Where Are They Now?: California Dreams

Hello Gasmii!  P-Baby here, ready to find out what some of our most favorite has beens are up to once again.  While the 90′s Nickelodeon is an ongoing wealth of material, I decided to branch out of my comfort zone and bring it on back to Teen NBC.  One of my favorite shows to watch when I wasn’t busy drooling over Donnie Jeffcoat was the show California Dreams.  Rockin’ jams, fresh threads, and overall enjoyable yet cheesy acting made for a TV trifecta I just couldn’t quit.  It is my perfectly biased opinion that this show was heads and tails above its lead in show Saved By The Bell: The New Class. For starters, the cast was far more attractive and this aspect is all that really mattered on TNBC Saturday morning fare.  California Dreams aired for five seasons in the early 90′s as part of NBC’s Saturday morning block.  There were a few cast switcheroos here and there, but luckily the show’s backbone in the form of Kelly Packard, remained for the entire duration.

Before beginning my research, I crossed my fingers that some of these guys were able to make the transition from lighthearted teen sitcom to a serious acting career that I’m just not in the know on.  It proved to be futile, which I should have known early on seeing as how Kelly Packard went on to star on Baywatch.  If being cast on Baywatch is considered a step up on your Hollywood totem pole, then it may be time to pursue other endeavors.  But you are still very, very pretty Kelly.

Brent Gore:  Brent made it through 48 episodes as California Dreams band leader Matt Garrison before finally throwing in the towel to move on to other projects.  After acting stints in Zoe in 2001, Breaking Vegas in 2005, and Extreme Movie in 2008, is acting career abruptly ended.  Well, maybe not so abruptly since he acted in approximately four projects in sixteen years.  IMDB tells me that in 2005, he was performing in a band called King Straggler as well as an indulgent self-titled band called Brentley Gore.  His most recent EP was released in 2008 titled Shine.  His personal website claims that he sang at Brad and Jen’s wedding.  Currently he can be found living in Los Angeles “developing projects for film and TV” which is industry code for unemployed.  Things are looking up for Brent, as he recently celebrated his 36th birthday and some people on his IMDB message board think he looks like Josh Duhamel.  Not too shabby Brent.  Not shabby at all.

Heidi Noelle Lenhart:  Heidi played Jenny Garrison, Matt’s sister and resident pianist of the band for 30 episodes and then suspiciously disappeared due to a musical opportunity in Italy.  In layman’s terms, she was written off the show.  Chalk me up as one of the viewers who was pissed when she left.  Heidi was acting prior to her stint on California Dreams, in roles on shows that none of you have watched.  She is probably best known for starring in the made for TV Au Pair movies, Au Pair (1999), Au Pair II (2001), and Au Pair III: Adventures in Paradise (2009) (Side note:  Is it just me or did they miss an awesome play on words…how about Adventures in Pairadise?  Too obvious?)  Not to be typecast, Heidi also had gigs on Silk Stockings, Pacific Blue, and Beverly Hills 90210. Though she has no projects on the horizon for 2010, she does have an avid fan on IMDB declaring her the most beautiful woman in the world.  So, that’s good I guess.

Kelly Packard:  Let me preface Kelly’s section by stating that she was my favorite on the show and I just want good things in life for her.  She just seemed to be so sweet and unaware of how pretty she is.  Anyway, Kelly stuck out the entire show run for 78 episodes as California Dreams bassist Tiffani Smith.  Prior to California Dreams, she had guest spots on Boy Meets World, Step By Step, Blossom, and The Wonder Years.  As mentioned in the intro, Kelly went on to star on Baywatch for 51 episodes in the mid 90′s.  She hosted Ripley’s Believe It Or Not from 2002-2003, and can currently be seen in the movie My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, also starring Beau Bridges and Alyssa Milano (Side note:  Is Beau Bridges on some kind of downward spiral?  His brother wins the Oscar and he is starring in movies with Alyssa Milano and Bindi Irwin.  WTF Beau?  I sincerely hope he wins the Emmy this year for Guest Actor in a Drama Series just to keep him from doing anything rash.)  Wiki says that Kelly converted and was baptized as a member of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, going on to be married and sealed to Darrin Privett in 1997, giving birth to a daughter in 2004 and a son in 2005.  I think I speak for many when I say…what the hell does being sealed mean?

William James Jones:  William was another lifer on the show, sticking it out for the entire run as drummer Tony Wicks and boyfriend of singer/Jenny replacement/resident Asian Sam.  After California Dreams, William had guest spots on The District, The West Wing, and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch.  IMDB tells me that as of June 2009 he is studying to earn a masters degree in clinical psychology to become a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist.  P-Baby won’t make fun of that because that is actually completely awesome.  William  can currently be found in Los Angeles studying at Starbucks.

Michael Cade:  Michael was given the juicy role of teenage band manager Sylvester “Sly” Winkle and his smarmy persona on the show was quite enjoyable.  Prior to California Dreams, he had gigs on Baywatch and Life Goes On, and even a role in the Oscar nominated film Chaplin.  He kept up with the acting jobs, starring in Angry Dogs, Totally Blonde, Duck, Duck, Goose!, The Trip, Along The Way, Customer Service, and Career Choice. Unfortunately for Michael, none of these are familiar to the general public.  He can currently be seen in Rain From Stars with French Stewart and Jeremy London (Side note:  I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Jeremy London’s understudy is happy as a pig in shit right now.)  as well as Devils Inside with Scott Baio.  I think the co-stars really speak for themselves.  (Side note:  Can anyone really explain to me what the hell has happened to Jeremy London?  Seriously, guy, pull yourself together.  Hopefully Dr. Drew will whip him into shape, but seeing as I’m quite sure he and Eric Roberts are taking turns doing lines of blow off of Rachel Uchitel’s asscrack, I won’t hold my breath.  At least I’ll always have Mallrats.)

Jay Anthony Franke:  Jay was introduced during the second season as California Dreams as resident bad boy and second guitarist Jake Sommers.  Wiki tells me Jay is best known as a voice actor, voicing JC Denton and Paul Denton for the computer game Deus Ex.  Don’t worry, I’ve never heard of it either.  I’m the other kind of loser that sits in front of my Macbook all day blogging about celebrity has-beens and shitty movies.  Anyway, Jay got married in 2009 in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia.  Jay can currently be found in Australia with his wife Tracey working as a QA manager for a music publisher.  If you have free time, or are easily entertained, check out his Wiki page, as it appears to have been written by a first grader.  Here is a sample.  ”Jay Anthony Franke created a pilot and his wife Tracey produced it.  This is not how they met.  Jay and Tracey met in 2006.  The pilot has already been filmed and is in post production.” (Source:  Jay Anthony Franke Wikipedia page.)

Jennie Kwan:  Coming aboard in the second season to fill the void left by Jenny, Jennie Kwan played the part of Sam Woo, vocalist and girlfriend to Tony the drummer.  Jennie’s other works include spots on Beverly Hills 90210, Family Matters, and The Nanny. According to IMDB, in 2001 Jennie enjoyed a brief stint in the girl group Nobody’s Angels but due to declining popularity the group split up.  She has performed extensive voice work from 2005-2008 for Avatar: The Last Airbender, not to be confused with the 2009 movie Avatar or the 2010 crapfest The Last Airbender.  For a short while she was part of the touring cast of the Broadway show Avenue Q.  Her self-run website contains absolutely no information about her personal life and also contains no information about upcoming projects.  So in the words of Brentley Gore, Jennie can be found living in Los Angeles “developing projects for film and TV.”

Aaron Jackson:  Aaron came to California Dreams in the third season, playing Sly’s cousin from New York.  His duty was to fill the recently departed Matt’s shoes.  First and foremost, Aaron was a hot piece of ass on the show and Googling shows that he’s still pretty cute.  After California Dreams, he starred in Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror (This ranks at #5,394 on the list of movies to recap for Horrorgasm.  Sorry, Aaron fans.), Wicked Spring, and Tangy Guacamole to name a few.  Currently he can be seen in 2010′s The Pain Within and Biophage.  IMDB wants to note that he has two sisters named Dawn and Laura with brown hair and brown eyes.  Good to know.  I wonder if Aaron is pissed that Dawn and Laura have more information in Aaron’s bio than he does.

Diana Uribe:  Cast as Lorena Costa in the third season, California Dreams was Diana’s first professional acting role.  She played a rich groupie that eventually took in Sam when the entire Garrison family left the show.  For those who don’t recall, Sam was an exchange student staying with the Garrisons. (Side note:  Is it proper procedure to take in a foreign exchange student and then dump her on a completely different family without notifying anyone?)  After California Dreams, Diana had spots on Nash Bridges, Air America, and City Guys.  She’s not acted since 2001 after a gig on Strong Medicine.  Apparently she went on to do normal things like get married and have kids.  I have no idea where she is or what she’s doing and she probably prefers it that way.

That’s a wrap on my California Dreamers.  Hope you enjoyed, Gasmii!