We seem to be divided as a nation on the first trailer for Dumb and Dumber To. Are Jim Carrey and the Farrelly brothers comedically spent? Does America still like stupid? (Obviously, America still loves stupid.) While we debate about just how much of our money we will or won’t throw at Carrey and Daniels when this thing comes out, the obvious and more important question for now is: What the hell happened to the supporting cast? They’re nowhere to be seen in the trailer or on IMDB.
Assuming you’ve had access to television over the last 20 years, I think we can skip over what Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels have been doing. There’s really no sense in digging up Mr. Popper’s Penguins again is there? Now little blind Billy, that’s a different story. Let’s find out what the hell that kid, and the rest of the iconic comedy’s supporting cast, has been up to.
Billy (Bradly Bluhm)
Life’s tough for a blind kid in a wheelchair with a dead parakeet, but Billy has persevered. After DD, actor Bradly Bluhm cranked out some voiceover work before puberty kicked in and ravaged his adolescent voice forever. Bluhm had smaller roles on an episode of CSI and the Clueless TV series back in the early 2000s, but hadn’t done much acting since then. That changed last year, when the Farrelly brothers tracked Bluhm down with social media, and the now 30 year-old happily married father agreed to reprise his role in the sequel.
Sea Bass (Cam Neely)
After romancing Lloyd in the bathroom stall, Sea Bass took a break from acting before working with Jim Carrey again in 2000’s Me, Myself & Irene as Trooper Sea Bass. NHL Hall of Famer Cam Neely retired from his hockey career with Boston Bruins in 1996, and was appointed as president of the team in 2010. Neely’s made cameo appearances in Rescue Me and the Farrelly brothers’ Stuck on You and is putting the trucker hat back on for Dumb and Dumber To.
Joe Mentalino (Mike Starr)
Rat poison and hot sauce can take down any man, it’s just unfortunate for Mike that it was at the hands of two idiots. Actor Mike Starr had a well-established career as a character actor before DD, often playing cops and henchman in movies like Goodfellas and Blue Steel. Since encountering the most annoying sound in the world with Harry and Lloyd, Starr has continued on with steady acting work in shows such as Glee, The Office and a recurring role last year on Chicago Fire.
J.P. (Karen Duffy)
1994 was a good year for actress Karen Duffy, in addition to Dumb & Dumber, she had roles in Reality Bites and Blank Check. Unfortunately, Duffy was diagnosed with sarcoidosis in 1997, which affected her brain and left her with partial paralysis on her left side. Duffy continues to act when able and lent her voice to Wes Anderson for 2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox.
Beth Jordan (Victoria Rowell)
Prior to working as an undercover agent on Dumb & Dumber, actress Victoria Rowell was getting hit on by Theo in The Cosby Show and later hit on by Will in The Fresh Prince. Rowell’s longest running series and probably best known role — at least to your soap fan aunt — is Drucilla Winters on The Young and the Restless, a role that Rowell held from 1990-2007. Rowell is an active advocate for foster children and in 2006 was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by the University of Southern Maine for her work. Her most recent acting role has her playing Judge Delilah Hawkins on Law & Order: SVU.
State Trooper (Harland Williams)
In the 1980s Bobcat Gothwait was the go-to “Hey, it’s that wacky guy” actor. In the 1990s, it was Harland Williams. Playing the piss-drinking state trooper was Williams’ first acting gig, and it helped him land roles in Down Periscope, Wag the Dog, Half Baked and the Farrelly’s follow-up, There’s Something About Mary. The veteran and incredibly talented stand-up continues to regularly tour and do voiceover work in addition to smaller cameo roles.
Helen Swanson (Terri Garr)
At the time, veteran actress Terri Garr was probably the most well-known actor on the DD cast. Having been a professional actress since the early 1960s, Garr had major parts in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Young Frankenstein and Tootsie. After being charmed by Harry and Lloyd, Garr went on to act in Michael and play Phoebe’s mom on Friends. In 2002, Garr publicly confirmed that she was battling multiple sclerosis, acknowledging that she had first started noticing symptoms in the early 1980s. In 2006, the actress suffered a brain aneurysm and though she regained many of her motor skills, she hasn’t acted since 2007.
Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly)
Prior to falling for Jim Carrey on the set of Dumb & Dumber, Holly’s most recognizable role was 1993’s Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story. Holly continued to work in films after DD and divorcing Carey, acting in Any Given Sunday, Sabrina, and the CBS drama Picket Fences. The actress hasn’t done as many theatrical films since the early 2000s, but has appeared in a lot of TV movies with titles like Caught in the Act and Living with the Dead. From 2005-2012 Holly was part of the regular cast on NCIS and is currently filming a movie called Marshall the Miracle Dog — possibly an Air Bud for a new generation?