Child Star Shaun Weiss Slept on a Porch & Lost Teeth - Saved by Family, He Finally Beams with New Smile

• The actor rose to fame too quickly, eventually leading to his addiction.
• His life went in a downward spiral after the loss of several loved ones, and it only got worse from there.
• He has been arrested several times and has gone in and out of rehab.
• But he has finally started a new life after being sober for three years, and his nieces drive him to stay healthy.

Shaun Herman Weiss was born on August 27, 1978, in Montvale, New Jersey, to Jewish parents, and he rose rapidly to fame in the 1980s as a child star. Most people know him for "The Mighty Ducks" movies, but he has many roles people adored back then.

Unfortunately, being a child star often comes at a price, and Weiss is no exception. His successful career turned into a nightmare after a series of tragic losses and a big battle with addiction. Luckily, every story of downfall can lead to redemption and recovery.

One of the Biggest Child Stars

His mother, Rajpattie, decided to take him on his first casting call in New York. He was just five years old and started doing commercials for products such as Jell-O, but the actor was first seen in the entertainment industry as Elvis on "Pee-wee's Playhouse."

It wasn't until his role as Greg Goldberg in "The Mighty Ducks" movies. He was initially supposed to play Atuk the Eskimo in the first film, but his role grew, and everyone adored him. After the first two films in that franchise, Weiss got the part of Josh Birnbaum in Disney's "Heavyweights" directed by Judd Apatow and starring a young Ben Stiller.

He also had a recurring character, Sean, in NBC's "Freaks and Geeks," and was sometimes spotted in cameos on "The King of Queens," "Boy Meets World," and "Saved by the Bell." Needless to say, the child actor was quickly becoming a household name, as he even appeared in commercials for Captain Morgan, Verizon, Mobile ESPN, and more.

Weiss had an incomparable charisma and such a knack for comedy that the industry couldn't get enough. At one point, his mother decided to sell everything they owned and moved them to Los Angeles to continue his career.

The actor said in an interview years later, "I never felt pushed into it." Unfortunately, fame sometimes comes at a steep price, and popularity negatively impacted him...

His Downward Spiral and Hitting Rock Bottom

Weiss' half-sister, Loretta, would disagree with the fact that he wasn't pushed into stardom. She is 18 years older than the former child star and would often describe him as a "sweet soul." However, she believes that Shaun's problems started with his mother.

Rajpattie became his business manager, as many parents do when their kid becomes a celebrity. Unfortunately, she often disappeared to Las Vegas with the money. One time, things were so bad despite all the success that the 13-year-old couldn't even buy flowers for a girlfriend.

The actor doesn't blame her, even in hindsight. But he also doesn't know how much money he made from his earlier gigs. Eventually, the child star found himself broke and only received some residual checks.

Unfortunately, turns took a turn for the worse when his mother passed of a heart condition in 2008, and the actor started drinking too much. "I became unglued," Weiss revealed. He spent the rest of his time caring for his father, who had diabetes.

He had a few guest TV appearances and writing and production assistant jobs. However, the former child star felt he was holding everything together with "spit and duct tape." It was worse when his old acting friends had great roles and were still prominent in the industry.

Meanwhile, Weiss couldn't get anything except odd jobs behind the scenes, but that wasn't the end of his downward spiral. He started burning bridges in Hollywood due to his drinking; eventually, that habit led to other substances.

At first, Judd Apatow, his friend for decades, helped him get into rehab. Afterward, the director found Weiss a new job as a production assistant. He even helped him get writing work. Weiss was responsible for some of the jokes told at the 2011 Oscars.

Apatow did everything he could, including giving him his old laptop where he wrote "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Weiss cherished that gesture and said:

“It was like if your favorite baseball player gave you their glove.”

Sadly, the jobs weren't consistent, and Weiss thought most of the offers he received were underpaid. He was constantly frustrated, as living in Los Angeles can be expensive. He also worried about being evicted and putting his father in assisted living. That's when he lost his most important friendship.

In 2012, he called Apatow and screamed at him. He complained about seeing others succeeding beyond their dreams, but Weiss was just bringing people coffee. He was angry and resentful. Unfortunately, Weiss took that out on his friends. The actor told Apatow:

“If you look at the cast picture of Freaks and Geeks”—a show on which Weiss was a relatively minor character—“I’m the only one that’s not a […] millionaire 10 times over [now].”

The call went on for a while, and he said many things to his friend, which ended their relationship forever. Once he had burned that bridge, he became what he referred to as a "tortured artist."

He created a web short, "What About Weiss?" and a series, "Why Not Weiss?" They showed a comical version of himself, as he falls into addiction and ends up as a beggar. Unfortunately, his writing became a reality, something that Apatow told him could happen.

The former child star had yet to reach the bottom because his father died in 2016 from congenital heart disease, and Shaun couldn't even pay for his funeral. He had to sell old memorabilia from his time in "The Mighty Ducks" and became a telemarketer.

He tried to make other TV projects and failed. Eventually, his lease expired, and the actor lived with a friend, but he burned that friendship too. Weiss found himself in a park, met some shady people, and got introduced to harder, more dangerous substances.

After all his losses, his burned bridges, and the death of his loved ones, doing that stuff seemed like the best idea to forget about the pain. That's how big addictions start. He did other things, and they took an enormous toll on him, explaining that he doesn't remember much of that time.

Eventually, the former child star sold Apatow's old laptop for a mere $60 during his most desperate times. At the time, he was living in a van, but a fire ruined it. That's when Weiss ended up on the streets. He explained:

“[I would find] a new clique of people, and I’d hustle with them. And then something [bad] would happen, and I would have to leave to another neighborhood.”

Shaun tried to find shelter where he could and relied on the kindness of strangers during the harsher nights. He ran into horrible people in the process. Others tried to help him, but the actor confessed that rehabilitation took too long.

Weiss even said that no one in his family looked for him, although his sister, Loretta, said she was working with police to track him down. Unfortunately, Shaun had to do some terrible things to survive, and he was not in his best state at the time as his addiction raged on.

He was arrested several times and sent to the Los Angeles County Jail. Luckily, some officers recognized and treated him decently. Unfortunately, he was still homeless after being released, and things were a blur back then for him, but it was difficult and painful.

One time, the former child star sought shelter a the LA Kings' Valley Ice Center, where he used to train for "The Mighty Ducks." That was a harrowing experience because, once upon a time, he "looked down on people" and thought he was "better."

Weiss also had diabetes and depended on other homeless folks to find him a soda. Those people humbled him because they had nothing, yet they tried to help him. In 2019, Loretta finally found him and came up with a plan.

She took him home, arranged everything, and bought medication for him. Unfortunately, it was not easy, and it only lasted six weeks. Loretta drove him to the Salvation Army center reluctantly, but she couldn't do anything else for him.

He was later arrested again for breaking into a car, and that's when his old friend and former child actor, Natanya Ross, saw his mugshot. She arranged for him to get out of jail through a clinical program. Sadly, it didn't work for Weiss.

Another friend, Drew Gallagher, had set up a GoFundMe page to help with the expenses. They met while filming a pilot, and knew that his friend needed someone who cared. Surprisingly, he started to heal thanks to social media, his fans, and his remaining family.

His Recovery and Staying Healthy

After the failure with the first recovery clinic, Natanya Ross helped him into another facility away from Los Angeles, and he finally started accepting the help. The former child actor explained:

“The Twelve Steps became a big thing for me. And I started praying every night for God to remove the obsession I had with drugs. I don’t know how to not want these things, so can you help me with that?”

In 2020, photos of his current appearance and news about his situation reached TMZ. The story went viral, and Ross convinced Weiss to look at fans' positive comments and worries online. At first, he was afraid because there were a few negative comments.

However, the overwhelming majority wanted the best for him and remembered his old character from "The Mighty Ducks." That eased a lot for Weiss as he started to believe that no one in the world cared for or recalled him. Weiss said:

“I can’t think of another instance where the internet got together behind a celebrity and, like, saved him like that. Can you think of another instance when those powers worked for good?”

At the time, he felt so sad and worthless, but those beautiful messages changed everything. He decided to get better because he couldn't let all those people down. Weiss took rehab seriously and stayed in a sober living home in the Valley while he looked for a permanent home.

He started earning money by going to conventions and doing autograph signings. The latter made him feel conflicted because he thought selling autographs was terrible. They should be free. However, that's an excellent way to earn money. The former child star explained:

“I get to meet supporters. They’ve taken the time to come out, and they’ve been supporting me this whole time.”

As of 2022, he was trying to get back into business and writing. His walls at the sober living home were covered on notes, where he even wrote a bit of stand-up comedy, which he performed later. Weiss is also trying to produce and now follows Apatow's old advice, focusing only on the happy things.

Meanwhile, he landed his first role in 14 years in the film "Jesus Revolution." He has been sober for three years. Although it still hurts to look back and see what he had become, he hopes his story inspires others who might be going through something similar. He commented.

"I'm really sorry 'Ducks' fans had to see me like that. I'm really hoping my story can be useful, so it's not just a sad thing that happened."

The former child star celebrated three years of sobriety recently and celebrated with an image on Instagram. His comments section is full of support, as he continues to inspire and deal with this condition one step at a time.

To celebrate the occasion, the child actor got a brand new smile from Dr. Gabe Rosenthal, who tended to the former child star for free because he wanted to see Weiss thrive and keep improving. More good things will surely follow for Shaun Weiss because once you hit rock bottom, you can only go up.