"Random Acts of Badness" is a book, the autobiography Danny Bonaduce, that I picked up for a buck at the dollar store.
Bonaduce, as some of you may recall, got his break in acting at a young age playing the chubby, redheaded drummer "Danny Partridge" in "The Partridge Family" from 1970-74. He later gained a reputation as the "poster boy for child stars gone bad". He at present, at the time the book was published, at least, works as a successful radio personality. He is, at time of publishing, married and has two kids. I truly hope that this is still the case.
He addresses his rise, complete fall and rise in minute detail in the book, thanking the people who helped him in his early success, apologizing to those he may have hurt in his years as a crackhead and all-around useless, drugged-out asshole, and gratefully acknowledging those who supported him in his subsequent redemption. He also tells off certain people who he feels wronged him over the years, too, and with much humor, at that.
He is very graphic in his description of his drug use and the perils and pitfalls he faced during those years, making, to his credit, no excuses for himself. He did it all to himself, and takes full blame.
One thing I admired was the way he refuses to blame his past as a child star and the way Hollywood dumped him, as it often does young actors when they hit puberty, and as many former child stars do (Todd Bridges, the late Dana Plato and Gary Coleman, all of "Diff'rent Strokes", for example). He is not bitter about it.
I didn't expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I bought it at the dollar store, for crying out loud. I bought it to be kept in the bathroom as a diversion during those times when you either can't go or can't stop, and like something to occupy your mind. As it turned out, I couldn't put it down. I read it in about three days, all told.
If you can find this book, I recommend it very, very much. It is very well written (some minor spelling and grammatical errors that the editor should have caught, but I digress).....full of amusing anecdotes, it is very funny in places and very touching in others.
The style is conversational, as though you're sitting around having a beer. Bonaduce, having come out the other side of serious drug problems and life on Skid Row (even having lived in his car at one point), comes across as very down-to-earth and pleasant; the kind of guy who could be your neighbor instead of a millionaire celebrity.
I personally think "Random Acts" would be a good tool for use in drug rehab or as a warning to people in the early stages of a drug habit, too. Check it out.
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