Lark Voorhies

Lark Voorhies is a former child star best known for her role as "Lisa Turtle" on the early 1990s hit Saturday morning TV show, Saved by the Bell.

Lark was born on March 25, 1974 in Nashville, Tennessee. Her parents pushed her into acting as a young child. She first began acting at the age of two but was so shy that her mother postponed any acting until she was more comfortable doing so. By the time she was 11 years old, her mother began contacting different talent agencies and sent headshots of Lark. Three years later, in 1988, Lark appeared in two episodes of TV's "Small Wonder," alongside fellow washed up celebrities Jerry Supiran and Emily Schulman.

Her appearance on Small Wonder was so well-received that later in 1988 she was cast as Lisa Turtle, one of the co-stars in en ensemble cast in the Disney Channel's Good Morning, Miss Bliss, the precursor to Saved By The Bell. Lisa Turtle was a wealthy fashion-obsessed teen who was constantly hounded and harassed by über-dork "Screech Powers" (played by the greatest washed up celebrity of his generation, Dustin Diamond). The annoying Screech would frequently ask out Lisa Turtle who would, in turn, reject Screech and make jokes at his expense.

Good Morning, Miss Bliss was a failure on cable. However, NBC saw some potential in the show and purchased its rights, made some script changes, and repackaged the show as Saved by the Bell, a Saturday morning show that was a major hit among teenagers and pre-teens. On Saved by the Bell, the Lisa Turtle character was fairly popular with fans of the show. Although never as popular as Mark-Paul Gosselaar's "Zack Morris" or Tiffani Thiessen's "Kelly Kapowski," Lisa Turtle was definitely more popular than the annoying "Jessie Spano" and Screech Powers characters.

In nearly every episode for the first few seasons, Screech unsuccessfully hit on Lisa Turtle. The actor Dustin Diamond apparently has taken offense that his Screech character never got to hook up with Lisa Turtle and is a bit insecure about this.




Lark dated co-star Mark-Paul Gosselaar (and possibly also Mario Lopez) while Saved by the Bell was on the air. Although her character was hounded by Dustin Diamond's character during the show's run, she never dated Diamond off the set, presumably because of Diamond's undesirable looks and the fact that he was always hanging around with his buddy Dennis Haskins.

After Saved by the Bell ended in 1993, Lark struggled to get additional acting work. Lark was an attractive woman and seemed to be a fairly decent actress, so I have to assume that her problems are likely due to being typecast from her role on Saved by the Bell, which is still extremely popular in syndication.

Lark did manage to gain small non-recurring roles during the mid-1990s on TV shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Martin, Family Matters, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Lark was under contract during the mid-1990s for recurring roles on the soap operas Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful, but later turned those roles down when she discovered that she would be shown in sex scenes, which would conflict with her religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness.

Since the mid-1990s Lark has appeared in minor roles in movie flops such as How High and Civil Brand during 2001 and 2002, respectively. Despite not having acted since 2002, she is scheduled to star in the apparently small-budget The Black Man's Guide to Understanding Black Women in 2008. She also owns a small production company and spends her spare time writing screenplays.

In her personal life, she was once engaged to Martin Lawrence. He tastelessly broke off the engagement without even bothering to tell her about it! She found out that the engagement was off when she saw him on the Arsenio Hall Show and he mentioned his engagement to a different woman.

Although Lark was undoubtedly devastated by this development, she did eventually get married in 1996 to a minor actor, Miguel Coleman. The two divorced in 2004. Lark recently got remarried to some guy named Andy Prince in 2007.

Lark has been hounded by rumors that she is a coke-head over the past few years. In 2005, the National Enquirer published a story that alleged that Lark was bipolar and addicted to cocaine. The story alleged that she had been admitted to a Southern California hospital in order to treat cocaine addiction after suffering a nervous breakdown, citing a "friend" of the TV star as the source of the info. Lark's supposed friend claimed, "Poor Lark, she's really in bad shape. She has a terrible drug problem and is bipolar as well. It’s very tough."

Lark was incensed when the National Enquirer article was published and denied all of the claims in the article. In 2006, she sued the National Enquirer for misappropriation, invasion of privacy, and libel, claiming that the story was false and had damaged her career. Her case was eventually dropped a couple months later when a settlement was apparently reached.

Given her stalled acting career, the drug allegations, and the fact that Martin Lawrence broke off his engagement to her on national TV, there can be no doubt that Lark Voorhies is one washed-up celebrity!

 **** Update - May 13, 2012 **** 

Lark Voorhies was recently interviewed by The Yo Show on Yahoo!. She claims to have written and produced a new low-budget movie. She also discussed her experience on Saved By The Bell. Viewers of this clip have been shocked by Lark Voorhies' appearance. Her face looks entirely different and her skin is lighter - she currently bears a strong resemblance the Joker from the Batman movies! 
 

Ralph Macchio

Ralph George Macchio is a former child star best known for his role as "Danny LaRusso" in The Karate Kid.

Macchio was born on November 4, 1961 in Huntington, New York. He began his acting career during the mid 1970s, as star of television commercials for products such as Bubble Yum and Dr. Pepper. Macchio's first big acting role was playing "Jeremy" on the television series Eight Is Enough. In 1983, he appeared in the major motion picture, The Outsiders, as Johnny Cade, a greaser living in Nebraska in the 1950s. Macchio's role was a major one in the hit movie and he received generally positive reviews for his performance.


Macchio's next acting role was the defining one of his career, as Danny LaRusso in The Karate Kid in 1984. Although Macchio was 23 when The Karate Kid came out, he was scrawny and looked like he was about 12 years old at the time. In The Karate Kid, Macchio's character Danny LaRusso was a wimpy kid who moved with his mother to Reseda, California after his father passed away. After LaRusso began dating Ali Mills, the ex-girlfriend (played by Elisabeth Shue) of a local karate champion, Johnny Lawrence (played by perpetual 1980s movie bully, William Zabka), LaRusso is routinely picked on and beaten up by Lawrence and his karate buddies.



Macchio eventually discovers that Mr. Miyagi, the handyman at his apartment building (played by Pat Morita), is a karate expert. Mr. Miyagi took Danny under his wing and taught him karate. By the end of the movie, Miyagi's coaching led LaRusso to win a local karate championship, defeating Johnny Lawrence and his cronies in a tournament. The heart of the story revolved around the close relationship between Miyagi and LaRusso - they were close in a father/son type of way.


After The Karate Kid, Macchio became somewhat of a teen idol of the mid-1980s, despite the fact that he was in his mid-20s at the time. Macchio appeared on the cover of many teen "bubble gum" magazines such as Tiger Beat, 16, and Teen Beat.
Although Macchio received rave reviews for The Karate Kid, he experienced difficulties obtaining meaningful roles afterward. Although he reprised the Danny LaRusso role for The Karate Kid, Parts II and III, his only other decent role in the past 20 years was as "Billy Gambini" in My Cousin Vinny in 1992. However, since 1992, Macchio has been relegated to acting in minor roles in crappy movies and TV shows such as Chicken Soup For The Soul and Popcorn Shrimp.

Although Macchio achieved tremendous success early in his career, his career quickly swirled down the toilet. The likely reason is that Macchio's child-like boyish looks made it far too difficult for people to view him in adult roles. He still looks like a kid, albeit a balding kid, as shown in the photos above. Despite his early success, Macchio couldn't purchase a decent role to save his life now. Accordingly, there can be no doubt that Ralph Macchio is one washed up celebrity!

Jared Rushton

Jared Rushton is a former child star best known for his acting roles in the movies Big and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids.

Rushton was born on March 3, 1974 in Provo, Utah. He broke into mainstream acting as an adolescent, appearing in episodes of the popular TV shows Tales from the Darkside and Cagney & Lacey in 1986. One year later, in 1987, he appeared in the major motion picture, Overboard, as one of the sons of Kurt Russell's star character.

Rushton apparently received decent praise for his young acting roles and was subsequently cast as the childhood friend of the young Tom Hanks character in the hit movie, Big.

Rushton's role in Big was decent-sized and led to a much-larger role in the 1989 Disney flick, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. Rushton played Ron Thompson, the bratty next-door neighbor of Wayne Szalinski (played by Rick Moranis), an eccentric inventor of a secret machine that physically shrinks objects. During the film, Szalinki's children and Rushton's character were accidentally shrunk and battled against all odds until Szalinski could return Thompson and Szalinki's children back to normal size.


Rushton's next major role was in the horribly received Pet Sematary II. The film was a major bomb and has been universally derided as being pure crap.

After Pet Sematary II, Rushton's acting career hit the skids and never recovered. Rushton was relegated to non-recurring bit parts in TV series such as Life Goes On and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, until he apparently gave up acting in 2000. When his acting roles completely dried up, Rushton turned to music to pass the time. Rushton is currently in two bands, Goodbye Effect (formerly Withdrawal) and Deal By Dusk.

As a youth, Rushton was known for his realistic youthful portrayals. Although never a "face guy," Rushton was a fairly normal-looking kid. Unfortunately, Rushton's post-pubescent years have not been kind to him, as Rushton has morphed into a total fat-ass and is practically unrecognizable to fans of Big and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. He apparently developed an addiction to greasy fast food and Hostess Twinkies and Ding-Dongs, as shown in the pictures below:


Despite his successful pubescent acting career, the portly Rushton couldn't buy a role to save his life right now. Accordingly, there can be no doubt that Jared Rushton is one washed-up celebrity!

Macaulay Culkin

Macaulay Carson Culkin is a former child star best known for his role as Kevin McCallister in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

Culkin was born on August 26, 1980 in New York City to Patricia Brentrup and Christopher 'Kit' Culkin. Culkin has six siblings, of which brothers Rory and Kieran are also actors. Culkin is the nephew of actress Bonnie Bedelia, his father's sister.

Culkin started his acting at the age of four when he appeared in a stage production of Bach Babies at the New York Philharmonic. He followed up with a small role in the 1985 TV movie, The Midnight Hour. In 1988, he appeared in as a kidnap victim in an episode of the popular action TV series, The Equalizer. In 1989, he appeared in his first big role, as a precocious young boy in film director John Hughes' Uncle Buck, a comedy starring John Candy. His memorable role included a scene in which he grilled John Candy's character with questions and said that he did so because "I'm a kid - that's my job."

John Hughes was so impressed with Culkin's performance in Uncle Buck that he later wrote Home Alone with Culkin in mind. Culkin appeared in Home Alone in 1990 as Kevin McCallister, a boy accidentally left at home by himself during his family's Christmas vacation. Culkin's Home Alone role made him an internationally known box office movie star. After Home Alone became a major box office hit, Culkin's became the highest-paid child actor in movie history, reportedly commanding up to $10 million per movie.

Culkin formed a friendship with singer Michael Jackson around the time that Home Alone hit the theaters. Culkin reportedly stayed over at Jackson's weirdo Neverland Ranch and later appeared in Jackson's video for the hit song Black or White. There were also rumors that Jackson, an accused pedophile, molested Culkin around this time. Culkin, however, later publicly denied these rumors when he testified at Jackson's child molestation trial in 2005.
In 1992, Culkin again struck box office gold when he reprised the Kevin McAllister role in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. However, Culkin was unable to carry success from the Home Alone movies into other roles. During the mid-1990s, Culkin appeared in moderately successful flicks, such as The Good Son, My Girl and appeared in the flops Getting Even with Dad, Richie Rich, and The Pagemaster. In 1994, Culkin mysteriously stopped acting.

Culkin's home life also experienced some major turmoil when his parents divorced and had a custody battle over him when he was a mere 15 years of age. His family life spilled over into the tabloids, which generally portrayed his father, his manager at the time, as being some kind of nut or psychopath.

Culkin got married at the young age of 18 in 1998 to actress Rachel Miner. It's unclear as to whether Culkin married at such a young age to get away from his parents or to remove the psychological stains inflicted by possibly having been molested by Michael Jackson. Regardless of the reason, the marriage was not meant to last and Culkin divorced two years later, in 2000.

Culkin has recently attempted to return to acting, but has been unable to come even close to his previous level of success. He has appeared in the crappy movies Party Monster (2003) and Saved! (2004). He is scheduled to appear in the 2008 film, Sex and Breakfast, which was actually filmed in 2006 but the release of which has already been pushed back for two years, presumably because it is so bad.

Part of the reason for lack of recent success is probably because Culkin, like many former child stars, was a cute kid who grew into a not-so-cute adult. He has morphed into a somewhat goofy-looking and androgynous young man and often has a brooding look on his face.

Despite his current appearance, he has somehow managed to attract women. I assumed that Culkin was gay until I discovered that he is apparently dating Mila Kunis, an actress from That 70s Show. They have supposedly been dating since 2002. It's unclear whether she's a beard or if the relationship is legit.

Culkin's lack of recent success may have led him to turn to drugs to find solace. In 2004, Culkin was arrested for possession of marijuana and two dangerous controlled substances (Xanax and sleeping pills). Here is his mugshot:

Macaulay Culkin, once the brightest child star in Hollywood, has seen his career blow in flames and apparently occasionally turns to drugs to escape reality. For this and the other reasons discussed above, Macaulay Culkin is one washed up celebrity!

Jaimee Foxworth

Jaimee Foxworth is a former child star best known for her role as Judy Winslow, the youngest daughter in the Winslow family on the popular 1990s sitcom Family Matters. After her role on Family Matters ended, Foxworth transitioned over to roles in adult porn movies when her traditional acting roles dried up.

Foxworth was born on December 17, 1979 in Belleville, Illinois. Foxworth began her career at age 5 when she modeled and appeared in national TV commercials. Her first mainstream role was in an episode of Amen in 1986. Two years later, in 1988, she had a role on TV 101.

In 1989, at age 9, she caught her big break when she was cast as Judy Winslow, the youngest of the three Winslow children, on the hit sitcom, Family Matters. Judy Winslow was frequently shown during the early years of the show, although she typically only had a few lines per episode. Unfortunately for Foxworth, her role was eventually substantially reduced to make room for the breakout star character of the show, Steve Urkel (played by fellow washed-up celebrity Jaleel White).

In 1993, after the fourth season of Family Matters, Foxworth's character was written out of the show. It was an odd separation because her disappearance was never explained and in the episodes from the fifth season on, the Winslow family only acknowledged having two children, instead of three as when Foxworth was on the show. At the time, rumors were floating that Foxworth's mother, Gwenn Foxx, made greedy demands that pissed off the show's producers to the point that Foxworth's acting contract was not renewed.

Unfortunately for Foxworth, the acting roles completely dried up in 1993 after she left Family Matters at age 13. Foxworth was distraught about leaving the show, partially because the producers never even bothered to explain the disappearance of her character.

After leaving the show, Foxworth attempted to return to a normal life and attended her local public high school, Burbank High School. It was a difficult adjustment for Foxworth because after growing up in the glamour of Hollywood, she didn't have many friends in her public high school. Also, even though her career earnings were kept in a trust fund that she couldn't touch until she turned 21, other kids assumed that she must be rich.

Foxworth's life turned upside down when she was 20 years old and a judge allowed her family to raid her trust fund so that her parents could bail themselves out of a financial jam and avoid bankruptcy. Regarding the legal piercing of her trust fund, Foxworth has said, "All of my money went to cover the bankruptcy. I couldn't believe it. In an instant I was dead broke."

Shortly afterward, Foxworth did a photo shoot for a swimsuit when she was hard up for cash. After the shoot and pressured by her then-boyfriend, Foxworth realized that she could make a lot of money as a porn actress (this link is NSFW). Foxworth has stated that at this time her "self-esteem was just completely to the floor... It was, to me, the quickest money...I was so naïve, and I was drinking (this link is NSFW)."

Foxworth appeared in several porn flicks from 2000-2002 under the stage name "Crave." She appeared in movies such as More Black Dirty Debutantes 30 and 32, The Adventures of Peeping Tom 28, Booty Talk 20: Super Fine Sistas!, Hot Girlz, and My Baby Got Back! 29.

Foxworth eventually left the porn industry when her guilty conscience started to weigh on her and has appeared on shows such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Tyra Banks Show, 20/20, and Celebrity Rehab to discuss her plight. Although I pity her because her parents basically stole her money and left her desperate for cash, her descent into porn proves that Jaimee Foxworth is one washed-up celebrity!