• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, August 16, 2024

The stories -- and sometimes the plight -- of former child stars have long been a fascination for many.

It has been this way for generations representing subsequent eras of child stardom, including the late silent-picture era and well into the talkies era of classic Hollywood, and then through the TV decades starting in the 1950s.

Most of the interest stems from unfortunate tales of woe in which precocious child stars with winning smiles and attitudes saw their careers -- and the adulation, money and attention that came with that -- fade away as they grew into adulthood.

A case in point: Gary Coleman. He is the subject of a new documentary titled “Gary” and coming August 29 to Peacock.

The title “Gary” strikes me as too generic to capture the fame and glory of this actor who shot to fame as Arnold Jackson on the NBC mega-sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes” starting at age 10 in 1978.

“Whatchu Talkin’ ’bout!: The Gary Coleman Story” would have been more like it. In an age of TV catchphrases, Coleman’s “Diff’rent Strokes” catchphrase was in a class all its own.

For a time, he was likely the biggest star in America. But after the show ended and he grew up, his livelihood and fame vanished. He died at age 42 in a household accident.

“The 90-minute documentary sheds new light on the star’s life and explores the controversy surrounding his tragic death at age 42,” says Peacock. “Viewers will get insight into Coleman’s lifelong illness and depression, his financial troubles, tumultuous marriage and his heartbreaking demise.”

Interview subjects include his “Diff’rent’ Strokes” co-star Todd Bridges; Coleman’s parents, from whom he was estranged; and his ex-wife.

The world of child stardom gets another look-see in September in “Child Star,” a new documentary coming to Hulu September 17. The director is Demi Lovato, who first worked in television in 2002-04 on “Barney & Friends” starting at age 10.

“ ‘Child Star’ explores the highs and lows of growing up in the spotlight through the lens of some of the world’s best-known former child stars,” Hulu says. 

“This film deconstructs the stages of earlier stardom and looks at the entertainment system over the last century.”  Interview subjects include Drew Barrymore, Kenan Thompson, Christina Ricci, Raven-Symoné and JoJo Siwa.

Not in the same vein, but involving a former child star of great renown, is a new game show called “Flip Side” premiering next month in first-run syndication from CBS Media Ventures.

The show is hosted by Jaleel White, 47, who gained fame as a child playing one of the most indelible sitcom characters in the history of television -- the scene-stealing nerd Steve Urkel on “Family Matters” starting in 1989 at age 14.

I met him at around the time “Family Matters” ended in 1998 and I thought that this was a child star (and by then a young man) who really had his act together.

For a person his age, he had uncanny instincts about comedic acting and about his profession in general that impressed me. I liked him a lot, so when he turns up on TV, I am always glad to see him.

“Flip Side” is a game show that “pits two teams of players against each other to test them on how they think two different groups of people feel about the same issue,” says a press release. “The teams compete for a shot at $10,000 by guessing the top answers based on anonymous surveys.” 

White hosted two seasons of the game show “Total Blackout” and has appeared on many others. Among other achievements, CBS says he set a record for the most points ever scored in the famed bonus round on “Celebrity Family Feud.”

“Child Star” is also the title of one of the greatest books ever published on the subject of child stardom, and one of several that I have read on the topic. It is the autobiography of the most charismatic child star ever seen on screen, Shirley Temple (she was Shirley Temple Black when the book was published in 1988).

Another is “Hollywood’s Children: An Inside Account of the Child Star Era” by Diana Serra Cary. 

Once known as a child performer in silent pictures named Baby Peggy, the adult Cary eventually became a Hollywood historian and author of movie histories focusing on child stardom.

“Hollywood’s Children” is also considered to be one of the best books ever written about the lives of child stars.

Above photo adapted from the front cover of the DVD box for “Diff’rent Strokes: Season Four,” consisting of 26 episodes and available on Amazon.