The Bieber of His Day: Kirk Cameron

[mickeymouseclubfan]

Justin Bieber, who celebrated his 20th birthday earlier this month (albeit on a DUI charge and related circumstances), has spent the last decade (almost) gracing teen magazine covers on such teen magazines as BOP, Tiger Beat & YM alongside the likes of One Direction, Selena Gomez (his girlfriend) & Miley Cyrus.

But let's go back even further, to 1987: THIS particular teen idol was earning $50,000 a week (including 10,000 fan letters per week) at age 17; his 12-year-old sister, Candace, began finding fame in her own right on the hit '80s sitcom "Full House" (premiering that Fall) and 27 years later is now an Evangelical Preacher based in Los Angeles: Kirk Cameron.

Born on October 12, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, Kirk Cameron was raised in the San Fernando Valley section of Los Angeles, where he & sister Candace (born on April 6, 1975 in Los Angeles, California) were raised by dad Rob, a now-retired middle-school Math Teacher/Gym Coach, and mom Barbara, a homemaker who eventually became Kirk & Candace's "momager."

In early 1979, Barbara's neighbor friend, Fran Rich (whose 10-year-old son, Adam, was born in Brooklyn, New York on October 12, 1968 and was then in his 2nd season on TV's hit '70s family dramedy "Eight is Enough"), persuaded Barbara to take 9-year-old Kirk & 3-year-old Candace out to acting auditions.

Kirk booked his first commercial later that year for Count Chocula; in 1980, Candace, aged 5, made her commercial debut in a never-aired Mutual of Omaha Commercial.

By 1982, Kirk, aged 12, & Candace, aged 7, graduated to bit parts on prime-time network TV, with Kirk appearing on a later episode of the '70s Newspaper drama "Lou Grant" & Candace appearing on a 1983 Christmas Episode of the '70s sitcom "Alice" among other roles of the era.

2 years later, just prior to his 15th birthday in 1984, Kirk, then a high-school freshman, auditioned for the role of eldest teen son Mike Seaver on a sitcom pilot titled "Growing Pains." Kirk became the 1st person cast, and joining him by March 1985 were 38-year-old Alan Thicke (born on March 1, 1947 in Kirkland Lake, Canada) as Patriarch Dr. Jason Seaver, an at-home Psychiatrist; 32-year-old Joanna De Varona (born on February 12, 1953 in San Francisco, California) as Matriarch Maggie Seaver, a newspaper reporter returning to work after a 15-year hiatus; 15-year-old Elizabeth Ward (born c. 1969) as teen daughter Carol Seaver; and 9-year-old Jeremy Miller (born on October 21, 1975 in West Covina, California) as youngest son Ben Seaver.

The pilot episode taped in April 1985 and was picked up to series by execs at the ABC Television Network, which greenlit the show; however, Elizabeth Ward was fired, and replacing her was 16-year-old Tracey Gold (born Tracey Fisher on May 16, 1969 in New York City, New York), whose younger sister, Missy (born on July 14, 1970 in Great Falls, Montana) was starring on the '70s sitcom "Benson" at the time.

"Growing Pains" made its debut at 8 P.M. ET/PT on the ABC Television Network (then recently bought by Capital Cities) on September 24, 1985.

Although ratings were poor during its rookie season, "Growing Pains" quickly became a ratings juggernaut after Kirk Cameron (by this time aged 16) became a bona-fide teen idol; the following Summer, during a break from filming "Like Father Like Son" alongside Dudley Moore (April 19, 1935 - March 27, 2002) and fellow '80s teen idol Sean Astin (born Sean Duke on February 25, 1971 in Santa Monica, California), Kirk Cameron, aged 17 (per his 2008 memoir "Still Growing"), admittedly sat in a parked car in Van Nuys, California and asked himself, pertaining to his parents' recent divorce, "If there's a God, I NEED to know." After his family was invited to a local Church, Kirk Cameron became a born-again devout Christian; on October 2, 1987, 10 days before his 18th birthday, "Like Father Like Son" was released to great critical and financial success--no doubt helped by Kirk's growing teen-idol popularity.

Despite his newfound idolotry, however, not ALL was happy-go-lucky for Kirk at that age; in addition to his parents' divorce, Kirk was also the target of a Homosexual, college-aged man who used Kirk's name & likeness to lure a teenage boy into being raped at gunpoint (per "Still Growing").

On the May 4, 1988 telecast of "Growing Pains," 17-year-old Mike Seaver earned his High-school Diploma; that June, 18-year-old Kirk Cameron ALSO earned his High-School Diploma (graduating from Chatsworth High School).

In September 1989, Kirk Cameron, just weeks shy of his 20th birthday, met and fell in love with aspiring actress/model Nancy Mueller (born on December 4, 1964 in Buffalo, New York) after Nancy (under the stage name Chelsea Noble) was cast as Kate MacDonald, a potential love interest for Mike--a role that soon transitioned to real-life for Kirk Cameron, and in February 1991, Kirk & Nancy were engaged; on July 20, 1991, in a private ceremony with immediate family only in attendance, 21-year-old Kirk Cameron & 26-year-old Nancy Mueller were married in Nancy's hometown of Buffalo, New York.

Meanwhile, in Summer 1990, Candace Cameron, aged 15, made a telefilm titled "Camp Cucamonga," appearing alongside a whose-who of fellow '80s sitcom actors including John Ratzenberger (born on April 6, 1947 in Bridgeport, Connecticut) of "Cheers," Sherman Hemsley (February 1, 1938 - July 24, 2012) of "The Jeffersons," and a cameo by the former attorney general of Richard Milhous Nixon: G. Gordon Liddy (born on November 30, 1930 in Hoboken, New Jersey); a scene from this film had Candace & a group of girls being videotaped by a group of boys (including Jaleel White, who was born on November 27, 1976 in Pasadena, California) taking a Naked Shower, and although the Nudity was Hidden (nothing more than legs down & shoulders-face up), the girls (Candace included) were obviously naked.

In September 1991, after "Growing Pains" producers Dan Guntzelman, Mike Sullivan & Steve Marshall quit the show over an incident where Kirk called Bob Iger (then-President of ABC, now owned by Disney), calling the trio "pornographers" (sadly correct with Steve Marshall, who pled guilty in 2010 to Child Porn charges and is in his 4th of a 7-year Prison term).

Subsequently, Kirk was deemed "too old" to be a teen idol, and thusfore, 16-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio (born on November 11, 1974 in Los Angeles, California) was cast as Luke Brower, a homeless teenager taken in by the Seaver family; however, despite "Growing Pains" finishing Season 7 as #27 out of 102 prime-time network shows (after ABC moved "Growing Pains" to Saturday nights at 8 P.M. ET/PT), ABC canceled "Growing Pains" after 7 successful seasons due to Kirk's then-newfound religious beliefs in God.

Meanwhile, in early 1994, months after her 1993 graduation from Chatsworth High School, Candace, then aged 18, met and fell in love with 19-year-old Hockey Player Val Bure (born on June 13, 1974 in Moscow, Russia), who came to the U.S. at age 17, 2 1/2 years earlier, alongside his big brother Pavel (born on March 19, 1971 in Moscow, Russia) to play Hockey; after a 2-year courtship, Val, aged 22, & Candace, aged 21, were married on June 22, 1996.

On February 24, 1995, ABC, citing the series being too expensive to produce, canceled "Full House" after 8 successful seasons; the cancellation left Candace jobless for the 1st time in 15 years, and after a handful of guest spots on such hit shows as the Disney sitcom "Boy Meets World" & telefilms such as "NightScream" (where she again appeared naked via a side-boob shot), Candace, aged 25, retired from acting to start a family.

That same year, Kirk, months after celebrating his 30th birthday, also retired from acting and began a new career as an Evangelical Preacher.

Today, Kirk, aged 44, & Nancy, aged 49, are the proud parents of 6 children (their 4 oldest of whom are adopted) & reside in Agoura Hills, California; Candace, aged 38, & Val, aged 39, are the proud parents of 3 teenagers and reside in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

[robyrob]

[Zoneboy]

I did some research last September after you made the following post under the name ringadingding.

Originally Posted by ringadingding

I could talk until my Face turns blue and mention that Kirk Cameron was born on October 12, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, USA, even though his IMDB entry FALSELY lists his date of birth as October 12, 1970.

Kirk Cameron

Originally Posted by ringadingding

I wont kid myself and say that ALL actors shave years off their ages to be younger for roles, but it IS a common trait; another example being Brice Beckham, from Mr. Belvedere, who graduated high school in 1993, at age 18, thus he was born on February 11, 1975 in Long Beach, California, USA, 2 months before Kirks younger sister Candace was born on April 6, 1975.

James Brice Beckham

Candace Cameron

Originally Posted by ringadingding

Likewise with Jeremy Miller, who graduated high school in 1994, thus he was born on October 21, 1975 in West Covina, California, USA.

Jeremy Miller


I regret to say that I don't have actual copies of the birth certificates for the people in question because I'm not paying $80 to obtain them. However, it's highly unlikely that the CABI would get their info wrong on even one of these birth records not to mention all 4 and I'm extremely confident that the source I've provided is more reliable than the E! True Hollywood Story.


California Birth Index

CABI-Wikipedia

What Is The California Birth Index?
The California Birth Index, or CABI, is a database that stores records of births in California from 1905 to 1995. The CABI was compiled by the California Office of Health Information and Research. The records are not stored in the form of birth certificates, but rather abstracts of birth certificates.
Before 1905, birth registrations were not required. They were sometimes recorded at a county level and sometimes listed in newspapers. Recording marriages was much more common but not required until 1949.
What Information Does The CABI Contain?
The CABI does not contain the same information as a birth certificate. The only information the CABI contains is: date of birth, full name, county of birth, gender, and the mother’s maiden name. Some online versions, such as the one at Family Tree Legends, only contain the full name, birth date, gender, and county of birth.