'American Graffiti' Cast: Where Are They Now?

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

A love letter to pre-Vietnam Americana, director George Lucas' 'American Graffiti' (1973) captured one life-changing night for four young men in 1962 Modesto, California. Its success helped launch the acting careers of up-and-comers such as Harrison Ford and Richard Dreyfuss and gave Lucas the clout to get his next project -- a little "space opera" entitled 'Star Wars' -- off the ground. As 'Graffiti' turns 35, Moviefone checks in with the ensemble cast. --By Mickey O'Connor

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Ron Howard

Then: The child star ('The Andy Griffith Show') initially doubted his chances to land a role in 'Graffiti,' since his agent told him it was a musical and he couldn't sing. Playing Steve, a straight-arrow high-school senior heading for college on the East Coast the next morning, prepped him to play squeaky-clean Richie Cunningham on the popular sitcom 'Happy Days.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Ron Howard

Now: He's since moved behind the camera to direct a slew of box office hits, including 'Splash,' 'Apollo 13,' 'A Beautiful Mind' (for which he won an Oscar) and 'The Da Vinci Code.' He recently wrapped the Watergate drama 'Frost/Nixon,' and will next helm the 'Da Vinci' prequel 'Angels & Demons.' Fun fact: He also narrated the critically beloved sitcom 'Arrested Development.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Richard Dreyfuss

Then: Dreyfuss was a fresh-faced TV actor when he was cast as Curt, the college-bound kid who goes looking for a mysterious blonde (Suzanne Somers) in a T-Bird and ends up finding DJ Wolfman Jack. Dreyfuss followed up the role with Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws' in 1975 and a Best Actor Oscar for 1977's 'The Goodbye Girl.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Richard Dreyfuss

Now: Dreyfuss nabbed another Oscar nomination for 1995's 'Mr. Holland's Opus' and last graced the big screen in Wolfgang Petersen's epic flop 'Poseidon.' He'll next co-star with Nia Vardalos ('My Big Fat Greek Wedding') in 'My Life in Ruins,' a comedy about a woman who gives tours of ancient sites in Greece.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Paul Le Mat

Then: Le Mat was an amateur boxer when Lucas hired him to drive the film's signature banana-yellow deuce coupe (Lucas paid homage to the car with a yellow speeder in 'Attack of the Clones'). Le Mat won a Golden Globe for his turn as Milner, a drag racer whose tough-guy image is compromised when he has to baby-sit 12-year-old Carol for the evening.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Paul Le Mat

Now: Although Le Mat continues to act (he showed up in two 'Lonesome Dove' TV series and 1998's 'American History X'), he also makes personal appearances relating to his role in 'American Graffiti.' Fun fact: Most of his 'Graffiti' co-stars are listed as friends on his official MySpace page.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Mackenzie Phillips

Then: A 12-year-old Phillips owns all her scenes as Carol, a precocious little sister who improbably ends up cruising the streets with Milner. Two years after 'Graffiti,' she became a household name playing Julie Cooper on the TV sitcom 'One Day at a Time,' opposite Valerie Bertinelli, before drug addiction derailed her career.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Mackenzie Phillips

Now: With her drug problems behind her, Phillips starred in the Disney series 'So Weird' from 1999-2001 and has since found a home on crime procedurals, with guest spots on 'Crossing Jordan,' 'Without a Trace,' 'NYPD Blue' and 'Cold Case.' The cast of 'One Day at a Time' recently reunited on the 'Today' show.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Charles Martin Smith

Then: The bumbling "Toad" lures "bitchin' babe" Debbie into his friend Steve's '58 Chevy Impala because she loves its tuck-and-roll upholstery. The mismatched pair's comedy-of-errors evening ends in an unexpectedly touching love connection.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Charles Martin Smith

Now: Smith continues to act, most recently on Fox's short-lived road-race drama 'Drive' and in the indie film 'Jack and Jill vs. the World.' He also just completed work on 'Stone of Destiny,' an adventure-comedy film he wrote and directed.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Cindy Williams

Then: In DVD extras, Williams confesses that she didn't want to play the headstrong Laurie, and begged Lucas to cast her as the seductive Debbie. Her buttoned-up performance in 'Graffiti' foreshadowed her role as the compulsive Shirley Feeney on the hit sitcom 'Laverne and Shirley,' which spun off from 'Happy Days.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Cindy Williams

Now: Williams played herself in Comedy Central's short-lived sitcom 'Strip Mall' with Julie Brown. More recently, she has guest-starred on everything from '7th Heaven' to '8 Simple Rules' to 'Girlfriends.' In December 2007, she made her Broadway debut as Mrs. Tottendale in the Tony-winning musical 'The Drowsy Chaperone.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Harrison Ford

Then: Ford, then a carpenter, was working on casting director Fred Roos' house when Roos offered him a small part playing tough-talkin' drag racer Bob Falfa. Ford accepted, and iconic roles as a suave space smuggler ('Star Wars'), a globe-trotting archaeologist ('Indiana Jones') and a futuristic crime-fighter ('Blade Runner') soon followed.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Harrison Ford

Now: Two mega-successful franchises, one Oscar nomination (for 1985's 'Witness') and countless acclaimed roles later, he's one of the biggest movie stars of all time. And, at 65, he's still going: Next up, he'll play an adventurer with a fear of snakes in a little art-house project called 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Candy Clark

Then: Jack Nicholson recommended Clark, who was a model in New York City, to play sweet, bubble-headed Debbie. Her touching turn earned the only Oscar nomination among the cast (she lost to 10-year-old Tatum O'Neal). She later co-starred with David Bowie in 'The Man Who Fell to Earth' and Robert Mitchum in 'The Big Sleep.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Candy Clark

Now: Continuing her run of prestigious co-stars, she most recently appeared with Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. in 2007's acclaimed thriller 'Zodiac.' Her next film, 'Dog Tags,' is set to hit the festival circuit this year.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Kathleen Quinlan

Then: Quinlan was a competitive gymnast when her high-school drama teacher recommended her for a small role as Laurie's friend Peg. She went on to earn a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as a schizophrenic in 'I Never Promised You a Rose Garden' (1977).

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Kathleen Quinlan

Now: She memorably played a pagan Jim Morrison groupie in Oliver Stone's 'The Doors' (1991) and earned an Oscar nomination for playing Marilyn Lovell in 'Apollo 13' (1995), a movie directed by her 'Graffiti' co-star Howard. Next up, the married mom of two appears opposite Patrick Dempsey in 'Made of Honor.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Suzanne Somers

Then: In an important but small role, Somers plays an unnamed blonde who mouths the words "I love you" to Curt at a traffic light, sending the lovesick kid on an all-night quest to find her again. After famously losing a 'Charlie's Angels' role to Farrah Fawcett, Somers rebounded by winning the role of Chrissy Snow on the TV classic 'Three's Company.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Suzanne Somers

Now: Though she hasn't acted much since 'Step by Step' went off the air in 1998, she briefly headlined a one-woman Broadway show called 'The Blonde in the Thunderbird' in 2005. These days, she's a bit of a mogul, having published nine health and diet books and selling her own collection of clothing and jewelry on the Home Shopping Network.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Bo Hopkins

Then: Not to be confused with Bob Hoskins, U.S. Army veteran Hopkins plays Joe Young, the leader of the Pharaohs gang who inducts Curt into the crew.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Bo Hopkins

Now: A TV vet who has appeared on everything from 'The Rockford Files' to 'Murder, She Wrote' to 'Dynasty,' Hopkins hasn't acted since 1993, but raises koi fish at his home in Los Angeles.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Joe Spano

Then: The future Emmy-winning star of 'Hill Street Blues' made his blink-and-you-miss-it big-screen debut as Vic in 'Graffiti.' His next role? The not-nearly-as-popular horror flick 'Warlock Moon.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Joe Spano

Now: Cited by Tom Hanks as his first true acting inspiration, Spano appeared opposite the A-lister in 1995's 'Apollo 13,' and has turned up recently with small roles in 'Hollywoodland' and 'Fracture.' He has also co-starred in several critically successful TV dramas, including 'Murder One,' 'NYPD Blue,' and, currently, 'Navy NCIS.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Wolfman Jack

Then: To conduct the film's integral soundtrack of 1950s and '60s hits, Lucas tapped DJ Wolfman Jack, who he remembered from his childhood. Much of the background banter between the Wolfman and his callers are actual recordings of his high-octane radio shows.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Wolfman Jack

Now: The Wolfman succumbed to a heart attack in July 1995, just one day after he recorded his last live radio broadcast.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Haskell Wexler

Then: Wexler had already won a cinematography Oscar for 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' when Lucas enlisted him as a visual consultant on 'Graffiti.'
Now: Widely regarded as one of the most influential cinematographers of all time, Wexler directed 2007's 'From Wharf Rats to Lords of the Docks' and has also worked on episodes of HBO's 'Big Love.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

George Lucas

Then: With just one film under his belt, an oddball sci-fi fable called 'THX 1138,' about a futuristic underground colony that outlaws sex, the young director needed pal Francis Ford Coppola's help to get 'Graffiti' made. Four years later, Lucas hit the jackpot with his intergalactically beloved 'Star Wars.'

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

George Lucas

Now: In addition to producing the new 'Indiana Jones' film, Lucas is releasing 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' this summer. Chronicling events taking place between 'Episode II' and 'III' of the recent live-action trilogy, the animated feature will serve as a pilot of sorts for a new series set to air on the Cartoon Network.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Francis Ford Coppola

Then: Since Lucas was an untested talent, it was the involvement of Coppola, fresh off the success of 'The Godfather,' that won the film the backing of a studio.

'American Graffiti': Where Are They Now?

Francis Ford Coppola

Now: After a long absence from directing, Coppola got back behind the lens for 2007's ill-received 'Youth Without Youth,' a philosophical meditation on aging. He is currently at work filming the drama 'Tetro,' and is also producing an adaptation of Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road.'

Where Are They Now?