“Salute Your Shorts ”Cast Remembers Kirk Bailey as a ‘Consummate Actor’ and ‘Big Brother’ Figure as They Celebrate Show’s 35th Anniversary

Angela AndaloroThu, July 9, 2026 at 5:50 PM UTC

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Kirk Bailey (left), the cast of ‘Salute Your Shorts’Credit: Peter Bischoff/Getty; Nickelodeon/Courtesy Everett Collection -

Salute Your Shorts aired on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1992

Venus DeMilo Thomas, Megan Mahdavi, Michael Ray Bower, Heidi Lukacsik and Danny Cooksey participated in a virtual reunion as the show celebrates its 35th anniversary

During their time on the Splat Attack podcast, they shared memories of their late castmate, Kirk Bailey, who played Kevin ‘Ug’ Lee

The cast of Salute Your Shorts is looking back at 35 years of Camp Anawanna memories.

Venus DeMilo Thomas, Megan Mahdavi, Michael Ray Bower, Heidi Lukacsik and Danny Cooksey appeared in a virtual reunion on the Splat Attack podcast, where they took time to remember late castmate Kirk Bailey, who played Kevin ‘Ug’ Lee.

Cooksey, 50, shared his favorite memory of Bailey, who died in March 2022 at the age of 59, six months after he was first diagnosed with lung cancer. Recalling an episode where the two decide to be each other for a day, Cooksey said, “He was so much fun.”

“He was so quick. He was so, so funny, and especially, he was just a good, good dude. He was great to work with,” he continued.

Mahdavi recalled Bailey as someone who “really took care of us”, using night shoots as an example.

“One of the cameramen was telling us that there was a prison on the other side of the hill, where they had some escapees, just to amp things up. And Kirk just made everything okay. He always made sure. That was who he was,” she added.

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Lukacsik, 49, remembers Bailey as a true role model for her as a child actor, especially because she didn’t have the same background in the craft as some of her castmates.

“One of the things that I think he exemplified for me, and I don’t know if you guys agree, being a young actor, I looked up to him so much. Because I would struggle with my lines and memorizing things.... There was this scene where I had to dress up like Madonna. And I just couldn’t get that line and just struggled over and over and over again,” she recalled.

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Lukacsik continued, “And what I loved about him was that he was like, ‘You know what? Don’t take yourself too seriously. You gotta just have fun with it, but also persevere. It was this perfect balance of, ‘I’m going to show you how to be this consummate actor. Be the professional; this is what we’re hired to do. But at the same time, have fun with it.’ And I just really admired that about him.”

Bower remembered Bailey for being “like an amazing big brother on set,” recalling how Bailey and Cooksey would perform concerts on set after filming. When they once encountered a group of young Salute Your Shorts fans, Bailey would perform the theme song with them.

He added, “I think that epitomizes who Kirk is — a loving big brother, a father figure, and an entertainer all around.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”