Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Or so I say to myself as I laugh at the fallen idols of my own somewhat misguided youth. The 80’s was a great time for teenaged TV pop star icons.  Here’s my list of my own personal heroes and heroines from my youth. Please note that some stars are included with more than a touch of irony, so please keep your snarkiosity to a minimum in the comments section.

And, so, without further ado.....

Kirk Cameron, the young teenaged star of Growing Pains, was always in trouble with his parents on the show. Maybe you remember the show more for the fact that his best friend had the misfortune of being nick-named “Boner”.

Well, nowadays Kirk is  not in too much trouble and is in fact a born again Christian who is proselytizing all over the place. He recently starred in the Christian movie “Left Behind” and could be considered a kind of poster-child for the pro-Christianity set.

Now it’s his “ TV-sister” Tracey Gold who is in more trouble after an unfortunate DWI with her family in the mini van she was driving after a get-together. Although red wine might go down easily, it is still alcohol.

Lisa Bonet of “The Cosby Show” has to be the absolute hottest of the 80’s teen stars and the one most likely to disrobe.  And, in case you were wondering, she still looks fabulous although she mostly does made-for-tv movies and is no longer married to Lenny Kravitz.

Gary Coleman, Arnold from Different Strokes is another personal fave. I’m not sure he was technically a teenager when he was on the show, but his “Whatcha talkin’ about Willis?” has gotten me through many an uncomfortable conversation when I was sure the other person was full of sh*t. As I’m a person who is always right, this happens more often than you think.

One of his co-stars died of a drug overdose in 1999 and Todd Bridges now lectures across the country about his own troubles with drug-use.

Michael J. Fox, aka Marty McFly, and Alex P. Keaton seems to be the most stable of the childhood stars and is actually someone to look up to as he battles Parkinson’s disease.

And, finally, the worst of the bunch, which I included for no real reason, except possibly to bother people that I’ve never met, ALF. As far as I know, he has managed to stay out of trouble, but if he is not careful, he may be converted into Christianity by Kirk Cameron.