A Christmas Story has remained a seminal holiday movie since its release in 1983 and is a favorite to watch on Christmas Day.
The movie follows nine-year-old Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) who is determined that he wants a new Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas, but all the adults are trying to convince him its a bad idea because it might "shoot your eye out."
Despite being released more than 40 years ago, many of its stars have remained in show business, so let's take a look at what they're up to today.
Peter Billingsley (Ralphie)
The star of the film with his iconic blue eyes and glasses, stayed in movies and even continued to make hit Christmas films.
Billingsley had an uncredited role in 2003's Elf starring Will Ferrell and he also served as a producer—even briefly making a cameo appearance—in Four Christmases, starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon.
The actor remained close to the movie that made him famous around the world and co-produced the original 2012 Broadway musical adaptation of A Christmas Story. Billingsley once again played Ralphie in the 2022 HBO Max film A Christmas Story Christmas.
Ian Petrella (Randy Parker)
The actor would go on to have some more acting roles in TV shows such as Diff'rent Strokes and Who's The Boss? after landing his first acting role at the age of three.
Petrella took a 15-year break from acting where he traveled the world and studied marionette puppetry in Czechia.
He eventually returned to the U.S. where he made animated shorts and acted inA Christmas Story Christmas alongside Billingsley.
Scott Schwartz (Flick)
Schwartz perhaps had one of the most memorable scenes in cinema history when his character licked a frozen light pole, getting his tongue stuck.
In the 1990s, Schwartz turned his attention to the adult film industry where he starred as an actor and also worked behind the camera. He eventually returned to mainstream acting but is well known for his collection of celebrity-based trading cards.
Schwartz also reprised his role as Flick for the HBO sequel to A Christmas Story.
Zack Ward (Scut Farkus)
Scut Farkus was the notorious bully in A Christmas Story and also returned for the 2022 sequel.
"It's part of my life that I really couldn't separate away from," Ward told Newsweek in 2022. "And I'm sure the day that I die, they'll be like, 'Oh, by the way, Scut Farkus has passed, and his other name was Zack Ward.' So it's like being Batman, I guess."
Other than starring in the Christmas classic, Ward has had a prolific acting career. Some of his credits include, American Horror Story, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mike and Molly, Liv and Maddie, three CSI shows, Hawaii Five-O, Cold Case and Transformers.
Melinda Dillon (Mrs. Parker)
Dillon had already won a Tony Award and been nominated twice for an Oscar before appearing in the Christmas film. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her roles in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Absence of Malice.
She continued to work in many movies and TV shows, with some of her final roles coming in 2007, including the series Heartland and the film Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler.
Dillon passed away in 2023 at the age of 83.
Darren McGavin (Old Man)
McGavin played Ralphie's very grumpy, but loving dad. He is probably most remembered in the movie for bringing out a lamp that looked like a leg in a fishnet stocking.
After A Christmas Story, McGavin played Adam Sandler's billionaire dad in Billy Madison. McGavin was nominated for an Emmy in 1990 for a guest appearance on sitcom Murphy Brown.
McGavin passed away from heart disease in 2006, aged 83.
Yano Anaya (Grover Dill)
The actor portrayed Scut Farkus' sidekick and continued to act, including reprising his role in the HBO sequel.
Anaya made headlines in 2022 when the owner of the iconic house from A Christmas Story slammed him for taking selfies with fans outside the property, per TMZ.
When the owner listed the property for sale, Anaya expressed an interest in buying it.
"You guys ain't gonna buy this place. I'm never selling it to you," the man is heard telling Anaya in a video posted on TMZ.
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