The kids from "Fame" -- Where Are They Now?

Cafe Society
1

I was watching Fame last night (along with The Hotel New Hampshire as part of a “Paul McCrane Repressed Homosexual Double Feature”) and got to thinking. The movie was made in 1980, meaning that the kids were the class of 1984. Which means it’s time to start planning the 20-year class reunion!

So what have the kids from the High School for the Performing Arts been up to for the last 20 years? I think:

Coco Hernandez: She did a couple of years as a cat in “Cats.” She kept working with Bruno Martelli and they had a monster club hit in 1987. She parleyed that into some guest shots on sitcoms and some small parts in low-budget features. Her career was derailed by the re-emergence in 1992 of the topless “screen test” she made as a senior, although a re-mix of her club hit featuring footage from the screen test sent her one hit to the top of the charts for a second time. These days she works steadily in direct-to-video movies and makes infrequent appearances at gay pride events around the country, performing her hit and sometimes judging drag queen Coco lookalike contests.

Bruno Martelli: In addition to his work with Coco, he scored a number of club hits working with other artists and solo. He never married, fueling speculation that he’s gay. He became very reclusive, releasing new songs pretty much every year but rarely if ever appearing in public.

Doris Finsecker: After giving up the stage name “Dominique Dupont” in favor of “Doris Finn,” she made it big in commercials before landing the second lead in a Broadway show. The show wasn’t very successful but she won a Tony for best supporting actress. Heading west, she picked up a recurring role in a sitcom and was eventually spun off into her own series, which only lasted a season. She now tours with touring companies of Broadway shows. She married an orthopedic surgeon and had one daughter, but divorced after nine years.

Ralph Garcy: Was moderately successful as a stand-up comedian. Landed a gig as the host of a game show which he continues to this day.

Montgomery MacNeil: Did a lot of cabaret work and dinner theatre. Fell in love with the first man he ever slept with and they moved together to Virginia, where they operate a bed and breakfast, are active in community theatre and are thought of as “nice young men.”

Who else?

2

Well, Paul McCrane is pretty damn obvious…you don’t have to be a “Rocket” scientist to figure that one out.

:wink:

3

Nicole Chapman: Raised from the dead by irresponsible young wizard frustrated by his inability to get dates with living chicks. She hunted down drunk driver who killed her, subjected him to gruesome yet impressively creative torture before killing him. Now exists happily in the New York sewer system, occasionally grabbing homeless people off the street and eating their brains. Works in the film industry as freelance “zombie consultant.”

4

Leroy would reveal his post-graduation resume, but that would require me unleashing him from the pillar in my basement. He sends his best wishes, though. :slight_smile:

5

Theres a program on British TV this week asking that same question, maybe osme of the other Brit Sopers might know if the same show is due to be aired Stateside… If you really wanted to know that is :slight_smile:

6

By odd coincidence, my wife bought a copy of People magazine this week to practice her English with, and one of the articles is a “Where are they now” bit on the Fame cast.

7

No no, not looking for what happened to the cast. A quick perusal of IMDB shows me that very few of them had substantive film or TV careers after that film. This is a game in which we’re hypothesizing about the fates of the characters between graduation and their 20 year reunion.

8

I remember that scene when Bruno is auditioning for admission to the school . . . and it requires the transport and assembly of enough electronic equipment to fill a good-sized truck. Nowadays, he could produce the same effects with a laptop computer and a couple of big speakers. Perhaps Bruno became an electronic-music consultant for the software industry?