Classic '80s Movie 'Stand By Me' Celebrates 30th Anniversary
Fine out where the cast is now!
— -- The classic '80s movie "Stand By Me" celebrates the 30th anniversary of its limited release on Monday.
The Rob Reiner-directed film, based on the Stephen King novella "The Body," debuted in limited release on this day in 1986, before expanding wide a couple of weeks later. The story followed four boys as they searched for the body of a missing teen in Oregon in the 1950s.
Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O'Connell played the group of friends. The cast also included Kiefer Sutherland and Richard Dreyfuss, who narrated the story as a grown-up version of Wheaton's character, Gordie Lachance.
"Stand By Me" made more than $47 million at the domestic box office in 1986, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, and went on to earn two Golden Globe nominations plus an Oscar nomination for its screenplay.
The movie is also remembered for featuring Ben E. King's classic song of the same name.
Sadly, Phoenix died in 1993 of a drug overdose at the age of 23. The other young actors in "Stand By Me" have remained active in the acting world to this day.
Wheaton, a star on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," has made appearances on "The Big Bang Theory;" Feldman followed with notable projects like "The Lost Boys," and now lends his voice to the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon; O'Connell had roles in the TV series "Sliders" and the Tom Cruise flick "Jerry Maguire," and has worked on various TV shows in recent years; and Sutherland's credits include a number of movies and TV programs, including "24" and the upcoming ABC series "Designated Survivor."