Matt Dillon
Known for: The Outsiders and There’s Something About Mary
Net worth: $40 million
“Brat Pack” tough guy Matt Dillon arose from The Outsiders a national teen idol. Along with the rest of the club, his career was catapulted to new heights. His film debut in Over the Edge , though it was not widely screened, got him known as an edgy, cool dude. The 1979 movie is hip again with a fervent retro cult following.
He starred in My Bodyguard, Rumble Fish, and The Flamingo Kid. He played the cute lead in a lot of movies. In Gus Van Sant’s crime drama, Drugstore Cowboy, he plays an addict on the search for drugs. One of his most memorable comedy roles is “Pat” in There’s Something About Mary. He’s still acting! In 2018 he starred in The House that Jack Built. He won an Independent Spirit Award and a Golden Globe nomination for Crash. He received a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album having narrated the inveterate Jack Kerouac’s, On the Road.
Anthony Michael Hall
Known for: Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club
Net worth: $8 million
“Brat Pack” go-to geek Anthony Michael Hall starred in most of John Hughes’ blockbusters, beginning with National Lampoon’s Vacation playing one of Chevy Chase’s kids. Hughes kept him in mind for Sixteen Candles , The Breakfast Club and Weird Science . But Hall, who has a slight resemblance to future tech-geek Mark Zuckerberg, turned down roles Hughes wrote for him in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Pretty in Pink . (Enough with the typecast!)
Of the “Brat Pack” experience, Hall said, “I had the time of my life.” However, as with many of our iconic child actors from the Eighties, Hall took a two-year break to deal with a drinking problem. He returned to screen with Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder in Edward Scissorhands playing a villain. Six Degrees of Separation was another box office hit. One of Hall’s charitable efforts includes assisting at-risk youth by offering literacy programs. His initiative offers an opportunity to learn literacy in films, music, lyrics, scriptwriting, and novels.
Carol Kane
Known for: Hester Street and Wicked
Net worth: $5 million
Carol Kane took on theatre as a child growing up in N.Y.C. She continued to study acting at the prestigious HB Studio until making her theatrical debut in the 1966 production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie . She played a teenager who was raped and left pregnant in the WWII Wedding in White when she was 20 years old. Kane received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the independent film, Hester Street (1975), leaving people agreeably surprised.
Kane received two Emmys and a Golden Globe nomination for her work on Taxi. She appeared on the television series from 1980 to 1983. The Princess Bride and Scrooged from the late ’80s garnered her plenty of attention. To all kinds of acclaim, she played Madame Morrible. Her face is recognized everywhere as the evil headmistress in the insanely popular Wicked Broadway musical. She premiered with the original tour on March 9, 2005.
Cyndi Lauper
Known for: “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” Kinky Boots, and LGBTQ+ Activism
Net worth: $30 million
Pop music superstar Cyndi Lauper “be-bopped” herself into a spectacular career. Suffice it to say you cannot find an ‘80s mixtape without at least one track rocking her distinctively pitched voice. “Time After Time,” “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “True Colors” played on heavy rotation throughout the decade. She won Best New Artist at the 1985 Grammy Awards and Best Female Music Video at the 1984 MTV Music Awards (“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”). As a self-proclaimed misfit—her hair’s different, her voice is different, her sweet and honest nature is a bit of an aberration in the rock world—she somehow fits in.
Lauper is a rare talent. She’s one of very few singers who have won an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy. Her role on the sitcom, Mad About You, earned her an Emmy and her music and lyrics for the Broadway musical, Kinky Boots, won a Tony. Raised in Queens by a single mom, she struggled to make it, at times living on the streets as a young adult. Maybe that is why she is one of the most compassionate people. She wrote the song “True Colors” for her good friend Gregory who died of AIDs. The loss inspired her to dedicate her life to helping the gay and lesbian community. Today she’s a leading advocate for LGBTQ+ people’s rights. Her organization, True Colors United, seeks to end homelessness, emphasizing youth homelessness. She founded it in 2012 after she learned that 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBT.
Christopher Walken
Known for: The Deer Hunter
Net worth: $50 million
Christopher Walken snagged his first showbiz gig as a circus lion tamer when he was 16. Next, he liked to dance, so he trained as a dancer before moving on to stage performance. He broke into showbiz proper as a stage actor in an off-Broadway musical starring alongside Liza Minnelli. The next thing he knew, he was starring opposite Sean Connery in The Anderson Tapes .
Walken played the deranged and homicidal brother of Annie (Diane Keaton) in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. He would develop a catalog of similar character roles. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor playing a psychologically unstable steelworker returning home from Vietnam in The Deer Hunter. Walken starved himself for a week to develop a gaunt appearance for the role. He’s played epic villains, most memorably in Batman Returns and as James Bond’s villain, Max Zorin. However, George Lucas considered casting Walken as good-guy Han Solo and he played Madonna’s guardian angel in her “Bad Girl” music video. He’s also loved for his seven SNL appearances. He’s responsible for delivering the epic, “I gotta have more cowbell” line.