Danny DeVito poses on set with cardboard cutout high schooler Allison Closs who took him to prom

Weeks after a Pennsylvania high school senior took a cardboard cutout of Danny DeVito to prom, the actor took the teenager out on a date, too — sort of.

On May 11, 17-year-old Allison Cross attended the Carlisle High School prom, bringing along a lifesize cardboard cutout of the 73-year-old It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star.

Her unconventional date went viral and made national news, eventually catching the attention of the real Danny DeVito, who decided to get in on the joke.

Unorthodox date! Allison Closs, 17, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, took a cardboard cutout of Danny DeVito to prom in May

Returning the favor! This week, DeVito himself posed for a picture next to a cardboard cutout of Allison on the set of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Returning the favor! This week, DeVito himself posed for a picture next to a cardboard cutout of Allison on the set of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Back in May, WHTM-TV reported on how Allison chose her two-dimensional prom date, publishing photos of the teenage Always Sunny fan posing with the cutout and smiling next to him while friends milled about nearby.

She wore a blue ruffled dress for the occasion, and pulled a tie out of her brother’s closet to drape around ‘Danny’s’ neck. She also bought him a boutonniere to match her own corsage.

Over three weeks later, though, the joke has taken on new life. On May 4, DeVito’s It’s Always Sunny co-star Rob McElhenney took to Instagram to share some new pictures.

‘Hey Allison,’ he wrote. ‘I heard you took cardboard Danny to Prom. What a coincidence. He took cardboard Allison to Paddy’s…’

In the post, he included one of Allison’s photos — as well as one of DeVito on the show’s set, hanging out at the bar.

Ready to go: The clever 17-year-old duct-taped her 'date' to a plastic scooter and pulled him around on a leash on the big night

Ready to go: The clever 17-year-old duct-taped her ‘date’ to a plastic scooter and pulled him around on a leash on the big night

Dressed for the occasion: Allison made sure DeVito was prom-ready by giving him a tie from her brother’s closet and a boutonniere

Dressed for the occasion: Allison made sure DeVito was prom-ready by giving him a tie from her brother’s closet and a boutonniere

DeVito looks amused, pointing to a lifesize cutout of Allison in her light blue prom dress.

Soon after it was posted, Allison herself saw the image, tweeting her disbelief: ‘I am shooketh.’

‘Thank you SO, SO MUCH @RMcElhenney and @DannyDeVito for fulfilling my dream of visiting Paddy’s Pub from @alwayssunny!!’ she added.

Interestingly, the whole thing almost didn’t happen. Allison told the New York Post back in May that she’d considered other celebrities for her date, including Bill Nye the Science Guy.

‘But many of them would [have required] ordering a custom-made cutout, and I’m not about that money life, if you know what I’m saying,’ she said, adding that she she found a ‘shockingly wide variety’ of premade cardboard cutouts of the ‘hilarious’ DeVito already for sale on Amazon.

What an entrance: Allison is pictured arriving at the Carlisle High School senior prom at Letort View Community Center at Carlisle Barracks

What an entrance: Allison is pictured arriving at the Carlisle High School senior prom at Letort View Community Center at Carlisle Barracks

Worth every penny: Allison spent $100 on the premade cardboard cutout of DeVito, which she found on Amazon

Worth every penny: Allison spent $100 on the premade cardboard cutout of DeVito, which she found on Amazon

Having a blast: Allison and Devito posed for snapshots in the photobooth at the dance 

Having a blast: Allison and Devito posed for snapshots in the photobooth at the dance 

Her man: The high school senior said people were lining up to take selfies with the cutout, but she wouldn't let anyone else dance with him 

Her man: The high school senior said people were lining up to take selfies with the cutout, but she wouldn’t let anyone else dance with him 

She spent $100 on the cutout itself, and duct-taped it to a $20 plastic scooter so she could pull him around with a leash.

In addition to earning her fans online, Allison’s cutout date was also a hit with classmates, who lined up to take photos with him. But she admitted that she wouldn’t let anyone else dance with the cutout, because she was worried he would get broken.

‘Making things work with a human date can be so exhausting,’ she told the Post. ‘Danny’s not like that. He just goes with the flow . . . We never argue, never fight.

‘Plus, he treats me the way a woman should be treated.’

In the fall, Allison plans on attending Gettysburg College to major in film and media studies, but it looks like she is already quite media savvy. After prom, she made a video about the experience, which she shared on her YouTube channel. 

Here's the story: Allison, a budding filmmaker, made a video about the experience and posted it on her YouTube channel

Here’s the story: Allison, a budding filmmaker, made a video about the experience and posted it on her YouTube channel

In the clip, she explained how the whole idea came about, noting that she was ‘having trouble finding a prom date.’

‘It seemed like all the good guys were taken, and all the ones that weren’t taken I wasn’t really interested in,’ she said. ‘Until one day, I had this idea. What if I just bring a cardboard cutout of Danny DeVito to prom? So I did.’ 

Knowing that stories like this end up on the news ‘all the time,’ Allison revealed that she had reached out to ABC News to see if they wanted to do a story on her.

After sending in photos and videos, she ended up making the local news, and her prom pictures quickly went viral. 

‘This is like the highlight of my year,’ she admitted.



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