The Cauldron

Issue date: 2/26/07 Section: Feature

Sitcom stars of the 1980s and 1990s have too often been seen in The National Enquirer, Star, and Us Weekly. We have all heard about "Full House" alumni Mary-Kate Olsen, who struggled with an eating disorder, and Jodie Sweetin, who became addicted to methamphetamine, but what happened to those who haven't been in the spotlight for drugs, alcohol, or anorexia? The Cauldron gets the scoop on the former stars you've been curious about after the sitcoms came to an end.

---

The Child Star Curse

Jamie Foxworth became famous when she starred as Judy Winslow, the younger sister on "Family Matters." After her three-season stint on the sitcom, she claimed her parents spent her trust fund and was left broke. She resorted to pornography, starring as Crave.

Her pornographic films include "My Baby Got Back 29," "More Black Dirty Debutantes 32," and "Hot Girlz." She eventually earned enough money doing porn and quit the business.

She recently appeared on Oprah to public voice her experience in the porn industry and to share her mistake with young viewers.

"It was, to me, the quickest money," Foxworth told Oprah. "I was so na've, and I was drinking."

As a message to young girls, she said, "Try to go for your dreams. Don't try to be just what you see on TV."

---

Urkel turns Writer

The most memorable dork in the '80s and '90s was Steve Urkel on "Family Matters." Jaleel White mastered the catchphrase "did I do that?" for his role as Urkel.

Doing a 360 from his days as Urkel, he graduated UCLA Film School in 2001 and is now "just a regular guy who simply can't get enough NBA hoops." He kept a blog on NBA.com's Blog Squad and has written about the 2005 NBA Finals.

See what White has to say about basketball at NBA.com/ blog/blog22.html.

---

Who would've thunk it?

Best known as the youngest brother Marcus "Mark" Taylor on "Home Improvement," Taran Noah Smith married at age 17, only two years after the sitcom's end. His wife, Heidi Van Pelt, is 16 years his senior.

In 2001 he battled his parent's for his $1.5 million trust fund, which he eventually gained control of in 2002 when he turned 18. Recently, he and his wife welcomed son Nolan Eric Smith in October 2005 and opened a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles.

---

Boy Meets World Alumni

Who could ever forget the nerdy Stuart Minkus from "Boy Meets World" who was always being tortured by Cory and Shawn during the first season?

Today, Lee Norris has one up on Cory and Shawn. He graduated from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C. in 2004. After graduation he appeared on the WB's hit television show "One Tree Hill" as "Mouth" McFadden. Now in it's fourth season, "One Tree Hill" can be seen Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on The CW.

He will also be starring as Mike Mageau (Young) in the film "Zodiac" alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Mark Ruffalo. "Zodiac" hits theaters March 2, but pick up a pass in The Cauldron office, UC 10, for a free screening March 1.

Another "Boy Meets World" alum, Danielle Fishel, who starred as Topanga Lawrence, has gone on to bigger and better things since the show ended in 2000.

Fishel starred as Marla in "National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze" and "Dorm Daze 2." She dated Lance Bass prior to his coming out, which she spoke publicly about on "The Tyra Banks Show" in 2006, saying she didn't know he was gay when they dated. She also announced on 'Tyra' that she lost 20 pounds on the NutriSystem weight-loss program and hopes to become a spokesperson for them.

---

MIA

Brandon Call, who starred as J.T. Lambert on "Step by Step," was randomly attacked by a gunman after leaving the "Step by Step" set in September 1996. He was shot in both arms, but made a full recovery.

Today he resides in Vista, California where he reportedly owns and operates a gas station and car wash. He is married with two children, but has not been in the public spotlight since his role as J.T. and no current photos are to be found.

---

R.I.P.

Glenn Quinn, who played Mark Healy, Becky Conner Healy's husband on "Roseanne," was a "rebel without a cause" on Roseanne. In 1999 he starred as Allen Francis Doyle on the FOX show "Angel."

He tampered with heroin and in December 2002 he overdosed while visiting a friend in North Hollywood, California. He was 32 years old.

---

Starring as Mike Seaver on "Growing Pains," Kirk Cameron was just another loveable teenager for girls to swoon over in the pages of Tiger Beat and Teen Beat.

On the "Growing Pains" set, Cameron met and fell in love with his wife, Chelsea Noble, who starred as Mike Seaver's girlfriend, Kate MacDonald. He has been married for 13 years and has six children from ages 2 to 8.

When he was "about 17 years old" he converted to evangelical Christianity and is now an avid follower of Christ.

He joined fellow evangelist Ray Comfort to develop The Way of The Master Ministry, "an interdenominational ministry whose purpose is to teach Christians how to unleash the power of biblical evangelism-empowering believers to share the gospel simply and effectively…the way Jesus did.

He also co-hosts the television program "The Way of the Master" with Comfort and has a two-hour radio show on the Sirius Satellite Network.

---

Six turned into a "10"

Jenna Von Oy, who starred as motor mouth Six LeMeure on "Blossom," is working on her country music career and appeared in a seductive photo spread in a 2004 issue of Maxim magazine.

---

Rudy Huxtable: Not so innocent

Keshia Knight Pulliam played little Rudy Huxtable on "The Cosby Show." To rid her "Rudy" image, she posed in a risqué six-page spread in a 2004 issue of Black Men magazine and starred in Chingy's music video for "One Call Away." Most recently, rumors have surfaced that she has a cocaine addiction that goes back many years.

---

The Wonder Years was a coming-of-age sitcom starring Danica McKellar as Winnie Cooper, Kevin Arnold's love interest. After "The Wonder Years," McKellar graduated summa cum laude from UCLA in 1998 and starred in the 2002-03 season of "The West Wing." She currently stars in webisodes of Inspector Mom on the Lifetime website LMN.tv.

Danny Pintauro, young Jonathan Bower from "Who's the Boss?" publicly announced he was gay in a 1997 interview with The National Enquirer. He has since had roles in stage plays.

---

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools