Whatever Happened to the Cast of Better off Dead?

Whatever Happened to the Cast of Better off Dead?

Sure, we all know where John Cusack is as his star rocketed to the top since Better off Dead. As Lane Myer, he was the guy you love to root for, especially when his girlfriend dumps him and he luckily fails miserably at killing himself. Since then he has starred in the futuristic thriller 2012, and The Raven and is active on Twitter, but what about the rest of the cast? Here is what happened to the cast after filming that classic dark comedy in 1985.

Demian Slade

As paperboy Johnny Gasparini he hunted down the Myer family for his “two dollars”. Since then, not enough has been seen of Demian Slade. After a few kid parts in 80s movies, he appeared 90s hit show The Wonder Years but since then he has done some short film work in Ushers and Untreated.

Yuji Okumoto

Yes, he dropped the Howard Cosell impression he adopted for his role in Better Off Dead and went on to star in TV shows like NCIS: Los Angeles and in feature films as Chozen Toguchi in The Karate Kid Part II ( Okumoto studied martial arts and is a brown belt in real life ) and Inception, billed as “Saito’s Attendant”.

Diane Franklin

We were so glad that she came to Lane’s emotional rescue as Monique Junet in Better Off Dead. She also starred in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure as well as The Last American Virgin. She wrote a memoir about her life titled Diane Franklin: The Excellent Adventures of the Last American, French-Exchange Babe of the 80s.  She’s still gorgeous and is married to screenwriter, Ray De Laurentis, famous for his work on the show Fairly Odd Parents.

Curtis Armstrong

Every guy needs a best pal with a cool hat to make it through a tough competition and Charles De Mar had the coolest lines in the film. For example, “Ah, come on! It’s Christmas Eve! I could be home right now, drinking this *monster* eggnog my brother makes with lighter fluid.” Curtis went on to play the iconic Booger in Revenge of the Nerds and was one of the hosts of 2015’s awesome game show King of the Nerds. Throughout the decade he has been a working actor showing up on shows like Moonlighting and recently as the voice of Snot on American Dad.

Kim Darby

As mom Jenny Myer (the mom in the apron who boiled bacon) she had already been on TV and movies for years. She went from actress to teacher and students at the Extension Program of the University of California benefit from her expertise. She must be dedicating her professional life to teaching as her last role was in 2007 as Barb in Cold Ones.

Dan Schneider

After playing the hilarious role of Ricky Smith, Dan went on to co-star on Head of the Class as the guy with the keyboard on his lap, Dennis. He channeled his creativity into another area of show business as the creator of hits like iCarly and Zoey 101.

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    • Virginia Repka
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