Welcome
to the first Tuesday Timeline entry in about a week and a
half!
I
do apologize to those of you who were expecting an entry on September 1. I didn't get my Internet hooked back up
until September 7 (I spent the period between August 28 and September 6
shopping for furniture and unpacking all of my belongings to put in the new
place). But I promise that I will make
it up to you next year. In fact, I've
already written myself a reminder to do a September 1 Tuesday Timeline entry in
2016. Not that I have a hard time
remembering in general. I just do it
because I want to.
In
the meantime, it is September 8, and for most people in my neck of the woods,
it happens to be the first day back to school and college. I do hope that all of you have a great first
week back at classes, and I hope that all of you grade school students
remembered your green crayons. You will
have a difficult time learning about photosynthesis without one.
So,
it's been a while since I have been back on this blog, and I have to tell you,
I am a bit rusty at this. Therefore,
I've chosen a topic that is an easy one to write about. I guess you could call it a "where are
they now" kind of post.
That's
your only hint as we proceed with the general happenings of September 8 throughout
history.
1504 - Michelangelo's "David" is unveiled to
the public
1781 - The Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina
takes place during the American Revolutionary War
1888 - The body of Annie Chapman - the second victim of
serial killer Jack the Ripper - is found
1892 - The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited
1900 - A devastating hurricane flattens the community of
Galveston, Texas; 8,000 people lose their lives - one of the deadliest
hurricanes to hit the United States
1921 - Margaret Gorman becomes the first person to win
the title of Miss America
1922 - Actor/comedian Sid Caesar (d. 2014) is born in
Yonkers, New York
1925 - Actor Peter Sellers (d. 1980) is born in England
1930 - Scotch tape is first marketed by 3M
1932 - Country singer Patsy Cline (d. 1963) is born in
Gore, Virginia
1943 - President Eisenhower publicly announces the
Allied armistice with Italy during World War II
1947 - Singer Benjamin Orr (d. 2000) is born in
Lakewood, Ohio
1951 - The Treaty of San Francisco is signed
1952 - The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) makes
its first television broadcast
1966 - Star Trek premieres on NBC
1975 - Leonard Matlovich, an American Air Force Tech
Sergeant, appears on the cover of TIME Magazine in full uniform, officially coming
out as a homosexual
1988 - Due to forest fires that were out of control,
Yellowstone National Park is closed to the public for the very first time
1991 - Actor Brad Davis dies of a drug overdose, aged 41
2003 - 15/Love co-stars Jaclyn Linetsky and Vadim
Schneider are killed in a motor vehicle accident in Quebec, Canada - both were
just 17 years old
And
for celebrity birthdays today, we have the following people turning one year
older; Jacqueline Ceballos, Bernie Sanders, Mark Lindsay Chapman, Anne Diamond, Heather Thomas, Carmen Campagne, Aimee Mann, David Steele, Thomas Kretschmann, Brad Silberling, Darlene Zschech, Kimberly Peirce, David Arquette, Brooke Burke-Charvet, Martin Freeman, Khalid Goncalves, Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, Gabrial McNair, Troy Sanders, Larenz Tate, Nate Corddry, Alecia "P!nk" Moore, Austin "Chumlee" Russell, Chantal Jones, and Ella Rae Peck.
Okay,
so what date are we going to go back in time to today?
Well,
how about we go back to the early 1980s?
September 8, 1981, to be exact.
Now,
as I mentioned before in this post, today's subject is one of those "Where
Are They Now" type stories.
September 8, 1981 happens to be the birthdate of today's Tuesday
Timeline spotlight, making him 34 years old today. And what makes this person so interesting is that he made it big
when he was barely ten years old, and left the industry at the peak of his
popularity. He's made very few
appearances since, leaving some to wonder what happened to him. Some believe that he was disenchanted with
the industry and yearned for a normal life.
Some believe that he got hooked up on drugs. There was even that nasty little death rumour that all
celebrities that have not been heard from in some time have experienced.
I
figure that I would set the record straight by doing some research into his
life before, during, and after success to find out the real truth behind what
really happened to Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
And
to begin this story, we'll start with the moment in which he became a huge
star.
It
was September 17, 1991 - nine days after Thomas turned ten. A brand new show was set to air on ABC's
Tuesday Night comedy block, a series of programming that also included ratings
winners "Roseanne" and "Full House". It was a show that starred comedian Tim
Allen as the bumbling host of a home improvement show called "Tool
Time", and how he balanced his work life with his home life, where he was
husband to Jill, and father to three boys between the ages of six and ten.
The
show was "Home Improvement", and it was one of ABC's most successful
programs, ranking within the Top 10 during its entire eight season run.
And
while Tim Allen and Patricia Richardson were the leads of the program, it can
be argued that the breakout star of the show was Jonathan Taylor Thomas, who
played middle son, Randy. Mind you, the
other two Taylor kids played by Taran Noah Smith and Zachary Ty Bryan were
quite good as well, but it was Jonathan who was on the cover of teen magazines. It was Jonathan who was plastered all over
the bedroom walls of teenage girls. It
was Jonathan who ended up with choice movie and film roles, all before the age
of sixteen.
Not
bad for a kid who was born Jonathan Weiss in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania who got
his start on a really bad Brady Bunch spinoff in 1990.
Certainly,
"Home Improvement" was a definite step up from being a Brady child's
child. But that wasn't the only place
where he shone. In 1994, Thomas won the
coveted role of young Simba in the film "The Lion King", which is
still considered one of the best Disney films ever made. And his work with Disney continued
throughout the 1990s, with Thomas appearing in such films as "I'll Be Home
For Christmas", "Tom and Huck", and "Wild America".
It
almost seemed like it was destined that Thomas would become Hollywood's next
golden boy, with dreams of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an Oscar
nomination, and the chance to become People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive.
Which
is why many people were shocked when at the age of 17, Thomas made the decision
to walk away from show business.
He
made the decision shortly after "Home Improvement" ended filming on
its seventh season and had been renewed for an eighth. While Thomas still had good feelings about
the show, and had no ill-will towards any of his castmates or people that he
worked with, he felt as though he needed to do something more than act. He wanted to focus more on his studies and
graduate from high school with the possibility of going to college to further
expand his opportunities.
And,
you know...I say bravo to him. It takes
a lot of maturity to weigh the pros and cons of everything before making the
choice that he felt was right for him.
And ultimately, he ended up getting what he wanted. In 2000, he graduated from high school, and
ten years later earned a degree from the Columbia University School of General
Studies - after taking a turn at Harvard University. I'd say he did well academically, wouldn't you?
And,
so the eighth and final season of the show aired during the 1998/1999 season,
and while Thomas did make appearances in a couple of episodes, the show ended
its run on May 25, 1999 - without Thomas participating. Although, Thomas was working on a film
during that shoot, so I suppose he had a good reason.
So,
it's been sixteen years since "Home Improvement" ended. What happened to Jonathan Taylor Thomas?
Well,
I can tell you that he isn't dead. I
can also tell you that unlike some child stars, Thomas has never really been in
trouble with the law, or has been addicted to drugs, or anything like
that. In fact, you could say that he
turned out quite...normal!
And
while his acting jobs have slowed down, he hasn't completely given up on
it. While he mostly limits himself to
voice roles now, Thomas did make a few appearances in Tim Allen's most recent
sitcom, "Last Man Standing", now currently in its fifth season.
Just
goes to show you that the influence of Hollywood doesn't wreck everybody. If only Taran Noah Smith learned that
lesson...
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