’Net Junkie
It seems unusually cruel on the part of Lady Luck to anoint a child with fame and fortune, only to snatch it back once adulthood comes calling. Some, like Gary Coleman and Dustin Diamond (Screech from "Saved by the Bell"), could only watch as their earnings were squandered away by their parents. Others like Jaimee Foxworth, whose pint-size character was nixed from the cast of "Family Matters" without explanation after season four, turned to a different brand of entertainment as an adult by appearing in such X-rated fare as "Sugar Walls 29," "Adventures of Peeping Tom No. 28" and "Booty Talk 20: Super Fine Sistas!" Life’s not rosy
for ex-kid starsFor more amazing tales of the fortunes (and misfortunes) of young celebrities, the address is members.tripod.com/ ~former_child_star. Among those meeting an untimely demise were River Phoenix, Anissa Jones (Buffy of the original "Family Affair") and Dana Plato of "Diff'rent Strokes," whose two arrests for forgery and theft at a video store were among her lowest moments. Appearing in a Playboy spread and the straight-to-video softcore flick "Different Strokes" were considered highlights of her career as an adult.
Remember the two Coreys? Corey Haim, 26, has all but retired from show business, having filed for bankruptcy in 1997, while Corey Feldman, former star of "Gremlins" and "The Lost Boys," has been popping up on the "Howard Stern Show," promoting his new band, Corey Feldman's Truth Movement.
Feldman isn't alone in his pursuit of the rock 'n' roll dream. Danielle Brisebois of "All in the Family" and "Archie Bunker's Place" was signed to Epic Records during the '90s and also worked with one-hit wonders New Radicals. Brian Bonsall, whom you may remember as the newest edition to the Keaton family household in "Family Ties," has a punk band in Colorado called Late Bloomers, while "older sister" Tina Yothers tours the country in a seven-piece rock ensemble called Jaded (www.jadedonline.com).
You may have recognized Frederick Koehler, who played cute little Chip on "Kate & Allie," and former child actor Brian Bloom of "As the World Turns" as hardened criminals in HBO's prison drama "Oz." Unfortunately, Koehler's character OD'd on heroin in season three.
Scott Baio from "Happy Days" and "Charles in Charge" has been rather quiet as of late, but considering all those "Baywatch"-caliber hotties the over-the-hill actor still attracts, he could probably care less.
’Net Junkie drops every Monday.
Contact Shawn "Speedy" Lopes at slopes@starbulletin.com.