Get Reel: Acting Isn't Always Child's Play

[Zoneboy]

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The death of Corey Haim last week adds yet another name to the lengthy list of child actors and actresses who failed to make the transition as adult stars.

An even shorter list consists of child actors and actresses who made the successful transition and lived lives unmarred by scandal, tragedy or "social missteps." The latter can include everything from multiple marriages to behavior considered by the etiquette police to being out of the mainstream.

Let's take a look throughout film history at child stars and see how many made the successful transition and avoided the gossip rags and police blotters in the process.

SHIRLEY TEMPLE: Unquestionably the most famous child star of all time, yet her movie career as a teen fizzled and in 1950 she retired from films at the venerable age of 21. Though she later had her own television shows, Temple became better known as a congresswoman and ambassador in her post-Hollywood career.

JACKIE COOGAN: Unquestionably the most famous child star of silent films, appearing in such classics as "The Kid" with Charlie Chaplin, yet he never recaptured that magic as an adult. Off screen, Coogan sued his mother and stepfather for squandering his film earnings, and California would later enact protection laws for child performers. Today, Coogan is better known as playing Uncle Fester on the 1960s television show "The Addams Family."

Two other silent film child stars, Baby Peggy, born Peggy-Jean Montgomery, and Baby Marie, born Helen Alice Myres, also failed to make a splash as adult stars. When they grew up, Baby Peggy became a book publisher, historian and author as Diana Serra Cary, and Baby Marie became a costumer as Marie Osborne.

JACKIE COOPER: Much more successful as a child star, his resume includes the "Our Gang" films and "The Champ" (1931). Cooper played mostly supporting roles in films and on television shows as an adult. He later worked as a television executive, and also trained and raced horses. Today, Cooper is better known for playing editor Perry White in the "Superman" film series starring Christopher Reeve.

VIRGINIA WEILDER: Popular as a child star in the 1930s and 1940s and so brilliant as Dinah Lord in "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), her sister, Tracy, was played by Katharine Hepburn. Weilder's film career, however, was over at 17 and she died of a heart attack at 42.

MARGARET O'BRIEN: Anyone who doesn't cry along with Margaret O'Brien's Tootie Smith as Judy Garland sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" in "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944) has no heart. I'm tearing up just typing this sentence. Though fabulously successful as a child actress, O'Brien failed to matched that prestige as an adult.

JUDY GARLAND: One of the few child stars who became more famous as an adult. However, to say her life off screen was a happy one would be like saying the atom bomb only makes a peep when it explodes. Drug problems, financial problems, suicide attempts, five husbands. Garland died at 47 of an accidental drug overdose, cutting short the life of one the most talented stars to ever grace this galaxy.

MICKEY ROONEY: Another child actor who successfully made the transition to adulthood, though his star never rose as high in later years as his frequent co-star, Miss Garland. That said, he may hold the record for the longest career in show business. He made his debut with his parents in vaudeville at 17 months old and today, at 89, he's still acting.

Nominated for an Academy Award four times, including a best supporting actor nod at 59 for "The Black Stallion" (1979), Rooney makes the Energizer Bunny look like a sloth on downers. The former Joe Yule Jr. has also been married eight times, and one of his wives was involved in a murder-suicide.

DEANNA DURBIN: A Garland contemporary with an amazing voice, Durbin became dissatisfied with her adult roles. Audiences apparently didn't much care for them either. Durbin retired from singing and acting at 28 in 1949. Retired from public life, she now lives in France.

FREDDIE BARTHOLOMEW: Immensely gifted, this British-born child star made a name for himself in such 1930s films as "David Copperfield" and "Captains Courageous." He was abandoned by his parents while he was a baby but once he became wealthy -- are you sitting down? -- they sought to gain custody. A lengthy and costly legal battle followed. Though Bartholomew continued acting as a teen, his career had begun its descent, and he retired from movies in the 1950s. He died at 67.

ELIZABETH TAYLOR: Like Garland, Taylor rates as a child star who became more famous as an adult. And like Garland, her off-screen life reads like it was invented for the tabloids. Multiple marriages, multiple illnesses, multiple tragedies. For example, her third husband, Mike Todd, died in a plane crash. In her prime, she was breathtakingly beautiful. She's also a very talented actress -- as her two Oscars attest. Just try to forget her role in "The Flintstones" movie.

RODDY McDOWALL: A Taylor contemporary, he also made a successful transition as an adult actor, though typically in supporting roles, most notably in "The Planet of the Apes" films. You just can't see his face under all the simian makeup. Fans of the "Batman" TV series will recognize him as "The Bookworm."

DEAN STOCKWELL: Add him to the short list of child actors who made a successful transition as an adult, though I don't even think his agent would list Stockwell as a major star in his advanced age. That said, he did receive an Oscar nomination as the Mafia boss in "Married to the Mob" (1988).

PEGGY ANN GARNER: Memorable in "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1945), Garner wasn't able to duplicate her juvenile success as an adult. She acted on television and the stage, and worked as a real estate agent.

BRANDON DE WILDE: Nominated for an Oscar for his role as the boy in "Shane," De Wilde might have fashioned a more successful career as an adult actor if tragedy hadn't intervened. He died at 30 from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident in 1972.

PATTY McCORMACK: Though she's had steady work as an adult -- she played Pat Nixon in "Frost/Nixon" (2008) -- McCormack is still best known for her chilling role as an 8-year-old sociopath in "The Bad Seed." (1954).

NATALIE WOOD: Tragedy also cut short the career of this lovely, talented actress. She drowned in a boating accident at 43 in 1981. Her child credits include "Miracle on 34th Street." As a teen, she received an Oscar nomination for "Rebel Without A Cause," and as an adult she received Oscar nominations for "Splendor in the Grass" and "Love With the Proper Stranger." She also starred in the Oscar-winning "West Side Story," though her singing voice was dubbed by Marni Nixon.

ROBERT BLAKE: Another "Our Gang" alumni, Blake made the transition as an adult in such movies as "In Cold Blood" and on the TV show "Baretta." However, his acting career may have trouble getting jump-started after he was found liable for the wrongful death of his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, in 2005. Four years earlier, he was tried and acquitted of her murder. He has since filed for bankruptcy.

JANE WITHERS: The 1930s certainly spawned their fair share of child stars whose careers went south when they got older. Withers retired from films in her early 20s after marrying a wealthy Texas oil man. When the marriage failed, Withers remarried and returned to acting, garnering a supporting role in "Giant" (1956). Today, she's better known as Josephine the Plumber in the Comet cleanser TV ads.

KURT RUSSELL: OK, here's one of the few child actors who made the successful transition to adulthood, whose career is still going strong and whose personal life hasn't become "People" magazine fodder. About as controversial as Russell gets is his longtime relationship with actress Goldie Hawn. The two have never married. Shocking!

HAYLEY MILLS: She was much more successful as a child actress in such popular Disney fare as "Pollyanna" (1960) than as an adult.

TATUM O'NEAL: Another child star who became a flameout as an adult thanks to the usual suspects: drugs. The daughter of actor Ryan O'Neal and ex-wife of tennis star John McEnroe, Tatum still holds the distinction of being the youngest competitive Academy Award winner, bringing home an Oscar statuette at the tender age of 10 for "Paper Moon" (1973).

BROOKE SHIELDS: Let's just say that "Pretty Baby" is a better movie than "The Blue Lagoon."

JODIE FOSTER: In terms of talent as a child and talent as an adult, only Garland surpasses Foster, and that assessment can be debated. The major difference is Foster hasn't become a poster child for Dysfunctions 'R' Us. Her name, unfortunately, got dragged through the press when John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981 in an effort to impress Foster. He failed. Foster has also kept a tight lid on her private life -- the nerve! -- spawning curiosity about her sexual orientation and who fathered her two sons. She's a two-time Oscar winner and one of my favorite actresses.

DREW BARRYMORE: That this granddaughter of John Barrymore is still alive today, let alone starring, directing and producing movies, defies belief. Her youth wasn't misspent, it was bankrupted. Alcohol abuse, drug abuse, a suicide attempt, rehab stints, all before she turned sweet 16. Then there were her two very short marriages. Yet Drew has turned her life around, and if she doesn't win an Oscar before she shuffles off this mortal coil, I'll be shocked.

LINDSAY LOHAN: Will Lindsay, another troubled soul, be able to pull off a Drew? The jury is still out on that one. Interestingly, she made a name for herself as a child actress in remakes of films starring Hayley Mills ("Parent Trap") and Jodie Foster ("Freaky Friday"). "Mean Girls" is all hers, though. Sadly, so is "I Know Who Killed Me."

KIRSTEN DUNST: From "Interview with the Vampire" to the "Spider-Man" movies, Dunst made the successful transition from child to adult star. Then there was the rehab stint, reportedly for depression.

CHILD STARS WHO DIED WAY BEFORE THEIR TIME: Heather O'Rourke (at 12, "Poltergeist" films), Brad Renfro (at 25, "The Client") and River Phoenix (at 23 "Stand By Me").

CHILD STARS WHOSE CAREERS AS ADULTS (OR TEENS) ARE ON THE RISE: Natalie Portman, Abigail Breslin, Christina Ricci, Anna Paquin, Dakota Fanning, Elijah Wood, Shia LaBoeuf, Sean Astin, Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Freddie Highmore.

CHILD STARS WHOSE CAREERS AS ADULTS ARE ... HECK, WHO KNOWS?: Haley Joel Osment ("The Sixth Sense"), Macauley Culkin ("Home Alone"), Wil Wheaton ("Stand By Me"), Jerry O'Connell (Stand By Me"), Keisha Castle-Hughes ("Whale Rider"), Thora Birch ("Hocus Pocus"), Gaby Hoffmann ("Field of Dreams"), Henry Thomas ("E.T."), Lukas Haas ("Witness"), Tina Majorino ("When a Man Loves a Woman"), Heather Matarazzo ("Welcome to the Dollhouse") and Haim's friend, Corey Feldman ("Time After Time").

Who knows why some thespians fly and others flounder when they get older? Talent, luck, drive, better guidance, Wheaties.

This writer is certain he's left a famous child star or two or three off this list. Just note that most of these thespians gained fame before they were teenagers. The focus is also on child stars who first gained fame on film and not television. Ron Howard, though he appeared in films as a child, is better known as Opie on the TV show "The Andy Griffith Show."

I'm also sure readers might want to enlighten me about the thespians in the "Heck, Who Knows" category, telling me their careers should be placed on the rise or in a mausoleum.