What The Surviving Stars Of Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory Are Doing Today
Mike Teavee, played by Paris Themmen, was a bit younger and much rowdier than his other contest-winning peers. The 11-year-old cowboy-loving tween bounced around everyone else until he was "accidentally" trapped in a TV in the TV room of the factory and somehow stretched out to 10 feet tall (completely the Oompa Loompas' fault!).
After his charismatic role in Willy Wonka, Themmen had a brief career on Broadway as a teen in the late '60s and later became a theatre major at New York University. According to an archived version of his official website, he wanted to travel internationally following his graduation.
"I founded 'Access International,' a travel service sending backpackers standby on charter flights to Europe," he wrote. "During this time I visited 36 countries on 6 continents, (I'm up to 40 now!) everything from the Jungles of the Amazon to the Sahara Desert. You name it, I've been there."
His career path took multiple different paths, including real estate, film production, "a stint in Walt Disney Imagineering," retail, and more "entrepreneurial ventures." He honestly added, "As you can tell from my past, there is no telling what I may do next. (Direct?) In any case, I have lived a full and eminently satisfying life."
Themmen added a sentiment that all the living Willy Wonka actors can likely relate to: "There is life after art."
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