Strollerderby : Steven Spielberg

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Older Brother From 'E.T.'?

Jen Chaney — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:28:00 GMT

As the summer movie season comes to a close, it's time to reflect upon the young people from summer blockbusters past. Specifically, what about the kids from Steven Spielberg's "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial," the smash hit of the summer of 1982 and one of the biggest movies of all time?

Unless you've been living on another planet, only communicating with Earth via Speak-n-Spell, then surely you know what happened to Drew Barrymore, who went from rich to rehab to rich again. (And kudos to her for that.) Henry Thomas, who played Elliott, also continues to act; you may have spotted him in "Gangs of New York," "I Capture the Castle" or a couple of episodes of "Without a Trace." But what about Robert MacNaughton, who co-starred as Elliott's older brother, Michael? Whatever happened to that guy?

After "E.T." the then-16-year-old snagged a few more parts, including a starring role in the adaptation of the young adult novel "I Am the Cheese." Hollywood opportunities started to dry up, so he pursued a career in theater. But that didn't take off either. As of a few years ago, according to this USA Today piece, he was living in Phoenix and working as a mail handler for the U.S. Postal Service. Wikipedia and imdb both say he married his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Butler, and that the couple has a son together.

I couldn't find any information more recent than these 2002 reports, so please feel free to update me and our readers in the comments section if you have new details.

If MacNaughton, seen in a semi-recent photo below, is bitter about leaving acting, it certainly doesn't seem that way. When he appeared with his fellow "E.T." cast members for a reunion special a few years ago, he seemed happy and perfectly comfortable reminiscing about his days with the Reese's Pieces-munching alien.

Whether he's still with the Postal Service or doing something totally different, we want MacNaughton to know: We'll be right here.

Rich or Rehab appears on Strollerderby every Tuesday morning.

Related Links:

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happed to the Kid From 'Adventures in Babysitting'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Kid Who Played Anakin in 'The Phantom Menace'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Kid From 'The Black Stallion'?

Six Rock-Solid Celebrity Marriages

Jen Chaney — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 21:02:00 GMT

As I read about the sad death of Bernie Mac over the weekend, I took note that the "King of Comedy" and his wife Rhonda maintained a healthy marriage for 30 years. That's admirable under any circumstances, but the fact that they stayed together despite the pressures and pleasures of Bernie's fame is doubly impressive.

While many of us gnaw on any gossip we can find about Hollywood marriages that have hit snags or deteriorated, some celebrities continue to stay happily married and raise seemingly stable families. Today -- as many send their sympathies to Bernie's grieving wife Rhonda -- we at Strollerderby salute six more of the most rock-solid famous couples ever.

1. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward: They've been married for 50 years, they have three daughters together and they've co-starred in plays and films multiple times. Theirs' might be the quintessential rock-solid Hollywood marriage and one that, sadly, we may be hearing more about in the near future. Newman, who suffers from cancer, reportedly has just weeks to live. Here's hoping he stays by his wife's side as long as he can.

2. Billy and Janice Crystal: The "When Harry Met Sally..." star has claimed that Janice, his wife of 38 years, is the only woman he's ever dated. Whether or not that's true, it's clear that he was with her before he got "Soap," "Saturday Night Live" or "City Slickers" and he's still with her today. They have two daughters together.

3. Denzel and Pauletta Washington: How easy would it be for Denzel to leave his wife for, oh, pretty much any woman on the planet who would happily hang on his arm? But he hasn't. He and wife Pauletta wed in 1983, are still married and have raised four children together. The Washingtons have got game, not to mention class.

4. Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara: Together, they were the comedy team of Stiller and Meara in the 1950s. But Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara later found fame on their own, in movies, on stage and, most recently, on TV shows like "Seinfeld" and "Sex and the City." Through it all, they have been husband and wife for 54 years and boast two children who also found success in Hollywood: Amy Stiller and some guy named Ben Stiller.

5. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick: Next month the star of "Footloose" and the star of "The Closer" will celebrate 20 years of marriage. Somehow they have nurtured busy careers while also nurturing two grown children. And I do mean busy: Sedgwick currently spends half of the year in L.A. filming "The Closer" and, as we all know, Bacon has starred in a movie with almost every working actor in the business.

6. Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw: The director of "E.T." got a costly divorce from Amy Irving before he finally settled down with Capshaw. But once they tied the knot, it stayed tied. The couple has been married for almost 17 years and has five kids together, plus two more, one from each of their respective previous marriages. The second time at the altar seems to have been the charm for both.

Summer Movie Traffic Cop: 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'

Jen Chaney — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:02:00 GMT

Remember when you were 8 and your dad took you to see "Raiders of the Lost Ark," and you thought it was totally awesome, except for that part at the end where the dude's face melted and you got REALLY freaked out?

It's possible the same thing could happen to your kid if you take him/her to see the new Indiana Jones movie. Granted, the latest chapter is no "Raiders," but there is plenty of freaky-deaky supernatural stuff that could haunt the dreams of an impressionable child.

With that in mind, here is the traffic-cop breakdown on Indy. Please that note a few of the items could be seen as spoilers. If you want to remain totally clueless when you see the movie, read on with caution:

Summer Movie Traffic Violations in "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull":

--Characters who often brandish both guns and knives.

--A major explosion caused by nuclear weapons testing.

--Some intense action sequences that involve car crashes, fist fighting and other classic action-movie fare.

--The dropping of a few s-bombs, courtesy of Shia "Disturbia" LaBeouf

--Lots of creepy-crawly stuff, including a particularly gross, possibly disturbing sequence that revolves around deadly ants.

--Spooky stuff with corpses, skulls and aliens.

Reasons to Let Indy Off With a Warning:

--The underlying themes are about embracing family.

--The movie is all in good fun and may not be taken terribly seriously by less sensitive, media-savvy kids.

--Some of the action sequences, including a car chase in the Amazon, are thrilling.

--Even when he is in so-so or downright bad (see "Temple of Doom") movies, Indiana Jones is still a stallion.

Final Ruling:

This is a PG-13 and there is enough potentially upsetting material here to more than justify that rating. If your child has a tendency to get eeked out by otherworldly themes, then proceed very carefully.

A Red Light for Kids 7 and Younger

A Yellow Light for 8 and 9 and (Depending on the Disposition) Possibly Even 10-Year-Olds

A Green Light for Most Kids 11 and Older

Photo: Paramount Pictures via telegraph.co.uk

Moms of the Famous Tell Us How To Raise Successful Kids

Brett Singer — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Page Six reports on a new book where the mommies of various famous folks reveal how they raised their offspring.

If the rumors that Brett Ratner is a jerk are true, we may have his mother to blame. Momma Marcia Ratner apparently "coddled, pampered and ultimately embarrassed her son Brett." (Just in case Brett is hiring for "X-Men 4," I would like to point out that I'm not saying he's a jerk. Just that other people say he's a jerk.) Derek Jeter's mom Dot forced him to get good grades if he wanted to play baseball, and Steven Spielberg's mommy thought he would maybe work in a supermarket when he grew up.

The book is "Mother Nuture: Life Lessons from the Mothers of America's Best and Brightest," and while author Stephanie Hirsch did land some good interviews with moms, there are other good stories out there. On the Howard Stern Show, Richard Lewis talked about the time he called his mother to tell her some exciting news: he was going to be on The Tonight Show. Her response? "Who else is on?" Shocking that he's a bit neurotic.

Howard Stern's own relationship with his mother is well documented, including that she raised him "like a veal." Stern's father famously yelled at him in a recording studio when he was 7, something that Howard has turned into a bit on his radio show.

Then there's Eliot Spitzer's dad Bernard, who reportedly used Monopoly to teach life lessons to the future Tainted Gov: during a game of Monopoly, Bernard ordered Eliot, then 7 or 8, to sell him a piece of property, then reduced his son to tears when Eliot couldn’t pay the rent. The lesson he was teaching? “Never defer to authority,” Bernard said. Nice.

I'd actually rather hear from people like Bill and Hillary, since Chelsea seems to have turned out so well. As long as we never have to hear parenting advice from the Spearses.

Best of FameCrawler: Week of Feb. 29th (Leap Year Edition)

Whit Honea — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:33:00 GMT

Forbes' Top Ten Most Expensive Celeb Divorces

Karen Murphy — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 14:02:00 GMT

As this article says, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall." Certainly that's true in the surreal and convoluted world of celebrities, and adding the weirdness that takes place in divorce, custody, and child support determinations (though I suspect that celebs aren't treated quite like us common folk), it's amazing that these people can even function at all. Or can they? Here's Forbes Magazine's look at the top-ten most expensive celebrity divorces:

1. Michael Jordan, dumping wife of 18 years Juanita Vanoy for half his fortune, or something more than $150M.

2. Neil Diamond (Vegas must have treated him well) to Marcia Murphey, $150M.

3. Steven Spielberg to Amy Irving, $100M.

4. Harrison Ford to Melissa Mathison, $85M.

5. Kevin Costner to Cindy Silva, $80M.

6. Paul McCartney to Heather Mills, $60M (he's got a total of $700M; still, $60M's not bad for a few years' work).

7. James Cameron ("Titanic" director) to Linda Hamilton, $50M.

8. Michael Douglas to Diandra Douglas, $45M.

9. Lionel Ritchie to Diane Ritchie, $20M.

10. Mick Jagger to Jerry Hall for an annulment and not a divorce, $15-25M.

Makes the $200/month child support that I rarely even received for my older daughter look a little light. And what's interesting about this list is that the majority are marriages from early in the celeb's careers, and then after things took off or they reached "that certain age," things fell apart.

And the biggest question on my mind about this is, What about the children??

Strollerderby : Steven Spielberg

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Older Brother From 'E.T.'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happed to the Kid From 'Adventures in Babysitting'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Kid Who Played Anakin in 'The Phantom Menace'?

Rich or Rehab: Whatever Happened to the Kid From 'The Black Stallion'?

Six Rock-Solid Celebrity Marriages

Summer Movie Traffic Cop: 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'

Moms of the Famous Tell Us How To Raise Successful Kids

Best of FameCrawler: Week of Feb. 29th (Leap Year Edition)

Gary Busey Attacks Jen Garner At Oscars

**Jimmy Kimmel Video: "I'm F*cking Ben Affleck!"**

Independent Spirit Awards: Angelina Jolie Totally Reveals Her Humongous Baby Bump

Christina Aguilera Will Teach Her Son To Respect Women

Tina Fey: Bitch is the New Black

Did J-Lo Have A Scientology Birth?

Valerie Bertinelli: Steven Spielberg Raided My Lost Ark

Harlow, Joel Madden and Nicole First Pictures

Marlee Matlin at the Oscars

Forbes' Top Ten Most Expensive Celeb Divorces