Academy of Cinema and Television Supports Spotlight on Young Performers

Two child-performer advocacy groups will recognize the “good” kids at upcoming awards ceremonies. The Young Artist Foundation
will present awards to young performers in film and television at its
29th annual Young Artist Awards March 30 at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in
Sherman Oaks, Calif.  Then, the BizParentz Foundation
will celebrate young actors’ achievements at its annual Child Actor
Recognition Event (CARE), scheduled for April 13 at Universal Studios
Hollywood’s Globe Theatre. The organization will honor 150 kids who
have not only proven themselves as actors but have also maintained a
3.0 grade point average and done community service.

Most of the child actors at the Academy of Cinema and Television are
bright and courteous, and the parents work hard to provide the very
best for their children.

It’s such a contrast to the stereotypical child-stars-gone-wrong
stories we hear about almost every day. The tabloid travails of Britney
and Jamie Lynn Spears, Lindsay Lohan, the Olsen twins, Brad Renfro,
Mischa Barton, Gary Coleman, Danny Bonaduce, et al., feed the
impression that all child actors are destined for lives of addiction,
depression, and even early death.

The truth is that most child actors grow up just fine — even happy
and successful. Of course, the entertainment industry is full of stars
and behind-the-scenes pros who began as child actors: Jodie Foster,
Natalie Portman, Brooke Shields, Ron Howard, Leonardo DiCaprio,
Christian Bale, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Connelly, and Christopher
Walken to name a few. There’s also Peter Billingsley (Ralphie from A Christmas Story), executive producer of the upcoming superhero flick Iron Man and other films, and writer-director Sarah Polley (The Sweet Hereafter), who was nominated for a best adapted screenplay Oscar this year for Away From Her.

And what of those who’ve gone on to success in fields beyond show
business? Shirley Temple Black — arguably the most popular child star
of all time — has served as a delegate to the United Nations, was
ambassador to Czechoslovakia and Ghana, and was the first female U.S.
chief of protocol. California state Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles) —
an outspoken advocate for the civil rights of children, women, and gays
and lesbians — was once best known as Zelda Gilroy on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. And let’s not forget Little House on the Prairie’s Melissa Gilbert, former national president of the Screen Actors Guild.

Many child stars go directly from early stardom into classrooms at
Yale (Foster, Claire Danes, Kellie Martin), Harvard (Kuehl, Portman),
Princeton (Shields), Columbia (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anna Paquin, Julia
Stiles), and Stanford (Connelly, Picket Fences‘ Justin Shenkarow).

Danica McKellar, best known as girl-next-door Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years,
not only graduated from UCLA with a degree in mathematics but also
co-authored a paper proving an original math theorem (the
Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem). Dubbed a  math “superstar” by The New
York Times, she penned Math Doesn’t Suck, a best-selling nonfiction book that encourages girls to cultivate an interest in mathematics. Blossom’s Mayim Bialik is also a UCLA alumna with a doctorate in neuroscience.

McKellar’s preteen Wonder Years love interest, Fred Savage, graduated from Stanford, as did his brother, Boy Meets World’s
Ben Savage. Fred has since become an in-demand TV director; Ben
interned in the office of Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). All four actors
returned to acting after achieving in academia. McKellar had a
recurring role on The West Wing, Bialik has appeared on shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Fred Savage has voiced animated characters in Kim Possible and Justice League, and Ben Savage won a best actor Ovation Award for his performance in Unexpected Tenderness.

An early acting career won’t guarantee a child an Ivy League
education any more than it will doom him or her to long stays in rehab.
Most former child actors are living quiet, “normal” lives as parents
and professionals all over the country. We just don’t hear about them,
because such tales don’t sell tabloids.

For more information about the Young Artist Awards, visit www.youngartistawards.org. For more information about CARE, visit www.bizparentz.org.