What The Cast Of Yes, Dear Is Doing Today

Comedian Anthony Clark had already starred in two short-lived series -– "Boston Common" and the "Home Improvement" spin-off "Soul Man" –- before landing the role of tightly wound movie industry executive Greg Warner on "Yes, Dear." He remained with the series for its entire six-year run, which remains his last major screen acting credit of note. Aside from the 2012 indie comedy "My Uncle Rafael" and an IMDb credit for an episode of the German miniseries "West of Liberty," Clark has remained largely off-camera for nearly a decade.

The actor did host the NBC comedy reality series "Last Comic Standing" shortly after "Yes, Dear" was canceled in 2006, but according to a November 2006 interview with The Comic's Comic, he was less than thrilled with the job. A stand-up comedy special, "Ambiguous," aired in 2012, but since then, Clark has maintained a low profile. However, reports from The Los Angeles Times in 2015 seemed to indicate that Clark was flipping houses in the Hollywood Hills.

Like his co-star Anthony Clark, Mike O'Malley was already a TV veteran when he was cast as Jimmy Hughes on "Yes, Dear." O'Malley hosted several game shows on Nickelodeon before starring in a string of short-lived comedy series, including "The Mike O'Malley Show," which aired just two episodes before its cancelation in 1999. After landing "Yes, Dear," O'Malley earned Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominations for playing Chris Colfer's supportive father on "Glee." He followed that up with stints on high-profile series like "Parenthood," "Justified," "The Good Place," "Snowpiercer," and "Heels," for which he's also served as executive producer.

In addition to his small screen work, O'Malley has appeared since "Yes, Dear" in such films as "Eat Pray Love," "Concussion," and Clint Eastwood's "Sully." An accomplished playwright and screenwriter, O'Malley wrote the 2011 indie drama "Certainty," which was based on his play "Searching for Certainty," and penned scripts for Showtime's "Shameless" and Starz's "Survivor's Remorse" while also serving as a producer for both series. Additionally, he teamed with "Yes, Dear" co-creator Greg Garcia to write the book for "Margaritaville," a Broadway musical featuring the songs of Jimmy Buffett (per TheaterMania).

Before landing his own series with "Mike & Molly" (and more recently, "Bob Hearts Abishola"), Billy Gardell appeared on 26 episodes of "Yes, Dear" as Jimmy's hapless friend Billy Colavita. Gardell parlayed his popularity as a stand-up comic into guest roles on series like "Judging Amy" and "The Practice." His feature film career began in 2002 with the Sylvester Stallone feature "Avenging Angelo" and later included "Bad Santa," "You, Me and Dupree," and "Jersey Boys."

Gardell segued from his recurring work on "Yes, Dear" to being a series regular on the short-lived NBC series "Heist." He then reunited with "Yes, Dear" co-creator Greg Garcia for a recurring role on "My Name is Earl" before co-starring with Melissa McCarthy on "Mike & Molly." The series successfully presented Gardell as a romantic leading man, a role he continued with his second stint as a sitcom lead on "Bob Hearts Abishola." Between these series, Gardell also played Elvis Presley's manager, Col. Tom Parker, on "Sun Records," and Sheldon Cooper's neighbor Herschel Sparks on "Young Sheldon." He also transitioned into producing, overseeing several comedy specials, the syndicated game show "Monopoly Millionaires' Club" (which he also hosted), and the indie comedy "Dancer and the Dame."

A small cadre of underachievers orbits around Greg and Jimmy throughout "Yes, Dear," including Billy Gardell's Billy, Louis Lombardi's Jack, and Phill Lewis' Roy, who appears in 10 episodes. His contribution to the series was to lend comic support –- something that Lewis had done in films and on television since the early 1980s and continues to do today.

Lewis graduated from teen roles in series like "A Different World" and films like "Heathers" to adult characters in "The Wayans Brothers" and "Yes, Dear." While appearing in the latter series, Lewis was cast as the perpetually annoyed Marion Moseby on "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," and he reprised the role for its spin-off, "The Suite Life on Deck," and numerous other Disney Channel series. Between these assignments, Lewis also contributed supporting roles to films like "Kicking & Screaming" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2," while also beginning a long and prolific second career as a director for television. 

He began directing in the late 2000s with episodes of "Suite Life" and soon graduated to multiple episodes of "Mike & Molly" (with Billy Gardell), "One Day at a Time," the "iCarly" reboot, and "Call Me Kat." In 2021, Lewis netted a Directors Guild of America Award nomination for an episode of the "Head of the Class" reboot for HBO Max.

Another TV regular, Jerry Van Dyke, began a run of seven guest appearances on "Yes, Dear" with the Season 2 episode "Guess Who's Not Coming to Dinner." Van Dyke played Big Jimmy Hughes Sr. — Jimmy's father — and frequently teamed with Beth Grant as Jimmy's mother, Kitty Hughes. The "Yes, Dear" role came nearly a decade after Van Dyke's Emmy-nominated turn as Luther Van Dam on "Coach," which revived a career spent largely in the shadow of his brother, actor Dick Van Dyke.

A former stand-up comedian, Van Dyke weathered numerous failed series, including the notorious 1965-66 comedy "My Mother the Car," before landing a sizable hit with "Coach." The popularity of that series and his performance as the hapless Luther, which netted him four Emmy nominations, led to steady work as a guest star and recurring character on numerous shows. In addition to "Yes, Dear," Van Dyke appeared in several series by co-creator Greg Garcia, including "Raising Hope" and "The Millers." He also enjoyed a recurring role on "The Middle" and appeared in his brother's drama series "Diagnosis: Murder" in 1999. Van Dyke, who was also a spokesperson for Hardee's and Big Lots, died of heart failure at the age of 86 on January 5, 2018 (per The New York Times).

Sisters Kim and Christine also had celebrity guest stars as parents on "Yes, Dear." Appearing as their father, Don Ludke, on six episodes between Seasons 1 and 4 was character actor Dan Hedaya. The Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominee was well-known to both film and TV audiences for features like "Blood Simple," "Clueless," and "Dick," and for guest roles on "Hill Street Blues," "Cheers" (which briefly led to his own spinoff series, "The Tortellis"), "L.A. Law," and "Homicide: Life on the Street."

Following his "Yes, Dear," run, Hedaya returned to his busy schedule, reprising his role as shady attorney Herb Spivak on "ER" in 2005 and guesting on "Monk," "The Mindy Project," "Gotham," and "Blue Bloods." He also remained active in films, sharing the screen with Al Pacino in "The Humbling," Olivia Wilde in "Black Dog, Red Dog," and Eddie Redmayne in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." These days, he seems equally busy with films like "The God Committee" (with Kelsey Grammer) and his work as a contemporary visual artist.

Hardworking character actor Beth Grant teamed up with Jerry Van Dyke for four episodes of "Yes, Dear" as Jimmy's mom Kitty. An award-winning stage performer, Grant's list of screen credits reaches back to the late 1970s and includes four Oscar nominees for Best Picture –- "Rain Man," "Little Miss Sunshine," "No Country for Old Men," and "The Artist" –- as well as films ranging from "Speed" and "Donnie Darko" to David O. Russell's "Amsterdam." Grant has also produced and directed several short films, including the award-winning "The Perfect Fit," which stars her daughter, Mary Chieffo, and husband, Michael Chieffo.

Grant's TV credits are vast and include multiple guest appearances on "Coach" (with Jerry Van Dyke), "The X-Files," "Malcolm in the Middle," "The Office," "Dollface," and "A Series of Unfortunate Events." Though often cast in serious and even antagonistic roles, she generated a great deal of laughs as the sexually forward office receptionist Beverley Janiszewski on "The Mindy Project."