Eric Monte takes a call from his manager at his bunk in the homeless shelter where he lives. He feels he can make a comeback. A high school droput who made it big as a television writer, he now is trying to pick up the pieces of a life that fell apart. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
Eric Monte works out in the gym of the Salvation Army homeless shelter in Bell. He has lived at the shelter for eight months since bottoming out because of financial setbacks and drug abuse. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
Eric Monte takes a breathalizer test upon his return from eating lunch off the grounds of the homeless shelter where he lives. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
Eric Monte smiles as he rides through the streets of Hollywood where, in the 1970s, he was one of the hottest writers around. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
Eric Monte searches through receipts and notes he has kept on scraps of paper in a box. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
Eric shares a laugh with Manny, one of his few friends at the shelter. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
Eric Monte is searched with a magnetic wand when he returns to the homeless shelter. He sometimes complains about the shelter’s rules but says he never breaks them. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
The intensity of Eric Monte comes through in a taped interview for a TV Land production celebrating the hit 1970s sitcom “Good Times,” which he helped create. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
Eric Monte walks outside the Salvation Army homeless shelter where he lives. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
Eric Monte works into the night at his laptop after 10 p.m. lights out. (Luis Sinco / LAT)
