Willie Aames

Willie Aames (born Albert William Upton July 15, 1960 in Orange County, California, U.S.) is an actor best known for the roles of Buddy Lembeck on Charles in Charge, the film Zapped!, Tommy Bradford on Eight is Enough and the voice of Hank on the cartoon Dungeons & Dragons. He also hosted a game show The Krypton Factor from 1990-91.

Willie Aames
Born Albert William Upton
15 July 1960(1960-07-15) (age 47)
Los Angeles, California, USASpouse(s) Maylo McCaslin (1986-present)
Victoria Averbach (1979-1984) (divorced)

He played the character of "Robbie Hamlin" on the ABC soap opera Edge of Night. He also originated the role of Leonard Unger, the son of Felix Unger (Tony Randall), on the ABC-TV series The Odd Couple, a part that was later played by Leif Garrett.

He attended Edison High School in Huntington Beach, CA, and was in both the choir and the Madrigal Ensemble.

During the late 70s/early 80s, he formed a rock band called "Willie Aames & Paradise," where he was lead singer/guitarist. Paradise was also the name of a 1982 movie in which he appeared with Phoebe Cates. He also appeared in the films Scavenger Hunt and Zapped! (with his future Charles in Charge co-star Scott Baio).

From 1995 to 2004, he starred in a video series and annual touring performances as the Christian superhero Bibleman, although he has since retired from the role.

In 2005, he appeared on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club 2, where he lost 19 pounds. Aames is one of the more notorious contestants to appear on the show, after a huge blow-up with the trainer, Drill Instructor Harvey Walden IV. Aames gained weight at several of the show's weigh ins, but still managed to lose 10.2% of his body weight. Since appearing on the show, Aames has found a passion for hunting, and has his own hunting program on TV. Aames started Fit Club at 187 lbs, and finished the show at 168 lbs, but, subsequently gained back all of the weight climbing to 191 lbs. Aames appeared on Celebrity Fit Club 6: Boot Camp, where he lost 26 lbs for a total of 165 lbs. He won the individual prize.

Aames struggled with drugs and alcohol for over twenty years.[1] He became a born–again Christian about three months before he married his second wife, Maylo McCaslin and purchased a house in Bolivar, Missouri.

Aames has been married twice, and currently resides in Olathe, Kansas with his second wife (actress Maylo McCaslin) (whom he married on 15 March 1986), and their daughter Harleigh Jean (born 1990). He has one son, Christopher (born 1981), from his first marriage.

He and his wife were both victims of childhood sexual abuse and both now speak and do activism relating to that cause.

1 Filmography
- 1.1 Film roles
- 1.2 Television roles
2 External links

Filmography

Film roles

Year Title Role 1974Unwed Father (TV) Gum 1974Doctor Dan (TV) Adam Morgan 1975 The Family Nobody Wanted(TV) Donny 1979 Scavenger HuntKenny Stevens 1982 ParadiseDavid 1982 Zapped!Peyton Nichols 1983The Tom Swift and Linda Craig Mystery Hour (TV) Tom Swift 1984Goma-2 Tony 1985Inferno in diretta Tommy Allo 1987Eight Is Enough: A Family Reunion (TV) Tommy Bradford 1989An Eight Is Enough Wedding (TV) Tommy Bradford 1998Visual Bible for Kids (TV)

Television roles

Year Title Role 1971 The Odd Couple(one episode) Leonard 1972 Cannon(one episode) Macklin Boy 1971to 1972 The Courtship of Eddie's Father(four episodes) Harold O'Brien; Scott 1973Wide World Mystery William Frankenstein 1971to 1973 Gunsmoke(two episodes) Tom; Andy 1973 Adam's Rib(one episode) Boy 1974 ABC Afterschool Specials(one episode) 1972to 1974 Wait Till Your Father Gets HomeJamie Boyle 1974Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (12 years old) 1974 The Magical World of Disney(one episode) Jeff Peterson 1971- 1974 Adam-12(two episodes) Billy Ray; Little Boy 1975 The Waltons(one episode) Danny Comley 1975We'll Get By Kenny Platt 1971to 1975 Medical Center(three episodes) Jeff; Eric 1975to 1976 Swiss Family Robinson(one episode) Fred Robinson 1976Rich Man, Poor Man - Book II Young Wesley Jordache 1977 Little House on the Prairie(one episode) Seth 1976to 1977Family T.J. Latimer 1977 Eight is EnoughTommy Bradford 1982 The Love Boat(one episode) Danny 1983 The Edge of NightRobbie Hamlin 1983to 1985 Dungeons and DragonsHank the Ranger 1986 Blacke's Magic(one episode) Eric Wilson 1984to 1990 Charles in ChargeBuddy Lembeck 1996to 2004Bible Man Bibleman 2006Bugtime Adventures Narrator

External links

Willie Aames at the Internet Movie Database
Willie Aames at Allmovie

PersondataNAME Aames, Willie ALTERNATIVE NAMES Upton, Albert William SHORT DESCRIPTION ActorDATE OF BIRTH 1960-7-15 PLACE OF BIRTH Los Angeles, California, USADATE OF DEATH PLACE OF DEATH