I starred in an iconic movie as a child... 54 years later I still get paid for it, despite retiring afterwards

Daily Mail​

30-06-2025

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory star Peter Ostrum still receives royalty payments from his role as Charlie Bucket more than 50 years after the famous movie premiered.
The former actor, 67, was just 14 when he played the good-natured boy who won the lucky golden ticket in the beloved 1971 flick, before turning his back on acting and becoming a vet.
But according to LADbible, Peter still receives a check for about $8 to $9 every three months thanks to the film's royalties, a whopping 54 years after its release.
His small residual payment is nothing compared to the $4 million (now $75 million with inflation) that the popular kids movie made, per the outlet.
Following the success of the film, young Peter turned down a potentially lucrative three-film contract to instead concentrate on another passion: helping animals.
Discussing his brief acting career with the Daily Express in 2014, the Ohio -born father-of-two recalled: 'Looking back, my pay check was paltry, but it was during filming that I really became interested in medicine.
'So I bought my first horse with my earnings and that started my current career path as a vet.'
Despite being one of the most known faces on the planet as a child, Peter ultimately left the spotlight and launched his own vet business in Lowville, Ohio.
And he has confessed that he never quite understood how big the film was until many years later.
'People tell me they watched Willy Wonka so many times growing up that they wore out their VHS copy,' he said in 2014.
'We had no idea we were making a classic, which even coined a new phrase: "I've found the golden ticket."'
Peter also told Daily Mirror: 'Back then when the film came out there was no red carpet premiere.
'I was in my hometown in Ohio and they had an opening there and I was the only one there.
'There was a little bit of fanfare but not much and the film died a quiet death. It had lukewarm reviews and people forgot about it.'
Peter, who as of 2023 had retired from his Countryside Veterinary Clinic, said it wasn't until 10 years later that it 'resurfaced and it took on a life of its own.'
Based on Roald Dahl's 1964 book, the movie told the story of five schoolchildren who won the chance to tour the magical factory belonging to candy man Wonka after finding golden tickets hidden inside chocolate bars.
It starred comedy icon Gene Wilder as the famous chocolate factory boss.
Now we know what happened to Peter, but what about the rest of the Willy Wonka cast? What have they been up to over the last five decades?
For some, it helped them launch successful and decades-long showbusiness careers, while others shied away from the limelight and took on different careers similarly to Peter.
Here, FEMAIL takes a look at where the stars of the hit film are now.
Julie Dawn Cole
Julie Dawn Cole, now 67, played spoilt brat Veruca Salt - the girl that always wanted more - in the film.
Her character ended up plummeting down a garbage chute after she stands on an eggdicator and it shows her to be a 'bad egg.'
Afterwards, the mother-of-two, from Guildford, starred on television shows including Fat Families, long-running soap operas Emmerdale and EastEnders, and hospital drama Holby City.
She's now a qualified psychotherapist but regularly revisits her childhood role, having starred in the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe show Willy Wonka Revisited: The Veruca Salt Sessions.
Cole also worked as children's services manager at Woking Hospice where in 2014, she auctioned off some memorabilia she was given from the Wonka set to raise money for the charity.
It included a 'golden ticket' and the contract the children signed in the film before entering the factory.
Paris Themmen
Paris Themmen, who starred as television-mad Mike Teavee in Willy Wonka, still works in the entertainment industry.
He's taken occasional television roles in adulthood and he's also dabbled in film production and commercial casting.
Now 66, Paris often signs autographs at movie conventions, runs a photography business, and makes sporadic appearances in commercials, plays, and on TV shows.
He also founded Access International, a travel service that arranged Europe-bound charter flights for backpackers.
Speaking about his time on set in Munich, where the film was largely shot, he told Collider: 'It was surprising because we were in Germany, right next to Switzerland and Holland, where they make gorgeous chocolate.
'And yet, they shipped Hershey bars, Almond Joys, and Mounds to us from America, so that was a bit of a crime against chocolate and humanity that they did that. There were definitely things for us to eat, dummy leaves and some marzipan things.
'I liked the gum, which wasn't gum. It was actually taffy. It was the three-course gum, which wasn't gum. It was taffy, but it was very yummy. I liked that one.'
Paris currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife, Nikki Grillos.
Gene Wilder
Gene was a household name long before he agreed to play Wonka, a decision that apparently dismayed Roald.
The author had wanted legendary Irish comedian Spike Milligan to take the role before producers approached the American star, who accepted on one condition.
According to legend, he said: 'When I make my first entrance, I'd like to come out of the door carrying a cane and then walk toward the crowd with a limp.
'After the crowd sees Willy Wonka is a cripple, they all whisper to themselves and then become deathly quiet.
'As I walk toward them, my cane sinks into one of the cobblestones I'm walking on and stands straight up, by itself; but I keep on walking until I realize that I no longer have my cane.
'I start to fall forward, and just before I hit the ground, I do a beautiful forward somersault and bounce back up, to great applause.'
When asked why, he added: 'From that time on, no one will know if I'm lying or telling the truth.'
The entrance was indeed used in the film, and it's one of the most famous scenes even now, decades on.
Gene did not slow down after Willy Wonka, starring in Young Frankenstein, Stir Crazy, See No Evil, Hear No Evil, and Another You, amongst others.
He also wrote and directed several movies. He retired from acting in 2003 and switched his focus to writing, releasing six books in total.
He sadly died in 2016 aged 83 following a three-year battle with Alzheimer's Disease.
Denise Nickerson
Denise Nickerson later revealed her role as chewing-gum fanatic Violet Beauregarde nearly cost her her teeth.
Denise admitted to developing 13 cavities in her teeth while preparing for the role.
The former child star claimed the damage was caused by the high-sugared Bazooka gum she munched on in order to get into character.
In addition to Willy Wonka, Denise was a regular on TV shows such as Search for Tomorrow, The Brady Bunch, Dark Shadows, and The Electric Company.
Her last role was Zero To Sixty in 1978.
Twice married, she eventually quit acting and worked as an accountant for an engineering plant and as an office manager at a doctor's office.
In 2018, she was hospitalized after suffering a stroke before submitting herself to the care of family members.
On July 8, 2019, the former actress was again rushed to hospital following an overdose of prescription medication and she died on July 10, aged 62, after developing pneumonia and slipping into a coma.
Michael Bollner
Michael Bollner played chocolate-chomping Augustus Gloop and he still lives in Germany.
He traded acting for tax... that's right, the chubby-cheeked child star is now an accountant in Munich.
The former actor, now 66, starred in a handful of German language films after Willy Wonka, but quit soon after because his father wanted him to finish school.
Addressing his career change with Collider, Michael said: 'I run a little tax office in Munich, and we spend every Christmas together with my employees.
'Every two or three years, I show the Wonka movie. The film is not famous in Germany and my new employees have to know what a star their boss is.'
In an earlier interview with This Morning, the former actor admitted he had no idea the film would become so popular.
'I just went down to make this movie, stayed there for a few weeks and I didn't really know what was going on,' he recalled. 'I thought, "This is just a movie and it will fade away very quickly."'
Michael's greedy character is famously sucked into a chocolate river in one famous scene from the film, but he admitted it was less enjoyable than it looks on-screen.
'It was no chocolate at all, but just stinking water lying around for more weeks,' he told Hollywood Reporter.
'And it was dark water. I had to jump in that water, which was just 15 centimeters deep.
'There was a hole about three meters [wide], and I had to hit the hole, which was not so easy as the water was very dark. So I was always afraid that I will hit my head on the ground of the river.'
Jack Albertson
Jack Albertson, who played Grandpa Joe (left), sadly passed away in November 1981 at the age of 74 from colorectal cancer (pictured right at the 7th annual People's Choice Awards in 1981)
Jack Albertson, who played Grandpa Joe, died in November 1981 at the age of 74 from colorectal cancer.
Before his sad passing, he had a successful career in acting, including various stints on Broadway and numerous other film roles.
Before Wonka, he won an Academy Award For Best Supporting Actor in 1968 for his portrayal of John Cleary in The Subject Of Roses.
The seasoned actor also won a Tony Award for an earlier performance in a 1964 stage production of Roses and was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in 1977.
Roy Kinnear
His extensive film and TV career spanned more than 40-years and included roles in Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, The Four Musketeers, and Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo
A beloved English character actor, Roy Kinnear had already worked with The Beatles on their 1965 film Help! before starring as Henry Salt in Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory.
His extensive film and TV career spanned more than 40 years and included roles in Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, The Four Musketeers, Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo, and Hawk The Slayer.
The actor welcomed three children during his 18-year marriage to actress Carmel Cryan, with two of them following their father into the entertainment industry.
His son Rory Kinnear would go on to become a hugely successful actor in his own right, while his daughter Kirsty would embark on a career behind the camera, as a casting director.
The couple's eldest daughter was a paraplegic and struggled with learning difficulties before her death in May 2020.
Roy tragically died aged 54 on September 19, 1988, after falling from a horse while filming The Return Of The Musketeers in Spain.
Rusty Goffe
Rusty Goffe starred as the head Oompa Loompa in Willy Wonka, and as such was one of the few to receive a credit on the film.
The Kent-born actor, now 76, enjoyed a successful career after Willy Wonka and was last seen on screen in 2016.
He appeared in Flash Gordon (1980), Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), and five of the seven Harry Potter films.
Rusty, who was 22 when the film was made, said he was 'very proud' to be a part of the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory film, adding: 'When we were doing it we didn't realize it was going to be as big.
'It was made for adults by the way, not for children. It was made for adults. And adults and children alike loved it.'
He paid tribute to Gene when he died in 2016 calling him 'an amazing man, he was very gentle, very quiet, but he knew what he wanted'.
'He was a very very funny man and it showed in the movie. He had a magical aura about him and it really showed,' he said.