Rich or Rehab: Laura From ‘Family Matters’

It takes a very special girl to win the heart of Steve Urkel. And Laura Winslow — as played by Kellie Williams during nine seasons of TV’s “Family Matters” — was just that sort of special girl.

Williams, a native of Forestville, Md., in the Washington D.C. area, dabbled in modeling and theater before she snagged her starring role on the ABC (and later, briefly, CBS) sitcom at the age of 13. So what has happened to her since the days of laugh tracks and listening to Urkel repeatedly ask the question, “Did I do that?” Let’s find out.

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Rich or Rehab: Linda Blair

Of all the demonically possessed kids to ever show their devilish faces in a horror movie, Regan McNeill in “The Exorcist” is easily the most terrifying — and memorable. Is there anyone who grew up in the ’70s and wasn’t absolutely petrified by the sight of her freaky head spinning all the way around? Or later, when the footage was reinserted into the film, the image of her crawling, spider-like, down a staircase?

It seems only fitting, then, to bring this month’s Halloween-themed Rich or Rehabs to a close with a primer on the queen of the child horror stars, the actress who played Regan: Linda Blair.

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Rich or Rehab: Damien From ‘The Omen’

Imagine being four-years-old, auditioning to play the spawn of Satan and actually getting the part. In other words, a filmmaker and a casting director looked at you, as a child, and said, “Yeah, I can see this kid being the antichrist.”

That’s more or less what happened to Harvey Stephens, the young British child who played Damien Thorn in 1976’s “The Omen.” And, as part of our month-long Halloween-themed series of Rich or Rehabs, I have attempted to find out what that little son of a devil has been up to since.

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Rich or Rehab: The Kid From ‘The Shining’

In honor of October — the year’s most ghoulish, Halloweeny time — every Rich or Rehab this month will focus on kids who starred in scary movies.

Our first horror star: Danny Lloyd, the young boy who mumbled some stuff about “redrum” and darted through a maze to escape from a psychotic Jack Nicholson in “The Shining.” What happened to him after his uneventful and delightful stay at Stanley Kubrick’s version of the Overlook Hotel?

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Rich or Rehab: The ‘School of Rock’ Kids

In 2003, a group of prep school kids joined Jack Black and, through the power of rock ‘n’ roll, urged a nation of moviegoers to stick it to The Man.

Since then, the preteens who starred in “School of Rock” have grown up and now find themselves in different places in their lives, although several of them still seem pretty committed to making music. In part one of a two-part Rich or Rehab — think of it as the Strollerderby equivalent of a  cliffhanger — I attempt to track down 10 of the key School of Rockers.

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Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to Arnold Horshack?

If you watched “Welcome Back, Kotter” when you were a kid, you probably had a favorite Sweathog. Some preferred John Travolta’s Vinnie Barbarino because, let’s face it, he was pretty hot. Others admired the “Hi there” smoothness of one Freddie “Boom Boom” Washington. And still others stood in quiet awe of Juan Epstein and his unsurpassed ability to forge notes from his mother.

Then there was Arnold Horshack, the goofy, guffawing, naive and sweet Sweathog who won the nation’s heart with his constant enthusiasm for answering questions in class. Horshack was played by a young actor named Ron Palillo. Does anyone want to know what he’s up to now? Please, don’t all raise your hands and shout, “Oooh! Oooh!” all at once.

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Coroner Rules Michael Jackson’s Death Homicide

It was all so very nice when, after word came that Michael Jackson passed, the zeitgeist chose to remember the sweeter times. The less controversial, more moonwalking times.

If only it could have ended there.

The sordidness around Jackson’s death kicked up 1,000 notches when the LA coroner ruled the performer’s death a homicide yesterday.

Tests showed Jackson was administered propofol, a powerful anesthetic, which mixed lethally with two sedatives Jackson already had in his system.

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Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to ‘Curly Sue’?

After the recent, sad passing of John Hughes, plenty of Gen Xers — and, for that matter, movie lovers of any generation — have been revisiting the writer-director’s filmography. The whereabouts of most of the stars of his many successful comedies — Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Matthew Broderick, Macaulay Culkin, Jon Cryer — are pretty well-established. But few may know what path was taken by the actress who played the title role in Hughes’s final directorial effort.

But that’s what today’s Rich or Rehab will determine: whatever happened to the girl who played Curly Sue?

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Scariest Babies in Movie History

#6 Rosemary’s Baby

Satan’s spawn, need I say more? Worst part, Satan is totally a deadbeat dad. Continue reading »

John Travolta May Leave Scientology over Son’s Death

Many former Scientologists suspect the fallout over his son’s death may draw John Travolta from out of the Religion’s fold (all apologies to those who do not believe Scientology earns the moniker “religion”). This belief is based on whether or not Travolta will ultimately blame his faith for the death of his son. Travolta’s son, Jet, suffered from autism and his demise was pinned on a seizure disorder. Scientology does not recognize autism as a medical condition and therefore denounces the use of medication (or medication for any psychological disorder: see Tom Cruise’s castigation of Brooke Shields for medicating her post partum depression). Continue reading »