Yes, The Grover Dill Actor Really Tried To Buy The A Christmas Story House - Where Yano Anaya Is Now

Fans of A Christmas Story will remember the snot-nosed bully Grover Dill, and the actor who plays him, Yano Anaya, must have had a great time on set, considering how he wanted to purchase the original A Christmas Story house. A Christmas Story is a classic of the Christmas movie canon and as much a part of the holidays as Home Alone, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Miracle on 34th Street. It's synonymous with the season and a heartwarming and hilarious tale about a young boy and his family's misadventures during Christmastime in the 1940s.

The third installment in the Parker family saga, which includes the first film in the series, The Phantom of the Open Hearth from 1976, and the latest film, A Christmas Story Christmas, which arrived in 2022. A Christmas Story is by far the most memorable movie in the holiday franchise, with incredible quotes, hilarious scenes, and lovable characters. Some, of course, are not so lovable, the bullies in particular. Grover Dill was one of those sneering schoolyard bullies, but fortunately, the actor who plays him is a lot more likable.

Grover Dill Is One Of The Bullies In A Christmas Story

Grover Is Scut's Sidekick

Grover Dill is a frequent tormentor of Ralphie Parker (Peter Billingsley) in A Christmas Story. He is Scut Farkus' (Zack Ward) short side-kick and delights in supporting the larger bully as he teases, fights, and pranks the younger kids in the movie. Grover first appears with Scut in the alley where they are bullying Ralphie, Randy Parker (Ian Petrella), Schwartz (R. D. Robb), and Flick (Scott Schwartz). Grover only taunts the kids, while Scut does the physical violence, like wrenching back Schwartz's arm. Later, Grover and Scut are quickly seen as they chase after the boys.

Grover Has A Cameo In The 2022 A Christmas Story

Many Characters From The Original Appear In A Flash Forward

Grover's final appearance comes toward the end of A Christmas Story. Scut throws a snowball at Ralphie and knocks the glasses off Ralphie, just when Ralphie is at his lowest. Grover calls Ralphie "four-eyes" and Scut taunts Ralphie for crying. Finally, having enough of the bully, Ralphie gets angry and beats up Scut. Grover tries to tell him to stop but Ralphie tosses him aside. The once proud bully falls in the snow and runs away, threatening to call his father. Grover briefly appears in the cast of A Christmas Story Christmas in a flash-forward sequence.

Yano Anaya Only Had A Few More Acting Roles Before He Retired

Anaya Returned To Acting In 2021

Yano Anaya, did not act much after A Christmas Story. A year after the film, he appeared in the Van Halen music video for "Hot for Teacher" as a young Michael Anthony. Later, he had a small role in the teen black comedy, Better Off Dead, as a paperboy. His final role in the early portion of his career came in the little-seen crime comedy, The Blue Iguana, where he played a character also named Anaya. That last role came in 1988, and Anaya did not appear in any more productions until 2021.

Related 28 Weird Facts Behind The Making Of A Christmas Story Some people watch A Christmas Story every year during the holidays, but there are some facts about the making of the movie fans still might not know.

It's not known why he decided to retire from acting, but in the intervening years, Anaya became a personal trainer and fitness expert (via LinkedIn). His earliest known job was as a Personal Trainer Program Director at the Atlanta School of Massage, which he began in 2012. In 2021, he dipped his toes back into the acting world, playing Kylie's uncle in the comedy movie, Sunday Mornings. In 2022, he, along with other members of the original cast, returned, briefly, to reprise his role in A Christmas Story Christmas.

Anaya Had A Viral Moment After Trying To Buy The A Christmas Story House

The Homeowner And Yano Anaya Had A Tense Argument

Since retiring from acting full-time, Yano Anaya has not been shy about his role in A Christmas Story, frequently posting on his Facebook about the film, hosting the podcast Talking A Christmas Story where he brings in cast members and crew from the film to reveal backstage details about the movie, and running the A Christmas Story Family LinkedIn page where fans can gather to network and talk.

Anaya's love for A Christmas Story drove him to take an interest in purchasing the original A Christmas Story house in November 2022 (via TMZ). Anaya said that he and a few other cast members were interested in buying the property,

"It only makes sense to have the cast run the show."

The house was privately purchased by Brian Jones in 2004, who refurbished it and bought surrounding properties to turn the area into a museum, gift shop, and parking lot. He even expanded into "The Bumpus House" next door. The museum has allegedly received over one million visitors since 2006. When the Cleveland house went up for sale, Anaya showed interest in purchasing it. However, on November 27, 2022, TMZ released a video of Jones and Anaya getting into an altercation outside the home.

Anaya was sitting on the house's front stoop, taking pictures with fans when Jones walked up and told Anaya to,

"Get the f— off my house."

Jones continued to berate Anaya, who seemed unsure of what he had done and repeatedly asked Jones to explain himself. Jones called Anaya a "scammer" and accused him of trying to get people to donate, which was a reference to GoFundMe started by a member of Anaya's "A Christmas Story" group to purchase the house. Jones yelled,

"You guys ain't gonna buy this place. I'm never selling it to you."

Anaya, for his part, seemed completely bewildered by the action and eventually backed off from the irate Jones. Jones quickly released a statement that said (via People),

"I apologize for the way I expressed myself. However, it was out of concern that fans could be misled into contributing to a Go Fund Me campaign that will not result in the purchase of the house. I have no association with any Go Fund Me campaign. I am not selling the house through Go Fund Me, so fans should not contribute to that fund under false pretenses, thinking their money is going toward buying the house."

However, Anaya had no relation to that GoFundMe and after a few days of trying to make contact with Jones, the two men met for breakfast on New Year's Eve 2022 in Atlanta and seemingly squashed their beef (via TMZ). Allegedly, Jones told Anaya that he was being defensive after a number of would-be swindlers had tried to take advantage of him and use the house. He had assumed the same of Anaya when he saw him. The pair made up, and there seems to be no ill-will between the two fans of A Christmas Story.

After all that, though, Anaya didn't even get the house.

After all that, though, Anaya didn't even get the house. The purchaser ended up being someone unrelated to the movie: Joshua Dickerson (via WKYC). Dickerson was an employee at the museum for years, and ownership has now transferred to him. The A Christmas Story House continues to operate to this day and more can be found on its website, Housefromachristmasstory.

Yano Anaya Remains Friends With The Cast Of A Christmas Story

Anaya Works As A Freelance Health Consultant

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Beyond verbally sparring with Cleveland citizens, Yano Anaya has worked as a freelance health consultant since 2020 at the Cole Health Institute. He also remains on great terms with the cast of A Christmas Story, who have all managed to remain close over the years. When discussing getting the cast to return for the sequel, Peter Billingsley said (via EW),

"The good news is that we had such a good experience on the original that everyone kept in touch. I've seen all the guys throughout the years. We've never been able to all be in the same place at the same time. So that was pretty cool."

Anaya and the rest of the cast of A Christmas Story were clearly positively affected by their experience in the movie. All these years later Grover Dill and Ralphie Parker have put their differences aside in favor of the warm memories the Christmastime movie made for them.