Where Are They Now? The Original 6 American Gladiators

Have you ever noticed that the best originals always seem to come in groups of six? Hockey teams. Nike Air Force Ones. United States frigates. But the title of best original six-pack quite literally belongs to the muscle-bound men and women who made up the first cast of American Gladiators.

But what did these Gladiators do once they hung up their patriotic spandex and returned to the real world? Well, here's what we know:

1. DERON MCBEE (MALIBU)

Fans of B-movies might remember McBee's appearance in 1997's Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, where he played the half-equine warlord Motaro (he was joined by fellow Gladiator "Sabre," who played Jax). McBee, who trained at the Billy Blanks World Karate Studio, has also appeared in more than 30 other movies, including such blockbusters as The Killing Zone and Enter the Blood Ring. Curb Your Enthusiasm fans might remember McBee's guest appearance during the second season as former pro wrestler Thor Olson, who Larry becomes convinced slashed his tires after the two men got into an argument.

2. MARISA PARE (LACE)

After appearing in 59 episodes from 1989-1993, the ironically Canadian-born Pare, or Lace #1 to American Gladiator fans, made one appearance on the TV show Renegade with fellow former Gladiator Michael Horton. According to IMDb, she resurfaced in 1997 on an episode of Clueless, again playing Lace. Pare, whose birth name is Roebuck, married actor Michael Pare in 1986. In 1987, she appeared as a fashion show coordinator in The Women's Club, a movie in which her then-husband starred, before the two were divorced in 1988. Pare was one of two Gladiators to pose nude in Playboy.

3. MICHAEL HORTON (GEMINI)

Creatively named for his split personality "calm one minute, violent the next," Horton served as team captain of the American Gladiators during his 80-episode stint on the show, which spanned four years. His greatest claim to fame since hanging up his spandex, besides his aforementioned appearance in Renegade, of course, was his role as the security guard in Night at the Roxbury. What is love? Pounding the living daylights out of a contestant with a foam jousting stick.

4. RAYE HOLLITT (ZAP)

The Wilkes-Barre native played a reporter in 1997's Letters From a Killer, starring Patrick Swayze. She has scored several other small roles in movies and television shows, which, coupled with her 1996 appearance in Playboy, make Hollitt one of the more ubiquitous American Gladiators. She also has a (slightly NSFW) website where she details her new projects, such as screenwriting and photography, though it doesn't seem to have been updated in a while.

5. DAN CLARK (NITRO)

Danny Clark's been one of the busier Gladiators since the show went off the air. He's appeared in TV shows and movies like Walker, Texas Ranger; Ellen; Saved by the Bell; and Equilibrium, and in 2008, he served as a consulting producer on the American Gladiators relaunch. He even wrote a book about his glory days in 2009 titled Gladiator: A True Story of 'Roids, Rage, and Redemption. After surviving a heart attack in 2013, Clark wrote another book called F Dying, which was released in 2017. He also put together a competitive mud run called The Gladiator Rock’n Run, which currently raises money for the military charity Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes.

6. CHERYL BARLDINGER (SUNNY)

Barldinger is like the Chicago Blackhawks of this original six in that she kind of disappeared after suffering an injury during her first and only season, as seen in the video above.