Joanie from Happy Days Broke, Living in Trailer Park

[FreddyE1977]

Apparently Erin Moran (Joanie from Happy Days/Joanie Loves Chachi) has been evicted from her
home and is living in a trailer park in Indiana.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...ark-happy-days_n_1574160.html?ref=celebrities

Sad story. I give her a lot of credit for taking care of her ailing mother-in-law. But would like to see her in
better circumstances for sure.

 

[ShawnHill1]

I know she was one of the parties that sued CBS/Paramount for Happy Days royalties, and just the other day, the judge ruled in favor for her and other castmates (Anson Williams, Don Most, Marion Ross, and the estate of Tom Bosley) that they can go to trail to recieve their share of DVD royalities. Hopefully for her sake, she can get share of the royalties, and get back on her feet.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

This is a sad story, but not an uncommon one in Hollywood. How many times have we read about former television actors who made six figure salaries, or millions of dollars, ending up broke?

The first question that came to my mind is what happened to the money Moran made during her years on television? Maybe she wasn't pulling down the bucks Henry Winkler and Ron Howard were making, but she had to be paid more than you and I will ever see per paycheck. Perhaps this is why Moran joined other former "Happy Days" cast members in the recent lawsuit involving residuals from merchandising; a lawsuit by the way Moran and the others lost, although the case is now heading to court. But remember that this legal action will be a costly venture for Moran and the other actors versus a multi-billion dollar organization that has the deep pockets to hire the best legal minds in the country. So this case could drag out for years with appeals.

There were also numerous stories reported over the years that following the end of "Happy Days" and "Joanie Loves Chachi" Moran virtually disassociated herself from both shows having nothing to do with former cast members.

Maybe Sean Penn can give the Hollywood establishment the finger, but Moran is no where close to Penn when it comes to popularity and especially box office star power.

 

[nocomradio]

I suspect it will come out in the wash, that there was a manager or PR person who was the real recipient of all the paychecks, as was the case so many times in days past regarding celebrities. They walked away with the money and the working star ended up with next to nothing. Not sure how those situations ended up that way in the first place, but many did seem to follow that model and have no really good end.

 

[Mark Giardina]

With a few exceptions most child actors end up leaving show business by the time they become adults. There are also numerous examples of where greedy parents or shady agents have managed to manipulate most of the money made by child actors into their own pockets.

Then there are those child actors who grow up with plenty of money but instead of wisely investing it, or just putting some away in the bank, they blow it on expensive cars, wild parties, or illegal drugs.

As for Erin Moran, after Happy Days went off the air she virtually dropped off the face of the Earth when it came to appearing on TV or in the movies on a regular basis.

One would think that Ms. Moran would be receiving residuals from the reruns of Happy Days. If not then she had one hell of a crappy agent representing her.

 

[brian4]

So sorry to read about Moran. But I wonder was it a deadly combination of everyone taking her money including family members and agents. At one point, she (and Scott Baio) were the hottest pair on television. Did she receive a pay increase?

Prior to Happy Days, I remember seeing Moran in an episode during the last season of My Three Sons.

 

[bpatrick]

Yet another case of that tragic occupational hazard, the kid
actor who is unable to continue his/her success into adulthood.
Elsewhere on this board, some of you were talking about Lauren
Chapin and one of you mentioned that Rusty Hamer committed
suicide (and whatever happened to Angela Cartwright, who was
red-hot during her years on "The Danny Thomas Show"?). Sometimes
I think Erin Moran's co-star, Ron Howard, is one of the few exceptions
to the rule; Patty Duke is another. There are some who try to stay in
the limelight, like Maureen McCormick and her autobiography or Danny
Bonaduce as a radio talk-show host, but I think these, too, are rare.

And the other day I ran across an article from a 1970s TV Guide about
Lisa Gerritsen, who played Phyllis Lindstrom's daughter on "The Mary Tyler
Moore Show." She, too, seems to have disappeared, although I thought
she was a pretty talented kid.

But there's no telling how many of these kids were bilked by unscrupulous
agents and the like; it might be worth an investigation.

 

[firepoint525]

I remember seeing Moran appearing as a celebrity juror on Style Court a few years back. (I'm not even for sure if that show is even still on! ) But it seemed to me (even then) that she had aged beyond her years. (Most of the celebrity jurors on that show were b-listers anyway. I remember that Tiffany (the '80s singer) had also been a celebrity juror.)

 

[Mark Giardina]

Wasn't there a law passed in California many years ago that was named after the late actor Jackie Coogan which stated that a certain percentage of a child actor's earnings must be put into an escrow account until that child reaches a certain age?

Coogan, who many of you might know, was a child actor during the silent movie era. (He co-starred with Charlie Chaplin in one movie). Anyways Coogan made a fortune as a child actor but his parents squandered the money and Coogan ended up with nothing when he reached legal age.

If the "Coogan Law" is still on the books than child actor's earnings are suppose to be protected.
However once the child actor reaches 18 or 21, then what they do with their money is their own business.

Someone mentioned Rusty Hamer and the taking of his own life. Apparently Hamer, like many child actors, found it next to impossible to get work in show business once he became an adult. His demise is tragic ....but some actors find it difficult not to be in the lime light after so many years of being in the spotlight.

Angela Cartwright quit acting to concentrate on her family.

Sherry Jackson, who also had a role on Make Room for Daddy most famous role after leaving the Danny Thomas show was a guest shot on Star Trek.

 

[The Voice of Reason]

Wasn't there a law passed in California many years ago that was named after the late actor Jackie Coogan which stated that a certain percentage of a child actor's earnings must be put into an escrow account until that child reaches a certain age?

From Wickipedia:

The California Child Actor's Bill (also known as Coogan Act or Coogan Bill) is a law applicable to child performers, designed to safeguard a portion of their earnings for when they enter adulthood.

The original Bill was passed in 1939 by the State of California in response to the plight of Jackie Coogan, who earned millions of dollars as a beloved child actor only to discover, upon reaching adulthood, that his parents had spent almost all of his money. Since then, it has been revised a few times, most recently on January 1, 2004. [1]

"California's current law that regulates minors' entertainment contracts is codified in sections 6750-53 of the Family Code and section 1700.37 of the Labor Code. Even though the current law is based on the previous law, there are some differences. For example, the current law extends the scope of minors' entertainment contracts that the superior court can approve to include contracts pursuant to which a minor renders services as an 'actor, actress, dancer, musician, comedian, singer, or other performer or entertainer, or as a writer, director, producer, production executive, choreographer, composer, conductor, or designer.' Further, the superior court may approve contracts that involve the transfer of intellectual property." (Thom Hardin, "THE REGULATION OF MINORS' ENTERTAINMENT CONTRACTS: EFFECTIVE CALIFORNIA LAW OR HOLLYWOOD GRANDEUR?"1998 La Verne Law Review, Inc.)

The law requires the child's employer to set aside a portion of the child's earnings in a trust fund. This bill has been further updated stating that 15% of the money earned by the child actor is solely theirs, and unauthorized use by the parents is considered, by law, stealing.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Wasn't there a law passed in California many years ago that was named after the late actor Jackie Coogan which stated that a certain percentage of a child actor's earnings must be put into an escrow account until that child reaches a certain age?

Coogan, who many of you might know, was a child actor during the silent movie era. (He co-starred with Charlie Chaplin in one movie). Anyways Coogan made a fortune as a child actor but his parents squandered the money and Coogan ended up with nothing when he reached legal age.

If the "Coogan Law" is still on the books than child actor's earnings are suppose to be protected.
However once the child actor reaches 18 or 21, then what they do with their money is their own business.

Someone mentioned Rusty Hamer and the taking of his own life. Apparently Hamer, like many child actors, found it next to impossible to get work in show business once he became an adult. His demise is tragic ....but some actors find it difficult not to be in the lime light after so many years of being in the spotlight.

Angela Cartwright quit acting to concentrate on her family.

Sherry Jackson, who also had a role on Make Room for Daddy most famous role after leaving the Danny Thomas show was a guest shot on Star Trek.

Most "teen" stars are over 18 or were over 18

 

[RadioStarOne]

Angela Cartwright is doing some interesting art these days. It can all be told by searching her out on the net. Angela known for her acting roles in Make Room for Daddy, Lost In Space and others. Angela's work is a fusion of photography, painting and altered art. angelacartwright.com

 

[bpatrick]

Sounds a bit like a soap kid: Jada Rowland, who began playing Amy Ames
on "The Secret Storm" at age 11 in 1954 and continued the role with a
break or two until the show's cancellation in 1974. During one of her hiatuses
she wrote a children's book. After a stint on "The Doctors" (1974 until it was
canceled in 1982) she began illustrating children's books, which is her primary
interest today.

 

[LKellerIII]

I'm not trying to judge Erin Moran, but I believe that by the 70s, rerun residuals were mandatory. The child stars of the 50s and 60s did not get residuals. So the Cartwright girls, Rusty Hamer, Jay North, and similar child actors from that era were sh*t out of luck. But not Erin Moran.

My father was an animator, and one of his bosses did many of the voices on Rocky and His Friends, the Bullwinkle Show, and other Jay Ward shows. That's all he ever did - no other acting or voice-over work. But from the late 60s to mid-80s, he made $400 - $500 a week on rerun residuals. If you take 1970 as a base year, that's over $2,000 per week in 2011 dollars. Though he wasn't truly rich, he had a large and beautiful house, and a few expensive cars.

So it seems to me that a co-star on a successful 70s sitcom receiving residuals ought to have been able to live comfortably if she managed her money responsibly - at least into the 90s, when Happy Days reruns more or less left the air.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Moran wasn't screwed out of her money by an unscrupulous agent, or something similar. But as far as I know, Donnie Most and Anson Williams (Ralph & Potsie) have continued to make decent money in show-biz - and they didn't even get a spin-off show. They've taken small parts as actors, directed TV shows, produced, written TV scripts, and done other work that may not be glamorous, but has kept them compensated better than average Americans.

 

[nocomradio]

I was pondering some of this today between my usual occupational duties, and I thought about a few other things:

Many of the actors who start as children or very, very young adults don't seem to have a lot of guidance. At least not positive guidance, anyway. They usually have parents who seem to love living vicariously thorough their now famous children and enjoying the income stream that flows readily. Add to that, that with an actual scheduled work day, a child probably has little time to actually be a child. Then there is the limited or non-existent education they receive as a result of being employed in some cases full-time, and you end up with a person who is not at all prepared for adulthood in any way. They've seen a very closed world with many of the views they've been exposed to coming from as little as one source. Once they are no longer "cute" or desirable as a commodity, they are then cast aside and they don't know how to cope.

Some do survive and thrive through this process, but many don't.

 

[brian4]

Sounds a bit like a soap kid: Jada Rowland, who began playing Amy Ames
on "The Secret Storm" at age 11 in 1954 and continued the role with a
break or two until the show's cancellation in 1974. During one of her hiatuses
she wrote a children's book. After a stint on "The Doctors" (1974 until it was
canceled in 1982) she began illustrating children's books, which is her primary
interest today.

Useless trivia, but actress/mother to the stars Jada Pinkett-Smith was named after Jada Rowland.

 

[rnigma1]

My father was an animator, and one of his bosses did many of the voices on Rocky and His Friends, the Bullwinkle Show, and other Jay Ward shows. That's all he ever did - no other acting or voice-over work. But from the late 60s to mid-80s, he made $400 - $500 a week on rerun residuals. If you take 1970 as a base year, that's over $2,000 per week in 2011 dollars. Though he wasn't truly rich, he had a large and beautiful house, and a few expensive cars....

Bill Scott?

 

[bpatrick]

I was pondering some of this today between my usual occupational duties, and I thought about a few other things:

Many of the actors who start as children or very, very young adults don't seem to have a lot of guidance. At least not positive guidance, anyway. They usually have parents who seem to love living vicariously thorough their now famous children and enjoying the income stream that flows readily. Add to that, that with an actual scheduled work day, a child probably has little time to actually be a child. Then there is the limited or non-existent education they receive as a result of being employed in some cases full-time, and you end up with a person who is not at all prepared for adulthood in any way. They've seen a very closed world with many of the views they've been exposed to coming from as little as one source. Once they are no longer "cute" or desirable as a commodity, they are then cast aside and they don't know how to cope.

Some do survive and thrive through this process, but many don't.

Johnny Whitaker's dad freely admitted he didn't mind having his son as the breadwinner. OTOH, there's Rance Howard (Ron and Clint's dad), an actor himself with first-hand knowledge of the ups and downs of the business. If his sons started showing signs of an overactive ego he'd come down on them, reminding them in no uncertain terms that their fame might not last forever (in Ron's case, little did he know, but he was doing what a parent ought to do in that situation). And I'd have to say that Ron Howard grew up to be one of the most unpretentious adults in the business.

 

[Braves2005]

The story about Erin Moran reminds me of something I read about Susan Richardson from Eight Is Enough not too long ago. Her story is totally sadder than Moran's plight and she was in poor health living in a trailer park. She has also aged quite a bit from her years on Eight Is Enough.

Moran's story is no different than any other child stars from the 1970's and 1980's and some of whom are no longer with us (Gary Coleman, Dana Plato, Lani O'Grady for starters), and most child stars fell into drugs (Leif Garrett and Adam Rich for starters) which possibly might be why they're broke and don't have anything to fall back on.

The biggest and saddest story was and is still Anissa Jones from Family Affair and her death. After Family Affair, her parents were involved in a bitter divorce and she had to live with her brother and she fell into the trap of drugs. It wasn't very long after she got her money that she was dead due to a drug overdose and I believe it was the beginning of child stars going bad and squandering their money due to drugs and/or alcohol.

 

[LKellerIII]

My father was an animator, and one of his bosses did many of the voices on Rocky and His Friends, the Bullwinkle Show, and other Jay Ward shows. That's all he ever did - no other acting or voice-over work. But from the late 60s to mid-80s, he made $400 - $500 a week on rerun residuals. If you take 1970 as a base year, that's over $2,000 per week in 2011 dollars. Though he wasn't truly rich, he had a large and beautiful house, and a few expensive cars....

Bill Scott?

Correct.