Hello everyone. I have taken steps to keep my identity a secret. I think I have proven over time that I have real access to insider Hollywood information not available anywhere else, both current and past. Even though this is a poker forum, I am not a poker player. You guys have your world, I have mine.

I have never been open about my age, but I will state that I am older than Dan Druff, yet not substantially older. I will not tell you my exact beginnings in Hollywood, but let's just say it's around 1980, and we are not too far off. I was very young and green at that time, but I did witness a lot. While I still have present industry employment, I look upon that period of my life fondly, as the atmosphere was quite different than you see today. Many stories from that era 30-40 years ago are dying with those who are now getting up there in age, and are passing away. When I first met Druff, he was quite happy to hear all of my stories from that time period, and that is how we became friends. I told him I would post here as time allows.

Tonight I would like to talk about a weird little 80s sitcom which had a bizarre path, and which could have been a long-running hit if it hadn't been for various unusual circumstances working against it.

First I would like to discuss an actor you probably haven't heard of, but might remember: John P. Navin, Jr.

John was born in 1968. He was a bit goofy looking, but really embodied the 1980s everyteen. When teenage boys saw John on the small screen, they saw a guy they could picture being their best friend. He had an endearing, regular guy quality which NBC executives thought might lead to a memorable starring role.

Now that we are four decades past John's heyday, he is unfortunately only remembered for a bit part in a legendary show. John was the first customer on Cheers, pretending to be 38 when he was just 14 years old. You can get an idea of basically all of John's characters by watching this 90 second clip...





You also might remember him as Cousin Eddie's son, Dale, in the first National Lampoon's Vacation movie. When asked if he had the video game Asteroids, Dale responded, "No, but my dad does!", referring to hemorrhoids! He then introduced young Anthony Michael Hall to porno mags!




As I mentioned in my Facts of Life thread, where John starred in an attempted (but failed) backdoor pilot episode, I always liked John and hoped he would succeed. Unfortunately, he did not. His acting career was basically over by age 18, in 1986. He got one small role in a TV movie seven years after that, and that was it for good.

Unlike other child actors whose success didn't translate into adulthood, John's career didn't crater because of his own issues. He did not have a drug problem, behaved well on set, and his looks did not significantly change to where they would have put an end to his viability. Recall that he was not a heartthrob type in the first place. Instead, the collapse of his career can be traced to the sitcom which was supposed to be his starring vehicle: Jennifer Slept Here.