Why didn't Anissa get any more gigs?

[Tankeryanker]

Did she hate acting or was nobody knocking on her door wanting to hire her?

The pics of her online as a teen are not that flattering. Did she not bloom into adulthood?

Was she washed up and that is why she did the dope at high levels?

[Mr. Television]

She hated acting and wanted nothing more to do with it.

[TMC]

Anissa was pretty burned out from show business by the time that Family Affair ended. She basically spent her entire childhood working, even when Family Affair wasn't shooting. To make matters worse, she was never allowed to "grow up" on or off screen.

Here's some further insight:

Anissa Jones spent her entire childhood working. Even when Family Affair was not shooting, her greedy mother made her perform a never-ending round of personal appearances. She was made to drag around a Mrs. Beasley doll until she was thirteen. Fed up with TV, she turned down a role in Brian Keith's next sit-com.

Anissa became a teenage runaway. She shoplifted, did time in juvenile hall, and developed a habit for recreational drugs. When she gained control of her TV earnings, she and her brother rented a pad and embarked upon a drug-fueled lifestyle. After ingesting a combination of cocaine, PCP, Seconal, and Quaaludes, Anissa turned up dead in the bedroom of a teenage friend. The coroner said it was the most severe overdose he had ever seen. She was only eighteen.

Her brother also died of a drug overdose, at age 24 in 1984.

[biffbronson]

It seems that for some child actors they really want to get on with going to a University etc.

This is my favorite photo of Anissa as a teen / young adult, so sad that her life ended so early:



I think she looks nice in that one.

It's no surprise that some candid photos are a little unflattering, and most of us have had bad experiences with driver's license / ID photos!

[paul.austin]

Yes. I'd also actually like to see more normal pictures of JonBenet when she was being her real self instead of the princessy stuff where you wonder if someone is holding all her shorts and pants to ransom!

[paul.austin]

Originally Posted by Tankeryanker

Did she hate acting or was nobody knocking on her door wanting to hire her?

The pics of her online as a teen are not that flattering. Did she not bloom into adulthood?

Was she washed up and that is why she did the dope at high levels?

If one needs must be technical, she only got a half-year of adult-hood. Not really time to bloom...

[paul.austin]

I also think Ms. Jones would not have gone on a public racist and homophobic rant or supported the person who had a bit part in Home Alone 2.

(Thee yew on thee seeswor, Thindy!)

[biffbronson]

Here are a few compelling photos in which we see Anissa in later years:



High School I.D., 10th grade, fall of 1973. Age 15. (The building is
currently WISH Academy H.S., maybe someone can tell us if there
was a change of name etc.) So interesting to see, remarkable:


This pretty braided hairstyle would've been appropriate for the final
season or so of Family Affair, and if the series had gone on:

[Tankeryanker]

According to Kathy Garver, Anissa DID want to keep acting. It was hollywood that didn't want her.

"By the time the show ended, Anissa was 13, and although she wanted to keep acting, she found it challenging to land the types of roles she wanted. She auditioned for “The Exorcist,” but the director thought the audience might be confused watching “Buffy” being possessed."

https://news.amomama.com/197335-kath...ic-ways-m.html

[paul.austin]

You have to wonder how Jones would have reacted to SMG.