Child Stars- Hollywood's biggest screw-ups

[on:]

I couldn't find a thread when I typed up "child stars" on the search engine.

Anyway, VH1 recently did 100 Greatest Child Stars

1. Gary Coleman (DIFF'RENT STROKES)
2. Macaulay Culkin (HOME ALONE)
3. Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen (FULL HOUSE)
4. Jodie Foster (TAXI DRIVER, FREAKY FRIDAY)
5. Drew Barrymore (E.T.)
6. Emmanuel Lewis (WEBSTER)
7. Ron Howard (THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW)
8. Corey Feldman (STAND BY ME, GOONIES)
9. Maureen McCormick (THE BRADY BUNCH)
10. Danny Bonaduce (THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY)
11. The Jackson Five
12. Brooke Shields (PRETTY BABY)
13. Jonathan Lipnicki (JERRY MAGUIRE)
14. Tatum O'Neal (PAPER MOON)
15. Kirk Cameron (GROWING PAINS)
16. Dustin Diamond (SAVED BY THE BELL)
17. Molly Ringwald (16 CANDLES)
18. Ricky Schroder (THE CHAMP, SILVER SPOONS)
19. Keshia Knight Pulliam (THE COSBY SHOW)
20. Christopher Knight (THE BRADY BUNCH)
21. Joey Lawrence (GIMME A BREAK!)
22. Barry Williams (THE BRADY BUNCH)
23. Kim Fields (THE FACTS OF LIFE)
24. Henry Thomas (E.T.)
25. Jonathan Taylor Thomas (HOME IMPROVEMENT)
26. Corey Haim (LUCAS, THE LOST BOYS)
27. Fred Savage (THE WONDER YEARS)
28. Alyssa Milano (WHO'S THE BOSS?)
29. Valerie Bertinelli (ONE DAY AT A TIME)
30. Lisa Whelchel (THE FACTS OF LIFE)
31. Melissa Gilbert (LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE)
32. Malcolm-Jamal Warner (THE COSBY SHOW)
33. New Edition
34. Susan Olsen (THE BRADY BUNCH)
35. Soleil Moon Frye (PUNKY BREWSTER)
36. Linda Blair (THE EXORCIST)
37. Jaleel White (FAMILY MATTERS)
38. Sara Gilbert (ROSEANNE)
39. Sarah Jessica Parker (SQUARE PEGS)
40. Todd Bridges (DIFF'RENT STROKES)
41. Anthony Michael Hall (16 CANDLES)
42. Mike Lookingland (THE BRADY BUNCH)
43. Mindy Cohn (THE FACTS OF LIFE)
44. Joey McIntyre (NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK)
45. Butch Patrick (THE MUNSTERS)
46. Tina Yothers (FAMILY TIES)
47. Leann Rimes
48. David Faustino (MARRIED ... WITH CHILDREN)
49. Kristy McNichol (FAMILY)
50. Danielle Brisebois (ALL IN THE FAMILY)
51. Tempest Bledsoe (THE COSBY SHOW)
52. Michael Fishman (ROSEANNE)
53. Mayim Bialik (BLOSSOM)
54. Quinn Cummings (THE GOODBYE GIRL)
55. Danica McKellar (THE WONDER YEARS)
56. Danny Pintauro (WHO'S THE BOSS?)
57. Danielle Spencer (WHAT'S HAPPENING!!)
58. Brian Bonsall (FAMILY TIES)
59. Kirsten Dunst (INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE)
60. Jason Bateman (SILVER SPOONS)
61. Eve Plumb (THE BRADY BUNCH)
62. Wil Wheaton (STAND BY ME)
63. Peter Billingsley (A CHRISTMAS STORY)
64. Lara Jill Miller (GIMME A BREAK!)
65. Heather O'Rourke (POLTERGEIST)
66. Jill Whelan (THE LOVE BOAT)
67. Jonathan Ke Quan (INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM)
68. Michael Oliver (PROBLEM CHILD)
69. Edward Furlong (TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY)
70. Jerry O'Connell (STAND BY ME)
71. Erin Moran (HAPPY DAYS)
72. Jason Hervey (THE WONDER YEARS)
73. Adam Rich (EIGHT IS ENOUGH)
74. Tatyana Ali (THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR)
75. Elijah Wood (AVALON)
76. Robbie Rist (THE BRADY BUNCH)
77. Diane Lane (A LITTLE ROMANCE)
78. Peter Ostrum (WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY)
79. Menudo
80. Justin Henry (KRAMER VS. KRAMER)
81. Nancy McKeon (THE FACTS OF LIFE)
82. Lance Kerwin (JAMES AT 15)
83. Jeremy Miller (GROWING PAINS)
84. Raven-Symone (THE COSBY SHOW)
85. Scott Schwartz (THE TOY, A CHRISTMAS STORY)
86. Shannen Doherty (LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE)
87. Jackie Earle Haley (THE BAD NEWS BEARS)
88. Cynthia Nixon (LITTLE DARLINGS)
89. Amy Linker (SQUARE PEGS)
90. Kris Kross
91. Dana Plato (DIFF'RENT STROKES)
92. Lecy Goranson (ROSEANNE)
93. Anna Paquin (THE PIANO)
94. Jenna Von Oy (BLOSSOM)
95. Alfonso Ribeiro (SILVER SPOONS)
96. Alison Arngrim (LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE)
97. Christina Ricci (MERMAIDS)
98. Hanson
99. Lacey Chabert (PARTY OF FIVE)
100. Candace Cameron (FULL HOUSE)

What do you think of the list?  Who's your favorite Child Star?

[Reply #1 on:]

What, no Billy Mumy?

[Reply #2 on:]

I never thought I'd see a list where Macaulay Culkin outranks Jodie Foster at anything.  This is a dark day for humainty, people...

[Reply #3 on:]

Natalie Portman should be there for playing Matilda in Leon, probably her best role to date.

[Reply #4 on:]

Some of them turned out okay.  Examples: Ron Howard, Miyam Bilak, and Alyssa Milano.  Though, they never mentioned what became of Michael Oliver and that Temple of Doom kid. 

[Reply #5 on:]

 

Originally posted by Tweek:
Natalie Portman should be there for playing Matilda in Leon, probably her best role to date.

Tweek is right, but seeing as she isn't    i don't know.
I know who i hate most though, Jake lloyd(anakin in star wars ep 1).

[Reply #6 on:]

^lol, your sig gets straight to the point LLL.

I actually thought Lloyd was OK. Hell, compared to Jar Jar (even though he technically wasn't an actor), Lloyd was the best actor in the whole movie. (On a semi-unrelated note, wasn't Jake Lloyd in 'Jingle All The Way'?)

[Reply #7 on:]

Whats the deal with Dakota Fanning at the moment, is she the only child left in hollywood? She's in everything. Other child actors are probably starving because of her.

[Reply #8 on:]

Ed Furlong! Up! Up, dammit!! He'd wipe his ass with most of those other little shitheaded brats.

[Reply #9 on:]

Jake Lloyd is stupid.... he's ruined all of star wars now...!

[Reply #10 on:]

All the Facts of Life kids, all the Diff'rent Strokes kids, and all the Brady Bunch kids...

Does anyone smell conspiracy?

Also, I hate countdowns like this where the number one is always anti-climactic. I mean, who didn't see Gary Coleman coming?

[Reply #11 on:]

Why do people hate Jake Lloyd?  Okay, The Phantom Menace sucked, but that's because it had a lame script and story, weak characters, and even lame effects in spots.  The failure of that film was on Lucas' shoulders.  Lloyd was just along for the ride.

Anyways, any "best list" that features the Olsen Twins is automatically awful.  I don't think they've done even a minute of actual acting in their entire lives.

[Reply #12 on:]

Maybe, but I can't think of any reasons to actually like Lloyd, either.

[Reply #13 on:]

He wasn't the greatest, but he was also, like, 9 or something.  And he had to deliver lines like "Let's try spinning! THAT'S A GOOD TRICK!".  If God himself came down to earth in physical form and decided to become an actor, He could not have saved lines like that.  He was competent and fairly believable as a child that was leaving his mother in the scenes that didn't completely blow ass.

[Reply #14 on:]

Lloyd was too upbeat and damn cheerful for a slave kid with no hope at all of freedom.

[Reply #15 on:]

That's still the script though.  He was written that way.

[Reply #16 on:]

Dakota Fanning is not on that list! This is an outrage! *throws stuff around in anger*


@Grim: She's in everything cause she's good. She's won quite a few awards. She can do a good job, even if the movie sucks. She was cute in Cat in The Hat and that movie was like the childs version of Gigli.

[Reply #17 on:]

 

Originally posted by DotheBartman:
That's still the script though.  He was written that way.

But it makes no sense, since Anakin only fell to the dark side because he was a moody love sick little bitch.

This kid will crush people's throats for a hobby in 40 galactic years time.

Where the hell is the bigger angst of being a slave? Of leaving his mother behind? On the Republic's stance of Slavery?

[Reply #18 on:]

I love Corey Hiams and Corey Feldmen. I also like Candace Cameron. Glad she was on the list.

[Reply #19 on:]

Tatum O'Neal was on that list, too.  Anyone hear she's got a new autobiography out?  It's called, "A Paper Life". 

[Reply #20 on:]

Brady Bunch - REPRESENT!

[Reply #21 on:]

 

Originally posted by Venus:
Dakota Fanning is not on that list! This is an outrage! *throws stuff around in anger*


@Grim: She's in everything cause she's good. She's won quite a few awards. She can do a good job, even if the movie sucks. She was cute in Cat in The Hat and that movie was like the childs version of Gigli.

I think it's because they were talking about sitcoms/movies from the past. Dakota Fanning is still a kid. And in a two decades she'll probably be on the show as # 20-something. Notice a lot of the shows were at least around ten years old.

[Reply #22 on:]

Why do they mention all the kids from "Stand By Me" except River Phoenix?

[Reply #23 on:]

 

Originally posted by Rover:
Why do they mention all the kids from "Stand By Me" except River Phoenix?

I just noticed that. Maybe it's because he never achieved as much success as the others? (Which doesn't make much sense, but in a list like this, I don't really expect much to make sense...)

[Reply #24 on:]

Maybe because the other three didn't die from drug overdoses?

[Reply #25 on:]

What about Dana Plato? Didn't she die of drug overdose? She's on the list. Maybe I'm thinking of someone else, though.

[Reply #26 on:]

No, I'm pretty sure Dana Plato died of an overdose, too.

And, David A, I don't think that that really has anything to do with it. It's not like they only chose stars who kept their distance from drugs or something (if they had, that list would have been a top-ten thing instead of a top-hundred thing). And I don't think dying young had anything to do with it either. I mean, they had the little girl from Poltergeist (Heather O'Rourke) on that list, and she died at age 12 or someplace around there. Granted, she didn't die of a drug overdose, but...

[Reply #27 on:]

And the girl from Different Strokes was a druggie. She died. She was the angel in the show but they said she was written out of it in the 8th season because she got pregnant. She died at 35.