If you grew up in the tri-state area during the eighties, Action Park wasn't just a theme park. It was a rite of passage where you basically signed your life away for the chance to slide down a concrete track at forty miles per hour. When the documentary hit HBO Max, everyone started asking about the cast of Class Action Park. People wanted to know who these talking heads were and why they seemed so unbothered by the fact that they nearly died every weekend.
It’s a weird mix. You’ve got famous comedians who survived the park, former employees who look like they’re still processing the trauma, and the family of the man who started it all. Gene Mulvihill. That's the name that hangs over everything.
The documentary doesn't just use actors or random historians. It relies on the people who were actually in the trenches—or in this case, the Cannonball Loop.
The Unofficial Narrator: John Hodgman and the Celebrity Survivors
Honestly, having John Hodgman narrate was a stroke of genius. He brings this dry, intellectual wit to a story that is, frankly, completely stupid. But he isn't the only "name" you see. The cast of Class Action Park features a heavy dose of Chris Gethard. If you know Gethard’s comedy, you know he’s the king of New Jersey self-deprecation.
He talks about the park like it was a war zone. Because it was. Gethard describes the atmosphere perfectly: a place where the rules of the physical world just didn't seem to apply. He represents the voice of the victim—I mean, the guest.
Then there’s Jimmy Kimmel. He doesn't have a massive role, but his presence reminds you that this place wasn't some obscure roadside attraction. It was a cultural touchstone for an entire generation of kids who are now running late-night television. They survived the "Alpine Slide" and lived to tell the tale. It’s that shared trauma that connects the celebrity guests to the regular Jersey kids featured in the film.
The Employees Who Ran the Asylum
This is where the documentary gets its soul. The former "lifeguards" and ride operators are the real stars here.
Take a look at someone like Tom Fergus. He was a ride lead back in the day. Hearing him talk is like listening to a veteran recount a particularly chaotic battle. He’s candid. He doesn't sugarcoat the fact that they were teenagers with way too much power and zero oversight. These kids were essentially given the keys to a kingdom made of jagged rocks and electrified water.
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- Faith Anderson: A former lifeguard who provides some of the most harrowing insights into the "Tidal Wave Pool." She talks about the sheer exhaustion of pulling bodies out of the water every few minutes.
- The "Head" Lifeguards: These weren't professionals. They were 16-year-olds who were often hungover or just bored.
The cast of Class Action Park includes these voices to show the disconnect between Gene Mulvihill’s "vision" and the reality on the ground. When you see these now-adults laughing about the "Tank Tag" game where people were basically shooting each other with tennis balls soaked in lighter fluid, you realize how insane the 80s really were.
The Mulvihill Family and the Legend of Uncle Gene
You can’t talk about the cast without mentioning the people who actually loved the man behind the madness. Gene Mulvihill’s son, Andy Mulvihill, is a central figure.
Andy is in a tough spot in this film. He clearly admires his father’s "pioneer" spirit. He talks about how Gene wanted to give people a thrill they couldn't get at a sanitized Disney park. But he also has to answer for the six deaths that occurred on the property. It’s a fascinating tension. Andy isn't a villain in the doc, but he isn't a hero either. He’s a son remembering a complicated, law-defying father.
The documentary also features archival footage of Gene himself. While he isn't "cast" in the traditional sense, his presence is felt in every frame. He was a man who created a fake insurance company in the Cayman Islands just so he didn't have to follow New Jersey's pesky safety regulations.
Why the "Cast" Matters for Accuracy
A lot of documentaries use "re-enactments" with actors who have no connection to the story. This movie didn't really need that. The home movies and the interviews with the actual cast of Class Action Park carry the weight.
When you see the scars on a former guest’s legs, that's not makeup.
There’s a specific segment involving the "Cannonball Loop"—that infamous vertical water slide that looks like it was designed by a toddler with a ruler. The cast members describe how the first few people to go down it came out with bloody noses and missing teeth. They actually had to send employees down with $100 bills just to test if a human could make it through the loop.
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That’s a level of "casting" you can't fake. You're seeing the people who were the "crash test dummies" of the 1980s.
The Victims: The Side of the Story People Forget
While most of the cast of Class Action Park spends their time reminiscing about the fun and the chaos, the film takes a very sharp, somber turn when it introduces the families of those who didn't make it out.
The story of George Larsson Jr. is the emotional anchor.
George was the first person to die at the park. He was on the Alpine Slide when the brakes failed—a common occurrence—and he flew off an embankment, hitting a rock. The way the documentary handles his mother’s interview is brutal. It strips away all the "Jersey tough" nostalgia and reminds the viewer that Gene Mulvihill’s refusal to follow safety codes had real, permanent consequences.
The cast isn't just there for laughs. They are there to provide a 360-degree view of a place that shouldn't have existed, yet somehow thrived for decades.
The Technical Reality of Action Park
Let's get into the weeds for a second. Why was it so dangerous?
The park was built on a mountainside in Vernon, New Jersey. The water was pumped from deep underground, meaning it was usually about 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If you hit that water after baking in the sun, your body went into shock. That’s physics.
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The cast of Class Action Park explains how the rides were built without any engineers. Gene just had an idea, grabbed some pipes, and told his crew to "make it work."
- The Alpine Slide: A track made of concrete and fiberglass. If you fell, you got "track burn," which was essentially like being sanded down by a belt sander.
- The Grave Pool: The wave pool was so crowded and the waves so inconsistent that the lifeguards called it the "Grave Pool."
- The Battle Action Tanks: This wasn't just bumper cars. These were tanks that leaked gasoline and, as mentioned before, featured "tennis ball cannons" that were frequently modified by guests to be more dangerous.
Final Perspective on the Documentary's Impact
Looking back at the cast of Class Action Park, it’s clear why the film resonated. It wasn't just about a park. It was about a specific moment in American history where "personal responsibility" was used as an excuse for corporate negligence.
The people interviewed represent a cross-section of that era. You have the visionary who went too far, the kids who worked for him, and the victims left in the wake.
If you're looking for a deep dive into the specific names and faces, keep an eye on Seth Porges and Chris Charles Scott, the directors. They didn't just cast people; they curated a collection of survivors.
To truly understand the legacy of the park, your next steps should be grounded in the actual history rather than just the memes.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Watch the Documentary Again with Context: Now that you know Andy Mulvihill’s perspective, watch his reactions to the more "criminal" aspects of his father's business. It changes the vibe.
- Read "Action Park" by Andy Mulvihill: If you want the son's full, unedited perspective, he wrote a book that goes into much more detail than the documentary could fit. It’s a great companion piece to the film.
- Research the Vernon Valley History: The park eventually became Mountain Creek. If you visit today, you can still see the physical layout of the mountain and realize just how steep and dangerous those original slides actually were.
- Verify the "Six Deaths" Fact: Many people think it's an urban legend. It isn't. You can look up the public records for the 1980-1987 period to see the specific incidents involving the Kayak ride, the Alpine Slide, and the Tidal Wave Pool.
The cast of Class Action Park tells a story of a time that will never happen again. With modern liability laws and social media, a place like Action Park would be shut down in fifteen minutes. But for one weird decade in New Jersey, the inmates really did run the asylum.