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Shows where child stars got top billed

Started by roadman65, July 27, 2018, 11:33:29 PM

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roadman65

On Dennis The Menace young kid actor Jay North was billed first in the opening sequence despite him only being a minor.

On Silver Spoon Ricky Shroeder was given top billing as well.

Leave it To Beaver is iffy as Jerry Mathers did get the last special billing, but I do not know if you want to say he was the star.  Though the show was focused on his character with both Hugh Beaumont and Barbara Billingsley both were really supporting cast members as the show's main story plots were either about Beaver or his brother Wally.
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Big John

#1
Ron Howard got top billing on Happy Days, portrayed as a teen at first.

Rothman

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

jp the roadgeek

Patty Duke did, and she played 2 characters.
Doogie Howser, MD.  Neil Patrick Harris was still a child.

Don't think Punky Brewster counts.  George Gaynes got it.  Same with Conrad Bain over Gary Coleman on Diff'rent Strokes.
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freebrickproductions

I'd imagine many of the live-action "sit-coms" that are aimed at kids (like the ones aired on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon) have child stars listed as the top billing if they have them, but I suppose that's to be expected given the target demographic for these times of shows.
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abefroman329

I don't think NPH was still a minor when Doogie Howser, M.D. debuted, his character was 16 at the start of the show so he had to have been at least 18.

Emmanuel Lewis may have gotten top billing on Webster. In general Alex Karras and Susan Clark were not happy about the fact that the show was focused so heavily on Webster.

Big John

Quote from: abefroman329 on July 28, 2018, 06:14:57 PM

Emmanuel Lewis may have gotten top billing on Webster. In general Alex Karras and Susan Clark were not happy about the fact that the show was focused so heavily on Webster.
I checked and Susan Clark got top billing.

ftballfan

Quote from: abefroman329 on July 28, 2018, 06:14:57 PM
I don't think NPH was still a minor when Doogie Howser, M.D. debuted, his character was 16 at the start of the show so he had to have been at least 18. 
NPH was 16 when Doogie Howser premiered in 1989.

briantroutman

#8
Quote from: Big John on July 28, 2018, 06:22:55 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on July 28, 2018, 06:14:57 PM

Emmanuel Lewis may have gotten top billing on Webster. In general Alex Karras and Susan Clark were not happy about the fact that the show was focused so heavily on Webster.
I checked and Susan Clark got top billing.

That's what I recall as well. For whatever strange reason, I was fascinated by Webster when I was about 3-4 years old.

From what I've read, the show originated as Susan and Alex's pet project (they were married in real life), and the original premise didn't involve a child character of any kind. But after ABC executives saw Emmanuel Lewis in a Burger King commercial and signed him to a contract, they forced him on Clark and Karras at the eleventh hour and quickly re-tooled what the pair had intended to be a witty, mature romantic comedy into an "aww"-ful Diff'rent Strokes ripoff for a decidedly younger audience.

I understand even the title was a point of contention–original intended to be A Different Ballgame, referring to the Karras character's life after pro sports, and after the addition of Lewis, they reluctantly allowed it to be changed to Then Came You, which could be interpreted with a double meaning: Then came you (the new wife) and/or Then came you (the unexpected child). (And hence the theme song.) But at the last second, ABC execs forced another name change to Webster, which I'm sure sent the two adults reeling. I wouldn't be surprised if the topic of billing came up and Clark's response was something along the lines of "Please, it's the one shred of dignity I have left!"

I once heard an interview with Marc Summers, who later went on to host Double Dare on Nickelodeon and Unwrapped on Food Network, and he talked about his experiences on Webster. He began his career as a comedian doing audience warm up for sitcoms, and he said that Webster had the tensest, awkwardest, and most uncomfortable set of any show he ever encountered. If I recall correctly, he singled out Clark as being a person he'd be happy to never meet again.

Quote from: freebrickproductions on July 28, 2018, 03:49:26 PM
I'd imagine many of the live-action "sit-coms" that are aimed at kids (like the ones aired on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon) have child stars listed as the top billing if they have them...

Even pre-dating the modern era of Disney and Nickelodeon "idiot sitcoms" for kids: I'm fairly certain that Melissa Joan Hart got top billing on Clarissa Explains It All (though I really don't want to look it up).




Historically speaking (and this is probably still true to an extent today), I think billing has been influenced more heavily by the fame of the actor rather than the importance of the role. So in the case of Leave it to Beaver, for example, even though Jerry Mathers' character was the focus of the show, he was a relatively unknown actor whereas Hugh Beaumont was fairly well known as a film and television actor, so Hugh was billed first. But even so, given the importance of his role, Mathers still got the honor of last billing.

abefroman329

That is correct re Webster's origins, Brian. ALF was another set that was very tense, partly because a puppet was the star, and partly because it was very difficult to move around the set since there were many large holes where the puppeteer could sit to operate the ALF puppet. When they wrapped filming for the last time, Max Wright simply walked off the set, got in his car, and drove home.

jon daly

Is that why Webster referred to her as ma'am?

abefroman329

Quote from: jon daly on August 01, 2018, 10:44:02 AM
Is that why Webster referred to her as ma'am?
No, it was because that was as close as he could get to calling her "mom,"  since "mom"  was the woman who died. Don't know why he called George "George,"  though.



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