Willie Aames: Financial Ruin Led To Sleeping Under Bushes

Former 'Charles in Charge' and 'Eight is Enough' star Willie Aames slept under bushes and in parking garages after bankruptcy and foreclosure left him homeless. And now he's becoming a financial adviser, he reveals to Entertainment Tonight in an interview to air Monday night. ET released the following statement:

Aames opens up about experiencing financial ruin after a successful career as an actor, "At the very peak [of "Eight Is Enough"] I was making a little over a million dollars a year," he says. "Then suddenly there was no job, no bank account, no wife, no child. I never dreamt it could happen that fast. I found myself virtually homeless. I stayed with friends when I could, slept in parking garages or slept in the park. It was shameful. I remember laying underneath the bushes thinking, 'Is this how it turns out? Is this how my life really turns out?'"

When asked about reports of a suicide attempt after his wife left with their young daughter, Aames says, "I gave people a lot of cause for concern and I think they acted on those concerns. I'm glad they did. Beyond that, that time period is a blur."

Aames's struggles have led to the new VH1 special, "Broke and Famous: Willie Aames," airing Thursday night. "It's a docu-drama on what happens to celebrities when they hit rock bottom," he says. "You have to find some point that will give you the smallest amount of dignity and self respect back."

Aames tells ET that throughout the years of trying to get back on his feet, he was turned down for several jobs, including wilderness guide, but was finally hired by a construction company.

Today Aames is reunited with his daughter and on his way to becoming a financial advisor. "I never dreamed I would want to be or become a financial advisor," he reveals. "I am well on my way."

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Comments

[rain33]

celebrites need to watch their money and stop spending it crazy because sooner or later, irs will come after you coz we are in a recession where jobs aren't coming back so they will collect money anyway that they can.

[Agentlady007]

Willie Aames is actually a very funny actor. I was just watching some of his scenes on You Tube. His timing is good and anyone in Hollywood who doesn't hire him again is missing something upstairs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRmIyQD1ED4

[american-dolt]

Oh Joy, how Disneyland!

[gaudreau]

What happened to all that money he made as Bibleman?

[JimR]

God knows.

[KataVideo]

why isn't this construction company cleaning him up and putting him on billboards to sell the buildings? there's a lot not being said in this article.

[roch20]

Good for him; apparently, he's getting better!! Why didn't he tried working on Burger King or McDonald back then? Well, i'm sure he'll have his own "reason" for not trying out of his comfort zone Hollywood. Anyway, i'm happy for everybody's success as long as such comes by doing something productive and positive.

[Fletch17C]

Aames needs to address the fact that most of his money went up his nostrils. He might have come out better had he chosen medical care for the disease of addiction rather than Bibleman mysticism. I admit I would not be tempted to take his financial advice, but I'll cut him a break for actually trying to learn a trade and enter the workforce. That can't be easy for someone who probably never had a practical education. Good luck to him on that.

[bazokbros]

I think this is more of a lesson of what drug addiction and ego does to someone. He's admitted he had a severe drug addiction and it seems what happened to him is pretty par for the course of recovering drug addicts. Unfortunately, the likelyhood of this happening to him again is pretty high.

[hawkrew]

I live close to Olathe, KS where Aames's house was that was foreclosed. My wife and I actually went and looked at possibly buying it, but with like a lot of foreclosed houses, it was pretty beat up. It was being sold at over $100k less than appraised value, but it needed a lot of investment.

He did do some pretty good woodwork on the stairs to the basement, but he had a horrible choice of carpet color - green. Very, very green.

[roch20]

LOL! Thanks for the gossip, man!

[KataVideo]

there's part of the problem. he's not going to get a lot of work in hollywood by living in kansas

[RSKaz]

How about a few stories featuring former and current celebs who have handled their life's earnings successfully. I'm not talking lavish purchases. I want to see people who have maintained a firm grip on their money, invested wisely, donated, prepared for retirement, etc. Any celebrity can go broke. Not all of them will. Those are the stories.

[GO-BAMA]

Hahaha ... no, they're not.

[Riverman]

Sounds like someone is still living in a bubble

[RSKaz]

You're thinking of John Travolta.

[yorkie]

A forgettable story about forgettable actor......it leaves out he got caught up in young celeb drug use big time and other excesses ....nothing new here!

[terramartom]

Make millions, spend it foolishly on drugs, alcohol, gambling, and bling, go broke and then ask for pity?
Sounds exactly like current and past batch of Professional athletes, Actors, Musicians as well.
And of course perhaps now you have "found" fictional religion and a fictional God too?
Try to make money on this script for public consumption?
No Thanks.

[JBVT]

Mr. Aames,

In the event anyone would ask your financial advise, might I suggest?

Give the client a map toward nearest bank.

Also, Ames has one A!

[KIVPossum]

I am not an asture businessman. But, had I made 7 figures a year for a couple or three years, I would not have to worry about sleeping under bushes.

[LargeJ]

That's actually kind of stupid. He made that mush money in the early 90's. When it was all said and done, like he said, there was nothing waiting for him. I would imagine that even with a padded bank account and no income, it would be hard to keep that bank account in tact for any lengthy period of time.
I blame the whole thing on his lame alter ego, Bible Man. Bible Man spent all his money.

[lippp]

I don't get your logic. He made millions for "a couple years". I have made much less than that. But instead of squandering my money, I invested soundly and now own three properties outright and have a very comfortable, secure life beholding to no one. It makes no sense to be bankrupt unless you squandered away your earnings after earning a heckava lot more than I assume most us who read and comment on this site. He is the author of his own ruin and seems to be admitting that. That is the first step. Maybe now he will possibly earn much less, but have more wisdom to parlay his earnings into a comfortable future . I wish him well.

[peacekitten]

i don't understand how a person can go broke making over a million dollars a year, but at the same time, this guy had the backbone to pick himself back up one more time and keep on keeping on. not only that, he's going into a field of business where he can help others avoid the heartbreak he endured himself. i guess it's easy to get carried away when you think you're on top of the world, and feel like it will never end.

good luck, willie. you learned a painful lesson, but you sound like you are coming back to the land of the living. you've still got a lot of life ahead of you to make wiser and happier decisions. keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[Gasparilla]

It doesn't matter if you make a million dollars if you spend a million and one. It's common in the entertainment and sports industries. Or look at all the lottery winners who have ended up flat broke. The concept of tomorrow doesn't exist for a lot of people.

[Vinca]

Many people that came into big money, through a lottery win or by being a movie star, think it will always be that way , but it doesn't always last. They now have to join those millions struggling to make a living. I can remember when JOBS were so plentiful, you could quit one day and get another the next day. I've done that. Now some have been without a jobs for two years or more.

[Muhammad Abu-Jahl]

And the United States Congress is putting us into a whole from which our children and grandchildren may never extricate themselves.

Perhaps Mr. Aames can consult for Pelosi, Reid, Obama, et al.