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  • Film & TV Moderators: ghostfreak

the curse of the child star

tribal girl

Bluelight Crew
Joined
Jan 29, 2006
Messages
13,269
This is something which has always been on my mind, and even more so since Corey Haim's passing yesterday. Of course, some child stars are lucky enough to become well adjusted individuals and get through it. But the majority succumb to addiction, die young, or end up growing up having their souls seriously destroyed by their exploiters. And what really gets my goat is the parents who force their kids into this kind of lifestyle because they themselves were not talented enough to fulfil their dreams. Don't even get me started on those parents who push their kids into pageants etc. :|

This thread is kinda a reminder of talent which has been lost, the child stars still going strong, and the ones that have been forgotten. And then there are the ones who are unable to get work once they hit puberty. :|

Brad Renfro (July 25, 1982 – January 15, 2008. Accidental heroin overdose)
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River Phoenix (August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993. Drug-induced heart failure)
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Drew Barrymore (had her fair share of troubles, but is still alive and kicking)
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Kirsten Dunst (still with us, but has recently been into rehab)
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Who resonates with you?.
 
wow... how did i miss the kirsten dunst episode! i ADORE her... yet somehow am oblivious. :(

oh, and don't forget jonathan brandis. :)
 
^Yeah, I thought Kirsten was doing just fine until I just did a bit of digging around. Seems not. :(

Jonathan Brandis was another tragic case, of course. :\

Macaulay Culkin:
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And Edward Furlong spring to mind also:
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mccauley caulkin looks beat nowadays. i hope he's doing well. i've always liked him.
 
macaulay culkin according to wiki is engaged to mila kunis, dude is winning in life right now.
 
Dana Plato.

Diff'rent Strokes was already a distant memory to me when she died, yet her passing saddened me more than that of any other former child star. I don't know why...
 
One of the girls on Full House was a pretty big meth addict for a while.

That guy who played 'Boner' on Growing Pains died recently.

Lindsay Lohan, no explanation needed
 
lilo is crazy goin after e*trade for $100mill (the milkaholic commercial) her mom/dad are both pretty fucking crazy too, just sayin.
 
Lindsey Lohan was more famous when she was a young adult I thought? Mean Girls?
I think she was a movie called parent trap? But it seems like she has had more fame as an adult. I wouldn't really consider her a child star.

Macauly Culkin baffles me. Why on earth is a talent like Mila Kunis still messing around with a guy like Culkin? Has he even been relevant for the last 5 years? No, he has not.

Michael Jackson was more successful as an adult than a child.

Did some of you guys see the thread title "The Curse of the Child Star"? Or did you just start naming struggling or dead celebs?
 
^ Not everybody finds their partners based on the latest projects in Hollywood. :\

The Parent Trap was pretty huge. Almost every kid I know saw it. She definitely felt the same pressures as other child stars.

Also, in general, I think how big you get as an adult vs. how big you were as a kid isn't the correct measure to decide if these children suffered as a result of being a star as a child. To argue that Michael Jackson wasn't a huge star as a child is insanity. The Jackson 5 sold over 100 million CDs.
 
There are so many. It just seems like a right of passage or an excuse as to why you fucked up...
 
^ Not everybody finds their partners based on the latest projects in Hollywood. :\

QFT.

A special mention goes to Natasha Lyonne. She was well and truly down and out at one point, seems as though she might be on the up after this long ordeal. :\

NatashaLyo_Vespa_838130_400.jpg


It all started to go a bit pear shaped for her back in 2001 when she plowed her way through a road sign in a rented car, then tried to flee the scene. But the incident was witnessed by a Miami police officer. According to a Miami Beach Police Department report, Lyonne refused a Breathalyzer test and actually stated: "I'm a movie star. Can I talk to my entertainment lawyer?" Her boyfriend, actor Adam Goldberg, was riding in the car at the time.

She also caused more havoc when she rented one of Michael Rapaport's apartments, harassing the other tenants. Some of them began complaining about Lyonne's behavior from late 2002-early 2003, saying that she was frequently screaming at people, flipping out, and entertaining noisy guests late at night. The other tenants also reported that Lyonne started entering her apartment through a window because she didn't want to use the front door. Eventually one of the other tenants had enough and moved out. Two other girls moved into the vacated apartment and Lyonne verbally abused them right away, yelling "Why the fuck did you cunts move in here?"

In late 2003 Rapaport had enough of Lyonne's antics and flew to New York City to tell her she had to move out. He was shocked when he saw her - he said she was incredibly thin and her hair was falling out. In late 2004 Lyonne verbally attacked one of the other tenants in her building and threatened to "sexually molest" her neighbor's dog and broke a mirror in the neighbor's apartment. She spent a night in jail before being arraigned on charges of criminal mischief, harassment, and trespassing. The details of this incident did not become publicly known until two years later. In April 2005, an arrest warrant was issued for Lyonne for failure to appear in court on the charges. Prosecutors say she showed up, but arrived an hour late and only stayed 30 minutes. The charges were eventually dropped in December 2006 after Lyonne paid $2,000 in restitution and completed a court-ordered drug program.

Rapaport finally evicted Lyonne in January 2005 and was shocked at how much Lyonne had trashed his apartment. According to an article Rapaport wrote for Jane magazine, Lyonne caused $16,000 worth of damage to the place. The sink and tub were clogged, and filled with broken glasses. The New York City plumber who repaired the pipes said that "he'd never seen anything that bad before."

In August 2005, the New York Post reported that Lyonne was in Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan under a pseudonym, and had been there for over a month after being transferred from Bellevue Hospital. She reportedly suffered from hepatitis C, a heart infection, and a collapsed lung. She was also allegedly undergoing methadone treatment for a heroin addiction and had track marks on her body. The Post also reported that Lyonne had been homeless and on the streets after her eviction by Rapaport.

In June 2006 Lyonne was spotted in New York City looking very haggard and as though she was in a "drug-induced coma," "covered in a bad bed rash," and could also "die at any moment."

It seems as though she may have cleaned up her act a lil' as she's working again. :)

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005169/
 
Lindsey Lohan was more famous when she was a young adult I thought? Mean Girls?
I think she was a movie called parent trap? But it seems like she has had more fame as an adult. I wouldn't really consider her a child star.

But her fame started as a child, where she became a star. I'm pretty sure the fact that she had problems as a result of her celebrity as a result of being a young star makes her a poster-child for this thread.


She was 12 in the Parent Trap. I don't know what your idea of a child is, but that's not even a teenager. She was on TV when she was 10.
 
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Dana Plato.

Diff'rent Strokes was already a distant memory to me when she died, yet her passing saddened me more than that of any other former child star. I don't know why...

I never watched the show, but I was just reading about her after watching a tribute video on youtube of a lot of child stars. Most of which I'd never even heard of, or had totally forgotten about.

Here's some more from the vid.

Dominique Dunne (November 23, 1959 - November 4, 1982. Murdered)
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Heather O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 - February 1, 1988. Cardiopulmonary arrest and intestinal stenosis)
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Judith Barsi (June 6, 1978 - July 25, 1988. Murdered)
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Christopher Pettiet (February 12, 1976 - April 12, 2000. Accidental drug overdose)
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I don't really think Judith Barsi's fate had anything to do with child fame but REALLY sad nonetheless. :(
 
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