The father of the late actor appeared on Monday’s (May 4) episode of Investigation Discovery’s Hollywood Demons, titled “After The Bell,” which delved into the dark side of the popular 1990s sitcom, including “scams, lies, and sex tapes” that plagued the cast. A big focus of the episode was Dustin, who played Samuel “Screech” Powers on the show and its spinoff, The New Class.
According to Dan Block, who became close friends with Dustin in the late 2010s, the former child star allegedly never saw the majority of the money he made while starring on Saved by the Bell.
“Dustin alleged that his parents were stealing his money or taking his money,” Block said, recalling how Dustin once told him he was making “$1,250 per week” but never received the money himself.
Dustin had spoken publicly about how his parents allegedly mishandled his earnings in the past. “My parents wasted so much of my hard work. A lot of my youth,” he told FOX6 Milwaukee in 2015.
Everett Collection
On Monday’s Hollywood Demons, Mark shared his side of the story, saying, per Entertainment Weekly, “It really made me upset. And I told [Dustin], ‘Why are you throwing me under the bus, when I can’t pop myself on television and go, ‘Uh, no!'”
Mark claimed that, “Dustin’s agent would take out her 10-percent commission. Anything left over, we had to cover certain things, like taxes, gasoline, obviously, headshots. Every fan letter wanted the same things: ‘Can you send us an 8×10 picture, autographed?’ Thousands of letters. See, we had to pay for that. This didn’t leave much money for us to do anything. In fact, nothing.”
The episode also detailed how contracts for child actors, especially in the 1990s, were not favorable to the client. Denise Simon, a child star manager, explained that “as a 12-year-old, you probably don’t have any credits behind you. Chances are, this is going to be your first big job. I’ve seen deals that are, ‘This is what we’re offering, take it or leave it. And if you leave it, we’ll have somebody else.’ When you’re offered your first job, you don’t say no.”
Simon added, “Look, it’s tough. I do feel bad for parents. But the money… I think it really messes up that sacred relationship between a child and parent.”
Despite the breakdown of family relationships, Mark revealed that he and Dustin reconciled before the actor’s death. Dustin died in February 2021 at 44 years old, following a short battle with small-cell carcinoma.
Commented
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.