California Dreams cast members on Instagram

[TMC]

• Michael Cade (Sylvester Leslie "Sly" Winkle)
  
• Jay Anthony Franke (Jacob Samuel "Jake" Sommers)
  
• Brent Gore (Matt Garrison)
  
• Aaron Jackson (Mark Edward Winkle)
  
• William James Jones (Antoine Bethesda "Tony" Wicks)
  
• Jennie Kwan (Samantha Woo Deswanchoo)
  
• Kelly Packard (Tiffani Anne Smith)
  
• Gail Ramsey (Melody Garrison)

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So how did the cast turn out?

Jay Anthony Franke now lives in Australia with his wife. According to his appearance on the Jimmy Fallon reunion, he’s still trying to have a career in show business, but with little success. He’s had a smattering of roles since the end of California Dreams, mostly as voices for video games, but nothing terribly successful that you’ve probably seen.

If you’ve seen any of the cast in anything else, it’s probably Kelly Packard. After the end of California Dreams, Packard joined the cast of Baywatch, where she happily destroyed what was left of her acting career before fading into obscurity. She still appears occasionally in films, usually in bit roles, and is married with four children.

William James Jones went on to star in the second season of Peter Engel’s USA High, which means you probably haven’t seen him in anything else. He had a few other bit parts on television and in film nowadays, but effectively retired from acting in 2002. On the Jimmy Fallon reunion, he said he’s a family man now with a wife and two children, and has switched focus entirely to clinical psychology.

Jennie Kwan has been fairly successful over the years, but behind the scenes rather than in front. Nowadays, she’s a respected voice actress, her most famous role being that of Suki on Avatar: The Last Airbender. She also has done some Broadway work, including a tour of Avenue Q, which, incidentally, is an amazingly funny show which you should totally see if you never have.

Michael Cade continues acting to this day, mostly in supporting and bit roles in films you probably haven’t heard of. He did a brief stint on General Hospital in 1997 and has kept busy over the years.

California Dreams was Diana Uribe’s break, but it doesn’t appear she was able to transition into a full-fledged career. She continued appearing in bit roles on shows like Nash Bridges and Strong Medicine before disappearing from the entertainment industry completely in 2001. She didn’t appear in the Jimmy Fallon reunion so I have no idea what’s become of her.

Aaron Jackson has continued to have some bit roles in television and film over the years, including trying his hand at producing and directing. His IMDB bio, which is way more proud of his appearance on California Dreams than it should be, says he’s a motivational speaker now and coaches up and coming actors. Let’s hope he doesn’t coach them into shows that will mark them for life like they did him. Also, you totally need to look at his default IMDB photo. With him completely tattooed and looking rebellious, he doesn’t even resemble the geeky Mark nowadays.

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Since his departure from California Dreams, Brent Gore has had a handful of acting roles, most recent in 2016’s I’m Not Ashamed, the borderline offensive Christian film that tried to turn the Columbine High School shooting into a martyrdom tale. He’s mostly been performing music, doing some tours as a musical artist, and, according to the Jimmy Fallon reunion, he’s involved with a non-profit called the Los Angeles Performing Arts Foundation. And, let me tell you, he’s aged amazingly. Matt Garrison is still hot to this day.

Heidi Lenhart’s done some sporadic acting throughout the 1990s’ and 2000s’, but probably nothing much you’d remember other than a recurring role during the final season of Beverly Hills, 90210. She seems to have mostly retired from acting to focus on being a mother, telling Jimmy Fallon she’s very happy to be the mother of two daughters.

Michael Cutt still sporadically acts to this day, but his biggest role outside California Dreams might be a brief recurring role on 7th Heaven. Sad as it is to say, California Dreams remains the biggest role he’s ever had.

For Gail Ramsey, California Dreams was her final acting credit. Previously, she had a starring role on General Hospital in the ’70s and ’80s and a recurring role in The New Mike Hammer. She dropped off the face of show business, and interviews since suggest that she became a teacher in a Christian school, which, you know, good for her for finding something that makes her happy.

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Ryan O’Neill was in a few other things throughout the nineties, most notably a couple guest spots on Northern Exposure as well as some long forgotten family films. He’s sporadically appeared in some things throughout the 2000’s, including a 2011 film called New Jerusalem (starring indie rock darling Will Oldham aka Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy), but he’s never had much of an acting career. He also appeared in the music video for “Childhood,” Michael Jackson’s long-forgotten attempt to create a them for Free Willy 2 that would be as well-remembered as the one he performed for the original Free Willy. It’s pretty bad. As for what he’s doing today, your guess is as good as mine. He’s kind of dropped off the face of the planet, probably living a relatively normal life, with the caveat that he has an interesting bit of trivia about himself to talk about on social occasions.