Ian Petrella

Ian Petrella is an actor who became famous for his role as Randy Parker in the classic film, A Christmas Story. Though he had quit acting a while back, he came back to play the beloved character in the sequel, Christmas Story Christmas.

Petrella works as a Puppeteer and a graphic designer and has an estimated net worth of $400,000. He stands at the height of 5 Feet and 9 Inches (175 cm) and his zodiac sign is Sagittarius. 

Relationship Status: Petrella Is Single

Ian Petrella has no partner to share the good times with as the puppeteer is currently single. The actor now is fully focused on his career and is enjoying his life with his friends and family at the moment.

Petrella since leaving his acting days behind has preferred a low-key life. Although he hasn't been completely absent from the media, he has chosen to not disclose a lot of things including his love life. Hence, the records of his previous relationships have also been kept under wraps.

Net Worth Of A Christmas Story Actor

Ian Petrella, through his multiple careers, has gained an estimated net worth of $400,000, similar to Annie Ilonzeh. His primary source of income today is doing animation and working as a Puppeteer. And, his main source of revenue before this was acting.

Petrella's biggest film of his acting career has been A Christmas Story. As per Rotten Tomatoes, the film made $20.7 Million at the box office. The house in the film wasn't just a set and is an actual house where he also lived at one point. 

The house is an attraction where people can pay money to stay for the night. It is currently valued at more than $130,000. 

Brief On Petrella's Acting Career

A Christmas Story actor, Petrella, no longer acts for a living. Although, he did make a pleasant surprise return in 2022 in A Christmas Story Christmas, a sequel to the classic holiday movie. He started his acting career when he was young, to be more specific, three years old.

The first thing Petrella did was a TV series in 1982 called CHiPs where he landed a job for one episode. It didn't take long for him to find success as the very next year, he landed the biggest role of his career, Randy Parker in A Christmas Story. 

Following the success of the Christmas movie, Petrella continued acting in a lot of movies like Crimes of Passion, and a lot of shows like Diff'rent Strokes, Mr. Weasley, Once a Hero, and Highway of Heaven but his roles on these TV shows were pretty small. He said goodbye to his acting days in 1991 following the show, Beverly Hills, 90210. 

A Christmas Story Christmas wasn't the movie through which Petrella made a return to acting. He hadn't ultimately said goodbye to acting in 1991 as he has previously worked on a few stuff. His IMDb page has mentioned that he worked on a short film, Poster Boy, and an episode in the show, Krafty, and Quarter Bin before making his big return to play Randy Parker in 2022.

Has A Degree In Graphic Designing

Petrella, other than acting and puppeteering, also has got skills in graphic designing. The actor has a degree in Graphic Design. He holds a Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.) degree.

A Christmas Story actor, Petrella got his degree at The Arts Institute. He did a one-year degree from 2009 to 2010. His decision to learn graphic designation can be credited to his love for animation. 

Lived In A Christmas Story House Once

Ian Petrella not only worked in the classic film, A Christmas Story but also lived in the house of the film at one point. The house used in the film is a bit of a sightseeing place today while the fans of the movie come to visit and see the house. He used to give tours to the fans while living there.

Esquire, has mentioned in their article that Petrella who was living in San Francisco at that time temporarily moved to live in the famous house after talking to the house owner, Brian Jones. He just wanted a bit of fresh air from his regular life. 

The article has mentioned that Once a Hero actor, Petrella used to do meet and greats with the fans and also give them a tour of the house. He was living on the third floor of the iconic house which was not open for the fans to see. The actor also revealed when he first arrived at the house that he was excited to see and meet the fans of the movie.

The house is owned by Brain Jones, who found himself beefing with Petrella's Castmate from the film, Yano Anaya. The problem started with Anaya showing interest in buying the house after it was put up for sale. There was even a confrontation when Anaya was clicking pictures with the fans outside the house where Jones told him to get off his property.

Works As A Puppeteer

Ian Petrella after leaving the film industry had worked as a Puppeteer. It has been mentioned on his IMDb page that, his puppeteering landed him a chance to work with legendary puppeteer, Jim Henson. Besides that, it has also been mentioned on his page that he got to work on some popular franchises like the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles.

A Christmas Story actor, Petrella developed his puppetry skills in the Czech Republic. He learned marionette puppetry while there which is a form of puppetry where the puppets are controlled from above using wires. And he returned and started performing independently. He has been involved in this work since 2001.

How Did Petrella Land A Role In A Christmas Story?

Ian Petrella, became a household name very early in his acting days, for his role as Randy Parker in A Christmas Story. And, his aunt can be credited for this.

The Pioneer Woman has mentioned in their article that Petrella, auditioned for his role in the movie after his aunt suggested it. His aunt worked in the Herb Tannen Talent Agency as per his IMDb page.

Career As An Improvisational Comedian

Petrella also did a bit of an improvisational comedy before getting into puppetry and animation. His IMDb page says that he developed his improvisational skills at the Groundlings Comedy Theatre. 

The page also says that Petrella was only 17 years old when he try out for the theatre, the youngest to ever do it at the time. 17 years is the same length as Delilah Fishburne's parent's marriage lasted. 

Petrella's improvisational career wasn't as popular as his acting career, but he did manage to get a lot of small gigs after gaining all the skills from the theatre.

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