paper. When that baby started to hum, we all paid attention, wondering what exciting script might roll out.
As I reached puberty, I emerged from the “I can’t stand girls, get them away from me” into the world of being smitten by them. I played the little brother to Michele Greene on an after-school special called
Andrea’s Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy
. I guess she was about 21. I watched her the entire time we filmed and developed a mad crush on her. The last day, I was so sad I was leaving and would never see her again. She stood off to one side talking to a friend. I shyly stepped over and stuttered, “Good-goodbye.”
She gave me a courtesy smile. “Oh, goodbye, sweetie. It was really nice meeting you.” Then she turned away and continued talking to her older friend.
I was crushed. Crestfallen. Heartbroken, I walked away.
I first met Tracey Gold when we played brother and sister in a McDonald’s commercial. We met again in the made-for-televisionmovie
Beyond Witch Mountain
. Later she played a cheerleader while I played a football star in the Robin Williams/Kurt Russell film
The Best of Times
. She was cute, she was good and she was always working on something. I had a bit of a crush on her at the time—which probably sounds a bit creepy to the rest of the world who think of us as siblings.
Chapter 5
Not the Sharpest Knife
1985
Mom screeched to a stop in front of ABC studios. “It’s on the second floor. Run! See if you can still get in.”
I bolted from the car. If I missed this audition, it would reflect badly on Mom—and even worse, on the prestigious, intimidating Iris Burton. We couldn’t afford to lose the best agent in town.
I took the stairs two at a time. At the top, I pounded on the door.
A balding man opened it and peeked at me.
“Hi, I’m Kirk Cameron. I know I’m late . . .”
“You are,” he said. He looked at his watch. “The audition was at 4:30. It’s 5.” He started to close the door.
Instinctively, I put my foot out so he couldn’t close it. “I know, I know. But my mom will kill me if I don’t do this audition. Please can I read just to tell her I did it?”
He looked over his shoulder, probably to ask what the others thought, then opened the door.
I had no idea what I was auditioning for except that it was a “pilot”—the first episode of a TV series that determines whether the network will put the show on its schedule. I’d gotten the script ahead of time but had really only glanced at it. I knew nothing about the show. To me, the title
Growing Pains
sounded dramatic and gritty.
I left the audition without a sense of how things had gone. They laughed, but I wasn’t sure they were supposed to. Mom waited in thereceiving room. “How did it go? How did you do? Was it okay that you were late?”
I did my usual shrug, but thought she should get a little more than usual because of the stress I’d put her through. “They laughed.”
“That’s great, Kirk!”
By this time, auditions had been coming fast and furious. Some panned out, some didn’t. Mom really wanted me to get either a part in a series or the lead in a movie. She believed that at 14, I was ready and needed to take the next step in my acting career. One of my recent auditions was for the starring role in the movie
Lucas
. It had gone well and their first choice, Corey Haim, was not able to take the part. We had been told to wait by the phone for the announcement of my big break, but the call never came. I didn’t get the
Lucas
job and I could tell Mom was disappointed.
“Maybe you’ll get the pilot,” she sighed.
I did get the callback for
Growing Pains
. This time I knew it was a comedy and played it the way I saw Mike Seaver.
It must have gone well.
One day I was playing Atari when Mom interrupted my session. “Kirk,” she said, sticking her head in the room. “You got it! You got the pilot!”
Kirk started getting laughs almost immediately . . . he was
As I reached puberty, I emerged from the “I can’t stand girls, get them away from me” into the world of being smitten by them. I played the little brother to Michele Greene on an after-school special called
Andrea’s Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy
. I guess she was about 21. I watched her the entire time we filmed and developed a mad crush on her. The last day, I was so sad I was leaving and would never see her again. She stood off to one side talking to a friend. I shyly stepped over and stuttered, “Good-goodbye.”
She gave me a courtesy smile. “Oh, goodbye, sweetie. It was really nice meeting you.” Then she turned away and continued talking to her older friend.
I was crushed. Crestfallen. Heartbroken, I walked away.
I first met Tracey Gold when we played brother and sister in a McDonald’s commercial. We met again in the made-for-televisionmovie
Beyond Witch Mountain
. Later she played a cheerleader while I played a football star in the Robin Williams/Kurt Russell film
The Best of Times
. She was cute, she was good and she was always working on something. I had a bit of a crush on her at the time—which probably sounds a bit creepy to the rest of the world who think of us as siblings.
Chapter 5
Not the Sharpest Knife
1985
Mom screeched to a stop in front of ABC studios. “It’s on the second floor. Run! See if you can still get in.”
I bolted from the car. If I missed this audition, it would reflect badly on Mom—and even worse, on the prestigious, intimidating Iris Burton. We couldn’t afford to lose the best agent in town.
I took the stairs two at a time. At the top, I pounded on the door.
A balding man opened it and peeked at me.
“Hi, I’m Kirk Cameron. I know I’m late . . .”
“You are,” he said. He looked at his watch. “The audition was at 4:30. It’s 5.” He started to close the door.
Instinctively, I put my foot out so he couldn’t close it. “I know, I know. But my mom will kill me if I don’t do this audition. Please can I read just to tell her I did it?”
He looked over his shoulder, probably to ask what the others thought, then opened the door.
I had no idea what I was auditioning for except that it was a “pilot”—the first episode of a TV series that determines whether the network will put the show on its schedule. I’d gotten the script ahead of time but had really only glanced at it. I knew nothing about the show. To me, the title
Growing Pains
sounded dramatic and gritty.
I left the audition without a sense of how things had gone. They laughed, but I wasn’t sure they were supposed to. Mom waited in thereceiving room. “How did it go? How did you do? Was it okay that you were late?”
I did my usual shrug, but thought she should get a little more than usual because of the stress I’d put her through. “They laughed.”
“That’s great, Kirk!”
By this time, auditions had been coming fast and furious. Some panned out, some didn’t. Mom really wanted me to get either a part in a series or the lead in a movie. She believed that at 14, I was ready and needed to take the next step in my acting career. One of my recent auditions was for the starring role in the movie
Lucas
. It had gone well and their first choice, Corey Haim, was not able to take the part. We had been told to wait by the phone for the announcement of my big break, but the call never came. I didn’t get the
Lucas
job and I could tell Mom was disappointed.
“Maybe you’ll get the pilot,” she sighed.
I did get the callback for
Growing Pains
. This time I knew it was a comedy and played it the way I saw Mike Seaver.
It must have gone well.
One day I was playing Atari when Mom interrupted my session. “Kirk,” she said, sticking her head in the room. “You got it! You got the pilot!”
Kirk started getting laughs almost immediately . . . he was
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