American Dreams

Did You Know?

• The show was known as Our Generation when it debuted in Australia but was changed back to American Dreams when it returned for the second season.
• The series initially aired on Sundays at 8:00 pm Eastern Time but moved to the same time on Wednesdays from March 9, 2005, to the third-season finale on March 30, 2005.

Cast and characters

Brittany Snow plays Margaret "Meg" Pryor, the show's protagonist, who dances on Dick Clark's American Bandstand and comes from a Catholic family. Tom Verica plays John J. "Jack" Pryor, Meg's father and head of the household, who owns Pryor's TV and Radio Store and later represents his district on the Philadelphia City Council. Gail O'Grady plays Helen Pryor, Jack's wife, a stay-at-home mom who tries college and later works for a travel agency. Will Estes plays John J. "JJ" Pryor Jr., the oldest Pryor child, who enlists in the United States Marine Corps and fights in the Vietnam War. Sarah Ramos plays Patricia "Patty" Pryor, Meg's younger sister, who is very book smart and acts like a know-it-all. Ethan Dampf plays William "Will" Pryor, the youngest Pryor child whose leg was crippled by polio, a source of guilt for his parents as they refused to allow him the Salk vaccine; in the show's second season, his leg was repaired from an experimental surgery. Jonathan Adams plays Henry Walker, an African American employee in Jack's store who later becomes a partner and heads a family. Arlen Escarpeta plays Samuel "Sam" Walker, Henry's son and Meg's good friend who becomes a romantic interest in Season 3. Vanessa Lengies plays Roxanne Bojarski, Meg's best friend who dances on American Bandstand with Meg. Rachel Boston plays Elizabeth "Beth" Mason-Pryor, JJ's girlfriend whom he marries in the third season after returning from Vietnam; they have an infant son "Trip". Matthew John Armstrong plays Pete Pryor, Jack's younger brother, a Philadelphia police officer addicted to alcohol and gambling. Christopher Cousins plays Theodore "Ted" Pryor, Jack and Pete's older brother, a successful businessman who dies in a car accident late in Season 3. Natalie Marston plays Melissa Pryor, Ted's 18-year-old daughter who entered Vassar College in fall 1966. John J. "Trip" Pryor III is JJ and Beth's son, born in November 1965 during the third season. Adina Porter plays Gwen Walker, Henry's wife and a housekeeper who died in Season 2 of cancer. Aysia Polk plays Angela Walker, Henry and Gwen's daughter, roughly Patty's age. Keith Robinson plays Nathan Walker, Henry's outspoken nephew who spent time in jail and later operates a delivery service. Jamie Elman plays Luke Foley, a record store clerk who is Meg's boyfriend in the first season; after they break up, Luke and Roxanne develop a relationship and begin living together in the third season. Jesse Hutch plays James "Jimmy" Riley, an American Bandstand dance partner of Meg's who leaves to fight in Vietnam and returns in the second season in a wheelchair. Samuel Page plays Drew Mandel, a University of Pennsylvania student who dates Meg. Johnny Lewis plays Leonard "Lenny" Beeber, Roxanne's second-season boyfriend with whom she goes on tour, head of the band Lenny and the Pilgrims. Milo Ventimiglia plays Christopher "Chris" Pierce, Shelly Pierce's son who becomes Meg's new love interest in the third season. Rodney Scott plays Daniel "Danny" O'Connor, quarterback of the East Catholic football team in the first season who has a short-lived relationship with Meg in season two; his older brother was declared missing in action in Vietnam, and in season three his brother's body is found. Paul Wasilewski plays Thomas "Tommy" DeFelice, JJ's macho friend and former football teammate; JJ ends the friendship when he notices a strong racist side when Sam enrolls at East Catholic, but they resume when Tommy takes the blame for something JJ did. Kevin Sheridan plays Kenny Keegan, JJ's East Catholic friend and teammate, a mediocre athlete. Jessica Collins plays Colleen, JJ's coworker and sometime girlfriend in season one, older than JJ and a divorcée. Joseph Lawrence plays Michael Brooks, the original floor producer of American Bandstand, who left after the first season. Michael E. Rodgers plays Colin, floor producer of Bandstand who took over after Michael Brooks' departure. Peter Spellos plays Gus, a witty production assistant of American Bandstand. Michelle Morgan plays Teresa McManus, a regular dancer on Bandstand who does not like Meg. Paul D. Roberts plays Dick Clark, host of American Bandstand. Michael Burger plays Charlie O'Donnell, announcer of American Bandstand. Nigel Thatch plays Willie Johnson, a charismatic neighborhood agitator in North Philadelphia who played a major role in instigating the Philadelphia 1964 race riot. Virginia Madsen plays Rebecca Sandstrom, Helen's friend from a book club, dropped after the first season. Alicia Coppola plays Nancy, who meets Helen while working at the same travel agency and becomes one of Helen's confidantes; Nancy dates and becomes engaged to Pete Pryor, only to be left standing at the altar. Hank Stratton plays Donald Norville, Helen's colleague at the travel agency who is later fired for being homosexual. Steve Ryan plays Father Conti, the Pryor family's strict Catholic priest and headmaster of East Catholic high school. James Read and Barbara Alyn Woods play Mr. and Mrs. George Mason, Beth's well-to-do parents, estranged from Beth after she became pregnant with JJ Pryor's child. Art Garfunkel plays Mr. Greenwood, the bohemian owner of the Vinyl Crocodile record store, appearing sporadically during the first season; in the third season he is said to have gone "on a worldwide tour with his friend", an allusion to Art Garfunkel's singing partnership with Paul Simon. Daphne Zuniga plays Shelly Pierce, a single mom who works at a nearby Playboy Club and becomes the Pryors' next-door neighbor starting at the beginning of Season 3. Murray Rubenstein plays Murray, a barbershop owner whose business is next to Pryor's TV and Radio, a frequent visitor who rarely buys anything. Caitlin Greer plays Audrey, a University of Pennsylvania student.

Special guests

The show often featured contemporary musicians performing as popular musicians of the 1960s. Specific guest performances are not detailed in the source beyond this general statement.