Whatever Happened To Lori Beth Denberg?
The '90s are coming back in a big, big way. From tiny sunglasses to plaid prints, we're practically up to our eyeballs in 1990s paraphernalia. It's not just the nearly three-decades-old fashion trends we're seeing either. Many of the television shows you loved — or even the ones you maybe didn't love — have been rebooted to give us a taste of circa 1990 nostalgia.
There are few TV stars so synonymous with that time period than that of the All That cast. Just hearing the actors' names — Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Amanda Bynes, Lori Beth Denberg — is enough to trigger some major memories. While Kenan Thompson is one of the few cast members who has managed to transcend the All That spinoff, Kenan & Kel, his costars haven't quite had the same success. This is especially true for Denberg. Just what has she been up to since her Nickelodeon days? The List has all the deets.
She briefly became a "Workaholic" in 2012
When Denberg left All That in 1998, her career was still going strong. In the same year, she joined The Steve Harvey Show as Lydia Liza Gutman and, by 2002, had starred in a total of 66 episodes. Shortly thereafter, Denberg's career started to fizzle. Then, following a gap of two years, Denberg guest starred on the television show Malcolm in the Middle and the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Denberg also accepted a small role in the mock-umentary 18 Fingers of Death! in 2006. If you haven't heard of it, you're likely in the majority.
It wasn't until 2012 — over six years later — that Denberg would go on to star in something else. Comedy Central's Workaholics said on their Tumblr page that they "were thrilled to have Lori Beth Denberg" make a cameo in an episode of their show. It was only a small part, but fans were excited to see her for the first time in years and even got her name trending on Twitter during the episode. Workaholics did reveal that it cost them "250 an hour to be graced with her presence." It was worth it!
Yes, she's still in the business
Unfortunately, the Twitter excitement over Denberg's Workaholics cameo didn't seem to last and, before long, Denberg went back into relative obscurity. It's true that you don't see her much these days, but, believe it or not, she is still slowly but surely trucking on. She continues to accept small roles on the big and small screen. As it turns out, Denberg actually has more going on these days than she did in the mid-2000s.
In 2015, she played a CEO in the show Raymond & Lane and, in 2017, she accepted an additional three roles in three separate TV series. IMDb lists two credits for Denberg in 2018, a made-for-TV movie entitled Goody Goody and a comedy-drama film, Ham on Rye, that is in post-production as of this writing. Denberg may not have become an A-list celebrity after her days on All That concluded, but she's still finding a way to make it work.
Has she put "All That" behind her?
Denberg is grateful that she was able to star in All That, but that doesn't mean she wants to repeat lines from the "Vital Information" portion of the show. In an interview with HuffPost, Denberg said people will often ask her to deliver vital one-liners, but she admitted, "I never do." Instead, she throws the question back and says, "Why don't you tell me one?" Either that or she'll give the person "actual adult vital information" like, "If you're going to rent an apartment, get renter's insurance. It's in your best interest." Obviously, Denberg's sense of humor is still very much in tact.
Although it has been over 20 years — let that sink in — since Denberg left All That, it still has a special place in her heart. "To know that I was on a show that brought something positive to other kids really means a lot," she told HuffPost. "I get and give a lot of hugs." No, you're crying!
Alive and well at Comic-Con
Denberg and the All That crew reunited back in 2015, not for a reboot, but for Comic-Con in New York. According to E! News, event organizers arranged the reunion with Kel Mitchell, Danny Tamberelli, Josh Server, and Lori Beth Denberg to give fans a behind-the-scenes view of the significant '90s TV show.
Together, the former cast members discussed their auditions and their best and favorite moments from their years starring in the show. Not only that, but they also performed some fan-favorite sketches. Denberg may not be all about quipping one-liners on the street for fans, but she certainly delivered in this arena.
When en route to Comic-Con and on an elevator, Mitchell shared a video on Instagram of himself and many of All That's key players. It may go without saying that '90s kids were pumped. One fan commented, "Lori Beth!!!!!" Now, that's a lot of exclamation points, but we totally get it.
From sketch comedy to short films
In September 2017, Denberg became involved in a Kickstarter campaign to fund a comedy short called Lost Treasure of the Valley. Within a month, enough people backed the project and helped the film exceed its $10,000 budget. Both Denberg and Greg Lee from Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? are the stars of the short film that went into editing in April 2018. Denberg posted about the film frequently on Twitter, so it's apparent that she's quite passionate about the project.
Although there is no word on when the short will be released, you may as well get excited about it now. According to the Kickstarter campaign, Lost Treasure of the Valley will be an unusual combination of "urban-magical-realism comedy" reminiscent of '80s cult classics with a "Sergio Leone landscape and with a dash of Calvin and Hobbes whimsy." Wow, that's certainly a lot packed into a short film, but it'll be interesting — and nostalgic — to watch.
She reunited with her old gang
Can you believe that Wild 'N Out is still on the air? Not only that, but it's still being hosted by Nick Cannon. In February 2018, Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Josh Server, and Lori Beth Denberg reunited to film a special episode of the MTV show. All the feels.
Thompson, who is the longest-tenured cast member in SNL history, has quite the busy schedule. Nevertheless, he made time for his old pals. A rep for Wild 'N Out told Page Six: "Crew members used the code name 'Eagle' in order for Kenan to surprise the cast and make a big entrance." Apparently, Cannon didn't even know Thompson was going to be there. That's pretty awesome.
Since Denberg had attended previous reunions without Thompson, she must've been stoked. Page Six reported that the cast members of All That were actually having so much fun that they went ahead and taped two additional games.
She's starring in yet another '90s reunion
If you're still craving more All That reunions, you're in luck. In June 2018, Entertainment Weekly reported that Denberg, along with Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson, will be starring in the rebooted Double Dare — on Nickelodeon nonetheless. These days, Liza Koshy is the host, as opposed to Marc Summer, but regardless that is still a whole lot of '90s packed into one place.
Mitchell sat down with Entertainment Weekly to speak exclusively about their upcoming episode on the show, saying, "This episode will be double special because Kenan and I will be playing against each other and we are both huge fans of Double Dare!" Denberg hasn't shared her thoughts on the upcoming episode in interviews or otherwise, but it's still pretty awesome to know that she's down for reunions after all these years. You can surely imagine that her fans will be thrilled to see her come summertime 2018.
Getting married? Denberg can help
Acting is not the only career Denberg has chosen to pursue. She's also an ordained minister. Nope, this isn't a joke. On Denberg's official site, she explained how she got into the wedding business. "It started as a joke when a friend I've had since the first grade decided to get married. They weren't very religious and couldn't decide on an officiant, so I jokingly volunteered." All jokes aside, the couple decided they would truly like Denberg to perform the service. And so, after becoming ordained by the state of California and the Universal Church, she married her first bride and groom.
Denberg called the experience "incredible" and said the script she penned was "a mix of old and new, sacred and funny." How cool would it be to have Denberg officiate your wedding? Denberg says that while she lives in California, she's willing to travel. So, there you have it. Maybe you'll get lucky and she'll pull some strings to have the next All That reunion happen at your wedding venue. One can dream.