One of the favorite shows of my kids is Tru TV’s World’s Worst. In case you haven’t seen it, it’s a clip show where low level celebrities make “funny” comments. I’ve watched it with them once or twice and that was all I needed.
The most interesting part of the show is the collection of talking heads they got for the show. In addition to some funny comics (Judy Gold, Chuck Nice, Chelsea Peretti, etc.) they also feature ex child stars like Danny Bonaduce, Leif Garrett and Todd Bridges. Now if you are a savvy TV lover like myself, you may remember that these stars not only used to be on TV but they have all been arrested for various offenses involving drugs.
As I watched the show, I wondered why they didn’t get more troubled child stars. Was Adam Rich unavailable? Did Brian Bonsall not get the message? Where was Corey Haim? Oh, right.
The big question, however, that comes up is why do so many child stars end up on the wrong side of the law? Is there something particularly troubling about being young and famous? Does being a child star automatically lead to drug use? Will every paragraph in this blog have three questions each?
The answer, of course, is no.
Bridges and Bonaduce are only different from Sheen and Dick in that the latter two got famous after they were eighteen. They were always drug using dingbats, they just weren’t in movies or on TV wen they were kids. Brian Bonsall would very likely be a drug addict whether he played TV’s fastest growing baby on Family Ties or not.
In short, don’t hate the TV, hate the TV star.
Hear more from the King of TV on The Paul Goebel Show podcast and at his website, www.TheKingofTV.com. You can also follow Paul on Twitter @PaulGoebelShow.