Ron Palillo

Ron Palillo is an actor best known for his role as "Horshack" on the hit 1970s sitcom, Welcome Back, Kotter.

Palillo was born on April 2, 1949, in Cheshire, Connecticut. Palillo was interested in acting from an early age. At the tender age of 14, he started his own summer theater in his hometown. Surprisingly, his summer theatre actually made money.

After high school, Palillo attended the University of Connecticut, majoring in drama. Palillo pursued his dream of acting while at Connecticut, appearing in many school plays. After graduation, Palillo took a job with a touring company which performed William Shakespeare's plays. Palillo later moved to New York and acquired a role in the successful off-Broadway play, Hot l Baltimore, with which he stayed for over a year. Palillo's stage success led to his breakthrough role as Horshack on Welcome Back, Kotter.





Welcome Back, Kotter was a hit sitcom that originally aired between 1975 and 1979. It is the sitcom that launched John Travolta's career into stardom. Welcome Back, Kotter was a sitcom about a wise-cracking teacher, Gabe Kotter (played by Gabe Kaplan), who returned to high high school alma mater (the fictional James Buchanan High in Brooklyn, New York) to teach a rowdy group of remedial wiseass students known as the "Sweathogs." According to the storyline, Kotter had attended the same remedial classes when he was a student at Buchanan and was a founding member of the Sweathogs. Believing that he was the last chance for the students to acquire a sufficient education to succeed beyond high school, Kotter befriended his students. Kotter even allowed the students to visit his apartment in Bensonhurst. Although inviting innocent young boys into his home would likely be frowned upon in today's society, Mr. Kotter surprisingly didn't attempt to molest any of the boys.

Palillo's Horshack character was the "Screech Powers" of 1970s sitcoms. Horshack was the class clown of the Sweathogs and was known for his odd and unique observations and his wheezing laugh, which was akin to that of a hyena.

Horshack was a popular character on Welcome Back, Kotter, although certainly not as popular as Travolta's Vinne Barbarino character. Despite his success on the show, Palillo struggled to find acting work after the cancellation of Welcome Back, Kotter in 1979. Palillo managed to acquire some non-recurring minor roles on shows such as The Love Boat, The A-Team, and CHiPs. Acting roles were so sparse that Palillo got a nose job in an effort to distance himself from his Horshack character.

However, Palillo's career never recovered. Palillo returned to the University of Connecticut to teach an acting class in the late 1990s. Palillo eventually decided to accept any TV roles offered to him, regardless of how sleazy they might be. In 2002 Palillo was so desperate to make a dollar that he actually agreed to fight fellow washed-up celebrity Dustin "Screech" Diamond in Fox's Celebrity Boxing.





Fox billed the boxing bout between Diamond and Palillo as a match to "dork it up" in the ring. Although much smaller than Diamond, Palillo decided to go through with the match, apparently thinking that some media exposure would help his career. However, Palillo was in for a rude awakening when he stepped in the ring with Diamond. Palillo started the match by pushing Diamond and trying to punch Diamond in the head. However, Diamond eventually started unloading on Palillo and quickly began beating the crap out of Palillo, eventually giving Palillo a puffy black eye and causing the boxing referee to call the match in favor of Diamond.

Palillo was not a happy camper after the match. Diamond claimed that Palillo asked the producers of Celebrity Boxing to talk to him before the match and asked him to go easy on Palillo because Palillo had just gotten nose and chin jobs. However, Diamond was infuriated when Palillo tried to punch him in the head and decided to get even by whaling on Palillo. Palillo was very upset with the beating he received; after the match Palillo said to Diamond, "Don't even talk to me. Just get away from me. I never want to see you again." Diamond has also claimed that Palillo's gay lover told Diamond that Karma was going to get him.

After his bout on Celebrity Boxing, Palillo was very embarrassed because many people were poking fun at him for losing badly to Diamond. However, Palillo now claims that he never received a black eye, despite the swelling around his eyes that is clearly visible in the pictures shown above. Palillo claims that the referee called the match because Diamond had knocked a contact lens out of Palillo's eye. Palillo also asserts that he gave Diamond a vicious beating during the bout and that Diamond thought that Palillo had broken one of his ribs in the one-sided match!

Ron Palillo's acting career quickly peaked with his memorable role on the hit 1970s sitcom, Welcome Back, Kotter. However, after the cancellation of the show, Palillo's career swirled down the toilet and has yet to recover. Palillo is currently so hard up for cash that he will speak to anyone on the phone for $20! As a result of his stalled acting career and his desperate attempt to revive his career by appearing on Celebrity Boxing and receiving the pummeling of a lifetime at the hands of uber-nerd, Dustin Diamond, there can be no doubt that Ron Palillo is one washed-up celebrity!


*** Update - August 14, 2012 ***

Ron Palillo died of an apparent heart attack this morning.  He was 63 years old.  

Kirstie Alley

Kirstie Alley is an actress best known for her role as "Rebecca Howe" on the hit mid-1980s-early 1990s sitcom Cheers.

Kirstie Alley was born on January 12, 1951 in Wichita, Kansas. Alley attended Kansas State University and the University of Kansas for a short time, dropping out during her sophomore year to pursue an acting career. Her first TV appearances were on game shows - in 1979 she appeared on Match Game and won $6,000, and in 1980 she appeared on Password Plus.

Alley's first major role was as supporting role in the hit 1982 movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, where she played Lieutenant Saavik. Star Trek II was a major hit and Alley was offered a role in Star Trek III, which she turned down when the producers failed to meet her salary demands.

Alley later had a major role in the popular TV miniseries about the Civil War, North and South. Alley also had minor roles in other movies and TV shows throughout the mid-1980s until she was cast in her career-defining role as Rebecca Howe, the manager of the Cheers bar on the sitcom, Cheers.

Fans of Cheers liked Alley's character on Cheers - she was a very attractive woman and definitely had acting abilities and comedic talent. Alley won an Emmy for her role in 1991. Alley co-starred on Cheers from 1987 until the series finale in 1993.

While Alley was on Cheers, she also found time to appear in several popular major motion pictures, including Shoot to Kill, Look Who's Talking, and Look Who's Talking Too.

After Cheers went off the air in 1993 Alley continued acting in minor roles on various TV shows and movies through the mid-late 1990s. In 1997 she was cast in the starring role of Veronica's Closet, a sitcom about the head of a lingerie company. Veronica's Closet ran for three seasons, until its cancellation in 2000.

After the cancellation of Veronica's Closet, Alley cut back on acting a little bit and turned to the other passion in her life - greasy and fatty foods. Although once known as one of the sexiest actresses on TV, Alley tarnished her image by adding at least 100 lbs of pure fat to her body, becoming a morbidly obese woman and reportedly topping the scales at over 300 lbs. Her fans were shocked and saddened to see her so overweight.

Alley, however, maintained a good nature and decided to do something about her appearance - she starred in the 2005 mockumentary, Fat Actress, a sitcom inspired by real events in Alley's life. Alley also became the spokeswoman for Jenny Craig and kept to a strict diet between 2004 - early 2008 when she was fired for being too fat. During her reign as spokeswoman, Alley kept to a strict diet, eventually trimming down to 145 lbs at one point.

However, after being fired as spokeswoman, Alley stopped exercising and pigged out on food once again and has admitted that she has gained 83 lbs since early 2008.




Kirstie Alley is apparently addicted to Hostess Ho-Ho's and Ding Dongs, and almost certainly purchases 2-lb bags of M&M's and cuts open the bags and pours all of the M&M's directly into her open mouth. Although Kirstie Alley has had a very successful acting careers, the fact that she morphed from one of the hottest actresses in Hollywood into a morbidly obese hog means that Kirstie Alley is one washed-up celebrity!

Danny Cooksey

Danny Cooksey is a former child star perhaps best known for his role as "Sam McKinney" on the popular mid-1980s TV sitcom, Diff'rent Strokes.

Cooksey was born on November 2, 1975 in Moore, Oklahoma. Cooksey's mother moved with him to Los Angeles in 1980 to allow him to pursue a career in country music. His first acting role was in an episode of Dukes of Hazzard in 1983. Cooksey was later invited to audition for Diff'rent Strokes by an agent who saw one of Cooksey's performances.

Diff'rent Strokes was one of the top rated sitcoms between the late 1970s and early 1980s. The show centered on the crazy antics of Arnold Drummond (played by Gary Coleman), a young black boy who along with his brother Willis (played by Todd Bridges) was adopted by a rich white man who lived in a luxurious penthouse apartment in downtown New York City. Arnold was the star of the show for many years. However, by the mid-1980s the show's writers were running out of ideas and the show's viewership was flagging.

The writers initially tried to mix things up by showing an episode where Arnold's best friend Dudley (played by fellow washed-up celebrity Shavar Ross) was molested by a man who ran a bicycle repair shop. Molestation seemed to be a strange and deranged source of humor, but the writers were at their wit's end and needed something to increase viewership. However, the writers quickly realized that they couldn't have Dudley get molested in every single episode and that they would need a sustainable new "hook" to draw in viewers. The new hook was the addition of two new characters - Maggie McKinney, a middle-aged woman, and her young son, Sam McKinney. The McKinneys were added to the cast at the start of the seventh season when Maggie McKinney married Mr. Drummond and moved into the penthouse apartment with Sam.

Sam McKinney was an extremely unpopular character. Fans of Diff'rent Strokes hated Sam - he was extremely annoying and bratty. There was a notorious episode where Arnold and Sam were at a store and a deranged man, Don Brown, kidnapped Sam. The story line was that Mr. Brown's son had recently been killed and he wanted to replace his son with Sam. Mr. Brown convinced his own family that Sam was a homeless kid who they should adopt. Mr. Brown threatened to kill Sam's family if he tried to contact the police or run home. As shown in the image below, Mr. Brown used his large size to intimidate the diminutive Sam:

Casual observers of the show have noted the strong resemblance between Mr. Brown and professional wrestler Arn Anderson. I suspect that Sam was kidnapped while asking for an autograph. He probably threatened to kill Mr. Drummond with an atomic drop, spine buster, body slam, Boston Crab, or Cleveland Steamer.



Fans of Diff'rent Strokes were very happy when Sam was kidnapped because they assumed that he was being written off the show. Unfortunately, Sam was rescued when he telephoned Arnold and was able to provide the phone number from where he was calling. The police later picked him up. I thought that the conclusion of that episode was very unrealistic.

Sam was a bratty kid and I always thought that the more likely conclusion would have involved the kidnapper giving Sam up on his own. Sam was most likely a bed wetter until he was 13 years old and probably pissed his pants while sleeping at the home of his kidnappers. The kidnapper's entire house must have reeked of the smell of urine after a couple days. The stench probably would have been unbearable, leading the kidnapper to voluntarily give up Sam.

Cooksey's character helped run Diff'rent Strokes into the ground, leading to its cancellation in 1986, after the eighth season. After the cancellation of Diff'rent Strokes, Cooksey co-starred as Kevin Cavanaugh in the TV sitcom, The Cavanaughs from 1986-1989. Cooksey subsequently had a role in one of the most successful films of the 1990s, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, where he played the role, "ginger kid with mullet," a friend of star John Connor.






However, Cooksey's boyish looks faded when puberty hit and the demand for him in acting roles became practically non-existent. Cooksey has managed to keep busy over the years doing voice-over roles for crappy animated series and video games where he doesn't need to show his face. For example, he has had a speaking role in 24: The Game and in the cartoon, Xiaolin Showdown.

Cooksey has also ventured into music. He was the lead singer in the band Bad4Good in the early 1990s - that band released one CD, Refugee, in 1992. Here is a picture of his band. It appears as though they took this picture in order to appeal to pedophiles (Cooksey is on the far right in the photo):

Cooksey later participated in the bands Roadkill and Lucy's Milk. Cooksey is apparently a big fan of the Garfield comic strip because since 2004, he has been in a band called Arbuckle, which might be named after Jon Arbuckle, the owner of Garfield the cat in the comic strip.

Cooksey was a successful, albeit extremely annoying, child actor in the mid-1980s. However, once he boyish looks faded he was relegated to voice-over roles where he doesn't have to show his face. His career path has been somewhat similar, although not nearly as pathetic, as that of fellow ginger washed-up celebrity, Michael Oliver. For this and the other reasons discussed above, Danny Cooksey is one washed-up celebrity!

Lillo Brancato

Lillo Brancato is a former child star best known for his role as Calogero Anello in the successful 1993 movie, A Bronx Tale. Brancato went from being on the fast track for movie stardom in the early 1990s to being a real-life crackhead and eventually ended up sentenced to a 10-year sentence in prison for his participation in a 2005 burglary gone horribly wrong that resulted in a dead police officer.



Brancato was born on August 19, 1976 in Bogota Columbia. When he was four months old, he was adopted by a New York City family. Brancato was discovered by a talent scout while swimming at a beach - the scout noticed Brancato's resemblance to Robert De Niro. Brancato was a fan of De Niro's and impressed the scout with an impression of Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. Brancato's performance won him the role of De Niro's son in the 1993 movie, A Bronx Tale.

In A Bronx Tale, Brancato played Calogero Anello, a boy growing up in the Bronx in a working-class family. Calogero's father was Lorenzo Anello (played by Robert De Niro), an honest bus driver who tried to raise his son to be an honest and hard-working young man. As a young boy, Calogero witnessed a man being shot and killed by the neighborhood mob boss, Sonny LoSpecchio (played by Chazz Palminteri). When Calogero lied to the police when questioned about what he saw in the incident, Sonny took Calogero under his wing and tried to teach him to be "street smart."




Brancato received positive reviews for his role in A Bronx Tale. I thought his character was kind of annoying, although I will admit that Brancato did act with a certain degree of passion, which is probably somewhat unusual for a rookie actor. After A Bronx Tale, Brancato had a substantial role in the moderately successful 1994 army comedy drama, Renaissance Man, where he played an army cadet.

Toward the late 1990s, Brancato's acting roles became more sparse, although he did secure small roles in the hit movies Crimson Tide and Enemy of the State. Brancato followed up with a recurring role on The Sopranos in 2000, where he played Matt Bevilaqua, a small time mobster.

After 2000, Brancato struggled to find work, securing only a few minor roles such as a role in an episode of NYPD Blue and in the horrible 2002 Eddie Murphy comedy, The Adventures of Pluto Nash.

Brancato was hiding a secret and perhaps this was the reason for his lack of acting roles. His secret was a drug addiction that was overtaking his life. Brancato has claimed that he was first introduced to marijuana on the rowdy A Bronx Tale set. After A Bronx Tale, Brancato moved up to harder drugs such as crack cocaine and eventually became addicted to crack and heroin. Brancato also acquired a taste for prescription drugs.

On June 10, 2005, Brancato was arrested in Yonkers, New York, and charged with misdemeanor criminal possession of a controlled substance. Police reportedly pulled Brancato over for having a rear brake light out and found he had an expired registration and no other papers for the vehicle. Police searched Brancato's vehicle and discovered four bags of heroin in a cigarette box in Brancato's car.

On December 10, 2005 Brancato participated in a burglary that would change his life forever. Brancato and an accomplice, 48-year-old Steven Armento, the father of Brancato's girlfriend, attempted to burglarize a vacant house in the Bronx area of New York City. Brancato and Armento were confronted by Daniel Enchautegui, an off-duty police officer who lived in the house next door, who heard glass break. Enchautegui called for backup and then all hell broke loose - Armento allegedly shot Enchautegui and Enchautegui returned fired, getting off eights rounds before he died, hitting Brancato twice and Armento six times times.

Armento and Brancato were quickly arrested for murder. Armento was convicted of first-degree murder on October 30, 2008, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Brancato was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree attempted burglary. Brancato was found not guilty of the murder charge, but was convicted of the first-degree attempted burglary charge and sentenced on January 9, 2009 to 10 years in prison.

Lillo Brancato has gone from being a promising young actor to a convicted felon in a mere 15 years. Brancato probably dreamed of excitement of winning an academy award as a youth, but now he deals with the horror of possibly being a fellow prisoner's bitch in prison. For this and the reasons above, Lillo Brancato is one washed-up celebrity!

*** Update - August 21, 2013 ***

I recently discovered this 20/20 news report about Lillo Brancato and his troubles. This news report includes a jailhouse interview with Brancato:



*** Update - January 6, 2014 ***

Lillo Brancato was released from prison on December 31, 2013.  Actor Chazz Palminteri has absolutely no sympathy for Brancato's plight and recently told the NY Daily News, "Don't call me - and I won't ever call you."  Palminteri, a strong advocate for the police department, apparently told Brancato to stay away from drugs years ago and is disappointed that Brancato did not heed his advice...

Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry is a famous singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was one of the pioneers of rock and roll music and had a string of hits between the mid-1950s and the early-1970s. Although renowned for his musical abilities, Berry has tarnished his reputation over the years via frequent brushes with the law and deviant sexual behaviors.


I. Early Life

Berry was born on October 18, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri. He grew up in a middle-class family which encouraged him to pursue his musical interests at a young age. Berry made his first public performance while a high school student at Sumner high school.

Berry encountered his first brush with the law during his senior year in high school, in 1944, when he was arrested and convicted of armed robbery after carjacking an automobile and going for a joyride with his friends to Kansas City, Missouri. Berry admitted in a 1987 autobiography, Chuck Berry: The Autobiography, that his car broke down on the shoulder of a highway and that he flagged down a passing motorist and stole the motorist's car at gunpoint. The carjacking victim called police at a pay phone and Berry was quickly captured and incarcerated at the Intermediate Reformatory School for Young Men at Algoa, until his 21st birthday in 1947.

II. Musical Success Early In Career

After getting out of prison, Berry married Themetta "Toddy" Suggs in 1948 and pursed various factory jobs and also considered a career in photography. Meanwhile, Berry began performing as a guitarist in his spare time for bands in St. Louis. By 1953, Berry was performing with the Johnnie Johnson Trio, a popular regional band that played at a club called The Cosmopolitan in East St. Louis, Illinois. Berry became known for his guitar riffs and grandstanding.

In 1955, Berry covered "Ida Red" (renamed "Maybellene") with several backup musicians. "Maybellene" was Berry's first hit, selling over a million copies and reaching #1 on Billboard's Rhythm and Blues chart and #5 on the Hot 100. In 1956, Berry had another hit with "Roll Over Beethoven," which reached #29 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. Berry followed with hits such as "Rock and Roll Music" in 1956. "Sweet Little Sixteen" (which hit #2 on the Hot 100) and "Johnny B. Goode" (which hit #8 on the Hot 100) in 1958.

However, in December 1959, Berry ran afoul of the law again after he invited a 14-year-old Apache waitress whom he met in Mexico to work as a hat check girl at his club. The girl was arrested on a prostitution charge after being fired from the job and Berry was arrested under the Mann Act. Berry was convicted, fined $5,000, and sentenced to five years in prison.

III. Musical Success Later in Career

Upon release from prison in 1963, he underwent a career resurgence as other bands such as the Beatles and Beach Boys covered some of his songs. Berry continued to release new albums and tour throughout the 1960s up to the 1970s. In 1972 he had his biggest hit, "My Ding-A-Ling," which he had initially recorded as a novelty track.

Berry's type of touring style, traveling the "oldies" circuit in the 1970s — where he was often paid in cash by local promoters — added ammunition to the Internal Revenue Service's accusations that Berry was a chronic income tax evader. Facing criminal sanction for the third time, Berry pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to four months imprisonment and 1,000 hours of community service involving various benefit concerts in 1979.

Berry continued to tour throughout the 1980s, giving 70-100 one-night performances a year. In the late 1980s, Berry owned a restaurant in Wentzville, Missouri, called The Southern Air. Berry currently performs about one Wednesday each month at Blueberry Hill, a restaurant and bar located in the St. Louis area. In 2008, Berry toured Europe, with stops in Sweden, Norway, Finland, England, the Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland and Spain.

IV. Berry's Deviant Sexual Fetishes

There is no disputing that Berry has been an exceptionally successful musician. However, it seems as though Berry's music has never been his "true calling" or driving influence. Instead, Berry seems to be motivated by his one true love in life - watching women take dumps.

In 1990 Berry was sued by several women who alleged that Berry installed a video camera in the ladies' bathrooms at two of his St. Louis restaurants. Berry probably installed the camera so that he could masturbate vigorously while watching video of women going to the bathroom at his restaurant. It's possible that Berry had microphones installed so that he could hear the sounds of women farting after eating the food at his restaurants... One wonders whether Berry would have eventually installed surveillance and microphones in the bathrooms at his local Taco Bell so that he could listen to the sounds of women (and possibly also men) spraying diarrhea after eating greasy tacos...






A class action settlement was eventually reached with 59 women on the complaint. It is estimated that the settlement cost Berry around $1.3 million plus legal fees.

There are rumors that the police raided Berry's house after the allegations of the bathroom videos surfaced. Supposedly the police found some nasty home videos at Berry's residence. One of the videos supposedly shows Berry giving a golden shower to a blonde woman. After soaking her in piss, Berry apparently tells her to open her eyes and mouth, and asks whether his urine is "nice and salty." The woman supposedly tells Berry that she loves him and then asks him for a kiss. Berry's response? He said that he wouldn't kiss her because, "it smells like piss." During the same scene, Berry also reportedly unleashes a long and very loud fart and then says, "You can smell my fart." It has been reported that Berry's fart was as loud as a fog horn on a cruise ship!

Berry showed that he can receive as well as give in the next scene, as the same woman is supposedly shown taking a dump on Berry's face.

V. Conclusion

Despite his successful music career, Berry has had several brushes with the law and the entire world now knows that he's a dirty old man with perverted sexual fetishes and apparently gets turned by a woman with a "turtlehead" sticking out. Accordingly, there can be no doubt that Chuck Berry is one washed up celebrity!


*** Update - July 4, 2011 ***
I discovered a link to a sound clip which was allegedly taken from Chuck Berry's sex video. This sound clip includes a sound allegedly of Chuck Berry ripping ass and then saying "Smell my fart." If this clip is legit, then I have to admit that Chuck Berry's fart does sound kind of like a fog horn!


*** Update - May 12, 2013 ***
I recently discovered this video on youtube which includes a two-hour loop of the alleged Chuck Berry fart:

 

*** Update - September 18, 2013 ***

The website for Vice magazine recently posted scans of several pages of a letter sent to Bob Guccione from an alleged federal DEA informant who came across Chuck Berry's infamous "toilet tapes."  According to the DEA informant, Berry enjoyed farting in a faces of his unsuspecting lovers while in the 69 position.  A scan of the first page of the letter is shown below (click on the image for a larger view).  The other pages may be seen on the Vice magazine's website.