'Sixteen Candles' Paul Dooley Was Deprived of His Kids: 10 Years Later They Found Him for Reunion

• 'Movie dad' Paul Dooley lost his children - after ten years without contact, they were able to find him.

• Thirty-nine years after 'Sixteen Candles,' the children have grown up and have another life.

Paul Dooley was best known for playing loving, fatherly roles in the titles he starred in. However, his personal life was far different from what he experienced as a happy family man on screen.

The actor has recently released a memoir called "Movie Dad: Finding Myself and My Family, On Screen and Off." In it, he revealed truths about his relationship with his kids as they grew up.

He mentioned that after divorcing the mother of his two children, Adam and Robin, he still saw them often. His most regular time for seeing them was one month out of every summer.

Yet after the end of one of these summers together, Dooley claimed he found a letter in his postbox from the children's mother that read:

"I'm leaving. I'm taking the kids. We're not coming back."

He said he couldn't believe it and thought she would surely not be able to take his children and leave him behind without ever seeing them again. He admitted to being devastated.

Dooley found it ironic that when his children were being taken away from him, he was cast in the roles of loving fathers in titles like "Sixteen Candles" and "Runaway Bride."

He wondered what it was about him that made him seem like the perfect father figure and later concluded that the ache he felt for his children was palpable to the audience.

The actor hired a private investigator to track down his children and attempted to sue his ex-wife. Yet he called off the search a year after it began and did not manage to sue in court either.

He spent a decade of his life wondering where his children were and if they were okay. When they were close to 18 years old, they contacted their father ten years after their mother allegedly took them away.

Dooley said his son contacted him after finding his number in a New York phone book. They arranged to meet in a neutral setting and chose a hotel room. However, two days later, his son moved into his apartment with him.

Dooley married Winnie Holzman, a screenwriter, and dramatist, in 1984, and together they welcomed a daughter named Savannah. Holzman is best known for her work on "My So-Called Life" and "Wicked."

What Happened to the Kids in "Sixteen Candles?"

One of Dooley's most famous roles was as Jim Baker in "Sixteen Candles," where he was joined by a star-studded cast to pull together a movie that transcended time. It is still popular today.

Anthony Hall, who played "The Geek," furthered his career by starring in titles like "The Breakfast Club" and "Edward Scissorhands." However, his talents did not end on-screen and bled into other aspects of the entertainment industry.

He also released a music album called "Hall of Mirrors" in 1999. It was released through Hall's own record label, which is called Ram Records Label. It was his debut album, which fans received well.

Aside from his showbusiness talents, Hall also founded a literacy program called The Michael Hall Literacy club, which aims at assisting at-risk youth with furthering their education and staying out of trouble.

Justin Henry played Mike Baker in "Sixteen Candles," which was his second feature film. Before taking a short break from Hollywood and the spotlight in 2014, he had many beautiful roles.

Some of these titles included "Reaper," "Finding Home," "Martin's Day," "Junior Defenders," and "Sweethearts Dance." In 2019, he returned to the entertainment industry for one feature in a film.

The role he came back to Hollywood for was a cameo on "The New On Cinema Oscar Special." He co-founded the Slamdunk Film Festival in the late 1990s, ten years after "Sixteen Candles" premiered.

Blanche Baker, who shares a surname with her character, Ginny, appeared in many famous titles after "Sixteen Candles." She starred in "The Handmaid's Tale," "The Grand Theft," and "The Girl Next Door."

She was a director, writer, and producer on titles like "The Coffee Shop" and "Make America Safe." She married Bruce Van Dusen a year before "Sixteen Candles" premiered, and they divorced in 2002.

Their marriage produced three children. A boy named Zane and two daughters named Wynne and Dara. In 2003, she married Mark Magill and welcomed her fourth child, a son named James.

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