Kids from Classic Videos: Where Are They Now?

One of my favorite programs to watch requires me to wake up an hour earlier every Monday. The show, called 120 Minutes, airs on VH1 Classic, and offers a nostalgic trip to the 1980s. The best videos from the early days of MTV are featured with little commercial interruption.

Some of the most frequent videos are from artists such as U2, The Smiths, Elvis Costello, and REM. Several of the more popular ones, especially Modern English's I Melt With You and I Don't Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats, have even enticed my teenage daughters to rise a little earlier than they usually do in order to ride into the past with me.

My older daughter recently made an observation about the young actress portraying the girl in I Don't Like Mondays. She said that the actress looked like her teacher when she was younger. Apparently the teacher had school photos displayed of her sixth grade class and had included one of herself at that age.

Her observation flattered the teacher when my daughter told her the next day.
My daughter was a little disappointed when the teacher admitted that she was not the girl in the classic video.

I, too, was a little disappointed, but the incident made me wonder what became of kids in other videos from more than decades ago. Here are five of my favorite classic video kids and what they have done in the decades since.

She's a Beauty by The Tubes: The boy in the video goes for the ride through the fun house and comes out as an old man. The lad 12 year old portraying the lad is Robert Arquette, who has gone through some significant changes since then. He played a transvestite named Georgrette in the film Last Exit to Brooklyn. Years later the actor underwent a sex change ioeration and became Alexis Arquette. The actor turned actress then made a movie, Alexis Arquette: She's My Brother, based on the experience.

Burning Down the House by The Talking Heads: Singer David Byrne can't shake off a kid climbing on his back and even replacing him at times in the video. The boy is Max Illidge, who has been involved in the music business ever since. He became the lead singer of the band 40 Below Summer, who hit the charts with the single Self-Medicate in 2003.

Dear God by XTC: Though the video's focus is on a little boy singing a letter to God, a more interesting aspect is the young bride sitting up in the tree behind him. She is portrayed by Belinda Blanchard, a British actress who currently plays a role in BBC's hit series Desperate Romantics.

We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister: The video opens with a father ripping into his son for not being more like a soldier, asking the boy,"What do you want to do with your life?" The boy famously replies, "I wanna rock," and strums his electric guitar. That young rocker is Jeremy Sisto, who ended up with a career in acting. Sisto has appeared in films such as Clueless and Suicide Kings. Among his acting credits on TV are Law and Order and the HBO series Six Feet Under.

No Rain by Blind Melon: The video features a nine year old girl dancing around in a bee costume. That girl is Heather DeLoach, who is still working as an actress. She appeared in the films Little Princess, Balls of Fury, and Anywhere But Here. She has also acted on TV in shows such as ER and Reno 911.

Sources:
www.yesbutnobutyes.com
www.belindablanchard.com
www.imbd.com
www.roadrunnerrecords.com
www.tv.com