‘Stars’: Frank Look at Being Young and Famous

One day, you’re cute, cuddly and adored by millions. The next, you’re a washed-up adolescent.

It can be a hard-knock life for young actors, as evidenced by A&E;’s “Child Stars: Their Story,” an assortment of anecdotes delivered tonight by a gallery of familiar faces who grew up in front of the camera.

Hayley Mills, who starred in such Disney favorites as “Pollyanna” and “The Parent Trap,” narrates this two-hour program featuring frank interviews with former child stars, eight of whom gathered to compare notes in a wide-ranging round-table discussion about the pitfalls of celebrity.

“There’s nothing wrong with being rich and famous,” says Paul Petersen, who played Jeff on the 1958-66 comedy “The Donna Reed Show.” “The trouble is, it’s like going out to an expensive dinner. Everybody gets a bill.”

For some, the price to be paid is unemployment as an adult or gross fiscal mismanagement by parents before the kids turn 18. At one point, these childhood experiences are characterized by Mills as “part joy ride, part labor camp” and a “perverse mixing of blessing and curse.”

Mills notes that nearly three dozen actors participated in the program, which touches on such topics as the contrast between idealized TV families and real life, the ironies of fame, on-set tutoring and lives shaped by a single role. Think of the commentary as war stories related by the wounded who fought on the front lines.

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The Most Amusing Award goes to Bill Mumy (“Lost in Space”), who does his best Alfred Hitchcock imitation recounting the day that the famed director, upset by Mumy’s fidgety behavior, threatened to nail him to his mark during a shoot of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents.”

Most Refreshing: Danny Bonaduce (“The Partridge Family”), who recalls the leaner days when he signed autographs at Hollywood’s Chinese Theatre, then drove around the block and slept in his car.

Most Affecting would be Diana Serra Cary, a woman who made big bucks working 10- to 12-hour days in the 1920s as the tiny tyke named Baby Peggy, but was over the hill at the age of 6.

“We have a bond that no one could understand,” asserts Mary McDonough, a lucky lady whose first audition led to 12 years of steady salary on “The Waltons.”

Written and produced by Henry Schipper, the program assembles a cluster of seasoned stars from the small and large screens, including Oscar winners Patty Duke (“The Miracle Worker”) and Margaret O’Brien (“Meet Me in St. Louis”) along with Melissa Gilbert (“Little House on the Prairie”), sister Sara Gilbert (“Roseanne”), Tony Dow (“Leave It to Beaver”), Kim Fields (“The Facts of Life”) and Billy Gray (“Father Knows Best”).

Should we feel sorrow for professionals who enjoyed their best days before they could vote or legally buy a beer? That’s a personal choice.

For baby boomers, the show is a welcome whiff of nostalgia, as well as a catharsis for the stars who took part. And that, of course, is a good thing.

* “Child Stars: Their Story” can be seen tonight at 9 on A&E.; The network has rated it TV-G (suitable for all ages).