Spaceballs was a great comedy film, from the creator of Blazing Saddles, Mel Brookes, who would go on to do some other great spoof films like Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It!
Spaceballs made a deliberate mockery of the well-known Star Wars and has since become a cult classic! It was made in 1987 and it took us on a zany adventure with Lone Starr as he fought off the evil Dark Helmet, with Starr’s best pal, Barf, the half-human, half-dog. Let’s take a look at the cast then and now:
1. President Skroob/Yogurt – Mel Brooks.
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Brooks is the famous writer and director of some of the best comedies such as ‘Blazing Saddles’ and ‘Young Frankenstein’, and Spaceballs only goes on to adds to his list.
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Since Spaceballs, Brooks has gone on to appear on our screens in Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Screw Loose, and has provided his recognisable vocal talent to voice characters in a range of projects including Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Hotel Transylvania 2 and Blazing Samurai.
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2. Dark Helmet – Rick Moranis.
Rick Moranis was perfectly cast as Dark Helmet, and we recognised him already from the likes of Ghostbusters and Little Shop of Horrors.
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Since Spaceballs, Moranis became well-known for his role in the Honey i Shrunk the Kids franchise of films, played Barney Rubble in The Flintstones, and provided his voice for Brother Bear. He has largely gone quiet on the acting front though, preferring to look after his family instead.
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3. Lone Starr – Bill Pullman.
He was the leading man in this spoof film, and played a cross between a Han Solo and Luke Skywalker character, as he seeked to find out where he originally came from, whilst discovering he was able to use and control The Schwarz.
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Bill Pullman is a big star who has been seen in some massive productions including Independence Day, Torchwood, 1600 Penn and The Sinner, and he has certainly played enough roles to prove his talent and versatitily.
4. Princess Vespa – Daphne Zuniga.
Daphne Zuniga played this role perfectly as the spoiled brat of a princess who was doing Lone Starr’s head in but was pretty enough that he wanted to keep her around.
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Zuniga went on to star in The Fly II, Melrose Place, American Dreams, One Tree Hill and Beyond Paradise. She’s never been far from our screens and looks to be staying around for a while yet.
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5. King Roland – Dick Van Patten.
King Roland was Princess Vespa’s dad who wasn’t particularly bright and who really couldn’t think of an original or secure combination code if it meant saving his own people!
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Van Patten sadly passed away in 2015, but before that was seen in the likes of Boy Meets World, The Price of Air, The Sure Hand of God and Opposite Day, he was a very talented actor and made every role his own.
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6. Radar Technician – Michael Winslow.
Very well known for playing Jones in the Police Academy series of films, it would be cynical of us to say that he played basically the same character in Spaceballs. He played basically the same character in Spaceballs. How cynical of us.
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Michael Wislow is known as the man of 10,000 voices and can create all sorts of sounds with his amazing voice talent. aside from Spaceballs and Police Academy, he has been seen in the likes of Lycanthrope, Robodoc, Hospital Arrest and Killing Hasselhoff.
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7. Dot Matrix – Joan Rivers.
Joan Rivers lent her very recognisable and powerful voice to the Spaceballs equivalent of C3P0, Dot Matrix, the nagging droid who didn’t want anything bad (or too good at the hands of Lone Starr!!) happening to Princess Vespa.
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Rivers was more well known as a personality than as an actress and certainly caused a stir more than once with her outspoken and controversial views, but she remained popular amongst audiences non the less. She sadly passed away in 2014 but certainly left behind a legacy.
8. Prince Valium – Jim J. Bullock.
Just like the name, his job was to be extra tired all of the time and he was great at it! Valium could barely even keep awake when waiting for Princess Vespa to come and marry him!
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Bullock hasn’t had a prolific career in acting, but has appeared on our screens from time to time in the likes of Kissing Jessica Stein, Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide and Good Job, Thanks.
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It would be criminal of us not to at least mention the late, great John Candy, who starred in Spaceballs as Barf, the half-human, half-dog who was his own best friend. He was a true talent who passed away far too soon and is sorely missed.
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Were you a big fan of Spaceballs? Was this one of your favourite Mel Brook’s films or was it all about Blazing Saddles for you? Let us know all your thoughts and memories in the comments as always!