Empty Nest Online

Where Are They Now?

Wondering what the cast of Empty Nest is up to nowadays? Here are some updates.

Richard Mulligan
Richard made a couple television films and guest appearances after Empty Nest ended. He died in September 2000 after a long battle with colon cancer. 

Kristy McNichol
Kristy retired from acting after her departure from Empty Nest in 1992. Her return for the show's 1995 finale remains her last onscreen appearance as an actress to date, although she has lended her voice to some animated projects, including 1998's Invasion America. She has been involved in charity work and has taught drama at a Los Angeles high school. Content with being out of the spotlight, these days Kristy occasionally appears at celebrity autograph signings and conventions to meet and greet fans. Kristy grabbed headlines again, though, in early 2012 when she came out as a lesbian in an effort to raise awareness and help bullied youths.

Dinah Manoff
When the show ended, Dinah continued to make guest appearances and direct episodes of various shows before returning to series television with a two-season run on the ABC Family original series State of Grace in 2001. She appeared in the films The Amati Girls (2000) with Cloris Leachman and A Carol Christmas (2003) with Tori Spelling. Married with three children, Dinah and her family currently live on Bainbridge Island, Washington, where she is active in local theater and teaches acting workshops while occasionally continuing to act herself. Her most recent appearances include the critically acclaimed 2008 independent comedy Bart Got a Room and the 2009 Web-based series Lose Yourself. In January 2012, she directed "The Outsiders," a stage adaptation of the classic S.E. Hinton novel, for Bainbridge Performing Arts.

David Leisure
Since his days as Charley Dietz, David Leisure has made television guest appearances (Diagnosis Murder, Caroline in the City, Action) and movies (10 Things I Hate About You, 3 Strikes). He appeared in Park Overall's Intimate Portrait which debuted in October 2000 on Lifetime. Well known for his previous role as Joe Isuzu, David did a new series of commercials for the Isuzu company in 2001.  He appeared in National Lampoon's Teed Off, a film featuring golf-related skit comedy and practical jokes, and its sequel Teed Off Too , in 2005 and 2006, respectively.  In 2009, David did a stint on the soap opera The Young & the Restless followed by roles on Days of Our Lives and General Hospital in 2010. He continues to appear in commercials.

Park Overall
After Empty Nest, Park worked in the theater and in films such as Sparkler and Abilene. Her sitcom Katie Joplin was axed before ever airing on The WB Network (the few produced episodes aired in 1999). She turned up again on television in the series Ladies Man (alongside Golden Girl Betty White). She has made three original television movies for Lifetime: Fifteen and Pregnant, Price of a Broken Heart and When Andrew Came Home. Her Intimate Portrait premiered on the cable channel in the fall of 2000. Park had a recurring role on the WB Network sitcom Reba starring Reba McEntire during the show's first two seasons in 2001-2002.  She resurfaced in 2008 in the film Beer for My Horses alongside country music star Toby Keith. Her next appearance is in a project called In the Family, as yet unreleased. Park is also an active environmentalist and spends a good deal of time in her hometown of Greeneville, Tennessee.

Paul Provenza
Paul Provenza joined Northern Exposure after his one-season run on Empty Nest. After that series ended in 1995, he went on to appear in the films Plump Fiction, Nothing Sacred, and The Hungry Bachelors Club, as well as the series Beggars and Choosers and The West Wing. Paul has also moved behind the camera, writing, producing and directing projects including the star-studded documentary The Aristocrats, released in 2005. In 2010, he released the book Satiristas and launched the Showtime series The Green Room with Paul Provenza featuring some of the world's greatest comedians in a roundtable setting. The second season of the show aired throughout the summer of 2011. 

Lisa Rieffel
Since her brief half-season as Emily Weston, Lisa has been a regular on the series Women of the House with Delta Burke and the first season of The King of Queens. She has also appeared in the films Forget Paris, The Patron Saint of Liars, and Drowning Mona. More recently she starred in the Web series Girltrash and occasionally makes guest appearances on TV shows, such as a 2009 role on NCIS. More prominent presently is Lisa's music career. She is lead singer for the popular rock band Killola. They have released three albums, including 2010's Let's Get Associated, and are currently working on its follow-up. Lisa is married to bandmate Johnny Dunn. The couple welcomed a daughter, Jolee Rose, in December 2011.

Marsha Warfield
After her two years on Empty Nest, Marsha appeared in the 1997 film Doomsday Rock and has made appearances on a variety of television series: Smart Guy, Moesha, Living Single, Touched by an Angel, Cybill, Clueless, Love Boat: The Next Wave, Veronica's Closet and Mad About You. In 2000, she appeared on a celebrity edition of the game show Family Feud titled "Funny Men vs. Funny Women" and in 2003 appeared on an episode of E! Network's Star Dates series. A respected comedienne, these days Marsha's humorous insights have found a home in the social media arena. She posts regularly on Facebook and Twitter.

Estelle Getty
After a ten year/three series run as Sophia Petrillo, Estelle went on to appear in Stuart Little and made guest appearances on Touched by an Angel, Mad About You, and Ladies Man. Estelle suffered from dementia in her later years and died at the age of 84 in July of 2008.

Bear
Bear ("Dreyfuss") remained with his trainer, Mark Forbes, when Empty Nest ended in 1995. According to The Encyclopdia of TV Pets, Bear remained with Forbes for the next three-and-a-half years "living the good life of long walks, plenty of chew toys, and lots of love." He died at the age of twelve-and-a-half.