VENTURA : Ex-Child Actor Gets Probation and Fine

A former child actor who starred in the television series “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” pleaded no contest Wednesday to drunken driving and was placed on probation.

Brandon Cruz, 30, who played Eddie in the series, also was fined $1,550 by Municipal Court Judge Steven Hintz in Ventura. He was ordered to attend a school for people who have been arrested for drunk driving and complete five days in the county’s manual-labor program by Aug. 1.

Cruz did not appear in court. The plea was entered by defense attorney Robert Schwartz.

According to court records, Cruz said he was driving north on the Ventura Freeway near Del Norte Boulevard, between Camarillo and Oxnard, on Sept. 21 when he was run off the road by a semi-truck. He waved down a California Highway Patrol vehicle for help, and the officer who stopped smelled alcohol on Cruz’s breath and gave him a sobriety test.

His blood-alcohol level was 0.08%, the point at which a person is considered legally intoxicated, court records state.

Cruz has been free on his own recognizance since his arrest.

“The Courtship of Eddie’s Father,” which also starred Bill Bixby, ran on ABC from September, 1969, until June, 1972.