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We watch Mason Reese mugging on a late-night talk show, Rodney Allen Rippy giggling over his hamburger, Linda Blair writhing under the influence of her demon. And we wonder - what does early stardom do to these precocious child entertainers?
As long as America has had child stars - in fact, longer than we've had movies - critics have questioned the wisdom of subjecting children to the pressures of performing. Unfortunately, those asking the questions have not always been the parents of these little stars.
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Many reforms came about too late to save Jackie Coogan and his contemporaries, but they aren't going to waste. The kiddies have turned quite successful to other forms of showbiz self-expression, one being the highly lucrative resurrection of an old vaudeville tradition - the family act.
The Cowsills were the first family act to hit it big with soft-rock music. The television Partridge Family cashed in on the Cowsills' success. And the Osmond Brothers, the Jackson Five and most recently the DeFranco Family have taken care of the club and concert scene - all of them chalking up neat little falsetto fortunes.
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