The Most Tragic Stories of Hollywood Child Stars

use your hands that's like a baby's toy of course not some of my best friends are boat it's no secret that Hollywood's child stars suffered from a lifetime of issues mostly substance issues and problems in their personal lives maybe not all of them but definitely the majority and today we're counting down the six most tragic stories of 1960s child stars oh no please I'll talk my name is Wednesday Adam number six Jack wild While most people in Hollywood struggle for a nomination their entire careers Jack Wild received an Academy Award nomination at the age of 16 officially the young actor is listed as the fourth youngest actor to receive a nomination for best supporting role the role was that of Artful Dodger in Oliver the 1968 British musical drama Jack was born September 30th 1952 to A working class family in Lancashire England together with his older brother Arthur Jack would work odd jobs to make ends meet when he was around 8 years old the family moved to Middle sex for a better life and a fresh start there Jack began working with the local Milkman and was paid five Shillings for his work Jack had absolutely no formal training as an actor but he'd always had a knack for entertainment look Master this was discovered by talent agent June Collins mother of genesis's Phil Collins while Jack was playing football with the local boys in the open field in fact June had a knack for discovering young Talent like Jack back and enrolled both brothers in an independent stage School in Acton West London initially the Wild Brothers had no plans of pursuing acting full-time but they decided it was a good way to support their family in 1964 the boys were cast in Lionel Barts Oliver Arthur played the titular role and Jack played Charlie Bates the boys had previously played roles in several West End theater Productions and Jack had also been cast in several small roles for children's entertainment shows those and his perform performance in Oliver were enough to convince Carol Reed of Jack's skills as an actor this was back in 1968 and enough to change the course of Jack's whole life his role as Artful Dodger earned him three high-profile nominations including an Academy Award a Golden Globe and a British Academy of film and television Arts Award for best supporting actor his work was noticed by several high-profile writers and directors in Hollywood including the Croft Brothers don't give up Freddy I'll save you now Jimmy come back Jimmy who thought Jack would be best suited for the lead role in their new children's show HR puffing stuff Jack would later reprise his role for several other features on Children's shows including a television film things were going well for Jack Wild for a while but when did they start to go wrong jack had reportedly started drinking shortly after he started attending the West End theater the fame from Oliver only fueled his growing addiction by the age of 21 Jack had become an alcoholic IC he'd reportedly spent every penny he made to fuel his addiction after Oliver Jack started working on other projects such as melody in 1971 with his Oliver co-star Mark Lester and Flight of the doves with Ron Moody besides the fact that he was a talented actor much of Jack's success was attributed to his boyish good looks he was considered a teen heartthrob and received several teen roles even when he was in his 20s something Jack hated things started to turn around for Jack in 197 six when he met his first wife gayner Jones the two had been childhood sweethearts and had actually met when they were 12 at stage School the marriage lasted for 9 years and was described by Jack as some of the happiest days of his life unfortunately Gainer left him when his alcoholism turned excessive after losing his wife and being considered too old for the roles he'd usually get Jack started drinking more and more eventually he ran out of all the money he'd made as a child star with nowhere else left to go he turned back to live with with his retired father for a few years his alcoholism had gotten so bad by that point that Jack suffered three cardiac arrests in his life and had to have Extended Stays at the hospital in 1983 Jack was diagnosed with diabetes this didn't stop his alcoholism either in fact at the height of his addiction Jack would have half a bottle of vodka every day along with three bottles of wine even when Jack joined a group for alcoholics he bought a bottle of wine to celebrate being sober for 6 weeks it seemed like there was no escape from the disease Jack finally managed to find help and get sober in 1989 but the damage had been done years later when he developed oral cancer Jack blamed his alcoholism for it the truth was that he'd only traded one addiction for another drinking for smoking it didn't help that Jack had lost work as an actor by that point the former child actor met and married his second wife Clare Harding in 2005 but their marriage was short-lived because of Jack's progressing illness he'd been diagnosed with oral cancer in 2001 and by the time he'd been married Jack had received several rounds of chemotherapy and had his tongue and voice box removed too one year after getting married Jack passed away at the age of 53 his story could have been an inspirational tale from rags to riches but instead turned into a cautionary tale of what could happen when you spend your money on poor choices number five Lisa luring American actress Lisa luring Rose to super stardom after starring as Wednesday Adams in the sitcom The Adams Family from 1964 to 19 66 her role as a child actress cemented her place in the horror Niche enough to be cast in slasher films such as iced Savage Harbor and blood Savage unfortunately her work following The Adams Family success was limited to b-grade slasher films this was largely in part because of the poor choices she made along the way what were those choices besides problems in her personal life Lisa suffered from alcoholism much like her mother the American actress was born in the Marshall Islands on February 16th 1958 both her parents worked in the United States Navy but divorced shortly after her birth Lisa was left to be raised by a single mother who relocated the family first to Hawaii and then to Los Angeles growing up Lisa would recount how her mother was rarely home because of her long hours having to raise a family by herself wasn't easy and the young actress's mother often resorted to drowning her problems and worries in alcohol Lisa's mother's dependence on alcohol eventually started an addiction her mother died in 19 1974 but Lisa had already been estranged from her mother by then and had actually moved out of the family home in 1973 at the age of 15 to be with frell fber the two had married when Lisa was 15 and had a daughter however a year later when she was 16 Lisa filed for divorce her next marriage came in 1981 with Doug Stevenson a performer on Columbia broadcasting systems search for tomorrow again Lisa left her husband just a year later after they had their daughter the real trouble started when Lisa married her third husband adult Entertainer Jerry Butler the former child actress had already withdrawn from the life of Glamour after being turned down from one role in the next she met Jerry while working as a makeup artist on the set of his adult film Tracy's big trick their marriage was Rocky because Lisa was allegedly unhappy with Jerry's persistence on working in the adult film industry eventually he began going to shoots in secret a fact that was brought up in their dine NBC interview Jerry claimed that he couldn't imagine any other line of work and Lisa said it' be the end of her marriage for many people it seemed like Lisa had been trying to stay in the Limelight by talking about their failing marriage they later went on Sally Jesse Raphael show where the couple discussed their marriage troubles eventually the pair decided to part ways in 1992 and Jerry decided to retreat from public life for good Lisa would later marry for a fourth and final time in 2003 to Graham rich but this marriage was short-lived too after that there wasn't much news coming in about Lisa luring at the most she was remembered for being one of the last surviving cast members of The Adams Family she briefly appeared to reprise the role in Halloween with the new Adams Family in 1977 but the height of her career was done and over with in 2023 Lisa died at the age of 64 and was one of the last remaining cast members from the original The Adams Family her death was due to a stroke aggravated by hypertension and her chronic smoking her story is just one of the six most tragic stories of 1960s child stars number four Jay north Jay North's career as an actor started in 1958 at the age of 7 when he was cast as the original Dennis in the television show based on the widely popular comic strip by Hank Ketchum Dennis the Menace Jay reprised the role for a total of seven years and it catapulted him to fame the young actor was cast in several television shows feature films and the works for his breakthrough role when he was a child however his his work as Dennis Mitchell was the extent of his career later roles didn't earn him any recognition and defeated Jay decided to retire from working all together in 1988 after retiring Jay decided to set up an organization called a minor consideration with fellow former Child Star Paul Peterson the organization aimed to uncover the ugly truth behind the lives of child actors Jay was born August 3rd 1951 in Hollywood to actress Dorothy little is known about his father and Jay claimed that after his parents separated when he was four he never saw his father again there was no love lost considering his father was an alcoholic Jay's first television role came on the children's show cartoon Express hosted by engineer Bill one of the people who saw the show was Hollywood agent Helen McMillan who was impressed with Jay's appearance he was a photogenic young blonde boy and Helen had the perfect role in mind for him Dennis Mitchell according to Jay his mother resisted Helen's offer for several weeks but eventually relented she thought she was signing her son up for a better life ahead but she didn't know just how tragic things would soon turn out his mother had to work long hours and wasn't able to accompany him on set since Jay was a minor while working on Dennis the Menace he needed onset Guardians at all times the job was given to his Aunt Marie and Uncle Hal Hooper things started to go wrong when the show entered its third season and Jay as most kids would grew tired of the complicated filming schedules when he'd Express his desire to pack up and leave to his aunt and uncle they'd physically verbally and emotionally Ally abuse him he claimed that if he messed up a line his aunt would take him backstage and beat him however he was unable to tell either his mother or his co-stars about the abuse Jay claimed he was afraid his aunt would hurt him more this continued until the show was ultimately cancelled in 1963 Jay managed to find work in the Indian sitcom Maya which propelled him to fame as a teenager and made him a teen heartthrob the damage from all the abuse he'd suffered while filming Dennis the Menace had already been done and Jay started started to withdraw from acting it wasn't entirely for a lack of trying though Jay tried to find work for some time and even joined the United States Navy for a period when he thought acting was a dead end he eventually came back to give it one final shot but ultimately decided his career had already peaked this came with the realization that Hollywood often mistreats young Talent thinking they can abuse them into doing their job and playing the part perfectly Jay was determined that no other child actor should go through what he had and in 1990 after fellow former Child Star Rusty Hammer's suicide Jay decided to start a minor consideration to help and counsel young actors today the former child actor works as a correctional officer in Lake Butler Florida he moved there with his second wife and his three step children after realizing that he wanted a break from City Life and he couldn't be any happier number three Haley Mills there's a lot to be learned from the life and career of Haley Mills and it just proves that child actors are at a higher risk of being abused by the people they trust the English actress was the original actress for Disney's Parent Trap playing the Dual role of twins Susan and Sharon before that she'd won the British Academy of film and television Arts award for promising newcomer in 1959 for Tiger Bay Haley had a long-standing relationship with Disney and had the mega production house to thank for her first Golden Globe win for star of the year in 1961 for paana she was born into a gifted family in 1946 to parents Sir John Mills who was one of the most celebrated actors of his time and Mary Haley Bell a well-respected author her younger sister Juliet Mills is also an actress she'd worked alongside her father on her first ever production Tiger Bay and had received a British Academy of film and television Arts nomination for whistle down the wind which was written by her mother in 1961 Haley was declared Britain star things seem to have been going well for Haley at Disney and she was even awarded the coveted Legacy award so when did things start to go wrong years later in her Memoir Haley admitted that while she was thankful for the opportunity to work with Disney she felt that the production house would severely exploit people she wrote that she knew she wanted out when she'd have to turn down roles just because she was warned they weren't Disney likee this included the starring role in a film titled Lolita according to Haley she felt like she had to move away from Disney to discover her true potential when she turned 20 she decided not to renew her contract with them and in her words refused to become a studio asset things quickly went from bad to worse when Haley the highest paid child actor in the United Kingdom lost most of her money due to a new tax reform this meant she'd be starting from zero Haley had already established herself as a talented actress and finding work was easy for her she started working with Roy bolting someone who was almost 33 years her senior the director had Haley starring in every one of his Productions this raised suspicions that maybe the two were secretly romantically involved d a fact that was eventually proven when the then 20-year-old Haley confirmed they'd gotten married in 1966 their marriage produced one son Christopher Mills but was altogether an unhappy Union Haley would later claim that she wished she'd never gotten married that young the marriage ended in divorce in 1977 and that was her only marriage since 1997 she's been with her partner fose bamji Haley might have found success as an actress in her adult years but the fame was never the same she'd peaked during her Young years and soon realized that the only roles she was suited for were at Disney this proved what she'd said years ago about Disney turning actors and actresses into Studio assets while Haley continued to work in a few productions here and there no major director would hire her for any work this was because everyone still saw her as a child star it also didn't help that her range was limited to Feelgood movies and television shows eventually after one rejection too many Haley decided it was best to say goodbye to her former glory and since then has only been taking up roles as extras her story proves that children's contracts relationships and anything that might affect their future should be monitored especially if they're child actors who haven't seen much of the outside world and now it's time for our subscribers pick we can't talk about the six most tragic stories of 1960s child stars without talking about this young Hollywood actor who found out that becoming a global icon at a young age was more challenging than he thought sure it might have sounded like a dream and it might still be for a lot of people but this icon now an adult wishes he could turn back time and tell his younger self to walk out of the studio and live life like a regular child the hard truth about becoming a famous actor at a young age is that people naturally assume you're older than you are they start to view you as someone who makes a decent living but forget that at the heart of it all you're just a kid this icon grew tired of all the scheduling the back and forth between sets and grew agitated when he was made to repeat lines over and over again for scenes now while some people saw him as someone older than his age his family knew he was still a child and decided to boss him around because they felt like they could years later the icon reminisced about all the abuse he'd endured at the hands of the people he thought he could trust if he messed up lines they'd physically and verbally abuse him in an attempt to make sure he was perfect the former child actor also claimed that the worst part about being a child actor was that the child was never allowed to explore other acting opportunities child actors are confined to that one role and this means they never really get to grow into actual actors that's why this former celebrity claims that several child actors turn to substances to cope with the realization that the world slipped them by in the end if there's anything the former icon wants the world to know about the world of child performers it's that dark things are going on behind their apparently Picture Perfect lives number two Matthew Garber through his very brief but impactful career Matthew Garber left a mark on the world we still talk about the child actor born in 1956 started his entertainment Journey at a young age he rose to Fame in the 60s when he played Michael banks in the 1964 film Mary Poppins the British star lived an envious life when he was on stage and on screen everyone wanted to be like him but things were dark behind the scenes and it wasn't until the actor's untimely death at the the age of 21 everyone realized the truth about what child stars go through on a daily basis in the wake of Mary Poppins Garber reprised his role in another Disney production the three lives of thomasena in 1963 the film just proved what everyone already knew Matthew had both versatility and range again despite his success in the entertainment industry garber's experiences as a child actor were anything but happy memories one of the main issues Garber faced in his early career was the lack of consideration for the well-being of children in the industry production houses wanted to make money and children were too young and naive to realize that they didn't care that the kids were bored tired or wanted out none of that mattered because at the end of the day all they cared about was making money off those kids in Ironclad contracts they didn't even know they were signing child actors like Garber were frequently subjected to long working hours inadequate breaks and limited access to education the demanding schedules often interfered with their normal childhood experiences leaving them with little time to do kids stuff Garber like many child actors faced challenges when he demanded Fair compensation for his work despite the commercial success of Mary Poppins Garber was barely paid anything besides the standard amount the disparities in Pay between adult actors and their younger counterparts were and are to this day alarming it didn't help that there's still a lack of legal protection for child actors this meant that they were often at the mercy of Studio Executives Garber grappled with the pressure to maintain a certain image and expectations of the industry this pressure took a toll on his mental health then as he Grew Older the roles for child actors obviously went away and it wasn't long until the industry's attention shifted elsewhere the lack of opportunities combined with the challenges of growing up in the public eye was enough to kill garber's career the once promising child actor now struggled to find roles that matched the success of his early films and the industry with its Relentless Focus on the next big thing moved on even if Garber was stuck tragically garber's life took a heartbreaking turn when he fell ill with hepatitis while he was filming a project in India on June 13th 1977 the former Child Star passed away leaving behind a legacy that continues to shed light on the challenges faced by child actors in the entertainment industry in retrospect his story is a reminder of the need for systemic changes in the treatment of child actors while garber's contributions to film film remain cherished by fans worldwide his life also serves as a cautionary tale about the impact of the industry on the lives of child stars number one leaf Garrett the sad reality about celebrities who found Fame at a young age is that they grew up to realize how all the adults around them from their parents to Studio execs abused their trust such was the case for leaf Garrett too born on November 8th 1961 Leaf enjoyed Fame at a very young age it was obvious that the kid had a lot of talent and he could charm his way through any role his career started with him becoming a familiar face in several commercials sooner rather than later Studio exec and agents started noticing the young boy's Charisma and scouted him for their big budget Productions today Leif is known for his roles on popular television shows such as Family Affair and Gunsmoke interestingly he was only 5 years old when he auditioned for the roles it's amazing to think about all that talent and potential in Young Leaf the role that earned him a spot in television history however was that of John Caris on three for the road after leaving the world of acting behind leaf found that his true passion was in music in the 70s Leaf transitioned to making music and quickly became a Teen Idol his first studio album was self-titled and featured several chart topping songs it really did seem like Leif was living the dream on the outside everyone was jealous of the young star for finding his footing in Hollywood and in the music industry all before becoming an adult in reality Leif wasn't living the dream he was living a nightmare day and night like many child stars the main issue Leif faced as a child growing up surrounded by cameras was a lack of protection for young performers he would later admit that he found himself at the mercy of adults quite often who'd make decisions on his behalf without asking him or even worried about what he wanted also because Leaf was making more money as a child than many of the adults in his life he was pressured into being picture perfect and never allowed to be just a kid Financial exploitation was another hurdle Leif had to overcome despite the fame and fortune associated with his success Leif Garrett did not always receive fair compensation for his work the contracts and deals in the entertainment industry sometimes favored the adults over the children leaving Young stars like leaf with a fraction of what they deserved the pressure to maintain a certain image and meet the expectations of the industry also took a toll on Leaf's mental health the need to to fit a particular mold made it challenging for him to grow up in a healthy and balanced way the industry's obsession with youth meant that young stars like Leif had to navigate Fame while still figuring out who they were as individuals as Leaf Garrett entered his teenage years the challenges intensified the roles of child actors were limited and the pressure to stay relevant in a competitive industry became overwhelming exploitation often came in the form of unrealistic expectations leading to issues like substance abuse as a way for young stars to cope with the stress Leaf Garrett's story took a tragic turn as he faced personal struggles that overshadowed his earlier successes substance abuse became a significant challenge in his life leading to legal troubles and a decline in his career the exploitation he experienced as a young person in the industry left lasting scars that affected his well-being despite the challenges Le's early achievements showcased A Gifted performer who under different circumstances could have had a different life his life and career serve as an example of the exploitation faced by Young individuals in the entertainment industry thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next one

Channel: Uncovered Files

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Keywords: discovery, unexplained, mysterious, top 10, top 15, space, universe, science, techology, mystery, facts, interesting, discovery channel, discovery plus, scientists discovery, aliens, ufo, terrifying discoveries, top, they discovered, invention, future, galaxy, james webb, elon musk, business, entertainment, Uncovered Files, betelgeuse, space news, universe news, 6 most tragic stories of 1960s child stars, child stars, 1960s child stars, 1960s, tragic stories, 6 most tragic stories

Id: gJVrm7kxHac

Length: 23min 38sec (1418 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 23 2023