Worst child actor ever

Orphan Annie was highly overrated.

Dakota Fanning

Whuddabout US? (mumblemumble PA! mumblemumble MA!)

I believe you have me beat, r3.

The little girl on "The Starter Wife." You can't understand a single word she says. Didn't anyone notice before they hired the brat?

The Asian kid from one of those Indiana Jones movies- HYA HYA HYA.

The little red haired girl on heroin in "The Partridge Family".

The new Lily on "Modern Family." Ugly and a bad actor.

What about the first Chris, r7? He was even worse, IMO. The child was supposedly fired for being hyperactive, yet had all the energy of a wet sponge onscreen. WTF?

Jake Lloyd. And he had to carry the central role in the most anticipated movie of all time.

Jonathan Lipnicki was annoying, grew up to be awkward looking.

Don't you be hatin' on Jeremy Gelbwaks, R9. I nominate Danielle Spencer who played Raj's little sister Dee on What's Happening. Awful.

Um, Danielle rocked, r12. And Jeremy sucked.

She may not have been the worst actor - but she certainly wins hands down for being the oddest looking young woman ever to appear on screen -- The daughter in the first "Cape Fear" with Peck and Mitchum.

Yikes!

That horrid little girl on "Small Wonder".

I nominate Pamelyn Ferdin. Yuck

Cousin Oliver owns this thread!!

Courtland Mead.

Also wins Ugliest Child Actor, too!

I agree, OP. He YELLED all of his lines!

r18 wins. When that kid was on Y&R... Oh, God, I just couldn't even bear watching him. He played Nina's son, right? Who grew up to be Chance?

The shape of his mouth and the way it moved was beyond disturbing.

R18, "Why do they called Deviled Eggs 'Deviled Eggs?'"

I agree on Larry Matthews; he was communit theater bad.

My vote for second place goes to Connor Paolo from Revenge.

Telegraphs everything.

R16 - I second that nomination - she creeped me out from the early 60s & on her website I see for $20 she'll send out a picture - what is this world coming to?

The late Bobby Buntrock from "Hazel." He yells his lines, his eyes disappear when he smiles, and he has a horrible case of precociousness.

Some other awful kid actors: the kid who played Ben on "Growing Pains;" Jim-Bob from "The Waltons;" Johnny Whitaker in "Family Affair."

What the Beaver turned into when puberty approached.

Stand back bitches! I own this thread.

DJ from Roseanne. His acting seemed to get worse as he grew older. All those years and his acting skills only regressed. It was baffling.

Good one, r18. He was one of the main reasons that TV version of "The Shining" was so terrible. I remember a scene of him outside playing in the snow and clearly the director told him to improvise some lines or sing a song while the camera slowly zoomed in on him. So over and over in a sing-song voice you hear, "I like snow. I like snow." You come away thinking the character is retarded. Just an awful, awful performance.

Christian Bale

Newsies and Swing Kids were horrendous.

He hasn't improved, either--Oscar or not.

Timmy

You know what show was weird?

Family Affair.(1966-1971)

The kids weren't bad actors per se....but the show was this weird mix of uncomfortably stifling, and saccharine-sweet.

Why was the older sister on "Family Affair" so much older than the twins? She could have been their mother.

I'm with R27. Michael Fishman (Roseanne's DJ) sucked at acting. What a screamer he was. He had some bit part on Seinfeld or Frasier as an ice cream shop employee and he was just as screamy then.

I'm with r18, Courtland Mead and his wonky mouth were awful. And who the hell names their kid "Courtland"?! I want to know what he looks like now that he's all grown up but alas, his FB page is set to private.

OP, you must have been watching Dick Van Dyke on TV Land last night as I was.

Larry Matthews was cringeworthy...not how I remembered him but there you go. He couldn't say a line without a shit-eating grin accompaniment.

And there must have been 2 minutes of comedy for every 10 minutes of commercials. Is that also the way it originaly aired?

NuJack as well as that chick that played Deana on OLTL. I mean between his dead delivery and her insistence on emoting with her giant bug eyes rather than actually feeling the character, I really don't know how they got hired. Even on daytime, that shit just stunk.

The two youngest kids on the Partridge Family (Chris and Tracy) were godawful.

[quote] I want to know what he (Courtland Mead) looks like now that he's all grown up but alas, his FB page is set to private.

I found a pic of him online a few years ago, a cell-phone pic he'd taken in a mirror. He had become a cute emo twink.

I remember him from an early 90s commercial for Disney World; he was stomach-churning even then. My friends and I would make fun of the way he said "Good night, Mickey!" with his upper teeth forming the M with his lower lip.

Yeah Larry Matthews sucked. I saw the Dick Van Dyke Show marathon on TV Land. The chop the hell out of these episodes to get in enough commmercials. It's not worth watching these older shows.

I thought Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen were "special."

While the robot girl on small wonder was bad the kid who played her little brother made her look briliant.

Definitely those two Monchichis from "Full Diaper."

Kirby Furlong, in the disaster flick "Mame". Horrible mugging.

Jake Lloyd was horrid, but he didn't have much to work with either.

I don't understand how anyone could suggest Danielle Spencer. She wasn't about to do Shakespeare or anything, but she had great timing, and could have grown into a great comedic actress, IMO.

That horrible boy in Julia Roberts's Stepmom. His mom should have sluiced him out at conception.

Danielle Spencer's Dee is an icon!

The kid who plays NuJack on daytime show OLTL, he has to currently be the worst young actor on TV, daytime or primetime TV. He brings new meaning to the term wooden acting.

The actor's name is Andrew Trischitta. I use the word 'actor' very loosely.

It's clear this kid was hired for his big hair, because nothing he does can remotely be called acting. He's been in the business over 5-6 years, yet still has learned a damn thing.

He has two expressions which he uses for nearly every scene, a side glance with his squinty eyes, which he probably thinks conveys 'evilness' though he does this look constantly and an open mouth 'duh' look, which he also does most of the time. He's also started rolling is eyes to convey what a rebel he is!

He screams out the lines as if he's in a hurry to get off the set. I have to wonder what the professionals he is called upon to work with feel when they are opposite him on the set.

Even with huge cue cards in front of him, this kid acts of if he seeing the script for the first time.

Him getting hired in this pivotal important role most likely was due to his parents having showbiz connections or they were owed one huge favor.

Courtland Mead looks normal today.

Andrew Trischitta, absolutely; also, the kid who plays the late Diane - and Jack's - son on Y&R. SAME EXACT expression and line delivery all the time.

And I'm surprised no one has mentioned the kid on "Two and a Half Men"; I've always he was the worst thing in the show, by far. They should send him off to college, change the name of the sohw, and focus now on Mr. Demi Moore (but that's another thread.)

I think Larry Matthews was acting in the manner of what his character was supposed to be. Richie Petrie was a WEIRD kid, weird to the point of seeming mentally challenged almost.

"While the robot girl on small wonder was bad the kid who played her little brother made her look briliant."

This is a good point. You can't really blame the girl for having been annoying as the robot, she was doing what she was written and directed to do. The boy, playing a human, had no such excuse - his whole aura was just super-annoying.

[quote]While the robot girl on small wonder was bad the kid who played her little brother made her look briliant.

And both of them looked like top grads of The Actor's Studio compared to that lil red-headed bitch that lived next door!

r48, you're not suggesting the guy on the right with balding curly brown hair in pigtails and brown eyes is Courtland Mead, are you?

Culkin(s).

Olson twins. They sounded like little robots.

Larry Matthews was indeed horrible, but at least he didn't have an entire show constructed around him like Jerry Mathers did.

Jerry Mathers was not cute or appealing at any stage - I'm surprised he didn't get beaten up on every single show because he was such a revolting little smarm-ball. And he only got worse as he got older. Example: Beaver Joins a Record Club.

"DJ from Roseanne"

Okay, but BECKY #1 beats him because she had more to do. And she was shitty next to Sarah Gilbert, who was quite good.

Jan Handzlik, who played the young Patrick opposite Roz Russell's Auntie Mame in 1958 is absolutely cringeworthy. Even in that campfest. He always looks like he's just about to break into tears.

I always try to give kid actors the benefit of the doubt, because I assume it's their parents who got them into it. But you have to wonder if EVERYONE's taste was on vacation the day they cast some of 'em.

Cousin Oliver, Baby Carrie, Ricky-the-kid-next door on the Partridge Family, etc.

The Twins on "Seventh Heaven" should be at the top of the list. There wasn't one natural gesture between the two of them. Every line was said as if they were learning to read at that moment.

Aren't we forgetting Jayden Smith?

R61, WE'D LIKE TO!

Mamie Gummer

"Run, Forrest, run!"

What about that kid from Dennis the Menace?

Geez, some of you people need to watch a bit more tv.

From 1974-1983, there was a tv show called Little House on the Prairie. In that series, there were twins who played the daugher Carrie. These two were the worst actresses ever to grace the screen. I think that Michael Landon stood off camera and poked them with a stick to get a reaction out of them. Worst actresses ever!!

I think I'm going to start a Facebook page to revoke any residuals they get from that show. They were awful.

Hey guys!!!

What about that huge pussyhound from "The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D?"

I had a delayed flight in phoenix about 5 years ago and sat at the gate next to the guy that played Jason Walton. He was there by himself reading a newspaper. He had walked away. A few minutes I went into the John. I peed at the urinal next to him. I had to look. Damn that guy was hung. He didn't catch me looking but I would have had fun with that big cock.

R66! They have already been mentioned! Hint: their professional surname was Greenbush.

R57, I agree with you, Becky #1 was terrible. I always thought it was perhaps because she was so unattractive and was supposed to be so sour that she didn't have much to work with. However Sarah Chalke made the character work so it must have been the actress rather than the character. Sarah Gilbert was the only original Connor kid who wasn't miscast.

My Three Sons ran for nine years doing just fine until Dawn Lyn (and Beverly Garland) showed up.

Show ended a couple of seasons later.

[Insert obligatory "Dawn-Lyn is Leif Garrett's sister" comment]

I never thought Sara Gilbert was what you would call a "good" child actress. I always got the impression that as Darlene she was just playing herself; sullen, sarcastic, homely and speaking in an annoyingly slurred voice.

I always disliked Danielle Brisbois (sp?), "little Steffi", from the Mike-and-Glorialess "All In The Family." Bringing a kid on a show is a classic jump the shark ploy. It was especially stupid to put one on AITF, and incredibly stupid how they brought her on; an abandoned little Jewish girl suddenly gets dumped in the Bunker's laps. It did nothing for the show and little Steffi was one of the most unappealing child characters on tv. She was a thief and smoked pot!

Okay what about little Joey Martin on All My Chirrens? He had to be the worst ever!! The kid was lost and most of the time was looking off to the side while saying his lines and he wasn't reading them, he was just looking at the stage hand or something.

Danielle Brisbois had annoying eyebrows too.

"Danielle Spencer's Dee is an icon!"

I'm telllllin'! I'm TELLIN' Mama on you, Raj! You in TROOOUUBBBLE! OOHHHHHH! Re-Run, too!

Rusty Hammer in MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY.

When The Brady Bunch introduced that Oliver kid to the show. Awkward and unapealing character. He was just unwatchable.

Larry Matthews was not that bad--he was preferable to most of the slick smug snotty child actors you see nowadays. Anyone with the last name of Fanning, for example.

r74, you beat me to it. I remember watching AMC as a kid back in the day and thinking that the kid playing Joey Martin was borderline special. He often seemed spaced out/disoriented and completely disconnected from anyone he shared the stage with. You could almost feel someone off camera feeding him lines or directing him where to stand. He was like a benign little zombie.

The worst is when they start to go through the butt ugly adolescent phase. Beaver, Cindy Brady, the blonde girl from "Family Ties", Fred Savage, Dee, Gary Coleman, Screech, Bonadouche, The captain's daughter on The Love Boat, etc., etc.

Angela Cartwright was far more annoying than poor Rusty Hamer who commited suicide in despair as a young adult.

How did Angela ever get cast as one of the Trapp kids when she was so identified as Danny Thomas' daughter?

Melissa Gilbert.

Sorry, but I always found her to be incredibly annoying, phony and insincere. Not once did I think that she wasn't playing to the camera.

Lecy Goranson was one of the best child actors to grace a sitcom. I thought her portayal of Becky was the most accurate of any teenager ever portrayed on television. She had the spoiled ingratitude, but a heart of gold hidden underneath act down pat.

Was Rusty Hammer a member of Armie's family?

I liked Becky 1 way better than Becky 2. She fit into that family much better.

It's a tie.

Sam "I got me a ginger bowl cut" from Different Strokes. "But, Mr. D!"

Shut up you little fuck!

Anyone who can make you wish for more Dana Plato, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, and Charlotte Rae screen name is the worst evah.

[quote]"But, Mr. D!"

More like "But, Meeshterrr Dee!"

Whoever played Rhoda in the "The Bad Seed"

That smarmy little shit who played Wesley, the younger son on "Mr. Belvedere." You just wanted Mr. Belvedere to smack him senseless.

r91, I had a crush on Wesley.

Is there an age cue an age cut off?

Claudia Lonow was horrible on KNOTS LANDING.

[quote]And I'm surprised no one has mentioned the kid on "Two and a Half Men"; I've always he was the worst thing in the show, by far.

Back then, yeah, but he's hot now.

That annoying Arianna Richards from the first "Jurassic Park" movie. By about the fourth time she bugged her eyes and "trembled in fear", I was rooting for the raptor to chew her head off.

I noticed that, too, r95. She does the same thing in the sequel, The Lost World, in her bit where she and Joseph Mazello become reacquainted with Jeff Goldblum.

I never thought Lecy Goranson was a bad actress. But she did have a raging case of tard-face. The bowl haircut didn't help matters any.

Today, Lecy is littered with tattoos.

And her blog, if it's still up, is pretty weird. She seems kind of unbalanced.

My worst child actor vote goes to the Anne of Green Gables girl.

"Olson twins. They sounded like little robots."

And now they resemble Troll dolls!

I worked for a casting director who once told me Megan "Anne of Green Gables" is a nightmare to work with giving her a horrible reputation.

I only saw her in one movie, but Tammi Marihugh in "The Last Voyage" really got on my nerves with her dreadful overacting. They should have left her on the ship to die.

Rusty HAMER

Armie HAMMER

That fat, ugly troll kid on "Two and A Half Men." I know that some of the shows have him getting cozy with girls but what attractive young girl would want to make out with that gross little creep?

R103: he's not fat anymore. I also think he's pretty talented.

He's also probably the richest 18-year-old in LA now.

Angus T Jones, talented? Please.

He is rich and I hope he's saving his money. If he blows it all on drugs and is homeless in three years, no one will care.

I know he was just a toddler, but "Adam" for Bewitched was terrible. When Tabitha was a baby the twins they had playing her would interact with the adults and watch her goofy flying toys (on piano wire) like an alert child. The Adam actor would sit there and stare blankly at the screen, so much so there was really only one episode about him, when they find out he has magical powers (and are never mentioned again.)

The worst child actor award should be called The Larry Matthews Award, in honor of the most stilted young actor ever. Jerry Mathers is like Olivier compared to ol' Larry.

The Melissa Gilbert Award should be presented to the most overrated young actor. Compared to DJ, Darlene was Olivier but only in comparison to DJ.

If you think Larry Matthews was a bad actor listen to him try to sing The Little Drummer Boy no the Dick Van Dyke Christmas episode.

Following R107's lead, the Quinn Cummings Award will be presented to the most precocious child actor, who thinks he/she is actually an adult.

I don't know if it was mentioned, but DJ from Roseanne was the second DJ. In the first episode a kid named Sal Barone played DJ.

"he's not fat anymore. I also think he's pretty talented."

He might not fat anymore, but he's still ugly. And I wouldn't fuck him no matter how much money he makes.

R109, I can't stand a precocious child. I'd happily be on the Quinn Cumming Award Committee. I'd rather a kid who can't act than the ones who turn up on some talk show and behave like 45 years old. Go outside, play barbies, climb a tree but please stop rabbiting on about how "organic" the acting process is. Ugh.

The fat ugly fuck from 2 and a Half Men owns this thread.

The blank-eyed sociopathic looking twins who played Wyatt on Charmed. Seriously.

That girl who played Beth, the daughter of Phyllis Lindstrom, on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Awful!

I'm going back about 30 years, but the kid who played Jeremy on General Hospital -ugh! (He was Anne Logan's adopted son who lived with her and Dr. & Mrs. Hardy.) I was probably the same age as that kid, and remember thinking if I ever met him in the playground I'd want to kick his ass.

R115, her name was Bess.

My vote goes for the little thing that played Cassandra on Little House. I'm too lazy to look it up right now.

always thought that the kids on "Everybody Loves Raymond" were perfectly AWFUL. Completely talent-free!!!

[quote]He might not fat anymore, but he's still ugly. And I wouldn't fuck him no matter how much money he makes.

No, he's not at all. Other than the glasses, he's pretty hot. You've obviously got some resentment issues.

[quote]always thought that the kids on "Everybody Loves Raymond" were perfectly AWFUL. Completely talent-free!!!

Their acting coach was Doris Roberts.

All you have to do is turn on the Disney Channel and you'll have an all-you-can-criticize buffet of choices. I blame directors as much as I blame actors. At some point you have to step in and say "for fuck's sake, stop moving your eyebrows and twitching your face that way!" Surely none of these actors speak or twitch that way in real life.

Does anyone remember the abomination that was Kirby Furlong?

"My vote goes for the little thing that played Cassandra on Little House."

She was so creepy looking.

that's melissa francis, who's now an anchor on cnbc!

For some reason I'm having trouble posting the link. But if you go to You Tube and type in "Little House On The Prairie Reunion" there's a 5 minute (fairly recent)clip of most of the cast.

Little "Carrie" is now a kids boxing coach (see the 1:15 mark in the video). Almanzo looks totally different. Miss Beadle has aged the best... Mrs. Olson is still kickin it and keepin it real...

Here are my top 7 most irritating, annoying and sickening child actors in no particular order:

1. Lauren Gray - She played Kathy (Kitten) Anderson in "Father Knows Best". This sickening little brat was the biggest cry baby in the history of sitcoms. She cried and whined in 90% of the episodes. She wanted constant attention and she was not cute enough to be Robert Young and Jane Wyatt's kid. The worst part is that she got away with all kinds of bratty crap because kids received little to no punishment back in the days of 50s and 60s sitcoms. My parents would never have tolerated some of the stunts this little you-know-what pulled.

2. Jay North - He played Dennis Mitchell in "Dennis the Menace". In my opinion, he is almost tied with Lauren Gray except that instead of spending most of the episodes crying, he spent most of them getting into everyone's way, wreaking havoc everywhere he went, screaming in people's ears and trying to act like he was the sweetest, kindest boy in the world while destroying people's lives. In the end, he always got away with every terrible thing he did, and his wimpy parents rarely punished him for anything.

3. Larry Mathews - He played Ritchie Petrie in "The Dick Van Dyke Show". I can't believe that this is the best child actor they could find for this show. He was such a horrible actor that I can understand why he got so little air time, but it doesn't explain why he was cast in the role. He never spoke his lines with any realism. He always sounded like he was reading them and his voice was very whining and annoying.

4. China Anne McClain - She plays Jazmine Payne in "Tyler Perry's House of Payne". Without a doubt, this kid is the most obnoxious, snotty, smart-mouthed rotten little brat I've ever seen on a TV show. Between her disrespectful smart-ass remarks to everyone, including adults and family, and her disgusting eye-rolling at everyone, she is so damned arrogant that it's disgraceful how tolerant and ignorant her parents are regarding her behavior. Her aunt occasionally tries to straighten her out, but it's not often. She is a horrible example to any kids watching this show. She needs to be put in her place pretty quickly.

5. TIED FOR 5TH PLACE - Anissa Jones and Johnny Whitaker who played Buffy and Jody Davis on the 1966-1971 sitcom "Family Affair". These two kids were cast as twins. They looked nothing alike. Buffy was cute and Jody was homely. Buffy has blond hair and Jody had red hair. They were so sickening sweet that you wanted to vomit as soon as they started all their lovey-dovey brother-sister adoration. Please! Get real!

6. Mike Lookinland - He played Bobby Brady on "The Brady Bunch". Not only could this kid not act, but he was one of the worst of all time as far as facial expressions go. He was sickening.

7. Danny Bonaduce - He played Danny Partridge on "The Partridge Family". Smart-ass, smart-mouthed, arrogant, obnoxious and ugly. Need I say more? Yeah right, Shirley Partridge gave birth to this? I'm glad I never saw the father. However in all fairness, I actually liked Danny better as an adult.

"I won't cry if you won't." - awful girl actor in "Towering Inferno" "Oh, you dear sweet little amateur..." - Faye Dunaway in response, pushing little girl's head into her chest so she won't get in way of Faye's close-up

[quote]Lauren Gray - She played Kathy (Kitten) Anderson in "Father Knows Best".

I've been watching "Father Knows Best" on Antenna TV and have wondered why Kathy was written into the show when she doesn't have much to do other than to whine or cause trouble, especially for the older children. (Speaking of whom, I was surprised to see Billy Gray [Bud] shirtless in an episode during a dream sequence.)

I always really liked Mike Lookinland and Danny Bonaduce. There was nothing wrong with their acting, in my opinion.

If I've missed her on this thread, I'm so sorry but I don't think anyone has mentioned Jodi Sweetin, the middle child on Full House. The other kids, including the Olson twins, looked like acting geniuses compared to her mugging.

[quote]These two kids were cast as twins. They looked nothing alike.

Boy and girl twins are always fraternal. There is no reason for them to look more or less alike than any two siblings.

Danny Bonaduce was a natural comedian and very funny in my opinion. Mike Lookinland was probably the best actor of the six Brady Kids. Eve Plumb was the worst, hands down.

You actually thought Mike Lookinland was the best actor of the six Bradys?!!! That kid couldn't act to save his life! He was always looking for cues from everyone else and was constantly mugging for the camera. You've got to be kidding! Eve Plumb who played Jan was just as bad, but he was the worst.

I agree with the person who mentioned Jodi Sweetin from "Full House". I'd forgotten about her. Yeah, she was pretty bad.

As far as the Buffy and Jody are concerned, it doesn't matter what kind of twins they were, they were totally nauseating and so was Danny Bonaduce. He was much more tolerable as an adult.

Kathy on "Father Knows Best" didn't have any purpose. She was there as a catalyst for showing the super sensitive side of the family when she had one of her tantrums or crying jags, but she was the ultimate selfish little TV brat.

Manuel Padilla, Jr. He guest starred on virtually every TV show of the early 60s which needed an "exotic" kid.

He played Jai on "Tarzan" and most notably stood around yelling "Darzin! Darzin! Darzin!" at Ron Ely.

Jay North is awesome!

I watched his E!THS awhile back and he grew up to be a creepy guy! He was addicted to nasal sprays and obsessed with serial killers. He took this odd job counting pills day in and day out so he could save up the money to option a screenplay about a psychopathic murderer.

He would also spend hours on end staring in the mirror practicing what those kids from 'Village of the Damned' did with their eyes so he could kill his abusive aunt.

It was hilarious, but now he has adjusted just fine.

I go with Lauren Chapin (not Gray, R126 - that was Billy as Bud).

I'm sorry for her terrible life, but considering that they had the divine Elinor Donahue and Billy Gray, two of the best young actors ever to play in sitcoms, this fat whiny stinker had no business in the studio. Absolutely repulsive in every appearance - looked bad, acted bad, and obviously the crew hated her because they did everything they could to make her look like a shaved chimpanzee in girl drag. "Kitten" indeed.

Well, I have to admit I never understood a word Emmanuel Lewis spit out with that speech impediment of his - and he sounds the same now as he did then.

--they did everything they could to make her look like a shaved chimpanzee in girl drag. "Kitten" indeed.--

LOL! I love that analogy! Yes, she did look bad and she was a terrible actress. She cried and threw a tantrum in 90% of the episodes and she always ended up being coddled and getting the attention she wanted in the end. Whenever she wasn't getting total attention from everyone, she acted like a spoiled brat and then mom and dad would shower her with attention.

Nice role model for children of that time period who watched that show, huh? Just scream, cry uncontrollably and throw a major tantrum, and your parents will be at your beck and call. She was a total waste of air time. Betty and Bud were much more interesting.

Hands down the winner is Shalane McCall who played Charlie on Dallas. Just horrible. Nothing there. And she got Brad Pitt as a boyfriend.

Agree on LINDSAY SYDNEY Greenbush as Carrie on Little House. The most interesting thing that kid did was run down the hill in the opening creds. The baby born after Carrie got more lines than they did!

And Becky no. 1 on Roseanne ROCKED. Lecy was so much better than you would think. Sara Gilbert got the punch lines, but she was gimmicky. Becky's life was more realistic until the cuter Sarah Chalke took the part and could not stand up in scenes with Gilbert.

And who played Jim Bob on the Waltons? You knew he was probably getting sucked off by some calf on the farm.

Agree with the kid on the Dick Van Dyke show as the "worst child actor ever."

Disagree with Michael Fishman, DJ on Roseanne. I actually think he's one of the best kid actors!!!

Scott Laine

McKeever and the Colonel

Link at R123 gave me my first laugh of the day.

Thank you.

Billy Gray was one of the best looking young men on 50s/60s television. Right up there along with Tony Dow.

Lauren Chapin - Kathy on Father Knows Best simply whined all of her lines. She sucked.

Jay North - Dennis on Dennis the Menace was so unrealistic, it was sickening. Terrible acting.

Larry Mathews - Ritchie on The Dick Van Dyke Show is hands down the worst child actor of all time. Horrible! Horrible! Horrible! Someone here reminded me of the Christmas episode in which Ritchie sings The Little Drummer Boy and you're right. The only thing worse than his acting is his singing.

I disagree with the negative remarks about Angus T. Littlejohn from Two and a Half Men. He is one of the best child actors to come along in ages. At least he's believable which is something most of them aren't.

Lecy Goranson was awesome as Becky. Incredibly realistic portrayal of a completely self absorbed, angry teen with a strong moral compass. Sara Gilbert had the cute one liners when she was young, but Darlene never really went anywhere after she went through her whole depression phase, I assume primarily because Gilbert could only do line readings one way and had no emotional range. Goranson on the other hand was quite skilled at showing the multiple layers of her character.

I always thought that Brice Beckham who played Wesley on Mr. Belvedere had a really good sense of comedy at a young age. His interactions with Christopher Hewitt were the best part of the show-probably why the show primarily focused on their relationship and left the other two kids and the mother out to dry, though Uecker was always good for a laugh.

first kid that came to me -- and agree wholeheartedly with those of you that mentioned him -- is the kid on Two and a Half Men

Unbelievably awful and I was surprised they stuck w/him.

I don't know why anyone would think Angus T. Littlejohn from Two and a Half Men is a terrible actor. He was totally believable. He never sounded like he was reading his lines the way Larry Mathews and Lauren Chapin did. He was brilliant in his role, and he portrayed the typical lazy kid perfectly.

The reason he was cast in the role is because the producers and directors thought he was such a natural, and he is.

Child actors in soaps have always been hideous but they are almost always used as useless props. Why even bother with them especially as they go from baby to teen in a few months or so it seems? The Olsen twins looked like ugly little trolls and still do. Those two youngest Partridge kids were horrible. No expression and they looked retarded. Seems like they replaced one or both of them at some point though.

Didn't Billy Gray become a drug addict and later slam "Father Knows Best"?

Who the fuck is Angus T Littlejohn? It's Angus T Jones.

Sorry. I got the kid's name wrong. People do make mistakes, ya know. Asshole.

Billy Gray did get busted for pot in the early 60s, but that seems to have been a one-off. Leonard Maltin claimed that he was a drug addict in a review for a 1970s film Gray was in and Gray threatened (or perhaps did indeed) sue him for libel. He has had a pretty interesting life as an inventor and a motorcycle enthusiast. I recommend reading his Wiki entry (I have problems with links - sorry)as a nice counter-balance to some of the horror stories about former kid stars.

Billy Gray did bad-mouth "Father Knows Best" in the 70s, basically pointing out it was a lot of BS and a very phony representation of family life. You can't really argue with his point but then he went on to do several reunion specials with the cast so he came off as a bit of a hypocrite.

There was this little girl in the 80s TV shows and commercials with thick red hair and freckles, and she was soooo ugly and annoying. Her hair was done up in pig tails. She was always some girl with a crush on the lead boy. I can't remember which shows, or who she was, but she seemed omnipresent for a while.

Anyone remember or know who I mean?

Here ya go, R153...

Sounds like the neighbor girl from "Small Wonder." I don't remember her from anything else but that face will burn itself into your brain.

THANKS! THAT'S HER!!!!

On FKB, I used to like how Margaret (Jane Wyatt) would address her youngest as "Kaaa-thy". Margaret always sounded so depressed or despondent whenever she called her. A bit of trivia: on the radio version of the show, the second Margaret Anderson was played by Jean Vander Pyl, who was best known for her work in animation, especially Wilma Flintstone.

Elinor Donahue and Billy Gray were very good on the show and there were a few episodes where the viewer got to see different shades of the characters and which allowed them both to do some real acting.

R112 that's why I've always hated Dakota Fanning. I've seen her in a few movies and she's fine but offscreen very much a precocious child. Maybe she'll outgrow it. Otherwise I want to see her suffocated with a pillow.

PART ONE -- GIRL KID ACTORS

I've always liked Dakota Fanning and her sweet smile. I've always thought Anissa Jones as Buffy on Family Affair was a good kid actor too. Susan Olson on Brady Bunch, not so great, but then the lisp didn't help and either did the goody-goody, always the baby character she was given to play.

I just went to Google to be sure I got the Cindy Brady actress' name right when I discovered her "big scandal" from 2008. The (hilarious) headline I saw was: "Susan Olson (Cindy from the Brady Bunch) Almost Vomits During Interview." It was a radio interview in which she later had to admit she was hungover.

I also like Quinn Cummings (Marsha Mason's daughter in The Goodbye Girl) and Bess on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. I won't lie -- for the longest time, I thought they were the same person! Now, I know Bess was played by Lisa Gerritsen who now apparently is a computer systems/networking expert living in Northern Cali with her husband and son.

PART TWO -- BOY KID ACTORS

Danny Bonaduce rocked The Partridge Family bringing so much personality and charisma with a different look. Yeah David Cassidy had the looks, but Danny had the personality to make the show watchable.

Mike Lookinland as Bobby Brady I always thought was awesome and very believable in his role. When he talked about wanting to be Jesse James and then older, a race car driver, it seemed like he really wanted to be those things somehow. This is how I remember feeling/thinking when watching those episodes. Great kid actor!

Michael Fishman is another kid actor who I think is really excellent. He did have a weird part to play as DJ -- collecting headless doll bodies in a shoebox under his bed and trying to give himself a headache on purpose?? I think he did an awesome job with that part.

These child actors did suck! : Johnny Whitaker on Family Affair, Ben on Growing Pains, Cousin Oliver (should have been John Denver's mini me instead!) -- and the worst, I agree with you OP -- Larry Matthews as the "whining, shouting" Richie on Dick Van Dyke. (I guess only MTM could carry that sort of thing off -- and she really did well with it!)

Elinor Donahue was pretty and not a bad actress. She was the best of Andy Taylor's girlfriends on the Andy Griffith show (way better than Helen). It's too bad that role did not last longer, or that she did not find a similar role as an adult on another sitcom. I also liked her as Chris Elliot's mother on his old Fox sitcom where he was a paper delivery boy.

Pardon me if they've already been mentioned, but what are some view of the child actors in the following casts:

Leave It To Beaver (I think it's a testament to the writing as well as to Ken Osmond's acting that Eddie Haskell always comes off as such a creep)

The Donna Reed Show

Lost In Space

Mickey Rooney

DJ Conner. That lucky bastard was a hack among great actors. Also another vote for the new Lily on Modern Family.

Janey on thirtysomething.

ha, Janey WAS annoying -- and always looped. But the kid who played Ethan (Luke Rossi?) was amazing. One of the very best.

'Waltons' actress now fills role as Inglewood middle school principal

Some childhood actors turn to drugs. Others stay in show business. Kami Cotler became a middle school principal in Inglewood.

Unbeknown to most of her students, Cotler, principal of Environmental Charter Middle School, was a celebrity at their age.

Cotler had a major role as Elizabeth Walton, the youngest member of the family in both the made-for-TV movie "The Homecoming: A Christmas Story" and the long-running spinoff TV drama "The Waltons."

Last week she was on the East Coast, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the 1970s-era show with the rest of the cast. In addition to making a Friday appearance on the "Today" show, the group got together for a screening and a party.

For those too young to remember, "The Waltons" was set in the mountains of Virginia during the Great Depression. It centered on a large family that survived by living off their own land.

It was a wholesome drama whose episodes delved into all manner of family themes: triumph and heartache at school, the dilemma over whether to spank a child, a daughter who refuses to abide by country traditions, caring for ailing grandparents.

"The Waltons" predates other shows in the same vein, such as "Little House on the Prairie." Indeed, its successful nine-year run may have helped pave the way for such family-oriented shows, Cotler speculated.

Last week's reunion was far from the Waltons' first. Bucking the stereotype of Hollywood prima donnas whose Advertisement on-camera affection is matched only by their off-camera animosity, the Walton family long ago came to feel more fact than fiction. To this day, the members regularly meet the week before Christmas. They attend one another's weddings, live theater performances and book signings.

"We were together for 10 years and saw more of each other than we did of our own families," Cotler said, speaking by phone from New York City last week.

With her vermilion red hair and a sprinkling of freckles, Cotler is the rare person who truly resembles the adult version of her childhood self. So it is not uncommon for people to still recognize her. A few years ago, while lunching with two other Walton sisters, a fan approached the table and asked Cotler about the show. The fan recognized Cotler, but not the others.

Of course, Cotler's students are too young to know the face. And while the ones who watch the show with their parents may tell Cotler that they find her child character to be cute, they seldom are star struck.

"I used to say, if Madonna became a teacher, or now Katy Perry, they'd be like, `Ah, Miss Perry gave me homework,"' Cotler said. "Think about it. As a kid you didn't think about your teachers as having actual lives. No, they were your teachers."

Or principal, as the case may be.

Cotler is the antithesis of the child who was pushed into show business by overbearing parents. Her acting career began by accident. Her mother had taken her to a photography studio in Los Angeles from their home in Long Beach to get a Christmas portrait. The photographer, struck by the girl's red hair, freckles and extroversion, suggested she give commercial work a go.

"I harassed her about wanting to be on television," Cotler remembers. Her mom, then a marketer for IBM, relented.

Cotler tried for a spot on the popular, long-running TV show "Gunsmoke," but it didn't pan out.

"I had to cough but didn't know how to do it," she said, adding, "I was only 6."

It turns out the casting director for "The Waltons" was looking for a pint-size redhead. (The show was based on a novel by Earl Hamner Jr. - who also created the TV series - about a family of redheads.)

The show's steady success yielded a healthy paycheck. But in the days before gadgets and video games, preteens didn't have a lot of options for lavish spending.

"It's not like you're going to buy endless chocolate bars," she joked.

Cotler's parents socked the money away. Years later, her education at the University of California, Berkeley, was fully funded. Once there, she didn't even consider studying drama. Instead, Cotler studied education. Coincidentally, she landed her first job teaching at-risk youth in Virginia, the same state in which the show was set.

This was not by design. In fact, when weighing the pros and cons of taking the job at that location, the show was a strike against it. The biggest argument in favor was a desire to experience life in a more rural setting. An American studies major, Cotler had only lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

Perhaps her desire to experience the heartland was informed on some level by the history of the show, which would make for a good chapter in a college textbook on popular culture.

The way Cotler tells it, the creators fully expected "The Waltons" to flop. The idea for the TV show came somewhat grudgingly, after Hollywood had taken a scolding from Congress for the lack of family-oriented themes in mainstream television. The pilot was wedged between two hit shows that were decidedly more hip: "The Mod Squad" and "The Flip Wilson Show."

But to Hollywood's surprise, "The Waltons" was a sleeper hit, finishing season two at No. 2 in the Nielsen ratings, between "All in the Family" and "Sanford and Son."

The phenomenon spotlighted a cultural divide in America: the creators of entertainment were coastal city dwellers, unfamiliar with what might appeal to viewers in the country's midsection.

"There was a whole big world of people in between who nobody thought about," she said.

To this day, "The Waltons" airs regularly on the Hallmark Channel as well as some religious networks.

Cotler, who lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two children, was drawn to the charter movement when it became apparent that her eldest child was having a tough time in a traditional public school.

He was strong in academics, but wasn't happy.

"He would call home with stomachaches just before recess," she said. "The school was very focused on how many words per minute could he read. I kept asking, `Have you played with anybody at recess?' ... That's where he needed support."

She helped found a charter school on the Westside. He enrolled, and flourished.

About a decade ago, she applied to Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale to work as a technology specialist. She ended up landing a job as a history teacher. It was the kind of flexibility often lacking in the traditional system. Three years ago, she was tapped to help write the charter for a middle school in Inglewood. The school opened in the fall of 2010 with her at the helm.

Environmental Charter Middle School currently serves about 200 students. Plans are in place to move the campus next year to Gardena, home to much of its clientele. (The school hasn't decided whether to also keep the campus at 3600 W. Imperial Ave. in Inglewood.)

She isn't a blind supporter of the charter movement.

"I always tell families, every charter school is different," she said. "If you hear someone say `charter schools are good,' that doesn't mean anything. You have to go look at it and ask, `Is this school a match for my child?"'

the.girl.on.small.wonder.

The niglet on KIDS INCORPORATED

the kid in court in the Movie "A Wonderful Life" who wants Santa to get him a 'football helmet', and when he's on the stand, and walks out of the court with his mom, and speaks his lines: "would you daddy", and 'goodbye daddy'.....Who ever told this kid's mother he could act, and who did he 'know' to get him this part? UGH!!

That was "Miracle on 34th Street," you idiot.

Worse...Jayden Smith "The Karate Kid"

Best...Brooke Shields "Pretty Baby"

Johnny Crawford is doing ads for the Rifleman on MeTV and he's aged nicely, not a hot daddy or anything, just a good looking older man.

The boy from Dick Van Dyke also does an ad and has a sadness in his eyes like he's seen hard times and wears an earring.

Did the Waltons ever broach homosexuality, drug use, communism, racism or were they just another docile family being boned by the depression?

The kid playing the son on Smash is quite possibly the worst actor I have ever seen in anything ever.

to: William Frawley reply 172 04/23/2012 @ 05:35PM

Yes, you are correct. I inadvertently wrote the wrong movie title (as I just recently just posted a comment elsewhere re: Wonderful Life). However, after reading your 'uncivilized' response ...who's the 'idiot'? Have a little 'class' if you're going to try to pass yourself off as a 'knowledgeable' person.

Two names come to mind:

the youngest kid on "Roseanne"

the youngest kid on "Home Improvement"

Both were pretty dreadful; oh, and

#3: Debra Messing's son on "Smash." Hideous.

Not nuts about the fat Spic on "Modern Family."

Any Friday Night Lights fans here? There was a little kid on the show for about five episodes at the end of season one. He played the son of the older woman that Tim Riggins started sleeping with. My. God. That kid was the most grating presence I have seen on television in a long time.

Gary Coleman

R22, I keep hoping for an episode where Amanda/Emily does a take down that involves both Declan and Charlotte dying in a car crash.

I thought all of the kids on "Leave It To Beaver" were great. I particularly love Eddie Haskell, Larry Mondello (fat little redhead with domineering mom), & Judy (tall bitch with pigtails). But every one of them was totally believable -- a large part of that is due to the excellent writers, but the kids didn't fuck it up & that's rare (maybe good directors?).

I also love all of the kids in "Our Gang", aka "Little Rascals" -- especially Alfalfa, so cute!

I'm with R121 - spend a little time with the Disney Channel and they'll show you how it's done...

The fact that you use superfluous single quotes so egregiously, R177, just proves me right, not to mention that unnecessary ellipsis. And the title of the other movie is "[bold]It's[/bold] a Wonderful Life," not "A Wonderful Life." Dumbass.

My crush on Eddie Haskell began a life long pattern of falling for the bad boy. I wonder if he and Wally ever compared sizemeat?

I see Bill hasn't sweetened any from his time in heaven.

Unless ...

This creepy set of twins who played Wyatt on Charmed. They looked crazy.

Jon E. Whitaker.

You've all blocked out the horror that was Mason Reese.

I'll bet Reese grew into one hot ginger.

Reese is quite the New York entrepreneur. You know the old saying, "if you can make it there..." Unsurprisingly, he's a bear. He may be gay since no spouse or personal information is given on wiki. He has a hairy chest he likes showing off.

I saw him in Downtown Vegas years back. He grew up to be nearly as unattractive as you would have imagined. Short, fat, ugly and with a terrible voice. I'm sure he's nice.....

[quote] She helped found a charter school on the Westside. He enrolled, and flourished

Well, no shit. If YOUR MOM founded the charter school, yeah, you're gonna flourish.

The first time I ever saw Bruce Vilanch I thought it was Mason Reece all blonded up.

[R185] Wow, you are a mess...get some help!

That little bitch from Poltergeist.

WORST, FAKEST, PHONIEST ACTRESS EVER.

Angus T. Jones on Two and a Half Men....as a young child, had excellent comic timing and I thought he was great. Puberty did this kid no favors at all....he totally sucks on the show now (which is no small feat considering the show now sucks on just about every level).

Those horrible Sweeten kids on Everybody loves Raymond. Those twins looked like they were missing a chromosone and their's and their sister's acting was horrific. The rest of the show was so well cast except for that simple Amy who could pass for those twins mother. She is the wife of the producer but who are those kids related to.

china anne mcclain and skai jackson

Stephen Talbot who played Beaver's friend Gilbert was hot when he was in college.

Little Mary in "The Women". I kept waiting for Norma Shearer to take an ashtray to the back of her head.

JASON BATEMAN! STUPID UGLY KID COULDN'T ACT HIS WAY OUT OF A PAPER BAG!

Did anyone mention the little boy in 'Burnt Offerings'? Gawd, how awful. I hoped Oliver Reed would really drown him.

LARRY MATTHEWS. Hands down, the WORST. I have Dick Van Dyke on right now; it's the episode where Richie gets attacked by a woodpecker and he is such a friggin crybaby pain in the butt. All the kid ever did was scream and whine. He never talked, he whined everything. I have the show on mute cuz I can't stand him and his whining. WORST. KID. ACTOR. EVER.

OMG, Mason Reese now looks like Bruce Vilanch, so he ain't no hot bear ginge.

Larry Matthews definitely hurts my ears and raises my blood pressure. Not impressed with Charlie on Good Luck Charlie. Cassandra on Little House was bad but you could tell they were trying to remove the focus from the Lindsay and Sydney Greenbush (Carrie) who were worse. Jennifer Hewitt (Sara on Party of Five) always looked constipated with the furrowed eyebrows and said "You know what,etc" many times during an episode and as an adult she still does it on Ghost Whisperer" and that other new show where she's trying to show off her body, she's super careful not to show her ass (literally)

Larry Matthews was hired precisely because he was a little kid. Carl Reiner said he hired him, because he acted like a real little kid would.

Jerry Mathers also got the job for a similar reason. At the audition, the producers noticed he was distracted and when asked why Mathers replied, "he wanted to hurry up and get through the audition so he wouldn't be late for his Cub Scout meeting." They hired him, because that is what real kids act like.

BTW Danielle Brisebois grew up to be a kick ass, awesome singer. If you can afford it, get her two CDs on eBay, your jaw will drop at how good she is.

As for Dee on "What's Happenin'" she was BAD but it fit the show very well, so it worked well.

Family Affair was weird because it wasn't a show about children as people think. It was a show about two adults (French and Uncle Bill) having to adjust to kids. It was the ADULTS not the kids that the show was about.

I always wanted to punch out the Olsen twins. Horrid little incubi.

The entire junior cast of "The Night of the Hunter" - every last one of 'em!

Kyle Richards.

India Eisley - plays the younger sister Ashley on Secret Life of An American Teenager. Arguably the most wooden actress I have ever seen. She delivers every line in the same monotone inflection. The robotgirl from Small Wonder had more range if that is possible, but both are equally annoying and unwatchable.

To be completely fair the writing on that show is positively atrocious. A typical Secret Life scene has 4 characters repeating the same exact dialog to eachother. For example:

A She went to the store

B Really, she went to the store

C Did you hear she went to the store

D Yes she really went to the store.

My dog could write better stuff than this. This show is also guilty of having the least visible 'barely there' gay character in tv history. A compilation of Griffen's scenes over the 5 season run of the show would not take up more than a 3 min youtube video. Why even bother creating the character if you have no intention of creating stories or plot lines for them.

The strident liar in The Children's Hour

DJ Connor. Horrible actor. Luckiest bastard to have looked so much like Roseanne.

Lilly, Modern Family; already mentioned.

Useless Carrie, Little House; another vote

I disagree with the girl in The Children's Hour. I think she's meant to be over the top so as to be appalling. It's fucking infuriating that anyone believes her lie.

Little Richie was a cute little kid (always a bad actor) when the showed premiered, so I can kind of see how they hired him. They were pretty smart to minimize his role pretty quickly.

I am not sure if the Family Affair kids were bad actors or if that is how they were written. They were always so somber. It is like they were always shadowed by the tradgedy of losing their parents (which would be realistic, unlike most sitcoms where kids barely reacted to having a deseased parent).

Soaps have had more horrible child actors than can be counted.

The fucking cunt who played Tootie in Meet Me in Saint Louis.

MGM's idea of what is "cute" is like Hilter's idea of what is "enough."

R24 is spot on - Jim-Bob from the Waltons was insufferably wooden.

Married with children's ad on actor in the late seasons. Character name was 7. The worst ever

That obnoxious fucking piece of shit who plays the daughter on Homeland. Die, screaming. I'd like a horrible accident to befall her(oh, her CHARACTER, of course! ahem.)

The youngest kid on "Home Improvement" - Taran-something? DREADFUL. WEHT to ANY of the 3 kids??

Probably the kid who played Teri Hatcher's son in the later Desperate Housewives seasons.

There was an interesting child actor on the English soap Eastenders who would have made a good Harry Potter. Many people considered him a poor actor but I think he was entertaining.

R217, but he was so cute. I would've tapped that.

The girl who plays Lilly on "Modern Family" has the most awful voice! It is like she is some old woman! Crabby, dull, ugly! It is the flat, deep, whiny voice and the snotty attitude, that makes her/her character, painful to endure!

Tplac the original Lily because she had no facial expressions. This current Lily is so robotic and such a poor actress that she kills every scene she's in.

The kid who played Lucy Carmichael's son on "The Lucy Show". He was wooden and totally unlikeable. He turned out to be relatively attractive in his older years.

Another vote for Larry Matthews. Cute kid, but WOW! Really bad.

Worst Kid Actors Ever:

1. The Olsen Twins on Full House --- Horrid.

2. The kids on Everybody Loves Raymond --- Terrible.

3. Larry Matthews on Dick Van Dyke.

4. Carrie on Little House on the Prairie --- Cute twins played her, but ugh. Awful.

5. Julie Piekarski, Felice Schacter, and Molly Ringwald on Facts of Life --- Molly greatly improved after being canned and became a good actress. The other two were cute girls, but awful actresses. The right girls were let go after season one. Julie Anne Haddock was a little better than those three, but still not great.

Leave it the guys at Punchy Players to nail an imitation of HAZEL's Bobby Buntrock.

[all posts by right wing shit-stain # a removed.]

Quebooboo Wallis. It's incomprehensible to me that she got an Oscar nomination...and Marion Cotillard and Rachel Weisz did not.

[quote]The little girl on "The Starter Wife."

She was awful. I would reverse to listen to her a second time and still couldn't get what she was saying. Luckily, her part was always small.

The girl in the horror movies Halloween III and IV. Whiniest child I have ever endured through an entire film, much less two. Was cheering for Mike Myers to finish her off.

Lily on Modern Family. Love the cast but she is awful!!

When I saw this thread was bumped again on a Wednesday evening, I knew it was another vote for Modern Family's Lily.

The boy in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" was not remotely up to the lead in that film.

That THING that plays the daughter in "Homeland." Die, already.

The various - 3, so far? - little boys playing "Bobby" in Mad Men are/were no great shakes, either.

The two youngest on the Partridge Family. Both of them would were incapable of expression.

That fat kid on Two and a Half Men. Awful.

The oldest son on Growing Pains, the goody-good christian one. I think his name was Griffith Park or something like that.

[quote]Susan Olson on Brady Bunch, not so great, but then the lisp didn't help and either did the goody-goody, always the baby character she was given to play.

"Goody-goody"?

You obviously missed the episode where Olson (Cindy)tried to shove a cucumber up Tiger's ass as part of a "science experiment". Carol and Mike really punished her good that time. The screams from the girls' room were probably one of the only moments of realism on that whole series. Olson did a great job of portraying a bruised little girl with her arm in a sling at the end of that episode.

The FCC thought that the producers had gone too far, so Tiger was never seen or mentioned again after that episode.

William Ullrich who played Little Bobby Darin in the film "Beyond the Sea." That kid was so annoying that I almost wanted to see him die in that film. But he probably did anyway because his acting was so bad.

Wow, over 200 posts and NOTHING on the totally resistable Lee H. Montgomery? He was everywhere in the 70s- especially on TV, though if you haven't seen the 1976 horror flick "Burnt Offerings" , you're gonna love what happens to bratty little Lee Harcourt! By the way, his parents are played by Oliver Reed and Karen Black!

Skai Jackson from Jessie is Horrible. She can't say a sentence without a smirk

[quote]Wow, over 200 posts and NOTHING on the totally resistable Lee H. Montgomery? He

Don't agree at all. He was a terrific kid actor who grew up hot, just check out "Girl's Just Want To Have Fun" with Sarah Jessica Parker & Helen Hunt. But speak of the Devil. he will be at Monster Mania this weekend in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

The kid who plays Ciara on "Days of Our Lives", Lauren Boles! She's completely awful and she's been on the show for years. There's been no improvement whatsoever.

She delivers her lines as if she's playing a robot or is in a horror movie.

Her looks are odd too, she'd be perfect in a role as a child vampire.

OT, Re: R243's link: What happened to Danny Glover's career?!

[all posts by right wing shit-stain # a removed.]

ANGELA CARTWRIGHT, hands down, WORST: couldn't deliver a line without trying not to SMILE if her life depended on it. only got jobs for her looks! jeremy gelbwaks couldn't act, but was cute; 2nd 'chris' couldn't act, but got job cuz of daddy. danielle spencer was 2nd runner up to that dreadful angela cartwright!

I had a huge schoolboy crush on Angela Cartwright

I think the older boy, Axl and middle child, Sue from The Middle do a great job of delivering quick, slapstick jabs back and forth. They flow so effortlessly you forget their not really siblings and are acting.

The little girl in boy meets world is the worst actress ever. All she did was yell her lines. I want to punch her in the face.

The horrid and dykey Kristen Stewart, who really stunk up the otherwise fine film, Panic Room.

Yet another vote for Larry Matthews. My parents wouldn't even let me watch The Dick Van Dyke show because of Richie's relentless and grating whining.

There really aren't many genuinely good child actors though. The majority are just a function of the writing and their ability to follow directions.

Jackson Brundage in the last few seasons of One Tree Hill was awful.

Remember the 1997 "The Shining" miniseries? That loathsome, chipmunk-humanoid hybrid that played Danny was the most detestably ugly child I've ever seen in my life. Its teeth & drooling mouth were so weirdly deformed it couldn't even close its lips! And it lisped and slobbered so many of its lines, this child had no redeeming qualities to compensate for its physical monstrosity.

Just a reminder, folks, that my shitty acting is on display every Friday night!

Aww, I thought Courtland Mead was adorable. Fuck you CM haters!

No one dares mentions me!

[quote]Just a reminder, folks, that my shitty acting is on display every Friday night! by: Teilor Grubbs, "Grace Williams", Hawaii 5-0

Sorry, dearie, but since you primarily share airtime with Scotty Caan, no one is noticing you.

Darlene was the only good actor kid on Roseanne. D.J. was a terrible hammy actor. Larry Matthews was horrible. The Olson Twins and the older daughter were horrible on Full (of sh**) House. The kids on Modern Family are horrible. The son of Sophia V. is so bad he is unwatchable. Lipnicki was horrible and hammy. That second Indiana Jones kid was beyond awful--saw that somewhere on here.

The Middle kids are GREAT--they act like real kids. They really are the show. The little girl in the Julie Andrews TV Chritsmas movies about them living in The Plaza was quite good.

Angela Cartwright was an excellent child actress.

So, R260, you are saying that Jodie Sweetin was the only good kid actor on FULL HOUSE?

I disagree about Sara Gilbert being the only good kid actor on Roseanne. Lecy Goranson was so good at playing an insufferable, mouthy brat that she made hating Becky an easy feat.

I mean none of the Full House kids or adults had any talent. There was no reason at all to watch that insipid show, except maybe for the dog.

Becky was okay on Roseanne; she was as you say, and it explained why Darlene teased her so much. Not a great actress, but okay. The second Becky was too pretty.

Julie Piekarski from The Facts of Life

[quote]Sorry, dearie, but since you primarily share airtime with Scotty Caan, no one is noticing you.

I'm surprised you wouldn't notice me, seeing as I'm four inches taller than Scott.

Courtland nowadays. Cutie.

Wrong, OP. Larry Matthews was actually a pretty good actor. In this episode he pulls off the crying scenes pretty well. Look at this body reactions when Laura tries to touch him while he is having a fit. He has great instincts.

In the "Little Drummer Boy" clip that you can find on Youtube, notice his expressions when he sings. Technically, he is not the greatest singer, but for such a young kid, his rendition is pretty heartfelt. Look at his facial expressions, especially at the last verse. It's very touching. It's a real kid singing and it works.

I don't know what you have against Larry Mathews, but he is one of the better child actors. If you think he is annoying, perhaps you are projecting. Have you look inside yourself lately?

Luke on Modern Family. Worst. Started out bad and has become 1000 times worse over the years. How does that even happen?

{267} I'm glad to see Larry Mathews' mother is still alive.

Let's see. A nice, funny, laid-back father paired with a sweet, simple, beautiful mother. Let's give them a loud, strong-willed boy. Comedy gold!

If that kid actor really annoyed you, as you claim, then Larry Matthews did a great job.

It's called acting.

All these posts and no one mentioned Cammie King, who played Bonnie Blue in Gone with the Wind?

Everytime I see that film, I cheer when that pony kills her. Annoying bitch.

The girl who played Tracy Partridge...ugh. how did she get that part?? just unbelievably bad. someone paid someone off for sure.

Even with all the overwhelming competition nobody comes within any kind of distance to that little girl in My Three Sons. Have never seen anything like her since and that is really saying something. A horror movie with a triple x rating unto herself.

Melissa Sue Anderson

Melissa Gilbert

Both of the Missys were pretty good as child actors.

The kid playing Abel on SOA.

anybody past and present who appeared on the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon

The twins who play Abel on Sons of Anarchy.

You people are horrible! I love it. My ex also despises child actors, he actually says "kill it" after a scene. The kids on Modern family, the kid on Three and a half Men, on and on. "Wouldn't it be great if a bolt of lightening just fried that kid?" He's shamelessly funny about it and obsessed.

Raven Symone in THE COSBY SHOW. She was very precocious and hammed it up to the max. The difference between her and Keishia Knight-Pulliam is that Rudy was a cute kid but still believable, whereas Olivia was cutesy and acted like a mini grownup. It was off-putting. I stopped watching after she came along (Seasons 6, 7, 8). By then, most of the kids had moved out, anyway, and the dynamics had changed.

On the other hand, I thought Raven was excellent as a teen in her Disney sitcom THAT'S SO RAVEN. She actually has comedic talent.

My vote is for Bobs Watson, one of a whole family of kid actors in the 30s. It will warm the cockles of your heart to see him run over by a car in "Boys Town" and dragged to death by runaway horses in "Dodge City"!

The kid that played Fraiser's son. I cringed every time he was on the show.

The fat kid in Modern Family. The Latino not the married one. The fat kid in Two and a Half Men. The sourfaced girl who was not DJ or Darlene. Actually all three were annoying. Also the two fat parents.

Oh, yeah, M. Wilkes at R270? How about that sniveling brat who played your son?

"Where is Mother going and why can't I go too?"

Oh, Beau, Beau if only you would!

It's all your fault! I hate you, I hate you and I hate your baby too!

The original twins who played Lily on Modern Family. Granted, they were way young but always looked like they were being tortured for being there.

Blossom.

I already named the all time worst child actress so now I'll name the boy.

The kid who keeps turning up as his own son in Donat's Goodbye Mr. Chips. His final scene in that film kills all the goodwill built up before it.

DL where you can find people saying that no child deserves an oscar because children don't really act they just are and people (other people? the same people?) saying that some of those child actors supposedly just being children can't act their way out of paper bags.

Welcome to the logical wasteland known as Datalounge.

Courtney Chase, who played Kennedy on Blossom. She started out with the most pronounced British accent one has ever heard but dropped it after about 5 episodes when people realized it didn't make her cute, it made her grating.

There was only one movie I ever turned off because the child actor annoyed the hell out of me: Holiday Affair with Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum. The kid who played Janet Leigh's son was insufferable.

[quote]My vote is for Bobs Watson, one of a whole family of kid actors in the 30s. It will warm the cockles of your heart to see him run over by a car in "Boys Town" and dragged to death by runaway horses in "Dodge City"!

I politely disagree. Mickey Rooney delivered a heroic crying scene in Boy's Town after the director told him that Bobs Watson was going to steal it right out from under him unless Rooney was anything less than brilliant.

I had the privilege of seeing Bobs Watson as an old man give an unforgettable recitation of the melodramatic poem "The Face on the Barroom Floor," about a bum who stumbles into a saloon reveals himself to have been a great painter who became a drunkard after losing his lady love to his dearest friend. He was masterful in acting out the florid poem with great expression but with perfect control and emotional authenticity.

I nominate Patty McCormack. She was the "worst" child ever on screen (and received an Academy Award nomination as a result). Willing to kill over a penmanship medal and "dispense" with bothersome old Henry Jones when he got in her way. Bitch could even hold her own with a drunken Eileen Heckart!

Its a tie, Maxwell Perry Cotton from A Dennis the Menace Christmas and Mike Weinberg from Home Alone 4

Angela Cartwright on "Make Room for Daddy".

The kid who played Diahann Carroll's son on "Julia".

[quote]Courtney Chase, who played Kennedy on Blossom. She started out with the most pronounced British accent one has ever heard but dropped it after about 5 episodes when people realized it didn't make her cute, it made her grating.

I couldn't stand her either.

Calista Flockhart on ALLY McBEAL.

So far, no one has come up with a child-abomination as loathsome as the woodchuck, human-like drooling thing in the 1997 "The Shining" miniseries. That child was so repulsive I wanted to get a blanket, a hammer and mercifully toss the blanket over it and use the hammer to put the lump under the blanket out of its (and our) misery. And why the FUCK couldn't that creature close its bucktoothed mouth?

Jyoti Amge on American Horror Story

[quote]The kid who keeps turning up as his own son in Donat's Goodbye Mr. Chips. His final scene in that film kills all the goodwill built up before it.

Oh, God--Terry Kilburn! AKA the spazziest Tiny Tim ever from MGM's "A Christmas Carol".

The most e-ffeminate Tiny Tim ever. He is openly gay, though.

Mason Reese owns this thread and he looks even worse nowadays!

The twins who played Carrie Ingalls on LHOTP neither of which who could act.

Jax's son on Sons of Anarchy and the youngest girl (Morgan) on Boy Meets World are the worst child actors of all time.

The chic who played Annie in the 1982 movie. Terrible. Horrible mugging for the camera and only a so-so voice. Ugly as sin too.

The little girl who plays Faith on Y&R. (She also played the daughter in that weird Will Ferrell/Kristin Wiig Lifetime movie.) She's so aggressively cute and "on" I consistently pray for her character to get killed off for the sake of cheap tears.

That kid that played Will Robinson in the movie version of Lost in Space. Absolutely ruined that move - well, William Hurt sucked pretty bad too. Come to think of it, all the actors were terrible. But, the kid - AWFUL!

Frederick Koehler (Chip Lowell) on "Kate & Allie."

Ellie (Alina Foley) on "The League" is extremely annoying.

I've never seen her in anything else though & she's like 11 or 12 so she has time to grow out of it. Nepotism should help her career though.

Alyssa Milano and Danny Pintauro. Both terrible on Who's The Boss? Don't know if he's still acting, but as an actress she has not improved with age.

The kid in the original 1980 version of "Gloria."

He sucked.

No one else has mentioned him yet so my distaste (homicidal) for him might be only a personal thing. Eric Shea. As a child he dominated the late 70s and early 80s as the obligatory smartly pants kid on television drama and half-hour sitcoms... best known (or worst known) as Robin in THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. Always hope he will be the first one offed when the ship flipped.

R305 sounds like a colossal douchebag.

The kid who played Little Earl on "What's Happening"

I have a Small Wonder story to share. A friend at college with to high school with Tiffany Brissette.

Tiffany said the little redhead girl wanted the starring role and she and her family were a-holes to deal with when she didn't get it.

For the record, I thought Kirk and Candace Cameron were terrible actors on their respective shows.

What do you mean? Pamelyn? I had to imdb her but when I did? Memory flood! I thought she was awesome. I vote the kid from Babadook.

R313, at least I didn't wish for her death the way that some of the posters here did about some of the other horrible child actors.

[quote]Frederick Koehler (Chip Lowell) on "Kate & Allie."

I've seen him on stage several times as an adult and he was pretty good.

I'm another for The Olson Twins. My sister loved that show when we were kids and I couldn't stand them.

Laurie Partridge..Did have a lobotomy,or what? I don't think she ever smiled.

Daniel's son on DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Godawful. What the hell is wrong with the kid? He just grins and never says anything.

Don't have a meltdown DL,but Janet Jackson sucked as Penny..There ,I said it.

I thought jack johnson from lost in space movie was adorable looking kid

Jonny crawford was a hottie

Mark with his daddy

Baby Jane Hudson. Butcha' ARE!

Luke on Modern Family was great as a sweet dopey kid but his voice changed and now he's terrible. I'm concerned about Lily as well, her timing has been off this season.

Luke is getting hot, though. Never in a million years would I have expected that.

The kid who played the little brother (Andy Keaton?) on Family Ties. I cringed every time he was on the screen. Michael J. Fox tried so, so hard to salvage his scenes with that kid. I felt sorry for both of them.

David Mendenhall - child star of the 80s. He was on General Hospital and starred as Sylvester Stallone's son in the arm wrestling movie, "Over The Top".

Dutch?

[quote] Frederick Koehler (Chip Lowell) on "Kate & Allie."

[quote]I've seen him on stage several times as an adult and he was pretty good.

He seems to play a lot of criminals, usually psychopaths, on police procedural shows. He also played the son of that white supremacist on "Oz." Chris Meloni fucked him.

I always liked Frederic Koehler on Kate & Allie. He was always low key as opposed to other obnoxious hammy child actors of the same era (see Growing Pains).

I thought Frederick Koehler was good in Mr. Mom. The scene with the washing machine malfunctioning was very funny.

My vote is for the girl who played Morgan in Boy Meets World in 1994 or so. She was friggen terrible. She was supposed to be the cute little girl who was a bit bossy and everybody loved her, but she was a rude brat and not at all endearing.

I also agree that Luke from Modern Family is terrible. He started off alright but now his comedic timing seems forced. You can practically see him running everyone's lines in his head waiting for his turn to speak.

[quote]Don't know if he's still acting, but as an actress she has not improved with age.

He's trying to muscle in on my territory!

[quote] Tiffany said the little redhead girl wanted the starring role and she and her family were a-holes to deal with when she didn't get it.

Then she was perfectly cast as Harriet.

I agree that Frederick Koehler was more low key than most child actors during that era, and I actually liked Chip. I just believe it was obvious that Frederick was acting on K&A. I guess it's just me.

I'm another person who didn't like Olivia on The Cosby Show. Even at age five I thought, "I don't like that heifer."

Gerri Lisatsen

Around Christmas I saw an episode of the Dick Van Dyke show on ME tv. I’d never seen it before. It was a Christmas special so maybe it’s not in regular rotation. The framing was, the behind-the-scenes staff at the Alan Brady Show shows off their talents. One bit was “I Am A Fine Musician “ which they repeated in at least one other episode because I had seen that. But the absolute kicker was Larry Matthews singing “Little Drummer Boy”. He looked miserable besides not being a very good singer. I am ready to believe his performance was enough to keep it off the air for decades.

The uncredited, ugly little thing that portrayed a just-born "Little Ricky" in the viewing window during the I Love Lucy episode where Mrs. Ricardo has recently churned him out.