Just watched a few episodes of Square Pegs and wondered what became of some of these actors. I thought I'd share...
Tracy Nelson (on left) is the child of actor/singer Ricky Nelson, and Mark Harmon is her uncle. In the first few episodes, Tracy had to wear a wig (shown above) because the show's creator, Anne Beatts, thought her hair was too short and boyish. Tracy went on to enjoy success playing a nun in the Father Dowling Mysteries with Tom Bosley. She is a cancer survivor and still pops up in TV shows and movies here and there (including an appearance on Seinfeld as George's girlfriend).Claudette Wells (on right) has become quite successful in the area of voice-over work (Shrek, Barnyard, etc.). But what I found most interesting from the DVD commentary was that Tracy Nelson and Claudette Wells are best friends to this day, and have been since the show aired. How nice.
Merritt Butrick (on left) went on to play Captain Kirk's son in Star Trek II and III. Sadly, as his career continued to climb, Butrick contracted the AIDS virus and died in 1989.John Femia (on right) was a bit more difficult to track down. Apparently, his showbiz career fizzled right after Square Pegs, and he tried some small budget theater (see an old cast photo for the play Let's Kill Ginny Greg here). Now, it seems he is trying to make it as a stand up comedian- according to his myspace page, this is the year he hopes to finally make it. Good luck, John.
Sarah Jessica Parker (on left), as we all know, went on to bigger and better things (my favorite being Tim Burton's Ed Wood... but that's just me).Amy Linker (on right), a graduate of Beverly Hills High School, dropped out of sight not long after Square Pegs was cancelled. She currently is a second grade teacher. Here's what she looks like now. To me, she looks better.
And as a final note, I'll just add that this show was of particular interest for me because my father went to school with Anne Beatts in New York. Beatts has said she used her own high school experiences as inspiration for writing and creating the show.... I wonder which Square Peg character was modeled after dear ol' dad?
