alwaystrue
09-17-2011, 07:40 PM
In what year did the following events occur: Neil Armstrong's Walk on the Moon, July 20; Woodstock, August 15; and the birth of evangelical preacher Kirk Cameron, October 12?
The answer -- 1969.
The making of Kirk Cameron is a quite interesting story, courtesy of Kirk Cameron's "E! True Hollywood Story" episode (unless otherwise noted).
Kirk's parents, 24-year-old rising middle-school teacher/gym coach and 17-year-old rising high-school graduate Barbara Bausmith, first met each other in 1968; before the year was up, Barbara and Rob realized they were expecting their first baby.
Rather than have their first-born be born out-of-wedlock, Rob and Barbara, per the order of both their parents, married on June 22, 1969.
3 1/2 months later, a boy, Kirk Thomas Cameron, was born on October 12, 1969.
The new family settled in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles, California; by 1974, after the 4th of July holiday, Rob and Barbara were expecting again.
This time, they gave Kirk a baby sister, Candace, who was born on April 6, 1975.
In early 1979, at the request of Barbara's friend and neighbor, Fran Rich (whose 10-year-old son, Adam, shared a birthday with Kirk and was then finishing up his 2nd season on the hit 1970s family dramedy series "Eight Is Enough"), Barbara began taking 9-year-old Kirk and 3 1/2-year-old Candace out on acting auditions; before his 10th birthday, Kirk auditioned for a Count Chocula commercial, and walked away with the job.
By 1982, 12-year-old Kirk graduated to bit parts on television programs, including an episode of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" spin-off Lou Grant and a short-lived sitcom adaptation of the hit 1969 Disney movie "Herbie, the Love Bug."
That same year, 7-year-old Candace made her small-screen debut on the hit hospital drama "St. Elsewhere," guest-starring as the daughter of St. Eligius hospital doctor Peter White (Terence Knox).
In early 1983, 13-year-old Kirk landed his 1st regular series role on a drama series for the ABC Television Network called "Two Marriages," which lasted just a single season despite featuring future teen idol C. Thomas "Tommy" Howell.
In Fall 1984, just shy of his 15th birthday, Kirk auditioned for a part on a situation comedy pilot titled "Growing Pains," which was created by aspiring writer Neal Marlens, who based the show on a true story--his own--growing up in Long Island, New York as a teenager more than a decade earlier, where Neal's mother was a psychiatrist and Neal's dad was managing editor of the local newspaper, New York Newsday.
Neal rechristened his real-life family the Seaver family (after Neal's baseball idol Tom Seaver) and also switched parental roles, with dad Jason Seaver serving on the show as an at-home psychiatrist in the show's setting of Long Island, New York and mom Maggie Seaver became a reporter for the fictional Long Island Herald.
Over 150 men auditioned for the part of Jason Seaver before writer, songwriter, & actor Alan Thicke (born Alan Jeffrey on March 1, 1947 in Kirkland Lake, Canada, whose biological father, Bill Jeffrey, left the family when Alan was very young; his mother, Mary, married an old flame, airplane doctor Brian Thicke, who eventually gave him a little brother, Todd, now a writer for the hit TV game show "America's Funniest Home Videos") landed the part in March 1985, just after celebrating his 38th birthday.
32-year-old Joanna Kerns (born Joanna DeVarona on February 12, 1953 in San Francisco, California) auditioned for the part of Maggie Seaver before being put on hold until the network found the actor to play Jason Seaver; Joanna eventually landed the part.
15-year-old Tracey Gold (born Tracey Fisher on May 16, 1969 in New York City, New York, whose sister, Melissa "Missy" Gold, played the part of Katie Gatling on the hit 1970s sitcom "Benson") auditioned for the part of Carol Seaver--and initially was passed over, before the network picked 15-year-old Elizabeth Ward to play Carol for the pilot.
9-year-old Jeremy Miller (born on October 21, 1975 in West Covina, California) landed the part of the youngest Seaver kid, Ben.
With casting in place, cameras rolled on the pilot for "Growing Pains," which was taped in April 1985 and picked up by the ABC Television Network for the Fall 1985 season.
However, Elizabeth Ward was cut from the series, with Tracey Gold, who had earlier auditioned, walking away with the role of Carol for the series, and all of Elizabeth's scenes being reshot with Tracey in her place.
"Growing Pains" made its debut on September 24, 1985 on the ABC Television Network.
Although the show struggled in the ratings at first, after creator Neal Marlens quit in January 1986 and the show was retooled by Dan Guntzelman, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Marshall, ratings climbed to #17 by the end of its rookie season.
That summer, viewers tuned in to see the show for the first time after not seeing it the previous season, but by the time "Growing Pains" began its 2nd season in September 1986, 16-year-old Kirk Cameron was a bona-fide teen idol, but simultaneously, not long after celebrating his birthday that year (per his 2008 memoir "Still Growing," co-authored with his friend Lissa Halls Johnson), Kirk began experiencing real-life "Growing Pains" after his parents sat him & Candace down after his birthday party told them that they were getting divorced.
The news of his parents' divorce came just months after 11-year-old Candace had been cast in a situation comedy pilot called "Full House" in July 1986, with a pilot tape date for March 1987, just a month before Candace's 12th birthday that April.
The following Summer, after filming wrapped on the 2nd season of "Growing Pains," 17-year-old Kirk Cameron was cast opposite Dudley Moore (born on April 19, 1935 in Dagenham, England; died on March 27, 2002 in Plainfield, New Jersey, aged 66, of pneumonia after a battle with Progessive Supranuclea Palsy) in a movie for Tri-Star Pictures (folded into Columbia Pictures by 2004) called "Like Father, Like Son," where Kirk was cast as Chris Hammond, the son of Dr. Jack Hammond (Dudley), a hospital surgeon.
One day, after a scientific mix-up thanks to Chris's friend Trigger (Sean Astin), Jack and Chris suddenly switch brains; the film was a box-office hit upon its release later that year.
During a break from filming "Like Father, Like Son," per his 2008 memoir "Still Growing," Kirk was invited by his then-girlfriend, aspiring actress Leanna Creel (born on August 27, 1970 in Los Angeles, California), to attend her local Church where her father served as pastor. Soon afterwards, Kirk admittedly sat in his parked car in nearby Van Nuys, California and said to himself, pertaining to his parents' divorce, "If there's a God, I need to know."
Afterwards, Kirk became a born-again Christian. Eventually, his parents reconciled and eventually remarried.
Meanwhile, though ratings for Candace's show "Full House" were not so high upon the show's debut on September 22, 1987 on the ABC Television Network, the show eventually caught on with viewers thanks to the Olsen Twins (born on June 13, 1986 in Los Angeles, California), who played the infant sister, Michelle Tanner.
In Summer 1988, after his 17-year-old character Mike Seaver graduated from Thomas E. Dewey High School, 18-year-old Kirk Cameron graduated high school in real life from Chatsworth High School, a public school he attended every 4th week during break from filming "Growing Pains" (as did Candace starting in 1989, before she graduated in 1993).
Soon after graduating high school, per his memoir "Still Growing," 18-year-old Kirk bought his first house from the money he earned on "Growing Pains" (by this time $10,000 per show's taping, along with 10,000 fan letters every week sent to him by girls his age).
Soon after selling it, the house burned down the following year.
In 1989, just shy of his 20th birthday, Kirk met and fell in love with 25-year-old aspiring actress/model Nancy Mueller (born on December 4, 1963 in Buffalo, New York), who was cast on "Growing Pains" at the start of the show's 5th season being taped as Kate MacDonald, a potential love interest of Kirk's character--a role that soon transitioned into real life for both.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Candace began dating 12-year-old Dustin Neil Diamond (born on January 7, 1977 in San Jose, California), who played Samuel "Screech" Powers on NBC's Saturday-morning sitcom "Saved by the Bell" (per TV.com)
2 years after their first meeting, on July 20, 1991, 27-year-old Nancy and 21-year-old Kirk were married in Nancy's hometown of Buffalo, New York in a private ceremony attended by immediate family of both parties only, a fact which upset his colleagues and employers because they weren't even sent an invitation to the wedding.
Before their wedding, Kirk called the President of the network, stating that Guntzelman, Sullivan, and Marshall were "pornographers" (sadly, partially correct, as Marshall pled guilty in early 2010 to possession of child pornography, earning a 7-year prison term).
Soon after they quit, despite the fact that it was renewed for Season 7, ABC decided that Season 7 of "Growing Pains" would be the last.
Simultaneously, "Growing Pains" was moved from its comfortable Tuesday-night timeslot of 8:30 p.m. to Saturday nights at 8 p.m. after "Who's the Boss?"
A 16-year-old kid named Leonardo DiCaprio (born on November 11, 1974 in Los Angeles, California) was cast as Luke Brower, a homeless teen taken in by the Seavers.
Despite that ratings for "Growing Pains" were #27 out of 102 prime-time network shows at the end of its 7th season, its final episode aired on April 25, 1992 on the ABC network.
In 1995, the same year Candace's "Full House" was canceled by ABC due to its being too pricey to produce, 25-year-old Kirk was cast in a self-titled sitcom pilot created by fellow former teen idol Scott Baio ("Happy Days" and "Charles in Charge") that lasted 15 months on the WB Television Network from August 23, 1995 - November 10, 1996.
The following year, after over a year of dating, 21-year-old Candace and 22-year-old Russian hockey player Val Bure (dubbed the Pocket Rocket) married on June 22, 1996, 9 days after Val's 22nd birthday--and 27 years to the day after her parents first got married.
In early 2011, 35-year-old Candace revealed in her memoir, "Reshaping it All" (co-authored with her friend, Darlene Schacht), that when the cameras stopped rolling on "Full House" for the 192nd and final time, she began battling Bulimia, an eating disorder which, as opposed to Anorexia, occurs with the patient eating the food but throwing up instead of swallowing the food. Now at a healthy weight, Candace lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
In 1996, Kirk and Nancy adopted the first of their 4 adopted children, Luke (now age 15).
1 year later, Val and Candace learned they were expecting their 1st child, a girl, Natasha, who was born the following August. They have since become the parents of 2 boys, Lev (age 11), and Maks (age 9) and have homes in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, in early 2000, months after his 30th birthday, Kirk retired from acting (after completing the first "Growing Pains" movie and the first "Left Behind" movie) and embarked on a new career as a preacher, delivering the Gospel the way Jesus did as told in the Bible.
Months after 9/11, in early 2002, 32-year-old Kirk teamed up with 52-year-old minister/author Ray Comfort (born December 5, 1949 in Christchurch, New Zealand) to combine their ministry, rechristening the ministry "Living Waters."
In 2009, Candace, age 34, came out of retirement from acting and began appearing on the ABC Family drama series "Make It or Break It," renewed for Season 3 in Fall 2011.
Kirk came out of acting retirement only 4 times (the 2 "Left Behind" sequels, the 2nd "Growing Pains" reunion film, and the 2008 movie "Fireproof") in the last 10 years.
Today, as he approaches his 42nd birthday, Kirk and Nancy celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on July 20, 2011. In addition to their 4 adopted children, Kirk and Nancy have 2 biological children--10-year-old Olivia Rose and 8-year-old James Thomas.
Kirk and Nancy primarily live in Agoura Hills, California, though they also have a home near Jonesboro, Georgia when Kirk isn't working on his ministry.
The answer -- 1969.
The making of Kirk Cameron is a quite interesting story, courtesy of Kirk Cameron's "E! True Hollywood Story" episode (unless otherwise noted).
Kirk's parents, 24-year-old rising middle-school teacher/gym coach and 17-year-old rising high-school graduate Barbara Bausmith, first met each other in 1968; before the year was up, Barbara and Rob realized they were expecting their first baby.
Rather than have their first-born be born out-of-wedlock, Rob and Barbara, per the order of both their parents, married on June 22, 1969.
3 1/2 months later, a boy, Kirk Thomas Cameron, was born on October 12, 1969.
The new family settled in the San Fernando Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles, California; by 1974, after the 4th of July holiday, Rob and Barbara were expecting again.
This time, they gave Kirk a baby sister, Candace, who was born on April 6, 1975.
In early 1979, at the request of Barbara's friend and neighbor, Fran Rich (whose 10-year-old son, Adam, shared a birthday with Kirk and was then finishing up his 2nd season on the hit 1970s family dramedy series "Eight Is Enough"), Barbara began taking 9-year-old Kirk and 3 1/2-year-old Candace out on acting auditions; before his 10th birthday, Kirk auditioned for a Count Chocula commercial, and walked away with the job.
By 1982, 12-year-old Kirk graduated to bit parts on television programs, including an episode of the "Mary Tyler Moore Show" spin-off Lou Grant and a short-lived sitcom adaptation of the hit 1969 Disney movie "Herbie, the Love Bug."
That same year, 7-year-old Candace made her small-screen debut on the hit hospital drama "St. Elsewhere," guest-starring as the daughter of St. Eligius hospital doctor Peter White (Terence Knox).
In early 1983, 13-year-old Kirk landed his 1st regular series role on a drama series for the ABC Television Network called "Two Marriages," which lasted just a single season despite featuring future teen idol C. Thomas "Tommy" Howell.
In Fall 1984, just shy of his 15th birthday, Kirk auditioned for a part on a situation comedy pilot titled "Growing Pains," which was created by aspiring writer Neal Marlens, who based the show on a true story--his own--growing up in Long Island, New York as a teenager more than a decade earlier, where Neal's mother was a psychiatrist and Neal's dad was managing editor of the local newspaper, New York Newsday.
Neal rechristened his real-life family the Seaver family (after Neal's baseball idol Tom Seaver) and also switched parental roles, with dad Jason Seaver serving on the show as an at-home psychiatrist in the show's setting of Long Island, New York and mom Maggie Seaver became a reporter for the fictional Long Island Herald.
Over 150 men auditioned for the part of Jason Seaver before writer, songwriter, & actor Alan Thicke (born Alan Jeffrey on March 1, 1947 in Kirkland Lake, Canada, whose biological father, Bill Jeffrey, left the family when Alan was very young; his mother, Mary, married an old flame, airplane doctor Brian Thicke, who eventually gave him a little brother, Todd, now a writer for the hit TV game show "America's Funniest Home Videos") landed the part in March 1985, just after celebrating his 38th birthday.
32-year-old Joanna Kerns (born Joanna DeVarona on February 12, 1953 in San Francisco, California) auditioned for the part of Maggie Seaver before being put on hold until the network found the actor to play Jason Seaver; Joanna eventually landed the part.
15-year-old Tracey Gold (born Tracey Fisher on May 16, 1969 in New York City, New York, whose sister, Melissa "Missy" Gold, played the part of Katie Gatling on the hit 1970s sitcom "Benson") auditioned for the part of Carol Seaver--and initially was passed over, before the network picked 15-year-old Elizabeth Ward to play Carol for the pilot.
9-year-old Jeremy Miller (born on October 21, 1975 in West Covina, California) landed the part of the youngest Seaver kid, Ben.
With casting in place, cameras rolled on the pilot for "Growing Pains," which was taped in April 1985 and picked up by the ABC Television Network for the Fall 1985 season.
However, Elizabeth Ward was cut from the series, with Tracey Gold, who had earlier auditioned, walking away with the role of Carol for the series, and all of Elizabeth's scenes being reshot with Tracey in her place.
"Growing Pains" made its debut on September 24, 1985 on the ABC Television Network.
Although the show struggled in the ratings at first, after creator Neal Marlens quit in January 1986 and the show was retooled by Dan Guntzelman, Mike Sullivan, and Steve Marshall, ratings climbed to #17 by the end of its rookie season.
That summer, viewers tuned in to see the show for the first time after not seeing it the previous season, but by the time "Growing Pains" began its 2nd season in September 1986, 16-year-old Kirk Cameron was a bona-fide teen idol, but simultaneously, not long after celebrating his birthday that year (per his 2008 memoir "Still Growing," co-authored with his friend Lissa Halls Johnson), Kirk began experiencing real-life "Growing Pains" after his parents sat him & Candace down after his birthday party told them that they were getting divorced.
The news of his parents' divorce came just months after 11-year-old Candace had been cast in a situation comedy pilot called "Full House" in July 1986, with a pilot tape date for March 1987, just a month before Candace's 12th birthday that April.
The following Summer, after filming wrapped on the 2nd season of "Growing Pains," 17-year-old Kirk Cameron was cast opposite Dudley Moore (born on April 19, 1935 in Dagenham, England; died on March 27, 2002 in Plainfield, New Jersey, aged 66, of pneumonia after a battle with Progessive Supranuclea Palsy) in a movie for Tri-Star Pictures (folded into Columbia Pictures by 2004) called "Like Father, Like Son," where Kirk was cast as Chris Hammond, the son of Dr. Jack Hammond (Dudley), a hospital surgeon.
One day, after a scientific mix-up thanks to Chris's friend Trigger (Sean Astin), Jack and Chris suddenly switch brains; the film was a box-office hit upon its release later that year.
During a break from filming "Like Father, Like Son," per his 2008 memoir "Still Growing," Kirk was invited by his then-girlfriend, aspiring actress Leanna Creel (born on August 27, 1970 in Los Angeles, California), to attend her local Church where her father served as pastor. Soon afterwards, Kirk admittedly sat in his parked car in nearby Van Nuys, California and said to himself, pertaining to his parents' divorce, "If there's a God, I need to know."
Afterwards, Kirk became a born-again Christian. Eventually, his parents reconciled and eventually remarried.
Meanwhile, though ratings for Candace's show "Full House" were not so high upon the show's debut on September 22, 1987 on the ABC Television Network, the show eventually caught on with viewers thanks to the Olsen Twins (born on June 13, 1986 in Los Angeles, California), who played the infant sister, Michelle Tanner.
In Summer 1988, after his 17-year-old character Mike Seaver graduated from Thomas E. Dewey High School, 18-year-old Kirk Cameron graduated high school in real life from Chatsworth High School, a public school he attended every 4th week during break from filming "Growing Pains" (as did Candace starting in 1989, before she graduated in 1993).
Soon after graduating high school, per his memoir "Still Growing," 18-year-old Kirk bought his first house from the money he earned on "Growing Pains" (by this time $10,000 per show's taping, along with 10,000 fan letters every week sent to him by girls his age).
Soon after selling it, the house burned down the following year.
In 1989, just shy of his 20th birthday, Kirk met and fell in love with 25-year-old aspiring actress/model Nancy Mueller (born on December 4, 1963 in Buffalo, New York), who was cast on "Growing Pains" at the start of the show's 5th season being taped as Kate MacDonald, a potential love interest of Kirk's character--a role that soon transitioned into real life for both.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Candace began dating 12-year-old Dustin Neil Diamond (born on January 7, 1977 in San Jose, California), who played Samuel "Screech" Powers on NBC's Saturday-morning sitcom "Saved by the Bell" (per TV.com)
2 years after their first meeting, on July 20, 1991, 27-year-old Nancy and 21-year-old Kirk were married in Nancy's hometown of Buffalo, New York in a private ceremony attended by immediate family of both parties only, a fact which upset his colleagues and employers because they weren't even sent an invitation to the wedding.
Before their wedding, Kirk called the President of the network, stating that Guntzelman, Sullivan, and Marshall were "pornographers" (sadly, partially correct, as Marshall pled guilty in early 2010 to possession of child pornography, earning a 7-year prison term).
Soon after they quit, despite the fact that it was renewed for Season 7, ABC decided that Season 7 of "Growing Pains" would be the last.
Simultaneously, "Growing Pains" was moved from its comfortable Tuesday-night timeslot of 8:30 p.m. to Saturday nights at 8 p.m. after "Who's the Boss?"
A 16-year-old kid named Leonardo DiCaprio (born on November 11, 1974 in Los Angeles, California) was cast as Luke Brower, a homeless teen taken in by the Seavers.
Despite that ratings for "Growing Pains" were #27 out of 102 prime-time network shows at the end of its 7th season, its final episode aired on April 25, 1992 on the ABC network.
In 1995, the same year Candace's "Full House" was canceled by ABC due to its being too pricey to produce, 25-year-old Kirk was cast in a self-titled sitcom pilot created by fellow former teen idol Scott Baio ("Happy Days" and "Charles in Charge") that lasted 15 months on the WB Television Network from August 23, 1995 - November 10, 1996.
The following year, after over a year of dating, 21-year-old Candace and 22-year-old Russian hockey player Val Bure (dubbed the Pocket Rocket) married on June 22, 1996, 9 days after Val's 22nd birthday--and 27 years to the day after her parents first got married.
In early 2011, 35-year-old Candace revealed in her memoir, "Reshaping it All" (co-authored with her friend, Darlene Schacht), that when the cameras stopped rolling on "Full House" for the 192nd and final time, she began battling Bulimia, an eating disorder which, as opposed to Anorexia, occurs with the patient eating the food but throwing up instead of swallowing the food. Now at a healthy weight, Candace lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
In 1996, Kirk and Nancy adopted the first of their 4 adopted children, Luke (now age 15).
1 year later, Val and Candace learned they were expecting their 1st child, a girl, Natasha, who was born the following August. They have since become the parents of 2 boys, Lev (age 11), and Maks (age 9) and have homes in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and Los Angeles.
Meanwhile, in early 2000, months after his 30th birthday, Kirk retired from acting (after completing the first "Growing Pains" movie and the first "Left Behind" movie) and embarked on a new career as a preacher, delivering the Gospel the way Jesus did as told in the Bible.
Months after 9/11, in early 2002, 32-year-old Kirk teamed up with 52-year-old minister/author Ray Comfort (born December 5, 1949 in Christchurch, New Zealand) to combine their ministry, rechristening the ministry "Living Waters."
In 2009, Candace, age 34, came out of retirement from acting and began appearing on the ABC Family drama series "Make It or Break It," renewed for Season 3 in Fall 2011.
Kirk came out of acting retirement only 4 times (the 2 "Left Behind" sequels, the 2nd "Growing Pains" reunion film, and the 2008 movie "Fireproof") in the last 10 years.
Today, as he approaches his 42nd birthday, Kirk and Nancy celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on July 20, 2011. In addition to their 4 adopted children, Kirk and Nancy have 2 biological children--10-year-old Olivia Rose and 8-year-old James Thomas.
Kirk and Nancy primarily live in Agoura Hills, California, though they also have a home near Jonesboro, Georgia when Kirk isn't working on his ministry.