LOOK AT HIM NOW

‘Dallas’ Child Star Appears Unrecognizable in Rare Photo at 50

The ‘90s actor reemerged for a “Hocus Pocus” event decades after leaving Hollywood for a quieter life.

A former child star has reemerged looking completely unrecognizable decades after he rose to fame in Dallas and Hocus Pocus.

Omri Katz, who left Hollywood in 2002 and later joined the cannabis industry, reunited with his Hocus Pocus co-stars Thora Birch and Vinessa Shaw at Fan Expo Chicago on August 15, more than three decades after the trio battled the Sanderson sisters on screen.

Katz, 50, appeared at the Fan Expo Chicago convention with a full beard that made him look unrecognizable from the fresh-faced teenager who accidentally unleashed three witches in the 1993 Halloween classic.

The actor was just 17 when Hocus Pocus was released, but he was already deep into Hollywood. He got his start as John Ross Ewing III on the long-running CBS soap opera Dallas, playing the son of scheming oil tycoon J.R. Ewing from 1983 to 1991.

As John Ross, Katz was at the center of the dysfunctional Ewing family, growing up amid the betrayals and feuds that made Dallas one of television’s biggest soaps.

He followed that run with a starring role as Marshall Teller on the sci-fi series Eerie, Indiana, before landing the part that would ultimately make him a Halloween icon.

In Hocus Pocus, Katz played Max Dennison, a teenage transplant to Salem, Massachusetts, who accidentally resurrects the Sanderson witches—Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), and Mary (Kathy Najimy)—after lighting the Black Flame Candle on Halloween night.

Katz also appeared in The John Larroquette Show, Freaks and Geeks, and General Hospital, and reprised his Dallas character in the 1996 television movie Dallas: J.R. Returns.

But by the early 2000s, Katz had left Hollywood behind. His final credited role was in the 2002 short film Journey Into Night.

In a 2022 interview with Bloody Disgusting, Katz said he wanted to experience life outside Hollywood after growing up in the entertainment industry. He spent time traveling, surfing, and snowboarding, later working as a hairdresser.

“I think I was soul searching and wanted more of a human experience, just see what else is out there, see the world, and be normal,” he said. “I didn’t really have that growing up.”

The Dallas star admitted he briefly considered returning to acting, but it was “for all the wrong reasons,” noting, “to make money so I could escape again,” though the attempt was unsuccessful and short-lived.

He eventually launched his own cannabis company, The Mary Danksters, in 2020. The brand offers cannabis apparel and cultivates exotic craft cannabis, with its branded flower strains like the Zohan and Lemon Cherry Gelato sold through partner dispensaries in California.

“We’re doing everything the legal way, and I’m excited. It’s been a tough thing to navigate, but I feel confident that I’ve got something to contribute,” the former actor said.

Katz’s passion for cannabis started young. In a 2022 interview with Entertainment Weekly, he revealed that he was high while filming parts of Hocus Pocus at age 16, saying he had started experimenting with cannabis at the time.

“I was misperforming and not hitting my keys or marks,” he shared. He recalled that director Kenny Ortega took notice and asked whether he was high, though he denied it at the time. Still, he called the encounter a “wake-up call” to be “a little more professional.”

Katz has occasionally reunited with his Hocus Pocus co-stars over the years, including appearances at the Freeform Hocus Pocus 25th Anniversary Halloween Bash in October 2018 and a 30th anniversary reunion event in Salem, Massachusetts, in October 2023.

He didn’t return for the 2022 sequel, though he made clear he would have liked to if he had been brought back.

But there were no hard feelings, with Katz telling Entertainment Weekly that he was excited about the sequel’s new direction.

“I think it’ll be good for everyone who loved the original! I hope fans will go see it. I know I will,” he said.

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Pia BelloBeauty & Wellness Intern

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