Then and Now: The Cast of 'A Christmas Story'

From Old Man Parker to bully "yellow-eyed" Farkus, A Christmas Story gave us quite a few characters — which is probably why the film gets a 24-hour TV Christmas marathon slot every year.
Before Billingsley was the iconic be-speckled Ralphie Parker, he appeared in several TV commercials, including one for Hershey's Syrup as"Messy Marvin"— a kid that makes a mess in everything he does except when making chocolate milk.
Billingsley remained in show-biz after A Christmas Story, but stayed mostly behind the camera.
Petrella had been acting since the age of three before he landed his "big break" role as Ralphie's little brother in A Christmas Story.
Surprisingly, Petrella didn't receive recognition for his role as Randy until two years after the film aired.
Known for mostly TV acting, McGavin starred in Mike Hammer (1985), Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1975) and Riverboat (1959-1961) before playing the role of Ralphie and Randy's grumpy, not-so-handy dad. "Old Man Parker," as he's more affectionately known in the film, also really knew how to swear and directed most of his frustration towards that good-for-nothing furnace.
McGavin went on to star as the titular character's father in the TV show Murphy Brown (1989-1992), for which he received an Emmy Award in 1990.
After Ralphie tells his mother that he wants the Red Rider 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle for Christmas, Mrs.
Dillon's history with acting runs deep — however, she enjoys her privacy and isn't frequently photographed, which is why we're featuring her in a still from from the critically acclaimed film, Magnolia (1999).
In his acting debut, Ward played Ralphie's nemesis, "yellow-eyed" Scut Farkus — who later gets quite a whooping from Ralphie after Farkus takes it a little too far.
Ward has been seriously prolific since his A Christmas Story days — he's starred in over 80 roles.
Oh, Flick.
You could say that Schwartz has had an interesting career.
Robb made his acting debut as Schwartz, one of Ralphie's friends (who is also the one to dish out Flick's triple-dog-dare).
Robb continued to act after A Christmas Story and landed a role in The Brady Bunch Movie as Charlie Anderson.