User:Oliver Renye

I am German and born in 1965. I presently live in Southwest of Germany, in a little parish, close to the border to Alsace, France.

Although English is not my native language I understand it good enough to read and write in this language. Nevertheless, I work with comprehensive online dictionaries such as http://dict.leo.org/. However, my principle weakness always was (and still is) especially the English punctuation. Thus, in this respect, I would never object to be corrected, wherever appropriately necessary.

I am creator and admin of http://bobbydriscoll.net/, a Tribute website for deceased onetime child star Bobby Driscoll (1937-1968). I am also the major author of Driscoll’s Wikipedia article, as well as the articles on Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce (both "The Night Of The Hunter", 1955), which both I extended from standard stubs up to the current (November 2008) versions.

Since the start of my researches for Bobby Driscoll in late 2006, I developed a specific interest in child actors/actresses’ and their difficult relations/understandings to their stardom and their post-screen (adult) lives in retrospect to their "once-have-been-someone".

I am not professionally involved in or associated with the film-, or theatre business nor in journalism in any way. Yet, I aquired myself good skills in screenplay and essay/article writing.

Articles, which I already contributed (imported from Wikipedia):

• Bobby Driscoll
• Billy Chapin
• Sally Jane Bruce

Articles, on which I'm working:

• Luana Patten (header/introduction and filmography completed)
• Johnny Crawford (header/introduction and discography drafted
• Tommy Rettig (header/introduction drafted/nearly complete - filmography completed)
• Charles Herbert ((header/introduction drafted/nearly complete)

On the long term, partially based on my articles on Bobby Driscoll, Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce and/or of which I have got good biographical material (printed biographies and/or comprehensive interviews), my further plans are articles on:

The following lists are not final.

Actors:

(aa=adult actor, fca=former child actor)

• Robert Newton (Oliver Twist, 1948; Treasure Island, 1950) - aa - deceased
• Burl Ives (acting baladeer) - aa - deceased
• Rusty Hamer (Make Room For Daddy, 1953-65) - fca - deceased
• Butch Patrick (The Munsters, 1964) - fca - still alive
• Barret Oliver (The Neverending Story (Bastian), 1984; D.A.R.Y.L., 1985;) - fca - still alive
• Johnny Crawford (The Rifleman, 1958-63) - fca/aa - still alive
• Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer (Little Rascals, 1922-26) - fca - deceased
• Mickey Daniels (Our Gang, 1935-40) - fca - deceased
• Tommy Rettig (The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T., 1953; River Of No Return, 1954; Lassie, 1954-57) - fca - deceased
• Charles Herbert (Houseboat, 1958; The Fly, 1958) - fca - still alive
• Macaulay Culkin (Home Alone, 1990) - fca/aa - still alive
• Ricky Schroder (The Champ, 1979; Little Lord Fauntleroy, 1980; Silver Spoons, 1982-87) - fca/aa - still alive
• Dean Stockwell (Kim, 1953; Quantum Leap, 1989-93) - fca/aa - still alive
• Russ Tamblyn (Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, 1954; West Side Story, 1961; The Haunting, 1963) - fca/aa - still alive
• Mickey Rooney (various) - fca/aa - still alive
• Jackie Coogan (The Kid, 1921; Addams Family, 1964-66) - fca/aa - deceased
• Paul Petersen (Houseboat, 1958; The Donna Reed Show, 1959-66) - fca - still alive
• Jack Wild (Oliver, 1968) - fca - deceased
• Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch, 1969-74) - fca - still alive
• Matthew Garber (Mary Poppins, 1964) - fca - deceased
• Martin Stephens (The Innocents, 1961) - fca - still alive
• Eddie Hodges (A Hole In The Head, 1959; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn), 1960) - fca - still alive
• Roddy McDowell (various) - fca/aa - deceased
• Danny Bonaduce (The Patridge Family, 1970-74) - fca - still alive
• Jay North (Dennis, The Menace, 1959-63)
• Christian Bale (various) - fca/aa - still alive
• Corey Haim (Silver Bullet, 1985; The Lost Boys, 1987) - fca/aa - still alive
• Corey Feldman (The Bad New Bears, 1979; The Goonies, 1985; Stand By Me, 1986; The Lost Boys, 1987) - fca/aa - still alive
• Wil Wheaton (Stand By Me, 1986; Star Trek, The Next Generation, 1987-94) - fca/aa - still alive
• Jonathan Brandis (The Neverending Story 2, The Next Chapter, 1990; Sea Quest DSV, 1993-96) - fca/aa - deceased
• River Phoenix (Stand By Me, 1986) - fca/aa - deceased

Actresses:

(aa=adult actor, fca=former child actor)

• Luana Patten (former Disney-star) - fca/aa - deceased (presently in work)
• Margaret Kerry (animated Peter Pan, 1953) - fca/aa - still alive
• Kathryn Beaumont (animated Alice in Wonderland, 1951; animated Peter Pan, 1953) - fca - still alive
• Drew Barrymore (E.T. - The Extraterristical, 1982) - fca/aa - still alive
• Linda Blair (The Exorcist, 1973) - fca/aa - still alive
• Shirley Temple (various) - fca - still alive
• Sandy Desher (Them!, 1954) - fca - still alive
• Heather O'Rourke (Poltergeist, 1982-88) - fca - deceased
• Karen Dotrice (Mary Poppins, 1964) - fca - still alive
• Pamela Franklin (The Innocents, 1961) - fca - still alive
• Beulah Bondi (various) - aa - deceased

(most of the former child actors had typical "post-fame" problems, partially resulting in heavy addictions or even in premature deaths.)

If somebody wonders why the majority of washed-up child actors tend to be male, let’s simply say it with Tommy Rettig, (in an AUGUST 1981 Interview of HIGH TIMES): It really pissed me off - producers had this general impression that whatever talent and gifts you had learned how to use as a kid, as soon as you were twenty-one it dried up. That was for boys. Girls were a different story. They can go from cute to gorgeous.

Directors/Producers:

• Walt Disney - deceased (as a stub already existent)
• Andy Warhol - deceased (as a stub already existent)
• Charles Laughton - deceased
• Piero Heliczer - deceased

Artists:

• Wallace Berman - deceased
• George Herms - still alive
• Robert Duncan - still alive
• Diane DiPrima - still alive

Movies:

• Song Of The South, 1946
• and all of Bobby Driscoll's major movies, he performed/appeared in

• The Exorcist, 1973
• The Poltergeist trilogy, 1982-88
• The Night Of The Hunter, 1955
• Them!, 1954
• The Innocents, 1961

TV-series:

• The Munsters, 1964 - (as a stub already existent)
• Addams Family, 1964-66
• The Partridge Family, 1970-74
• The Brady Bunch, 1969-74

Special subjects/topics:

• Andy Warhol's "The Factory"
• The Beat Generation
• Semina Culture (Wallace Berman's 1960s Los Angeles art circle)
• The major cast (Scott Baio, Jody Foster, Florence Dugger, John Cassisi and Martin Lev (deceased) of Sir Allan Parker's Bugsy Malone, 1973 (basing upon a 50 minutes documantary "Bugsy Malone - After They Were Famous", uploaded in five parts at Youtube)
• The major cast of Walt Disney's The Mickey Mouse Club, 1955-59
• the major cast of Hal Roach's Our Gang/Little Rascals series, 1922-1940

Any contribution of verifiable knowledge or biographical material is welcome and appriciated!