Former 'Munsters' Child Star Shares The Troubling Real Reason He Quit Acting

Of the child stars who grow up and walk away from the bright lights of Hollywood, some do so to pursue a completely different path, be it a new career or education. Butch Patrick (Eddie Munster from “The Munsters”), however, says he quit acting for less noble reasons.

“It was a conscious decision for me to stop acting when I turned 19. I had decided that I enjoyed partying and getting high and drinking and all of the above,” Patrick tells “Oprah: Where Are They Now?” in this weekend’s episode. “I continued to do so for a long time.”

For nearly 40 years, the now-63-year-old abused substances. “I was functioning, but I wasn’t thriving,” he says.

Then, in 2010, Patrick made the decision to go to rehab. “I knew I needed help. I checked into a treatment center November 21, 2010,” he says. “The last day I’ve ever had a drink, joint, line, pill, anything.”

After Patrick entered rehab, he learned something else about his health.

“There was a doctor that was in there who fast-tracked me to his rockstar-ninja-doctor buddies and they found out that I had a real aggressive, small mass on my prostate,” Patrick says.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in May of 2011 and had the mass surgically removed soon after. For Patrick, getting sober ended up being a big lifesaver in a way he’d never expected. “Had I not been getting sober, I would have ignored it,” he says of his prostate health. “I wouldn’t be sitting here... I wouldn’t be alive. Doesn’t get much bigger than that.”

“Oprah: Where Are They Now?” airs Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET on OWN.

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