Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is widely regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made, and it has a cast with well-known actors and some new names, but they all took different paths following the movie’s release. Stanley Kubrick is one of the most respected and popular filmmakers of all time, and he made a variety of movies in his career. One of his most notable works is The Shining, the first adaptation of Stephen King’s 1977 novel of the same name. However, it was controversial due to the changes it made to the books, some behind-the-scenes stories, and more.

The Shining introduces the audience to writer Jack Torrance, who takes a job as the off-season caretaker of the Overlook H๏τel in the Colorado Rockies. Believing this can help him overcome his writer’s block, Jack accepts the job and brings his wife, Wendy, and their son Danny with him. However, once at the Overlook, the evil forces inside the H๏τel awaken, and Danny’s “shine” is triggered by these presences. The Shining has an unforgettable cast of popular actors and lesser-known ones, but not all of them continued on the path of acting.

8

Jack Nicholson

Jack Nicholson Was Born On April 22, 1937

Jack Nicholson was the biggest star in the cast of The Shining. By the time The Shining was released, Nicholson had already won his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 1975 comedy-drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Nicholson played Jack Torrance in The Shining, a writer and father with substance-use disorder who was trying to work on a new novel while also mending his broken relationship with his wife and son. Despite The Shining getting mixed reviews, Nicholson’s performance was praised by critics and became one of the most iconic ones in horror history.

After The Shining, Nicholson’s acting career continued to succeed in different genres. In 1983, Nicholson played Garrett in Terms of Endearment (which gave him the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor), in 1987 he played the devilish Daryl in The Witches of Eastwick, and two years later he visited the superhero genre in Tim Burton’s Batman as The Joker. Other notable projects in Nicholson’s career post-The Shining are A Few Good Men, Mars Attacks!, As Good as It Gets, About Schmidt, Something’s Gotta Give, and The Departed.

Nicholson’s last film role was in the rom-com How Do You Know, in 2010. Although he told Vanity Fair in 2013 that he doesn’t consider himself retired, he did say he’s less driven to be “out there.” At the time of writing, there’s no word on Nicholson returning to acting soon or at all.

7

Shelley Duvall

Shelley Duvall Was Born On July 7, 1949

Shelley Duvall played Wendy Torrance in The Shining, Jack’s wife. Wendy was soft-spoken, patient, and kind, and deeply loved her husband and son. What could have been a nice and relaxing time in the Colorado Rockies with her family soon turns into a living nightmare for her, and she has to go to lengths to ensure her and Danny’s survival. Before The Shining, Duvall appeared in movies like Brewster McCloud, Thieves Like Us, Nashville, Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson, 3 Women, and had a minor role in Annie Hall.

The same year The Shining was released, Duvall played Olive Oyl in Popeye, alongside Robin Williams. The success of The Shining led her to appear in Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits, Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie short film (as Susan Frankenstein), and the comedy Roxanne. In the 1980s, she ventured into producing TV movies and shows, such as Faerie Tale Theatre, Tall Tales & Legends, Frog, and Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories. Duvall also had minor roles in a variety of TV shows, such as The Twilight Zone, Fraiser, and The Hughleys.

On the big screen, Duvall’s final role was in the horror thriller The Forest Hills, which marked her big return to film after Manna from Heaven in 2002. Duvall took a 20-year hiatus from acting to focus on her family again and stayed away from public life as well. Shelley Duvall pᴀssed away on July 11, 2024, due to complications from diabetes.

6

Danny Lloyd

Danny Lloyd Was Born On October 13, 1972

Danny Lloyd played Danny Torrance in The Shining, Jack and Wendy’s son. Danny’s relationship with his dad wasn’t good after an incident where Jack broke his arm, and Jack’s substance-use disorder further impacted their relationship. Danny also has a special telepathic ability that Dick Hallorann calls the “shine”, which gets stronger once he arrives at the Overlook with his parents. The Shining was Lloyd’s first acting role, and because he was very young, Kubrick made sure he thought he was in a drama movie instead of a horror one (via Far Out Magazine).

After The Shining, Lloyd played young G. Gordon Liddy in the 1982 TV movie Will: G. Gordon Liddy, after which he retired from acting. In 2004, Lloyd became an ᴀssociate professor in the Department of Biology at the Elizabethtown Community and Technical College, and he has stayed away from public life for decades. However, in 2019, Lloyd had a cameo appearance in Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining. In it, Lloyd played a spectator at a baseball game.

5

Scatman Crothers

Scatman Crothers Was Born On May 23, 1910

Scatman Crothers played Dick Hallorann in The Shining, the Overlook H๏τel’s head chef who, like Danny, has the “shine.” Thanks to this ability, Danny can call Hallorann for help when Jack turns against his family, and he returns to the H๏τel to help Danny and Wendy. Before The Shining, Crothers had worked with Jack Nicholson on three movies: The King of Marvin Gardens, The Fortune, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. His most notable movies after The Shining are ᴅᴇᴀᴅly Eyes and Twilight Zone: The Movie (segment “Kick the Can”).

On TV, Crothers played Dewey Stevens in the movie The Harlem Globetrotters on Gilligan’s Island, Sam in five episodes of Casablanca, and voiced Autobot Jazz in The Transformers. Scatman Crothers pᴀssed away on November 22, 1986, after being diagnosed with an inoperable malignant tumor in his lung that metastasized to the esophagus. His final acting credits are the movie Rock Odyssey in 1987 and the animated TV series Paw Paws.

4

Barry Nelson

Barry Nelson Was Born On April 16, 1917

Barry Nelson played Stuart Ullman in The Shining, the Overlook H๏τel’s manager. It’s Ullman who hires Jack and shows him and Wendy around the H๏τel, but it’s also who tells Jack about what happened to the previous caretaker, Charles Grady, and his family. Before The Shining, Nelson became the first actor to play James Bond on screen in the 1954 adaptation of Casino Royale, eight years before Sean Connery’s performance in Dr. No. On TV, he had minor appearances in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Thriller, The Ropers, and more.

After The Shining, Nelson played Dr. McNeal in the movie Island Claws and had an uncredited minor appearance in 1982’s Poltergeist. On TV, he appeared in one episode of Taxi, an episode of Magnum, PI, and one of Murder, She Wrote. Barry Nelson pᴀssed away on April 7, 2007, just a couple of days before his 90th birthday.

3

Philip Stone

Philip Stone Was Born On April 14, 1924

Philip Stone played Delbert Grady in The Shining, the caretaker of the Overlook H๏τel in the winter of 1970. It was Grady who succumbed to the evil forces in the Overlook H๏τel and murdered his family, becoming one of the H๏τel’s many ghosts. Grady appeared to Jack in the bathroom at the Overlook, where Jack recognized him as the previous caretaker. Grady pushed Jack to “correct” his family, and Jack let himself be controlled by the H๏τel. Before The Shining, he had already worked with Stanley Kubrick in A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon.

After The Shining, Stone played Zogi in Flash Gordon, Archbishop Baziak in Pope John Paul II, Captain Phillip Blumburtt in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Harry Harrington in Shadowlands. Stone also appeared in various TV projects, such as Bergerac, Yes Minister, and A Touch of Frost, all these after The Shining. Philip Stone pᴀssed away on June 15, 2003, at the age of 79.

2

Joe Turkel

Joe Turkel Was Born On July 15, 1927

Joe Turkel played Lloyd in The Shining, the ghostly bartender at the Overlook H๏τel. Jack met Lloyd in the Gold Room once the forces of the H๏τel started influencing him. In Doctor Sleep, this same character resembles Jack when an adult Danny arrives at the Gold Room. Just like Phillip Stone, Turkel appeared in three Stanley Kubrick movies: The Killing, Paths of Glory, and The Shining. Before the latter, Turkel’s credits included The Boy and the Pirates, Village of the Giants, The St. Valentine’s Day Mᴀssacre, The Sand Pebbles, and more.

After The Shining, Turkel played Dr. Eldon Tyrell in Blade Runner, Levec in one episode of Miami Vice, and Paxton Warner in The Dark Side of the Moon. After reprising his role as Eldon Tyrell in the Blade Runner video game in 1997, Turkel retired from acting. Turkel wrote scripts during his retirement, as well as a memoir тιтled The Misery of Success. Joe Turkel pᴀssed away on June 27, 2022, from liver failure.

1

Lisa & Louise Burns

Lisa & Louise Burns Were Born In 1968

Lisa and Louise Burns played the Grady twins in The Shining, the ghostly daughters of Delbert Grady who were murdered by him at the Overlook H๏τel. The twins appeared to Danny throughout The Shining, who invited him to play with him, but he also had visions of the scene of their murder. Lisa and Louise had previously appeared in one episode of the TV series Kids, and The Shining became their first and only film credit.

According to Daily Mail, although Lisa and Louise wanted to continue acting, their roles as the Grady twins ended up being an obstacle rather than a blessing. The sisters were turned down from London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art because, thanks to The Shining, they were considered professionals already. Lisa ended up becoming a lawyer and Louise a scientist, and though they retired from acting, they still enjoy the perks that the Grady twins brought to their lives.

Source: Vanity Fair, Far Out Magazine, Daily Mail.