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Children of the
born to the famous have collapsed under domicile insecurity, while the world outside
clamours for smiles and autographs
from their celebrated parents.
Many have committed suicide, while others hang around hoping their surname
alone will give them that all-important break. A smaller group ignore Hollywood and forge an identity for themselves.
And there are those who have written books. When Anthony Quinn oldest daughter told her father
she plans to write a book... "Promise me you will never do a Christina Crawford on me!" replied Quinn.
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Michael and Kirk Douglas |
Yet despite the fame by proxy, some sons of the stars have surpassed their father's fame. Jeff Bridges
received and Oscar nomination for his debut performance. And Kirk's son Michael Douglas
won an Oscar but was producer of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
&
THE CHINA SYNDROME |
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Liza and Judy Garland
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Liza Minnelli, daughter of Judy Garland and director, Vincent Minnelli's,
Carrie Fisher, daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie
Fisher and likewise, Mia Farrow eldest of Maureen
O'Sullivan and director, John Farrow were able to
trade on duel parental lineages. By and large
most Hollywood off-spring have not inherited the
talent of their parents
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Paul Newman with son
Scott Newman
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After Paul
Newman's son Scott died of an overdose in 1978, he
created the Scott Newman Center to educate children
about the dangers of drugs.
Newman
also donated 100 percent of the profits from his
Newman's Own food line to charity. In 1988, he founded
The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in Connecticut. The
program was designed as a summer camp for handicapped
or terminally ill children |
The catch-cry of most Hollywood children is that they never really had parents, because they were always on the verge of a divorce. Even if mother is not an actress, she didn't have the energy to raise children, because she was devoted to the actor father. If she wasn't she didn't last long. Actors don't have time for children if they want to make it big.
Drew Barrymore recalls, "Until I was 5 years old my father and I were very close. Then my parents separated I had a nervous breakdown. I was nine at the time. By the time I was eleven I was drunk. By the time I was fourteen I had my first
joint"
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The proxy burden of fame took Louis Jourdan's
20 year-old son, who shot himself.
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Charles
Boyer. After he shot himself, Charles became an old man
overnight. One year later Charles took his own life.
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Gregory Peck was unable to work for two years after the suicide of a son from his first marriage. Gregory Peck explained, "When you're working you have to get up at five in the morning. When you come home at the end of the day you're too tired to talk to your children. You can't give them the time they need and all you really have to give them is time. If not you lose them.
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Ray Milland's son Daniel blew his brains our in the bedroom of his Beverly Hills home. Even posthumously the legacy of fame had a price.
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Talk-show host Art Linkletter's
daughter Diane committed suicide by jumping her death from
a window in his home in 1969, allegedly under the
influence of LSD
(the story that Art maintains)
An autopsy revealed no drugs in Diane's system.
After her
death Linkletter became one of USA's most prominent
spokesmen for the War on Drugs.
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Robert
Taylor had been dead several years when his 23 year old
son died of an overdose of drugs.
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The son
of Mary Tyler Moore the star of her own television show
ended his life which contributed to the end of her
marriage to Grant Tinker.
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Jim Arness recovery took four years after his daughter, Jenny Arness committed
suicide by a drug overdoes in 1975 Four year laters his wife Virginia also died of a drug overdoes. Arness never spoke of his personal tragedies. Audrey Hepburn
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