Glimpse Into "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" Cast Life 28 Years Since Fan Famous Sitcom Premiere

Mar 11, 2021

04:48 A.M.

From suicide attempts to illegal substance and alcohol abuse, find out what happened to the cast of "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper," 23 years after the show ended.

Do you ever find yourself wondering what happened to the cast of the popular '90s TV show "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper?"

While some cast members have moved on to achieve greater heights, others lost their path through life and bounced back to become better.

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Mark Curry as Mark Cooper

Actor Mark Curry played Mark Cooper in the series and continued acting on several shows, such as "The Jamie Foxx Show," "The Drew Carey Show," and "See Dad Run."

He also ended up appearing in several movies, including "Armageddon," where he played Stu the Cabbie, "Bad Boy," where he portrayed Drew Hodges, and "Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury," playing the character Captain O'Malley.

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In 2006 an explosion while doing the laundry left him in a coma for three days and with burns covering 18% of his body, which led to a period of severe depression. According to an interview with People's Magazine, Mark revealed that he considered suicide:

"I couldn't walk for two weeks after I woke up. I was burnt and disfigured. I wanted to commit suicide. Man, I cried every night. I'm not afraid to say it. I felt scared and weak. I remember crying, saying I was less than a man."

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He managed to overcome the ordeal with the help and support of his comedian friends Bill Cosby, Martin Lawrence, Chris Tucker, and Damon Wayans. Nowadays, he does stand up and is currently playing Principal Glass on the TV show "Family Reunion."

Holly Robinson Peete as Vanessa Russell

Before playing Vanessa in "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper," actress Holly Robinson Peete played the role of Sargent Judy Hoffs on the popular 90's TV show "21 Jump Street," which featured actor Johnny Depp as the main character.

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After the show ended, she continued acting in several different TV shows such as "Like Family," "For Your Love," "Mike and Molly," and "Chicago Fire," as well as several TV movies. She was also a host on "The Talk" for a short time.

After her eldest son was diagnosed with autism, she and her husband, the former NFL quarterback Rodney Peete, created the HollyRod Foundation in 1997 with a mission to help provide compassionate care and raise awareness for Parkinson's disease and autism.

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Dawnn Lewis as Robin Dumars

Dawnn Lewis' character Robin was the one that originated the show's entire plotline. As Mark Cooper's longtime friend, she was the one that invited him to live with her and Vanessa, and that also got him the job as a teacher.

Best known for her role as Jaleesa Vinson on the TV show "A Different World," after "Hangin with Mr. Cooper" ended, Grammy award winner Lewis continued on her career as an actress, singer, voice actress, and award-winning songwriter.

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Her long list of voice work includes the Spider-Man animated series, as well as shows "Cleveland," "Futurama," and "Inside Out," among many others.

She has also dedicated herself to raising awareness for several different causes, such as Sickle Cell Disease through the K.I.S. Foundation for Empowerment and by empowering girls and young women from marginalized communities through the Empow Her Institute.

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Nell Carter as Pamela Jane PJ Moore

Best known as her role as Nell Harper on the TV show "Gimme a Break!" after her role as P.J. Moore on "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper," Golden Globe nominee and Emmy and Tony winner Nell Carter went on to act on several different shows, such as "Touched by an Angel," "Reba," and "Ally McBeal."

Her personal life, unfortunately, was filled with low moments. From a suicide attempt in the early '80s to several miscarriages, divorces, substance addiction, and two brain aneurysms, she died in 2003, at the early age of 54, due to complications from diabetes.

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Raven Symone as Nicole Lee

After playing Olivia Kendall on the famous "The Cosby Show" from 1989 to 1992, Raven Symone went on to play Mark's preteen cousin Nicole from the second season to the end of the "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" show in 1997.

The multi-talented and award-winning star has since then appeared in movies such as "Dr. Doolittle," where she played the role of Charisse, and the Disney musical franchise "The Cheetah Girls."

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She released four studio albums, was a voice actress for several different animation videos and TV series, such as the popular show "Kim Possible," where she voiced the character, Monique.

From 2003 to 2007, she starred in her very own hit Disney show called "That's So Raven," which made her the first African American woman with her name in the title of a TV comedy series, and appeared in the more recent TV shows "Black-ish" and "The Masked Singer."

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In 2014, the actress gave the world something to talk about as she congratulated the government for allowing same-sex marriage in a tweet, saying that now she could get married.

Although there was no open coming-out statement, there was much discussion on whether this meant she was referring to her alleged homosexuality.

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From 2015 to 2016, she played a controversial role as a host on the popular daytime talk show "The View," from which she decided to quit and star in the spinoff of her "That's So Raven," hit show, in 2017.

Marquise Wilson as Tyler Foster

Actor Marquise Wilson played the adorable but frequently annoying neighbor and friend to Nicole om "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper."

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After the show ended, Marquise went on to appear on several popular shows such as "Touched by an Angel," "NYPD Blue," and "Six Feet Under." Also, he was the voice for Juka on Nickelodeon's "The Wild Thornberries."

Meanwhile, he has quit his acting career and stepped back from the TV and movie industry entirely to dedicate himself entirely to producing music and developing his entrepreneurial career as the owner of the successful clothing line called Canna-Wear Clothing.

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Omar Gooding as Earvin Rodman

Brother to Oscar-winner actor Cuba Gooding Jr. and son of the R&B group The Main Ingredient's lead singer Cuba Gooding Sr., Omar Gooding comes from a long line of singers and entertainers, which makes it no surprise that he got to where he is now.

After "Wild and Crazy Kids," a Nickelodeon TV show where he was a regular co-host for three years, he ended up playing Earvin Rodman, a student and basketball player at the Oakbridge Penguin boys basketball team.

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After the show ended, Omar went on to play roles in several TV shows such as "Smart Guy," "One on One," "Playmakers," "Barbershop," "Miami Medical," and "Family Time," among many others. He also appeared in many different movies such as "Baby Boy," for which he received critical praise for his role as Sweetpea, and "Christmas in Compton."

Aside from his acting career, Omar also followed his father's footsteps by pursuing a musical career as a rapper. His stage name is Big O.

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Roger E. Mosley as Coach Rickets

From 1992 to 1993, Roger E. Mosley played Coach Rickets on "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper." His long acting career, which began in 1971 in the TV series "Longstreet," continued with several appearances on a number of TV shows such as "Rude Awakening," "Walker Texas Ranger," "FCU: Fact Checker Unit."

He also appeared on the popular TV show "Magnum P.I.," where he played Tom Selleck's buddy and helicopter pilot Theodore "T.C." Calvin. Curiously, Mosley was a licensed helicopter pilot in real life, so the role ended up fitting him perfectly.

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In 2010 Roger made a special appearance on the "Magnum P.I." reboot as barber John Booky, and in 2014, he decided to leave show business. He dedicated himself to a much-deserved rest time after such a long acting career.

Kristoff St. John as Eric Thompson

Actor Kristoff St. John played the character Eric Thompson, one of Vanessa's boyfriends and fiancé, from 1994 to 1995. He started his acting career at the early age of eight on the 70's sitcom "That's My Mama."

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Sadly, St. John's acting career suddenly came to a sudden end on February 3, 2019, at 52 years of age, when he passed away due to hypertrophic heart disease, for which alcohol abuse had a substantial contributing factor.

Don Cheadle as Bennie

After his short role as Bennie, a friend of Mark on "Hangin with Mr. Cooper," Don Cheadle went on to develop a highly successful career, landing roles in popular movies such as the Oscar-winning "Crash," "Hotel Rwanda," "Boogie Nights," "Rosewood" and the TV show "House of Lies."

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He was awarded Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series for "House of Lies" and Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in "The Rat Pack" at the 2013 and 1999 Golden Globe Awards.

Cheadle is also a dedicated advocate for the end of genocide in Darfur, co-authoring a book on it called "Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond" and created the project "Not on Our Watch."

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Who was your favorite character from the show? What are your thoughts and feelings about what happened to them? Let us know in the comments, and make sure to share this post with fellow "Hangin' with Mr. Cooper" fans.

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