, we can cringe this year and every
year as we get nostalgic watching Arnie make his son’s Christmas dream come
true.
Annie – Aileen Quinn
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| Quinn as Annie in 1982 |
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| Quinn in 2012 |
There’s nothing us Irish love more than whipping out a good
musical, and holding onto our youth for a couple of hours. The 80s gave us a
lot of things; neon socks and shoulder pads for example, but the early days
gave us ‘Annie’. Aileen Quinn was the lead as the rambunctious redheaded orphan
who tries desperately to escape the orphanage run by hated callous drunkard;
Miss Hannigan. Quinn had only landed an orphan understudy role in the
Broadway production of Annie, before she staved off competition from over 8,000
young actresses to land the title role in the 1982 film adaptation. She has had
some other minor roles on screen in the years since, but currently owns her own
production company, Aileen Quinn Productions. She is also the lead singer of
Rockabilly band, The Leapin’ Lizards, and is currently writing original material
for the group. She also recently returned to a production of Annie, but this
time as Miss Hannigan’s brother, Rooster Hannigan’s thieving girlfriend ‘Lily’
in Aspen, Colorado.
The Little Rascals – Travis Tedford
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| Tedford as Spanky |
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| Tedford Recently |
The Little Rascals is a timeless childhood guilty pleasure we come
back to from time to time, and one of the main characters was Spanky McFarland,
leader of the He-Man Women Hater’s Club. Texas native Travis Tedford played the
wise young gang kid, and along with friends Alfalfa and Stinky, he charmed us
in the 1994 comedy. The film received poor critical reviews, but that doesn’t
stop us loving it, and it made over $65 million at the box office worldwide.
Tedford had a career like many child stars, meaning it was all downhill once
the gang’s clubhouse had closed its doors, and he currently works as an inbound
marketing specialist for Texas Trust Credit Union. He went back to college to study
liberal arts, and graduated with an Associates’ degree in that subject in
2008. He now tweets vague self-help and motivational quotes, while posting selfies
of himself with his dog. He is due to appear in feature film, ‘Piranha 3DDD’ in
2014.
Oliver! – Mark Lester
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| Lester as Oliver in 1968 |
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| Lester in 2013 |
The 1968 film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ famous novel,
Oliver Twist, is a recurring movie classic, and you need only say one line to bring it all back; “Please sir, Can I have some more?” Mark Lester
played the title role, and the former child star quit acting as a 19-year-old
after poor reviews were received for ‘Crossed Swords’. He returned to education and completed
his A levels at the age of 28, and became an osteopath. He opened an
acupuncture clinic in Cheltenham in 1993, married that the same year,
divorced in 2005, only to marry his second wife just a year later. Lester was a
close friend to Michael Jackson, and brought a bizarre spotlight on himself
after the singer’s death when he claimed in a News Of The World interview that
he may be the father of Jackson’s daughter Paris. He claimed to be a sperm
donor to Jackson in 1996, but his ex-wife, Jane Lester, described her former
husband as “nuts”, in saying that they had only become friends after the birth
of Jackson’s children in 2001. Mark Lester hasn’t appeared on screen since ‘Crossed
Swords’ in 1977, but he is cast in the role of King Harold II in ‘1066’, a film
recounting the Battle of Hastings, which is currently in pre-production.
Home Alone – Macaulay Culkin
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| Culkin in Home Alone |
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| Culkin in 2012 |
Once Home Alone is on the television, it is officially
Christmas in many Irish households, and the 90s smash hit will be beaming its
way into our living rooms over the next few weeks. Its lead, Macaulay Culkin,
was once considered the biggest child star since Shirley Temple, and was named in
the number two spot in VH1’s list of 100 Greatest Kid Stars, second only to
Justin Bieber. Culkin also starred in old favourites, ‘My Girl’, and ‘Richie
Rich’, but since his glory days, his career has spiralled. In recent years,
there was concern when images emerged online of the 33-year-old looking frail
amidst rumours of alcohol and heroin addiction. However, earlier this year,
showbiz journalists reported him looking healthy and happy during a rare public
appearance at the 2013 Comic-Con event. He was arrested in 2004 for possession of
marijuana, as well as other controlled substances, and was divorced from
wife, Rachel Milner, in 2002. He dated
Hollywood superstar, Mila Kunis for eight years between 2002 and 2010, before
the actresses’ publicist confirmed their split. Culkin was embroiled in
controversy when Michael Jackson was on trial for child molestation, given the
fact that the pair became friends soon after Culkin’s Home Alone days. Culkin
described allegations that Jackson had molested him as “absolutely ridiculous”,
and Jackson was subsequently acquitted. Culkin attended Jackson’s burial with
his then girlfriend, Mila Kunis in 2009. Despite intermittent film appearances
in minor productions dating up to 2011, he is not scheduled to appear on
screen in the near future.
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