# Which 'child actor' bankrupted himself **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 27, 2022, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-child-actor-bankrupted-himself/966936 "2022-06-27T02:09:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-child-actor-bankrupted-himself/966936/41 "2022-07-01T21:25:05Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > The child actor I was thinking of, I thought it was Gary Coleman, who bought a huge house and a dozen cars in his late teens or 20’s, all with his salary from being second banana on a kids show. If the actor you’re thinking of was “second banana on a kids show,” it probably wasn’t Gary Coleman. Coleman was (a) on a nighttime “family” sitcom, “Diff’rent Strokes,” not a kids show, and (b) instantly became the breakout star of that show. During the height of that show’s popularity, Coleman was probably one of the most recognizable and popular actors on U.S. TV, and was also making numerous guest appearances on other shows, and TV movies. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-child-actor-bankrupted-himself/966936/42 "2022-07-01T21:25:09Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > According to Wikipedia, she divorced John Agar on December 5, 1949; met Charles Black in January 1950; and married him on December 16, 1950. Still a bit of a whirlwind, but not quite that bad. I married my wife less than 1 year after meeting her. No previous marriages or kids for either of us, but sometimes it does just happen quickly. She was married 55 years to this guy(until his death). Did she become wealthy from all her movies, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-child-actor-bankrupted-himself/966936/43 "2022-07-01T21:46:54Z")
A Shirley Temple is a sweet kids/non-imbibers drink. It stands alone. (though I can picture someone whispering to the bartender to throw some vodka into it, shhh!) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-child-actor-bankrupted-himself/966936/44 "2022-07-01T22:02:28Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Did she become wealthy from all her movies, etc.? The Wiki page indicates that, adjusted for inflation and the Great Depression, she made the equivalent of about $300 000.00 a year in today’s money, at the height of her career. Her later films were less successful, but it does not mention any financial problems. However > In January 1950, Temple met [Charles Alden Black](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Alden_Black), a [World War II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II) [Navy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy) intelligence officer and [Silver Star](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Star) recipient who was Assistant to the President of the [Hawaiian Pineapple Company](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Pineapple_Company).[[110]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Temple#cite_note-118)[[111]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Temple#cite_note-WindelerP72-119) Conservative and patrician, he was the son of James Black, president and later chairman of [Pacific Gas and Electric](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Gas_and_Electric), and reputedly one of the richest young men in California. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2022, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-child-actor-bankrupted-himself/966936/45 "2022-07-02T02:35:10Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > However Yeah, although the bulk of Shirley Temple Black’s film fortune was horribly squandered by her family (she had only $44,000 in the bank when she reached her majority, granted this was a LOT in the 1940’s) she married extremely well and except maybe for the very briefest of stints probably never had to worry about financial difficulties. She died worth tens of millions. A number of child actors had it bad but nonetheless were able to weather the financial storm. Sandra Dee’s childhood was a horrific nightmare of daily abuse and she was a mess at various points later in life due to subsequent substance abuse problems and anorexia. But she was still reasonably comfortable financially at the end, worth a couple of million at death. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-child-actor-bankrupted-himself/966936.md?page=2)