'Annie' Cast: Where Are They Now?

"The Movie of 'Tomorrow,'" quipped the posters for the 1982 film version of "Annie." As it turned out, the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical, which premiered 30 years ago this week (on May 17, 1982), may indeed have been ahead of its time.

Inspired by the venerable comic strip about the adventures of a plucky red-headed orphan and the tycoon who adopts her, the movie musical was only a modest hit in theaters. But once on video, it developed a fiercely devoted cult following. It also launched the careers of several young actresses, who went from chorus urchins to stars.

Read on to learn what became of the "Annie" cast, from its wee waifs to its veteran song-and-dance stars.

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Gallery | 'Annie' Cast: Where Are They Now

• Aileen Quinn (Annie)

• Aileen Quinn (Annie)

  Born in Yardley, Pa., Quinn was a 10-year-old with some commercials and a small role in Burt Reynolds' "Paternity" under her belt when she beat 8,000 other girls for the title role of Annie. Unfortunately, the child-star's movie career eventually stalled; she was contracted for a series of "Annie" sequels that never materialized. Yet Quinn continued performing in musicals, on Broadway and around the country. In recent years, she's appeared in some indie movies (most recently, 2010's "Multiple Sarcasms," opposite Timothy Hutton). She also has a pop music career, singing with a rockabilly band called -- after Annie's catchphrase -- the Leapin' Lizards. Today, the 41-year-old teaches drama as an adjunct professor at Monmouth University in New Jersey, whose campus is where much of "Annie" was filmed.

• Albert Finney (Daddy Oliver Warbucks)

  The English actor was a 20-year veteran of dramatic movies, including Oscar-nominated roles in "Tom Jones" and "Murder on the Orient Express," when he landed the role of Daddy Warbucks in "Annie." (His chief musical experience had been playing the lead in 1970's "Scrooge.") After "Annie," he was nominated for three more Oscars, for his roles in "The Dresser," "Under the Volcano," and "Erin Brockovich." In the past decade, Finney has co-starred in such films as "Big Fish," "A Good Year," and "The Bourne Ultimatum." The 76-year-old's last screen appearance to date was in the 2007 crime drama "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead." In 2012, he'll be seen in two spy thrillers: "The Bourne Legacy" (reprising his role as Dr. Albert Hirsch) and the new James Bond adventure, "Skyfall."

• Carol Burnett (Miss Hannigan)

• Carol Burnett (Miss Hannigan)

  Three years after her landmark TV sketch comedy series ended its 11-year run, Burnett beat Bette Midler for the role of Miss Hannigan, the manager of the orphanage and Annie's nemesis. The role was a natural for Burnett, whose big break in show business had come a quarter-century earlier as the light-sleeping princess in the Broadway musical comedy "Once Upon a Mattress." Though Miss Hannigan may have been the most memorable role of her film career, Burnett has continued to be a reliable dramatic actress in TV movies, and comic actress in TV series guest spots (most recently, as Sue Sylvester's Nazi-hunting mom on "Glee"). The 79-year-old has also done voiceover work in several animated films, including "Horton Hears a Who" (as a Miss Hannigan-like kangaroo) and this year's English-language version of the Japanese hit "The Secret World of Arietty."

• Tim Curry (Rooster Hannigan)

• Tim Curry (Rooster Hannigan)

  Ever since he broke through as Dr. Frank N. Furter in both the stage and big-screen version of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," Tim Curry has specialized in both villainous roles and musical theater. Therefore, the role of Rooster, Miss Hannigan's scheming brother in "Annie," was a natural for him. In the years since, he's earned three Tony nominations (most recently, for the character of King Arthur in "Spamalot") and appeared in more than a hundred movies and TV shows, including "Legend," "Home Alone 2," "Congo," "Muppet Treasure Island," and "Charlie's Angels." Ever busy, especially as a voiceover artist, the 66-year-old will be heard in several animated movies this year, including "Back to the Sea," "Outback," and "Saving Santa."

• Ann Reinking (Grace Farrell)

• Ann Reinking (Grace Farrell)

  As Bob Fosse's protege and muse (she played a role based on herself in his movie "All That Jazz"), Reinking was an established Broadway hoofer when she landed the role of Grace Farrell, Daddy Warbucks' secretary and love interest. During the movie's number "We Got Annie," she introduced the dance step known as "raising the roof," which became her trademark. After "Annie," she made just one more notable movie, the 1984 romantic farce "Micki & Maude," with Dudley Moore and Amy Irving. She then on to become a driving force behind the 1996 revival of Fosse's "Chicago," choreographing and starring in the musical that spawned the Oscar-winning 2002 movie. She continued to keep her mentor's flame alive by co-creating, co-directing, and co-choreographing the 1999 revue "Fosse."

• Bernadette Peters (Lily St. Regis)

• Bernadette Peters (Lily St. Regis)

  Peters had been a Broadway musical mainstay since childhood -- and had also been a frequent leading lady in then-beau Steve Martin's movies, including the musical "Pennies From Heaven" -- when she landed the role of Rooster's conniving girlfriend, Lily St. Regis, in "Annie." Since then, Peters has continued to shine on Broadway in a career that has earned her seven Tony nominations and two wins. She's also often seen in TV guest spots, including sketch comedy work with "Annie" co-star Carol Burnett. This year, the 64-year-old had a recurring guest role as a Broadway veteran on NBC's "Smash." Later this year, she'll be heard as the voice of Glinda the Good Witch, opposite "Glee" star Lea Michele as Dorothy, in the animated musical "Dorothy of Oz."

• Geoffrey Holder (Punjab)

• Geoffrey Holder (Punjab)

  The Trinidad-born choreographer/performer won two Tonys in 1975 for directing and designing costumes for the musical "The Wiz" (though at the time, he was probably best known to general audiences for his role as a villainous henchman in the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die" and for a series of 7Up commercials in which he unleashed his hearty laugh). After playing Warbucks' bodyguard Punjab in "Annie," Holder continued to flourish as a choreographer and voiceover actor (he was the narrator in Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"). Last year, he re-emerged at the age of 81, on TV's "Celebrity Apprentice."

• Peter Marshall (Bert Healy)

  The longtime "Hollywood Squares" host was a natural choice to play radio personality Bert Healy. Born Ralph Pierre La Cock, he had redubbed himself Peter Marshall when he began singing with swing bands as a teen. He graduated to Broadway and West End musicals before spending 15 years (1966-81) on "Hollywood Squares." After "Annie," he returned to the musical stage, as Georges in "La Cage Aux Folles," and to TV as a host of several other game shows. Now 86, Marshall is back with his first showbiz love, big band music. In recent years, he's recorded a couple of CDs, hosted a syndicated radio show of swing music, and starred in infomercials for Time-Life's "Music of Your Life" collection.

• Edward Herrmann (Franklin Delano Roosevelt)

• Edward Herrmann (Franklin Delano Roosevelt)

  Herrmann (pictured, left) had already played Franklin Delano Roosevelt in two TV movies when he reprised the presidential role in "Annie." Since then, the character actor has been known for playing similar patrician roles, most notably throughout the run of TV's "Gilmore Girls" as WASP-y patriarch Richard Gilmore, and in such movies as "Overboard," "Richie Rich," and "Intolerable Cruelty." Now 68, he enjoys a recurring role on CBS' "The Good Wife," and just finished filming the family movie "Doorway to Heaven."

• John Huston

  Before "Annie," Huston had been a legendary director for 40 years, with classics from "The Maltese Falcon" and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" to "The African Queen" and "The Man Who Would Be King." Yet, for all his iconic crime dramas and adventure epics, he'd never made a musical before "Annie." Afterward, Huston continued to strike gold with such films as the literary adaptation "Under the Volcano" (reteaming with "Annie" star Albert Finney), mob comedy "Prizzi's Honor" (which made an Oscar-winning star out of his daughter Anjelica) and 1987's "The Dead," an adaptation of the James Joyce short story, which turned out to be his valedictory film. He died in 1988 at the age of 81.

• Toni Ann Gisondi (Molly) & April Lerman Haney (Kate)

  Gisondi (pictured far left) was six when she was cast in "Annie" as Molly, the littlest of the orphans. She acted again in the TV movie "The Children's Story" (1982), but did not pursue show business as an adult. Today, the 37-year-old is reportedly a substitute teacher in New Jersey. She's also married and has two daughters, one of whom is named Molly. April Lerman (next to Gisondi) was 12 when she played orphan Kate in "Annie." She was a regular on the first season of "Charles in Charge," as Lila Pembroke. After doing other TV guest spots throughout her teens, she left acting and earned a law degree and a master's degree in counseling. Today, the 43-year-old goes by her married name, April Haney, and is a social worker in California.

• Martika

  California-born Marta Marrero was 12 when she danced in the chorus of "Annie." From there, she landed a starring role on the Disney Channel musical series "Kids, Inc." As a teen, the Cuban-American became a pop star in 1989 under the name Martika, and had a No. 1 dance hit with "Toy Soldiers." Her singing career waned in the mid-'90s. Rechristening herself Vida Edit, she starred as a character named Lolly Pop in a self-produced Web series caled "J8ded" in 2010. This year, the singer, who turns 43 on May 18, is back as Martika, with a new single ("Flow With the Go") and plans for a summer tour.

• Shawnee Smith

  Smith got her start as a dancing orphan in "Annie." As a teen, she had her first starring role in the 1988 remake of "The Blob." She then spent six seasons opposite Ted Danson on the CBS sitcom "Becker." These days, movie audiences know her for her recurring role as Amanda Young in the "Saw" films. This year, the 41-year-old actress will be seen in the movie "Jayne Mansfield's Car," and on TV in Charlie Sheen's sitcom "Anger Management."

• Meredith Salenger

  Salenger was another high-stepping waif who vaulted to stardom from the "Annie" chorus. Three years later, she had the starring role opposite John Cusack in the Disney family adventure "The Journey of Natty Gann." She took four years off from acting to earn a psychology degree at Harvard; when she returned, she landed supporting roles in such films as "Village of the Damned" and "Lake Placid." In recent years, the 42-year-old has been a frequent TV guest, in various voice roles on "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and a recurring part on "Damages." This year, Salenger can be seen in the TV series "Hollywood Heights" and the upcoming movie "Crush."

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