Whatever Happened To The Cast Of Fletch?

Gregory Mcdonald was a Boston Globe reporter who channeled his at-large adventures into the award winning 1974 novel "Fletch," launching a franchise that would spawn nearly a dozen books and sell tens of millions of copies. But if you sat next to him on a plane, he'd tell you he was in the insurance business — just to avoid further conversation.

McDonald's bestselling first book, featuring a sharp-tongued investigative reporter named Irwin Maurice Fletcher, was shepherded by Kirk Douglas' son Peter (and could have nearly starred his other son, Michael), who toiled for years to bring it to the big screen with the likes of Burt Reynolds and Mick Jagger, all ultimately rejected by Mcdonald.

"It seemed that over the last 10 years, everybody in the world who acts and is a male between the ages of 17 and 76 tried to get the role," Mcdonald said in 1985. "I admire Mick Jagger, but he is not my idea of a young American male."

Ultimately, Chevy Chase landed the role, with Mcdonald sending him a telegram reading: 'I am delighted to abdicate the role of Fletch to you.'"

So, it all came together in a 1985 film with a script by Andrew Bergman (elevated considerably by Chase improvs), solid direction by Michael Ritchie, a synthtastic score by Harold Faltermeyer a masterful master of disguise lead turn by Chase (who, to this day, says it is the "favorite" role of his entire career) and a set of 30-weight ball bearings — after all, it's all ball bearings nowadays.

While director Ritchie preferred sticking to the script, his genius was in negotiating a "one for you, one for me" approach with Chase. Freed from script pages, the former "SNL" funnyman ad-libbed gags like the alias "Ted Nugent," Cujo, "Dr. Rosenpenis," the "Dr. Jellyfinger" line, John Cocktoaste and the beloved steak sandwich bit; others (like the ball-bearings bit) were scripted. Naturally, many of the "Chevy takes" were kept, and the results of this unorthodox collaboration — ranging from classic lines about hitting a water buffalo to what co-star George Wyner perfectly assessed ("'Moon River' has never sounded quite the same." I used to love that song, and now the association has ruined it for me.") helped make it an endlessly quotable masterwork of 1980s comedy. 

Of course, Chase wasn't alone in this pursuit of comedy gold, as he was supported in scene after scene by a talented ensemble of straight men and women, with assistant director Wolfgang Glattes reflecting, "Chevy was a dominating figure in these scenes, and he never pushed people aside, he always let them do their part to make the scene work."

Now, after decades in development hell (with names like Jason Lee, Zach Braff, Ryan Reynolds, and even Ben Affleck), Jon Hamm is bringing Fletch back with 2022's "Confess, Fletch." There's no better time, it seems, to look back on whatever happened, bit by bit, to the original 1985 "Fletch" cast ... none of whom appear in the new film. 

So sit back, enjoy a nice cup of hot fat, and while you wait for the head of Alfredo Garcia to arrive, read on for a breakdown of what the "Fletch" cast have been doing in the years since.

From respected policeman to drug peddler, Chief Karlin walked a fine line of protecting the laws and breaking them, and he didn't like anyone messing with his business, especially some "penny-ante Woodward and Bernstein" like Fletch. 

Joe Don Baker may have had limited screen time as Karlin, but he was amazed at its lasting impact. In 1992, Baker told The Commercial Appeal, "Everywhere I go, there's more people asking me about 'Fletch.' I had a couple or three scenes in it. I thought it was just an average sort of funny movie, but it's become a cult movie."

Baker grew up in central Texas going to the movies a lot, but the three sport high school star didn't get into acting until he attended college at North Texas State. He began his career in style, with a small part in 1967's "Cool Hand Luke," and his career picked up heavily in the '70s, playing heroes and villains with memorable turns in "Walking Tall," TV's "Eischied," "Charlie Varick," and "Mitchell," which later became infamous as a sixth season episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000," with which the actor has reportedly taken umbridge.

He later went on to plays both good and bad guys in three different James Bond films (most notably as wicked General Whitaker in "The Living Daylights"), cracked wise with Robert De Niro in the Martin Scorsese remake of "Cape Fear," and played larger than life historical figures in memorable TV movies like "Citizen Cohn," "The Siege at Ruby Ridge," and "George Wallace." The 86-year-old actor hasn't had a credit since playing an angry King out to get Matthew McConaughey's title character in 2012's "Mud."

Alan Stanwyck is a smart man, but he was pretty foolish when he hired Fletch to "kill" him, exposing his dark secrets and upending his life. Tim Matheson played Stanwyck with dead seriousness, but enjoyed improvising with Chevy, and "break[ing] him up on his close ups." (via Laker Jim), as well as working for Michael Ritchie, who he said was "wonderful," and the "tallest director I ever worked with" (via YouTube).

Matheson has been a working actor since his teens, popping up in '60s TV classics like "Leave it to Beaver" and "My Three Sons," voicing "Johnny Quest," and working alongside Hollywood legends like Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Debbie Reynolds, Bob Hope, Jackie Gleason, and Jean Simmons. After a stint in the Marines, he further focused on his acting career, saddling up for "The Virginian," "Bonanza" and packing heat with Dirty Harry in "Magnum Force." Looking to shake up his straight man persona a bit, he took improv classes and landed his signature role: Eric "Otter" Stratton in "National Lampoon's Animal House."

Matheson has worked with Steven Spielberg, Mel Brooks, Rob Reiner, Chris Farley, spoofing "The Brady Bunch," playing the Vice President on "The West Wing" and even directing for TV on over 40 series, including the recent Netflix series he starred in, "Virgin River."

When you played Norm from "Cheers" for 11 seasons, everybody tends to know your name — and because or that, George Wendt told The Washington Post in 1995, "I get a lot of free beers. It's one of the great perks of employment history."

During one hiatus from the show, he sat on a beach chair, peddling heroin as eventual informant Fat Sam. Wendt enjoyed "Chevy's rehearsal techniques," telling the A.V. Club, "He used to like to go through scenes and try different exercises while running the lines. Like, "Okay, now we're two guys taking a dump next to each other in a public bathroom." He later appeared with Chase in 1995's "Man of the House."

The world traveling Notre Dame flunkee honed his comedic chops at Second City before making it to Hollywood, with his first (uncredited) role in Robert Altman's "A Wedding." More film roles followed, like in "My Bodyguard," "House," and "Gung Ho," but he told Knight-Ridder in 1990, "The movies haven't exactly set me on fire as a feature film actor." On TV, he's made plenty of rounds, appearing as Norm on "Cheers" spin-off "Frasier" and shows like "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy," and even playing himself on "Seinfeld," "The Larry Sanders Show"; like Chase, he was in the music video for "Ghostbusters" (unlike Chase, he appeared in Michael Jackson's "Black or White").

Wendt has a big, somewhat famous family; he is married to actress Bernadette Birkett and uncle to Justin Sudeikis. Wendt is the author of 2009's "Drinking with George: A Barstool Professional's Guide to Beer."

Better known as "Arnold T. Pants, Esquire," Fletch's ex-wife's raincoated lawyer has the less-than-desirable job of trying to get alimony out of him. George Wyner reprised his role for "Fletch Lives," admitting to the AP, "nobody knows my name," while adding "the great thing about my career is that ... I never get blamed for the failures ... [or] credit for the successes." 

Wyner's list of successes include playing well-suited, dryly-serious men in films such as "The Bad News Bears," "Wildcats," "Spaceballs," and appropriately enough, "A Serious Man." He has also appeared on over 150 TV shows, including "M*A*S*H," "Hill Street Blues," "The Larry Sanders Show," and even "The George Wendt Show." He is still an in-demand actor, recently appearing on "Grace and Frankie" and "Loot." He's also a fan of "Fletch," and happy to hear from other fans who stop him and "and say something about garnishing your wages."

Another quasi-famous "where do I know that guy from?" '80s face is William Sanderson, who shot "Fletch" while on hiatus from playing Daryl and Daryl's other brother Larry on "Newhart." Sanderson's cameo in "Fletch" as shady Provo realtor Jim Swarthout was a standout, and the Tennessee native has more than 100 roles in his long (and still active) filmography.

Sanderson served in the army and graduated from law school, but being an actor playing characters on the other side of the law and "lots of renegades and rednecks," he set his life in a new direction. He's added a lot of color to projects ranging from "Coal Miner's Daughter" to "Blade Runner" (with M. Emmet Walsh), "The Rocketeer," "Batman: The Animated Series," and later as Sheriff Bud Dearborne on "True Blood" and E.B. Farnum on "Deadwood." He recently release a biography, appropriately titled "Yes, I'm That Guy."

Years after the film's release, Sanderson told a "Fletch" fansite that he doesn't watch "Fletch," and has "moved on" from that movie. He also gave an amazing one-word reply when asked what it was like to work with Chevy Chase: "Civil."

Bud and Willy are just two mechanics at Boyd Aviation who know the ins and outs of their planes, and are happy to answer any question that buck-toothed "Gordon Liddy" asks ... although they reserve the right to question him about the need for ball bearings.

Bud is played by the greatest smiling character actor of all time — Burton Gilliam. He told FletchCast how he and Chase ad-libbed parts of the scene (including changing the motor oil to Quaker State, a product Gilliam shilled for), which didn't please their other screen partner, Beau Starr. Gilliam was a Dallas boxer, referee and firefighter who charmed his way into a part in Peter Bogdanovich's classic 1973, "Paper Moon." Things got on a roll from there, as he farted up a storm in Mel Brooks' "Blazing Saddles," then racked up over 100 credits including "Back to the Future III," and as one of the more vocal of the flying Elvises in "Honeymoon in Vegas." In his later years, Gilliam has become an avid golfer. His last credit was the Pawn Broker's Dad in the 2017 film "The Lucky Man" — but if you need a smile, he's only a Cameo away.

Queens-bred Beau Starr (and his brother Mike) made a fruitful career as an actor playing tough-lipped sneering guys. Beau's roles got meatier post-"Fletch," appearing as Sheriff Ben Meeker in "Halloween 4" and "5," handing in Gemini Award-nominated work for his performance on the TV series "Due South," and appearing in popular films like "Goodfellas," "Speed," "Where the Truth Lies" and "Cinderella Man." Starr's last credit was in a 2013 episode of "Psych."

For Fletch's daydream about being a Los Angeles Laker, a dream duo of Hall of Famers were assembled to indulge his fantasy: legendary center Kareem Abdul-Jabar and the man who Chase called the "greatest play-by-play guy in the biz," Chick Hearn.

Born Lew Alcindor (he converted to Islam and legally changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabar in 1971), the 7-foot-2-inched baller won three NCAA championships at UCLA, and in an incredible NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Lakers, won six championships. He also stretched his talents with film and television, appearing in his karate mentor Bruce Lee's final film, "Game of Death" — if you haven't seen the footage, do yourself a favor and watch it immediately.

Later, Kareem exercised his comedy chops in "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh" (with Hearn), "Airplane!," and "Troop Beverly Hills." He told the AP in 1985, "Acting is only slightly different from playing in a basketball game. In both instances you're dealing with performances and you're dealing with skills. I think I have both." Recently, Abdul-Jabar has appeared on "Fresh Off the Boat," "The Big Bang Theory," and "Dave." The Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient is also a well respected author, writer and social critic.

Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn was the play-by-play man with the Lakers from the very start of their days is L.A. after moving from Minneapolis, broadcasting 3,338 consecutive regular and postseason games, and introducing terms like "slam dunk," "air ball" and many other Chickisms into the mainstream. In between, Hearn found time to appear in various films and shows, including "Gilligan's Island," "Volunteers," "White Men Can't Jump," and "Love & Basketball." Health setbacks eventually broke his broadcasting streak, but he kept returning to the booth until succumbing to injuries sustained from a fall in 2002. He was 85.

There's a lot to admire about Stanton Boyd, who has a big aviation company and a beautiful daughter. Played with stiff, straight man pride by Kenneth Mars, he was an actor who was no stranger to comedies. Mars co-starred in Mel Brooks' "Producers" (one of his favorites) and "Young Frankenstein," and within his 200+ credits also appeared in "What's Up, Doc?," a pair of Woody Allen films and "Illegally Yours" alongside fellow "Fletch" alum Tony Longo. He felt pigeonholed as a comedic actor, saying in an interview, "I would like to be considered for more dramatic roles." He also let his voice be heard many times over, famously as Triton in "The Little Mermaid" and other children's favorites including "The Smurfs," "Shirt Tales," "The Flintstone Kids," and several "Land Before Time" movies. Mars died in 2011 of pancreatic cancer. He was 75.

Poor Mr. Underhill: he just wants to play tennis at the club and have a nice lunch, but mysterious charges in his bill sends him into a tizzy. Actors Studio alum William Traylor was game to play the rich foil, as well as other small but meaty roles in films like "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "The Man with Two Brains," and returning to the part of Mr. Underhill for "Fletch Lives." Traylor founded the famed acting school The Loft with his wife Peggy Feury (whose students included Sean Penn, Lily Tomlin, Nicholas Cage, Michelle Pfeiffer, Anjelica Huston, and Laura Dern); tragically, she died in a car crash the year "Fletch" was released, and Traylor joined her four years later in 1989 at age 59. They are survived by two daughters — Stephanie and Susan — who are both actresses.

Three names Fletch enjoys are Marvin, Velma and Provo, and it is in that Utah city where he goes to find more info on Alan Stanwyck from his salt of the earth parents.

Penny Stanton had a long career of playing bit-part Hispanic senoras and Italian donnas, as well as many mothers and grandmothers in such films as Alfred Hitchcock's "The Wrong Man," "West Side Story," "Funny Girl," and a host of popular TV shows from the 1950s onward. Co-star Pat Cooper was once so convinced by her acting skills that he wrote in his autobiography, "you wouldn't know that she actually sounded nothing like her character a second after they yelled cut." After playing Velma Stanwyck in "Fletch," she appeared in "Short Circuit," "Cagney & Lacey" and as Nonna on an episode of "Friends." She passed away in 1999 at the age of 82.

Stanton's screen husband, Robert Sorrells, also had a decent career as a bit part actor, and the two appeared in the same 1962 episode of "Ensign O'Toole." Outside of "Fletch," Sorrells played Woodie Guthrie's father in Hal Ashby's "Bound for Glory" and had a role in "The Bad News Bears Go To Japan," but Sorrells' career seemed best at home... on the range in such westerns as "Rawhide," "Bonanza" and "Gunsmoke." His life story went dark in 2004, when he murdered one man and nearly another at a bar; Sorrells died while in prison in 2019, at the age of 88.