TOUGH TIMES
Where the cast of Flubber are 25 years on – from legend’s shock death to DUI scandal and bizarre row over BBQ restaurant
IT was critically panned but made millions and earned cult status as a kids' movie classic way back in 1997.
Sci-fi comedy Flubber centres around an absent-minded professor who risks losing the love of his life after discovering a substance which helps objects to fly.
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The film starred the iconic Robin Williams alongside Marcia Gay Harden, Christopher McDonald, and Edie McClurg.
It was a remake of the 1961 classic The Absent-Minded Professor, which was itself based on a short story by Samuel W. Taylor.
Although the movie did incredibly well at the box office, grossing $178million against a budget of $80million, it was almost universally derided by critics.
Twenty-five years on, take a look at what happened to its stars, from tragic deaths to legal troubles and a bizarre restaurant row.
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Robin Williams - Professor Phillip Brainard
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Robin played the professor who discovers a new substance and ends up forgetting to turn up to his own wedding.
One of the greatest comedy actors of his generation, his past work included Aladdin, Mrs Doubtfire, and Good Will Hunting, which was also released in 1997 and earned him an Oscar.
After Flubber, he starred in other high-profile releases such as Night at the Museum and Absolutely Anything.
Robin had been married twice before settling down with his third wife, Susan Schneider, in 2011.
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In the late 70s and 80s, he had an addiction to cocaine and said the death of his friend John Belushi from a drug overdose helped him get sober.
In 2014, he checked himself into a treatment centre in Minnesota for alcoholism.
That same year in August, it was announced that Robin had been found dead from suicide at 63.
According to an autopsy report, he experienced depression, anxiety, and paranoia in the lead-up to his death.
Marcia Gay Harden - Sara Jean Reynolds
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In the film, Marcia was Susan Reynolds, Professor Brainard's fiancé, who gets stood up at the altar on multiple occasions.
After Flubber, the actress, 63, appeared in Space Cowboys, Mona Lisa Smile, and the racy Fifty Shades film trilogy.
In 2000, she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Pollock and picked up a Tony Award for the Broadway production God of Carnage.
She's still active in the entertainment industry and has a main role in the legal drama So Help Me Todd, which premiered this year in September.
In 1996, she married prop master Thaddeus Scheel, after working together on the movie The Spitfire Grill.
They share three children together but divorced in 2012, though Marcia has remained tight-lipped about the reasons.
In 2018, she wrote a book called The Seasons of My Mother, which opened up about her bond with her mum and how they dealt with her Alzheimer's diagnosis.
Christopher McDonald - Wilson Croft
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Christopher played Wilson Croft, the professor's long time rival and the film's main antagonist.
Christopher went on to have a successful career after Flubber, appearing in 2005's Rumour Has It and About Last Night, released in 2014.
In 2017, he found himself in hot water with the law when he was arrested for DUI in California.
When he was being arrested, he reportedly asked police if they have seen Happy Gilmore, where he played perhaps his most notable character, Shooter McGavin.
He managed to avoid jail after pleading guilty but was ordered to undergo 35 hours of community service and three years of probation.
Like Marcia, the 67-year-old is still acting and appeared in the HBO Max show Hacks, which earned him an Emmy nomination earlier this year.
He's been married to Lupe Gidley since 1992 and has four children.
Ted Levine - Wesson
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Ted's character was Flubber thief Wesson but he is best known for his role as the serial killer Buffalo Bill in 1991's Silence of the Lambs.
Ted, 65, appeared in the first instalment of the Fast & Furious franchise in 2001 and has since had roles in blockbusters such as American Gangster, Shutter Island, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
In 2014, it was revealed by TMZ that he was embroiled in a legal battle with his family who accused him of being a "sadistic and cruel bully."
His brothers and sister alleged that he forced them to auction off their family's BBQ restaurant for a fraction of its actual value and left them in financial ruin.
He is still active in Hollywood and most recently played Horst Kleinsasser in the crime drama Big Sky.
Clancy Brown - Smith
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His character conspired with Wesson to steal Professor Brainard's creation in the movie.
Since the 80s, Clancy, 63, has established himself as one of Hollywood's best go-to actors when it comes to villainous roles.
He's starred in television shows such as Daredevil, The Punisher and Dexter: New Blood.
He's also known for his extensive work as a voice actor - some of his credits include Mr Krabs in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and video games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and God of War III.
He married his wife Jeanne Johnson in 1993 and has two children. His father was Bud Brown, a politician who served in the United States House of Representatives.
Wil Wheaton - Bennet Hoenicker
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Wil played Bennet, the son of a rich businessman who takes a keen interest in acquiring Flubber for himself.
The 50-year-old has been acting since 1981 and has been in a number of television films since the film came out.
He has also courted several controversies during his time in the spotlight.
In 2017, Wil came under fire for comments he made in the aftermath of the Sutherland Springs church shooting when he responded to a tweet calling for prayers for the victims.
He replied to former US House Speaker Paul Ryan's post saying: "The murdered victims were in a church. If prayers did anything, they'd still be alive, you worthless sack of s*** - he issued an apology shortly afterwards.
In 2018, Wil revealed that he's been living with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, generalised anxiety disorder and chronic depression.
Writing in a blog, he shared: "My life is, by every objective measurement, very very good.
"And in spite of all of that, I struggle every day with my self-esteem, my self-worth, and my value not only as an actor and writer but as a human being."
He also claimed in an interview that he never wanted to be a child star and that his parents forced him into the industry.
Elaborating further in a blog post this year, he wrote: "I was thinking about this huge lie my mother tells herself and the world, last night.
"The big lie that she didn’t force me to become a child actor when I was seven, that it was all my idea.
"The last few weeks have been challenging for me, while I promote and talk about Still Just A Geek, surviving abuse and neglect, and constantly revisiting painful, traumatic parts of my life."
Edie McClurg - Martha George
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Edie has been acting since the mid-70s and was already an established actor when she landed the role of Martha in Flubber.
The 77-year-old has also starred in numerous American adverts throughout her long career and has voice acting credits in Wreck-It Ralph, and Clifford the Big Red Dog.
In 2019, it was reported by TMZ that Edie's family had filed for a conservatorship order after discovering she had dementia.
In the court documents, they said the actress was no longer to live independently and added she was "especially vulnerable to undue influence given her poor judgment and evident dementia."
According to her niece, cousin, and friend who filed the document, they were concerned about a male companion called Michael L. Ramos who had lived with Edie for a number of years.
They alleged he had tried to marry her although she was in no state to understand their relationship and had even been verbally abusive to her.
In August this year, it was alleged that Ramos, who was her caregiver, had and was planning on moving her away from California in order to marry her.
That same month, a judge granted a temporary restraining order which prevented Ramos from contacting Edie - he was also told he must stay at least 100 yards away from her home.
Jodie Benson - Weebo
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Jodie Benson was the voice behind Weebo, Professor Brainard's trusted robotic assistant who develops feelings for him.
Like many stars of the movie, Jodie has also had a long career, which began in the 1970s.
In fact, she voiced the role of Ariel in Disney's 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid.
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After playing Weebo in Flubber, she went on to voice Barbie in the Toy Story franchise and appeared in the 2007 fantasy movie Enchanted.
In 2011, she was named a Disney Legend for her many contributions to productions by The Walt Disney Company.
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