Where Are They Now? tracks down the sitcom kids whose childhoods were documented on the small screen. In exclusive interviews, we’ll hear what it was like to survive the glare of the public eye at a young age, and what happened when they grew up and no one cared. Looking in on TV families and scene-stealers, WATN takes viewers on the ride from yesterday to today. Check in with:
- Todd Bridges lived the cliché of child star-turned-delinquent. But after this Diff’rent Strokes actor was arrested, he turned his fate around: he found God and rediscovered acting
- Willie Aames went from teen son on Eight is Enough to sidekick doofus on Charles in Charge. Willie's new role is Bibleman, a superhero who fights evil armed only with the Good Book and a pair of tights.
- Emmanuel Lewis filled the tiny title role of the classic ‘80s sitcom Webster. He’s now using his Hollywood contacts to start a talent agency and record label.
- Mayim Bialik inhabited the smart and quirky title role on the sitcom Blossom. Currently a published researcher and scientist at UCLA, she’s nearly completed her Ph.D. in neuroscience.
- Jenna von Oy played Mayim’s fast-talking best friend on Blossom. She’s kept her toe in the acting waters, but is also following a more down-home calling: Jenna’s recording a country music album.
- Fred Berry was Rerun, the jolly dancing machine, in the ‘70s sitcom What’s Happening. Over the last 20 years he’s lost 100 pounds, rebounded through six marriages, started a business and become a minister.
- Corky Pigeon memorably played geek Freddy Lippencottleman on the Ricky Schroeder vehicle Silver Spoons. He left the small screen a long time ago to pick up the drumsticks. He's been keeping the beat in mod bands over the last few years.
- Ron Palillo made some radical changes to his life after he left Welcome Back Kotter. He became a serious actor, doing mostly stage work. But you'd almost not recognize Ron now: he got a nose job, became a blonde, and isn't the 98 lb weakling that Horshack was - he works out regularly.
- Brian Bonsall was the designated "cute" kid brought in to liven things up in a fading Family Ties. He spent his early childhood on the show, and got a few good movie roles afterward. But once his family moved to Colorado, he gave that all up, and now has become a tattooed, pierced punk rocker.
- Candace Cameron played the older sister to two winsome brats on the very popular sitcom Full House. She’s still chasing kids around: she has three of her own with Russian hockey player Valeri Bure.
- Alison Arngrim was the quintessential bitch-from-hell Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie. Her real gift is making people laugh as a stand-up comic. She’s nice, too: Alison organizes benefits for Persons With AIDS.
Everyone grows up – but these child stars had to do it in the spotlight. Now they are trying to lead their own form of normal lives. When they were young, cute, and successful, we saw them every week. Where are they now?
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