Action Bronson is resurrecting pop culture icons you totally forgot about on his new show

What ever happened to these '80s and '90s pop cultural icons? Find out as Action Bronson brings them back in SBS VICELAND'S 'The Untitled Action Bronson Show'.

Former daytime talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael and host Action Bronson don the big red glasses to cook and chat on 'The Untitled Action Bronson Show'. Source: SBS

Chef, rapper and host of SBS VICELAND'S culinary travel show F*** That’s Delicious, Action Bronson now adds atypical late night talk show host to his chef’s hat with his food-and-chat vehicle, The Untitled Action Bronson Show.

It features a swag of guests who were '80s and '90s pop culture icons that you could be forgiven for thinking had fallen off the face of the earth, including Taylor Dayne, Bronson Pinchot, Sally Jessy Raphael, Gilbert Gottfried, David Arquette and Rosie Perez. So what have they been up to since the height of their fame? Let us catch you up.

Bronson Pinchot

Bronson Pinchot (right), with co-star Mark Linn-Baker, played Balki in successful sitcom 'Perfect Strangers'. Source: ABC Australia

Best known for: Playing heavily accented characters, like the lovable immigrant Balki Bartokomous in the long-running sitcom Perfect Strangers (1986-1993) and art gallery manager Serge, who liked to offer guests espresso with a “lemon twist”, in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise (1984-1994).

What’s he been up to all these years? Pinchot has been a prolific voice artist, narrating audio books and voicing kids movies including Napoleon (1995), The Magic Sword: Quest for Camelot (1998), Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure (2001) and The Tale of Despereaux (2008). He also played Duarto Feliz, “one of the 10 worst interior decorators in New York City”, in The First Wives Club (1996), beautician Jean-Luc Rieupeyroux in season six of '90s sitcom Step By Step and popped up in long-running soap The Young and the Restless in 2008.

Pinchot took a break from acting to reinvent himself as a TV DIY heritage home renovator in The Bronson Pinchot Project (and went bankrupt in the process).

Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez earned an Oscar nomination for her devastating turn as plane crash survivor Carla in 1993’s 'Fearless'. Source: Warner Bros

Best known for: Her prominent movie roles in the '90s. Perez’s breakthrough performance was in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989) as the headstrong Tina, girlfriend to Mookie (Lee), and she danced up a storm in the movie’s iconic opening titles. She followed that up with Jim Jarmusch’s 1991 anthology comedy, Night on Earth – available now to watch on SBS On Demand – and White Men Can’t Jump (1992), opposite Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes, as the well-read Gloria, whose ambition was to be a contestant on Jeopardy.

Her heart-punching performance as grieving airplane crash survivor Carla in Fearless (1993) earned her a swag of awards and nominations, including an Oscar nod for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In a change of pace, Perez featured in rom-coms Untamed Heart (1993) opposite Christian Slater and Marisa Tomei, and It Could Happen to You with Nicolas Cage (1994).

What’s she been up to all these years? She may not be nearly as visible as she was at the peak of her fame, but the truth is Perez never went away, working consistently to build up an impressive credit list. Like the majority of Hollywood, the actress has made the transition to TV, appearing in dramedy Lipstick Jungle (2008-9), SBS VICELAND's hit millennial mystery, Search Party (2016), as realtor Lorraine De Coss (watch seasons one and two now on SBS On Demand), and odd couple comedy Bounty Hunters (2017) opposite actor/comedian Jack Whitehall. She’s also had a stint as co-host of daytime gabfest The View.

Taylor Dayne

Best known for: Her powerful vocals and late '80s/early '90s hits "Tell It to My Heart", "Love Will Lead  You Back" and "I’ll Be Your Shelter". Dayne has sold a total 75 million singles and albums to date.

What’s she been up to all these years? Dayne branched out into acting, appearing in Warren Beatty’s Love Affair (1994) and Elton John’s production of Aida on Broadway. But music has remained her mainstay, with Dayne continuing to record new music and making regular visits to Australia to perform live. She’s also taken the post-fame right of passage of appearing in reality shows like Gone Country and Rachel vs Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off.

Gilbert Gottfried

Best known for: His distinctive loud mouth roles and squinty demeanour in late '80s/early '90s movies Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Look Who’s Talking Too (1990), The Adventures of Ford Fairlane (1990), and the first two Problem Child films (1990/1991), in which he played put-upon Principal Peabody. He also voiced macaw Iago in Aladdin (1992).

What’s he been up to all these years? Gottfried's become a sought-after voice artist, reprising Iago in several Aladdin spin-offs, and lending his voice to the likes of Doctor Doolittle (1998), Family Guy (2007) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014-16). A prolific character actor, his credits include Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens (2016), Sharknado 5: Global Swarming (2017) and Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014) as Abraham Lincoln.

He continues to be a leading stand-up, with a very un-PC approach and a penchant for telling, filthy, filthy jokes; has appeared on reality TV shows Celebrity Wife Swap and Celebrity Apprentice; and hosts retro Hollywood podcast Gilbert Gottfried’s Amazing Colossal Podcast!

Sally Jessy Raphael

Emmy-winning Sally Jessy Raphael hosted her talk show for almost two decades. Source: ABC Australia

Best known for: Being the talk show doyenne with the big red glasses. The Emmy-winning host of The Sally Jessy Raphael Show (later renamed Sally), which ran for almost 20 years from 1983-2002, Raphael paved the way for the likes of Oprah Winfrey as the first woman to host a syndicated TV talk show. She welcomed some 10,000 guests over the show’s run.

What’s she been up to all these years? After her talk show wrapped up, Raphael hosted internet radio show Sally JR’s Open House and roving interview show Sally Jessy Rides!, where she chatted with celebrities on various modes of transport, including a mechanical bull. She also appeared on game show Hollywood Squares and a reality show about Hollywood has-beens, The Surreal Life, and has become a gay icon.

Raphael took the mickey out of herself in the semi-improvised mockumentary I’m Still Sally! (2011) about a cancelled talk show host pining to be back on TV, who “abuses relentlessly” her husband, assistant and housekeeper.

David Arquette

David Arquette as the dimwitted Dewey in the 'Scream' franchise. Source: Dimension Films

Best known for: A '90s icon and part of the Arquette acting clan, he starred in the movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), comedy Airheads (1994) with Brendan Fraser, rom-coms Beautiful Girls (1996) and Never Been Kissed (1999), and Muppets from Space (1999). His signature role is simpleton Deputy Dewey Riley in Wes Craven’s slasher satire series, Scream (1996-2011), opposite now ex-wife Courteney Cox.

What’s he been up to all these years? Arquette remained busy, appearing in Kevin Costner crime caper 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001), spider schlocker Eight Legged Freaks (2002), The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005) and Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016), but it’s safe to say no one would have heard of most of his main acting gigs outside the States.

Where he’s made his name in more recent times is as an executive producer, re-teaming with Cox for tabloid satire Dirt (2007-8), hit sitcom Cougar Town (2009-15) and game show Celebrity Name Game, which ended a three-season run last year.

 

Watch The Untitled Action Bronson Show on Monday nights at 12:20am (technically Tuesday morning) on SBS VICELAND. You can watch the show anytime at SBS On Demand: