Not every former cast member of Night Court has returned for the rebooted series. From untimely
deaths to actors who gave up show biz altogether, here's what happened to the show's original cast.
In a 1989 interview on NPR, Harry Anderson was blunt about starting his career as a con
man magician — running confidence street tricks to fool marks out of their cash. After getting
his jaw broken by an angry mark, Anderson transformed his street act into a legitimate
stage show. He was discovered by Kenny Rogers' manager who booked him as Rogers' opening act,
which led to early roles on Saturday Night Live and Cheers among others,
and eventually his signature role as Judge Harry Stone on Night Court.
"What the hell was that?"
While he was still doling out mostly snack-sized doses of justice on Night Court,
Anderson was making sure he would be no one-hit-wonder. He followed up Night
Court with a successful four-year stint as humor columnist Dave Barry on CBS' Dave's
World. Along with numerous other gigs over the years, in 2002 he opened his own magic shop in
New Orleans — Spade & Archer Curiosities by Appointment. Three years later he cut
the ribbon on his nightclub Oswald's Speakeasy in New Orleans' French quarter. Unfortunately,
Harry Anderson left us far too early. In 2018, Anderson passed away in his
sleep. The cause of death was a stroke at 65, complicated by influenza and heart disease.
John Larroquette memorably filled in the role of prosecutor on Night Court as Dan Fielding. Despite
often being cruel, Dan occasionally reveals surprising depth, such as in Season 3's Wheels
of Justice: Part 2, when he makes an impassioned argument to Judge Stone to not quit his job.
Professionally, Larroquette hasn't slowed down for a second since Night Court. After that show
banged its final gavel, Larroquette followed it up with the acclaimed The John Larroquette Show,
which lasted three seasons. In a small recurring role, Larroquette was nominated for a total of
three Emmy Awards — winning two of them — for his portrayal of the brilliant murderer
Joey Heric on The Practice. Along with his film work, he's landed far too many regular,
recurring, and one-off roles to list, including Carl Sack on the dramedy Boston Legal, Jenkins on
the fantasy adventure series The Librarians, and Gavin Firth on the CBS' The Good Fight.
And Larroquette isn't done with Dan Fielding. In late 2020,
Variety reported the actor would return to the role for a "Night Court" revival — news that
came to fruition when the sequel series premiered in early 2023.
If you want to make sure everyone in your courtroom behaves, Bull is
a pretty good guy to have around. Richard Moll plays the bailiff who — at 6 feet,
8 inches — towers over just about everyone else in the courtroom and whose shaved head helps to
cut an intimidating figure. His ability to easily lift none other than Lou Ferrigno
off the ground in season 2's "Battling Bailiff" impresses a wrestling promoter
enough to offer him a job. But despite how he looks, Bull's just a big softie.
Since leaving Night Court behind, Moll's made some memorable appearances in films
and television over the years. He plays a ghost in the horror parody Scary Movie 2,
the mystical drifter in the Nickelodeon series 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd,
and the TV supervillain Dementor in the 1996 Christmas comedy Jingle All the Way.
"I'm going to deck your halls, bub."
Of all of Night Court's characters, perhaps the most consistently level-headed is the
court clerk Mac, played by Charles Robinson. Mac can often be found behind the bench,
caring for a tall stack of file folders, ready to hand off the next case to Judge Stone.
Once Night Court was over, Robinson hit the ground running. While he gathered plenty of film credits,
most of his work comes from television. After Love & War star John Hancock passed away in 1992,
Robinson stepped in as a new regular on the sitcom and was
there until the series' penultimate episode in 1995. He also played Bud
Harper on the show that made Tim Allen's career, Home Improvement.
Robinson never slowed down. One of his later credits is for the timely 2020 Freeform
mini-series Love in the Time of Corona, about different people trying to make new connections
and keep current ones alive in an age of social distancing. In 2021, Charles Robinson passed
away at the age of 75, from cardiac arrest as a result of a prolonged battle with cancer.
Markie Post was something of a latecomer to Night Court, but it's tough to imagine
it without her. While she makes a guest appearance in the show's second season as
public defender Christine Sullivan, she didn't become a regular until the third
season premiere. The naïve and pure-hearted Sullivan is there for the rest of the series,
circling Judge Stone as a love interest and dodging Dan Fielding's advances.
After Night Court, Post landed the role of liberal news reporter Georgie Ann Lahti on the sitcom
Hearts Afire, starring opposite John Ritter as the conservative John Hartman. In the years that
followed, she'd work regularly on the big and small screens, including appearing as Cameron
Diaz's mom in one of the more painfully memorable scenes of the 1998 comedy There's Something About
Mary. Post was diagnosed with cancer in October 2017 and remained professionally active while
undergoing treatment. Sadly, she died from the disease in August of 2021 at the age of 70.
When Night Court begins, Richard Moll's Bull Shannon isn't the only bailiff
keeping things in order. He's joined by the chain-smoking and wisecracking Selma Hacker,
played by Selma Diamond. With the difference in their heights providing a wonderful contrast,
Selma and Bull have great comedic chemistry, and Selma acts as a mother figure to the younger
Bull. Sadly, Diamond died of lung cancer at the age of 64 — two seasons into Night Court's run.
Diamond was succeeded by Florence Halop as bailiff Florence Kleiner. Like Selma, Florence provides
the mother figure that Bull so desperately needs. In a devastatingly tragic coincidence, Halop, like
Diamond, died of lung cancer before the end of Night Court's third season. She was 63 years old.
Some fans were concerned about Marsha Warfield when she signed on to play the tough bailiff
Roz Russell for Night Court. The tragically similar deaths of her predecessors had some
wondering if the show was cursed. Warfield told People in 1988 that she was concerned,
but not for her physical safety. She explained to the outlet,
"When I first went on the show I was a bundle of nerves, and I'm still a bundle
of nerves. I'm scared they're going to find out I don't know what I'm doing."
Considering her humorous performance as the no-nonsense Roz, she clearly knew more
than she thought she did. After the end of Night Court, Warfield did a lot of one-off appearances
in series like The John Larroquette Show and Mad About You. Her longest running post-Night Court
role was on the NBC sitcom Empty Nest as physician Maxine Douglas. Warfield's acting credits end in
1999, but she hasn't been sitting on her hands. Warfield has continued to make audiences laugh,
but on the stage as a stand-up comic rather than on the screen.
For most of Night Court, the court stenographers don't have much time in the spotlight. That
changes in the final two seasons with the introduction of the ditzy stenographer
Lisette. Played by Joleen Lutz, the naïve and clueless Lisette is a friend of Bull Shannon.
Lutz has continued to act over the years, though her credits are a little
sporadic. She had a recurring role on the General Hospital spinoff Port Charles,
and enjoyed memorable one-offs on series like Lois & Clark and Pushing Daisies. At the same time,
Lutz has been pursuing another passion — zoology. In a 2013 radio interview,
Lutz described how she came to volunteer for the Los Angeles Zoo and eventually created its Sex and
the City Zoo fundraisers in which she educates the public about the mating habits of animals.
Every good schemer needs a loyal lackey and for the mischievous prosecutor Dan Fielding,
that lackey is the unhoused Phil Sanders, played by William Utay. Phil eventually dies,
but Fielding isn't left without a henchman. Phil's wealthy identical twin brother Will — also
played by Utay — shows up to pick up his dead brother's slack in Night Court's final season.
Both before and after his time with Night Court,
Utay had mainly one-shot and recurring appearances on different TV shows,
with one major exception. While sitcom fans may know Utay best as the twin brothers doing
Fielding's dirty work, followers of daytime drama are much more familiar with the actor in another,
longer-running role. Since 1985 — except for some notably long breaks from the show — Utay
has played Dr. Wilhelm Rolf in numerous episodes of NBC's popular soap opera Days of Our Lives.
While you may know him as the android Data from Star Trek: The Next Generation,
before he was serving aboard the "Enterprise," Brent Spiner played one of the most hilarious
recurring characters on Night Court. Starting with the season 3's two-parter "Wheels of Justice,"
Spiner played Bob Wheeler — a slow-talking yokel whose family keeps being dragged in
front of Judge Stone with incredible tales of disaster. His tale in his first appearance is so
dark and unbelievable it stuns Judge Stone into uncharacteristic silence. The judge then calls:
"Recess."
Without any more outlandish tales to tell on Night Court, Spiner found his career-defining
role of Data on The Next Generation. He also landed memorable roles like the eccentric Area
51 doctor in the Independence Day films, LAPD Captain Ned Vanderhoff in the series
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, and the mysterious preacher Sidney in Outcast.
Before Markie Post was added as the regular public defender Christine Sullivan in Season
3 of Night Court, Billie Young — played by Ellen Foley — was the attorney clashing with
Dan Fielding in the show's second season. Passionate about defending her clients and
having a good sense of humor that made for great chemistry with Judge Stone,
Billie was the judge's good friend and love interest. That is until Foley left the show
behind to pursue other opportunities in the worlds of acting and music.
Foley's biggest claim to fame has nothing to do with Night Court or any other acting role.
Foley is the female half of the duet for Meat Loaf's 1977 hit single "Paradise by the Dashboard
Light," and her vocals have also appeared on albums by acts like Blue Öyster Cult and punk
rock legends The Clash. Foley has released solo albums as well, including 2013's "About Time."
Foley doesn't seem to want to be tied down to any one thing, giving equal time to music
and acting. As such her acting credits are more sporadic. Since leaving Night Court,
she's landed roles in major motion pictures like the 1987 thriller Fatal Attraction and 1988's
Cocktail. She's also appeared in recurring roles for the daytime drama All My Children.
In the second season episode "Take My Wife, Please," Mac is reunited with Quon Le Duc. Played
by Denice Kumagai, Quon Le is a Vietnamese woman whose family nursed Mac back to health when he
was injured during the Vietnam War. Mac agrees to marry Quon Le — who is in America on a temporary
Visa — so she won't be sent back to Vietnam. While their union is initially a green card marriage,
Quon Le harbored feelings for Mac for years, and eventually, Mac realizes he shares those feelings.
Kumagai's acting credits end in 2006 with her recurring role of Aunt Jun
on the popular dramedy Gilmore Girls. Since then, Kumagai has continued to
work on something she helped to create even before she appeared on Night Court. In 1981,
Kumagai co-founded the Cold Tofu Improv team, a Los Angeles-based improv and comedy troupe.