The "Eight Is Enough" kids turned out poorly: TV child stars who never made it

Submitted by Lili_Danube t3_zy6y5m in television

Willie Aames, Adam Rich and Susan Richardson didn't really turn out well in the long run after the show ended. Poor Lani O'Grady died.

It made me think of other child stars who died tragically or had no luck like Dana Plato, Gary Coleman, Jamie from SMALL WONDER, Fred Savage...etc.

The Full House kids turned out okay though Candace Cameron grew up to be a homophobe.

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1

RelationRealistic t1_j242bcp wrote

Congrats on all your success, OP.

Also on not being fat and accepting of everyone as they are.

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steeleye5 t1_j2456ls wrote

Didn’t one of the full house girls get hooked on crack for awhile?

Not many child stars end up making it past adulthood in their careers

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mikeymiggz t1_j245cui wrote

Fred Savage is more of a director now

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SpiritPaper t1_j245yn4 wrote

Weird to link O'Grady death to 9/11, when she died like two weeks after in California of a drug overdose.

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Scrubbing_Bubbles_ t1_j24cgux wrote

Ralph Macchio, although an added character in later seasons, had a nice career.

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Medoxor t1_j24h3jk wrote

The Facts of Life is a rare situation. The girls on that show turned out fine. Mindy Cohn always credited to having stable families at home that helped them all stay on track. It's also one of the very few female cast shows where they all got along. The actresses even got together for a Christmas movie Kim Fields did a couple of years ago. They all speak very highly of each other when they do interviews. It is possible for children to be stars and turn out great.

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Rodgers4 t1_j254ips wrote

Replying to steeleye5 (#1,146,947)

The other girls all turned out well though. Sure, the Olsen twins became mannequins sometime in the early aughts, but they’re incredibly wealthy.

Candice Cameron is still an actor, also a very active parent.

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Rodgers4 t1_j255a2g wrote

It has to be so difficult in general to turn out fine after being a minor celebrity at that age. You’d need a good, stable support system, which these kids rarely have.

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KellyJin17 t1_j2568d3 wrote

Mark Hamill did very well for himself.

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AuburnFaninGa t1_j25j7su wrote

Lani O’Grady was the younger sister of Don Grady from My Three Sons.

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river_tree_nut t1_j25lx2t wrote

In retrospect, viewers came to learn that, in fact, eight was simply too many.

Who could've seen that coming?

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grunkage t1_j268j2r wrote

Not sure Fred Savage belongs anywhere near this list. Dude has been acting and directing constantly since the Wonder Years. Literally never out of work.

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gypsydaze216 t1_j26p6dm wrote

Laurie Walters Slade, is my neighbor in our retirement park.she played eldest daughter Joanie...apparently she retired from hollywood in 1993...she is still active in local plays and productions.

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CBassTian t1_j26sl1s wrote

Eight Is Enough was my favorite show as a child and you're right the cast really did not go on to fame and fortune but latter series regular Macchio made quite a name for himself, I'd say.

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MikeyMGM t1_j26wxbl wrote

The little kid on Family Ties had many brushes with the law.

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OzzieSlim t1_j26xqys wrote

Anissa Jones. Buffy from Family Affair. The original.

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Coast_watcher t1_j26ysdg wrote

Buckwheat ? Or was it another one, like Alfalfa ?

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moonivermarin t1_j27a636 wrote

Fred Savage was doing fine until recently with the Wonder Years reboot. I remember seeing his name as director for Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia around the early seasons and was like wtf.

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fuzzy_skarekrow t1_j27h4al wrote

Fred Savage I would argue had a pretty nice adult TV career. he's reportedly worth around $30 million so I'd say he's done all right. He's kind of in the world of meme fringe even if he's not in a bunch of blockbuster stuff. His adult career seems to be consistent

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paperwasp3 t1_j27l6mb wrote

Replying to Tornpaperwrapper (#1,151,144)

She was a massive drinker. When George Clooney first got to LA he had a job driving for his aunt Rosemary. She would go drinking with Charlotte Rae and George would have to drive them home. One time he pulled over for them and Charlotte stepped one leg out of the car. peed like a racehorse, and pulled her leg back in.

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grunkage t1_j27m2j9 wrote

Replying to esmerelda_b (#1,169,788)

I thought of that, but it's more of a comedown from being all over the TV and streaming comedy landscape steadily since he was a child. Not the same as an early flame out or spiral into obscurity like the others listed.

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yonimusprime t1_j27smno wrote

Fred Savage has directed alot and works behind the camera. I don't want to do him dirty on this list.

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Medoxor t1_j286wqi wrote

Replying to trustysidekick (#1,172,303)

>Were any of the girls in Facts of life actually kids? They all seemed grown up to me when I was watching it as a kid in the 80sz

Yes, they were. Lisa Whelchel was 16 that first season. Nancy McKeon was 14 when she started the show. Mindy Cohn was 13 when she started. Kim was 10. They grew up on the show. Mindy points out a lot how she gets to see her puberty years on TV. The Facts of Life was NBC's first longest running sitcom of the 80's. It lasted 9 years.

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Medoxor t1_j287qeg wrote

Replying to sweetnsassy924 (#1,170,072)

>I think the girls were also all there when Nancy was on. Dwts

The girls were also supportive of Lisa when she did Survivor years ago. Stupid Penner for turning the jury against her just because she was a childhood actress. Lisa deserved to win that season. She started out slow but by the end she was ruling that game. Denise road Malcom's coattails doing nothing to win.

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007upyours t1_j28khjv wrote

Fred Savage is pretty well off comparatively

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foldsbaldwin t1_j28o2od wrote

Fred Savage isn't dead, he's just a piece of shit.

Eta- saw it also says or much luck which I wouldn't necessarily say but I wouldn't say he's on anyone radar.

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physco219 t1_j28u0j4 wrote

Judith Barsi she is well known as the voice of Ducky from The Land Before Time movies. She was brutally murdered.

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jefferson497 t1_j28ukku wrote

While Fred Savage didn’t have a superstar career post childhood he still is involved with producing and directing shows and movies. Some of the funniest Always Sunny episodes were directed by him

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CDavis10717 t1_j28v8uy wrote

I always wanted hair like Nicholas on Eight Is Enough.

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SamuraiUX t1_j29saef wrote

This is why I wouldn’t encourage parents to put their kids into acting. I was a child actor myself and was a good friend to someone mentioned on your list (OP). Kids are treated weirdly in the industry (sometimes badly, sometimes harmfully positively, e.g., inflating their egos and forcing them into early adulthood) and I left as a teen after hearing one of my friends called a “nobody” at a party because he was t a big name actor. It grossed me out. People aren’t somebodies or nobodies. Anyway: it’s too much for almost any kid to handle, most of them get into drugs very young. I’m lucky i got out as safely as I did.

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