What Happened To The Cast Of Hangin' With Mr. Cooper
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper was a staple of the mid-90s TGIF lineup. Created by Jeff Franklin, who also brought us Full House, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper was a sitcom that followed the life of Mark Cooper (played by comedian Mark Curry), a former college basketball star who nearly made it to the NBA but instead wound up back in his hometown as a high school gym teacher.
ABC pushed Hangin' with Mr. Cooper really hard — the series premiered between Full House and Roseanne, one of the most sought-after time slots on television. It even had a crossover with Full House in its second episode. Though the show was successful, it hasn't really had the staying power that we've seen from other TGIF heavy hitters.
That said, a lot of the cast of the series is still pretty active, and you may have caught yourself wondering what they're up to. We've got you covered — here's where you can find a lot of your favorites from Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. In the words of the man himself: "Turn it out, here we go, here we go."
Mark Curry as Mark Cooper
Mark Curry starred as the title character on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. One of only two cast members to appear on every episode of the series (Holly Robinson Peete being the other), he's had surprisingly few credits to his name outside the series. There are still a few places to watch him, however.
Curry has mostly returned to the world of stand-up comedy, but has been lured back into a few television and a few minor film roles over the years. He had a small appearance as a cab driver in Armageddon, and also appeared in a few Disney Channel films. On television, Curry had a large supporting role in the Nick at Nite series See Dad Run and the Bounce TV series Pastor Williams, and has also logged brief appearances on shows like Dexter and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Curry also had a near-death experience in 2006 when an aerosol can exploded near him while he was doing laundry, suffering second-degree burns on over 20 percent of his body and ending up in a coma for a few days from the accident. Luckily, Curry survived and continues to work regularly.
Holly Robinson Peete as Vanessa Russell
Holly Robinson Peete is the only actor besides Mark Curry to appear in every episode of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. Originally Cooper's roommate Vanessa, she eventually became his love interest, and the characters wound up married before the series ended. Peete brought some television experience to the show, and has continued to land prominent roles.
Before Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Peete starred on 21 Jump Street as Officer Judy Hoffs, who apparently was not the inspiration for Zootopia's lead character. She also appeared in the 2012 21 Jump Street film as the same character. Apart from Jump projects, Peete has had starring roles in the series Love, Inc., Like Family and For Your Love, as well as recurring roles on Mike & Molly and Chicago Fire.
If you want to see Peete currently, turn on the Hallmark Channel. She stars in the Morning Show Mysteries series of TV movies as Billie Blessings, and she has also appeared in a few Hallmark Christmas movies like A Family Christmas Gift and Christmas in Evergreen.
Marquise Wilson as Tyler Foster
Mark Cooper's annoying neighbor turned pseudo-prodigy, Tyler Foster was played by Marquise Wilson. He appeared in nearly every episode of the show, but didn't generally feature as prominently as some of the other characters. Wilson went on to land other roles after Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, but never really broke into the mainstream.
Wilson's made a variety of single-episode appearances on a lot of popular television series — you may have seen him on Touched by an Angel, NYPD Blue, Six Feet Under, Boomtown, or Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. He voiced the character Juka on a few episodes of The Wild Thornberrys and also had a recurring role on five episodes of Karma.
Like many sitcom child actors, Foster wasn't quite able to make the transition as he grew older, and he has since stepped away from acting to pursue music production and other business opportunities. He helped start the cannabis-themed clothing company Canna-Wear and is also involved in Victory Productions.
Raven-Symone as Nicole Lee
By far the biggest name to come out of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Raven-Symoné — who played Nicole Lee on the series — continues to be a marketable star. She successfully navigated her way through child acting to become a Disney Channel star and eventually come out successful on the other end. Born in 1985, Raven-Symoné has been acting professionally for over 30 years.
Symoné got her start playing Olivia Kendall on The Cosby Show at just four years old. From there, she moved to Hangin' with Mr. Cooper and various other projects, including doing voice work on some animated programs like Kim Possible. She really hit the big time with That's So Raven, playing the title character, and had a stint as a panel member on the long-running talk show The View. Symoné has since returned to the role of Raven on the Disney series Raven's Home.
Raven-Symoné has appeared in a few other notable projects over her career. Some live-action roles include Charisse Dolittle in the Eddie Murphy Dr. Dolittle films, Galleria on The Cheetah Girls, and a recurring role as Rhonda on Black-ish. You can also hear her in animated work, like Valkyrie on Disney XD's Guardians of the Galaxy, Iridessa in the Tinker Bell series, and Maria on Big City Greens.
Omar Gooding as Earvin Rodman
Omar Gooding has been one of the most prolific actors to come out of Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, even if his work hasn't been quite as mainstream as some of his fellow castmates. He's kept plenty busy in film and television, and you've probably seen his face a few times even if you didn't realize it was the man who played Earvin Rodman.
After Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Gooding jumped straight to another TV series: Smart Guy, where he played Mo Tibbs. The late 1990s through the middle 2000s were when Gooding found most of his success, as he also appeared in things like the Barbershop TV series, Deadwood, Playmakers, and CSI: Miami, among others. That isn't to say he isn't still finding work. As of this writing, he has numerous roles in some level of post-production on his IMDb page — they just aren't quite as mainstream as his earlier work.
Gooding still manages to land some leading television roles, too. One recent project is Family Time, a long-running sitcom on Bounce TV.
Dawnn Lewis as Robin Dumars
Dawnn Lewis, who played Cooper's best friend Robin, has appeared in a ton of popular projects since Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. She is probably best known for some of her voice work in animated series, but she regularly shows up in film and on television in non-animated roles as well.
As far as her live-action work goes, Lewis has made recurring appearances on a variety of shows. She appeared on series like One Tree Hill, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, This Is Us, iZombie, Days of Our Lives, and Major Crimes. More recently, you may have seen her on Veronica Mars, where she played Marcia Langdon. She also appeared in the film Dreamgirls.
Some of Lewis' voice roles include LaBarbara Conrad on Futurama, Chief on Carmen Sandiego, and several roles in Fallout 76. She's voiced characters on The Simpsons, The Boondocks, Spider-Man: The Animated Series, and, best of all, the "Tone-Loc voices a teddy bear" cartoon C Bear and Jamal. You've heard Dawnn Lewis' voice in something, we promise.
Nell Carter as P.J. Moore
Nell Carter played P.J. Moore on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, bringing her big voice, big personality, and diminutive frame (she was only 4'11") to the screen. She was already a pretty decorated name from her singing career, and had won major Broadway honors by the time she was cast in the show.
Carter hit Broadway stardom with a lead role in the musical Ain't Misbehavin in 1978. She won a Tony Award for her performance in the musical revue, and later won an Emmy for a television performance of it. She also helped bring the film version of the musical Hair to life, and also portrayed Miss Hannigan on the 1990s Broadway revival of Annie. In between, she led the '80s sitcom Gimme a Break!
Carter was still finding plenty of television success until her untimely death in 2003 — she appeared in the pilot and a few other early episodes of the sitcom Reba, and also in a few episodes of Ally McBeal. Tragically, she passed away at the age of 54 in 2003, likely from a combination of heart disease and diabetes.