Where is the “Silver Spoons ”cast now? See the stars 40 years after the series finale
Where is the “Silver Spoons ”cast now? See the stars 40 years after the series finale
Declan GallagherTue, July 7, 2026 at 9:00 PM UTC
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Erin Gray, Rick Schroder, Joel Higgins, Alfonso Ribeiro, and Franklyn Seales in 'Silver Spoons'Credit: Ron Tom/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
For a certain generation, Silver Spoons wasn’t just a sitcom. It was a Saturday-night fantasia of bottomless arcade cabinets, indoor trains, and the kind of adolescent wish fulfillment that now feels positively quaint.
Rewatch the show today, and you might find that nostalgia has sanded its edges: Silver Spoons is stranger, sweeter, and far more idiosyncratic than its pop-culture reputation suggests. It wasn't merely the story of a rich kid and his man-child father, but a surprisingly nimble comedy about growing up amid extraordinary wealth long before television became obsessed with the ultra-rich.
And the ensemble cast? They've taken paths as winding as a model railroad. Some became household names, others stepped away from the spotlight entirely, and one became one of the most recognizable actors of the 21st century. So hop aboard and find out what happened to the Silver Spoons cast after the arcade lights dimmed.
01 of 07
Ricky Schroder (Ricky Stratton)
Ricky Schroder as Ricky Stratton / Rick Schroder in L.A. in 2016Credit: Everett; Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Ricky Schroder starred as precocious, military school-educated Ricky, who arrives at the estate to meet his father for the first time and quickly becomes the family’s de facto advisor.
It was his Golden Globe-recognized performance opposite Jon Voight in The Champ (1979) that first got the child actor noticed. That led to more lead roles in The Last Flight of Noah’s Ark (1980) and The Earthling (1980) before Silver Spoons officially made him a sitcom star.
As he moved into adulthood, he landed a key role in the acclaimed Western miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989), returned for the follow-up four years later, and dropped the Y from his name. He was largely out of the spotlight until he joined NYPD Blueas a series regular in season 6. He later had a guest arc on Scrubs and a season-long stint on 24.
The Brooklyn-born actor has taken a step back from the acting world in recent years. His last onscreen credit came in 2016. He did, however, tell Today in 2013 that he’d “absolutely” be up for a Silver Spoons reunion.
“I’d be open to a reunion. It might be a little weird, me riding on a train in the living room now,” he said. “I’m trying to think of what the concept would be. Maybe Edward’s toy factory has gone out of business and he’s living in the old mansion full of cobwebs… We could try to put together something that could be kind of fun. Now that I think about (a reunion), my creative juices are flowing.”
Schroder got married to Julie Trammel in 2025. He also shares four children with his first wife.
02 of 07
Joel Higgins (Edward Stratton III)
Joel Higgins as Edward Stratton III / Higgins in L.A. in 2017Credit: Everett; Desiree Stone/Getty
Joel Higgins played Ricky’s father, a successful entrepreneur and eternal child who’s finally forced to grow up and accept responsibility upon his estranged son’s return.
Before becoming a sitcom star, Higgins spent years as a decorated stage veteran. He got his start in the 1970s after returning from service in the U.S. Army and appeared in Broadway productions of Shenandoah, Oklahoma!, and Angel.
He followed that run with a lead stint on the Western TV series Best of the West before landing on Silver Spoons. Following the end of its five-year run, the Illinois native led the short-lived ABC sitcom Have Faith as a monsignor.
In recent decades, the veteran actor has guest-starred on such varied series as Home Improvement, JAG, Family Matters, and Crossing Jordan.
03 of 07
Erin Gray (Kate Summers)
Erin Gray as Kate Summers-Stratton / Gray in L.A. in 2018Credit: Everett; Albert L. Ortega/Getty
Erin Gray played Edward’s long-suffering assistant, Kate, who becomes a maternal figure to Ricky.
Though she’s best remembered for Silver Spoons, Gray is known to many as Colonel Wilma Deering in the cult classic film Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979). She later reprised the role in a TV series of the same name, which ran from 1979–1981.
She’s worked steadily ever since, booking guest spots on everything from L.A. Law and Hunter to Evening Shade and Baywatch. She also had a key role in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993). Her most recent work includes the dramatic feature Finding Grace (2019) and the Lifetime TV movie It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder (2022).
Gray has been married to Richard Hissong since 1991. They share a daughter. The actress also has a son from her first marriage.
04 of 07
Franklyn Seales (Dexter Stuffins)
Franklyn Seales as Dexter Stuffins / Seales in Century City in 1985Credit: Ron Tom/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Franklyn Seales played Dexter, Edward's hardworking business partner, who was often left to clean up his impulsive counterpart's messes.
The West Indies native broke through alongside James Woods in the acclaimed thriller The Onion Field (1979) and also landed a role in Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). He followed those films with a major role in Walter Hill's thriller Southern Comfort (1981), and Silver Spoons made him a familiar face to mainstream audiences during the 1980s.
After the sitcom ended, the Juilliard graduate devoted much of his time to stage work, though he continued to make occasional television appearances, including on Growing Pains and Wiseguy.
Seales became ill in 1987 while working on the series Amen. He died from complications of AIDS in 1990 at age 37.
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05 of 07
Jason Bateman (Derek Taylor)
Jason Bateman as Derek Taylor / Bateman at a 'Black Rabbit' event in L.A. in 2026Credit: Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank; Tommaso Boddi/FilmMagic
Jason Bateman played Derek, Ricky’s always-scheming but delightfully charismatic best friend. The actor left after season 2.
In a 2013 interview with GQ, Bateman recalled some of the shenanigans that he and Schroder would get up to between takes.
“We’d ride our bikes around the lot for exercise, or f-----g around, and we’d hold on to the back of one of those trams, and we’d let the tram pull us along this route right here with the people in the back of the tram going, ‘Oooh, it’s those two kids from Silver Spoons!’ We’d have the tram pull us all the way up to Jaws Lake, where we’d roll up our pants and wade in and net a bunch of goldfish and put ’em in a plastic bag to take back to Ricky’s fish tank in the schoolroom... Eventually, the tram people sent a letter to our parents saying, ‘Can you please have your kids stop wading in Jaws Lake? They’re ruining the effect.'”
After Little House on the Prairie and Silver Spoons established him as a child star, Bateman's career took a famously up-and-down path. His career skidded well off-track before recovering in the early 2000s, and by now he’s one of the most popular and successful actors of his generation.
He followed up Silver Spoons with a headlining role on The Hogan Family (infamously refashioned from Valerie). By directing three 1987 episodes of the sitcom, the 18-year-old Bateman became one of the youngest directors ever admitted to the Directors Guild of America.
After a period of years in the wilderness, Bateman scored a massive comeback in 2003 with the beloved sitcom Arrested Development, which despite initially low ratings turned into a cult sensation. That paved the way for his second shot at movie stardom.
In addition to supporting roles in such acclaimed films as Juno (2007), State of Play (2009), and Up in the Air (2009), he toplined a number of comedy hits, including Horrible Bosses (2011), Identity Thief (2013), and Game Night (2018). His recent big-screen performances include Ben Affleck’s Air (2023) and a villainous role in Carry-On (2024).
Television, however, has been even better to him. He starred in and produced Netflix’s crime thriller Ozark, winning an Emmy for directing and picking up three SAG awards for his lead performance. And in recent years he’s earned further acclaim for his dramatic work in Netflix’s Black Rabbit, alongside Jude Law, and HBO’s DTF St. Louis.
At this point, the native New Yorker has a wildly lucrative podcast with Will Arnett and Sean Hayes, a trophy shelf full of hardware, and a voice role in the massively successful Zootopia franchise.
He has been married to Amanda Anka, daughter of singer Paul Anka, since 2001. They share two daughters.
06 of 07
Alfonso Ribeiro (Alfonso Spears)
Alfonso Ribeiro as Alfonso Spears / Ribeiro at the Disney Upfront in 2026Credit: Alan Singer/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty
After Bateman’s departure, Alfonso Ribeiro joined the cast as Ricky’s spirited pal Alfonso.
Ribeiro broke out as a child dancer, even showing off his talents on Broadway. Following the end of Silver Spoons, he moved on to an even more popular sitcom — and still his signature role — as the uptight Carlton Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The performance earned him an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
The New York native had an immediate small-screen follow-up, joining LL Cool J in the UPN sitcom In the House for its final three seasons. Around this time, he began his directorial career, helming episodes of One on One and All of Us. He later directed a number of episodes of Meet the Browns and Are We There Yet?, among others.
In 2014, he competed on — and won — Dancing with the Stars, after which he joined the show's national tour as a host. He joined the official show as cohost opposite Tyra Banks in 2022. He also hosts America’s Funniest Home Videos and has two Daytime Emmy nominations for hosting Catch 21.
Ribeiro has been married to Angela Unkrich since 2012. They share three children. He also has a daughter from his first marriage.
07 of 07
John Houseman (Edward Stratton II)
John Houseman as Edward Stratton II / Houseman in New York City in 1986Credit: NBC; Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Legendary actor John Houseman appeared throughout the series as Edward’s stern father, who slowly softens under Ricky’s influence.
One of the most celebrated theater figures of his era, Houseman was renowned for his stage work and his association with Orson Welles through the Federal Theatre Project. However, he didn't become a household name until later in life, beginning with a key role in the John Frankenheimer classic Seven Days in May (1964).
A decade later, he won an Academy Award for The Paper Chase (1973), officially launching an acclaimed late-career acting run that included such films as Rollerball (1975), Three Days of the Condor (1975), Neil Simon’s The Cheap Detective (1978), and John Carpenter’s The Fog (1980).
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The veteran actor also reprised his Oscar-winning role in the TV version of The Paper Chase, which ran for four seasons over an eight-year period. Late in his career, he had a memorable performance as Gena Rowlands’ father in Woody Allen’s Another Woman (1988) and famously played the unflappable driving instructor in a standout sequence in The Naked Gun (1988), released posthumously.
Houseman died of spinal cancer in 1988 at age 86. He was survived by his wife, Joan Courtney, and their two sons.
Where can I watch Silver Spoons?
Silver Spoons is currently available to stream on Tubi.
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