‘Happy Gilmore’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Happy Gilmore just turned 25 years old. The iconic golf film, which stars Adam Sandler, hit theaters on Feb. 16, 1996, and became a huge hit. The movie made $41 million at the box office and earned a 61% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Happy Gilmore featured an all-star cast, but a cameo appearance by Bob Barker one of the big reasons the movie stood out. Barker got into a big fight with Gilmore, but when Sandler talked about the IMDb Podcast scene that Scene with Dan Patrick, Barker wasn’t their first choice for the role.

“Well, [Tim] Herlihy initially wrote Ed McMahon,” Sandler said, as reported by Fox News. “I remember being so young and cocky than that we would literally say when we sent it to Ed McMahon, we thought, ‘Of course he’s going to do it. It would be good for him. It’d be good for his career to be in a movie with me and get in a fistfight.’” Sandler played the title character, a former hockey player who discovers a unique talent for golf. He brings his hockey persona to the golf world, which leads to him becoming a big star. Here’s a look at what the cast of Happy Gilmore is up to now.

Adam Sandler – Happy Gilmore

After Happy Gilmore, Adam Sandler went on to have a very successful movie career. In 2019, Sandler starred in the crime thriller Uncut Gems and was nominated for multiple awards for his portrayal of Howard Ratner. He is set to star in the upcoming film Hustle with Queen Latifa, Robert Duvall and Ben Foster.

Christopher McDonald – Shooter McGavin

Christopher McDonald is a longtime movie and TV veteran but will always be remembered for what he did in Happy Gilmore. He has recently been seen in the Netflix series Mr. Iglesias as well as the hit Netflix film We Can Be Heroes. 

Julie Bowen – Virginia Venit

Happy Gilmore was one of Julie Bowen’s first films. Her career has taken off since then, appearing in movies such as Multiplicity, Kids in America and most recently Hubie Halloween with Sandler. However, fans know Bowen as Claire Dunphy from the hit ABC series Modern Family. 

Frances Bay – Grandma Gilmore

Frances Bay starred in multiple film and TV roles before Happy Gilmore and continued to work well after the Sandler film. Her movie credits include The Karate Kid, Twins and Arachnophobia while her TV credits include Happy Days, Cheers, The Golden Girls and Grey’s Anatomy. Bay died at the age of 92 in 2011.

Carl Weathers – Chubbs Peterson

Many fans know Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed from the Rocky films and as Action Jackson from the 1988 movie of the same name. Weathers continued to work after Happy Gilmore as he can currently be seen on the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. 

Allen Covert – Otto

Allen Covert is a frequent collaborator with Sandler, starting in The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, Mr. Deeds and 50 First Dates along with Happy Gilmore. He landed his first leading role in the 2006 film Grandma’s Boy and has gone on to write and produce films. 

Bob Barker

Barker played a small role in Happy Gilmore but probably made the biggest impact. He’s known for hosting the game show The Price is Right and held that role until his retirement from TV in 2007. Barker is currently 97 years old and continues to enjoy the retired life.