Small Wonder Child Star Jerry Supiran Broke, Homeless, Lost Money To Stripper
Jun. 1 2012, Published 1:00 p.m. ET
Jerry Supiran, once a promising young star best known for his role on the 80s TV comedy Small Wonder, has spiraled into a vortex of poverty and homelessness, after a number of bad breaks took him from Hollywood's bright lights to sleeping under a bridge in central California.
“It’s been very tough,” said Jerry, in an exclusive interview with the new issue of the National Enquirer.
Jerry, now 39, who also appeared on shows including Little House on the Prairie, Newhart and Highway to Heaven, said his bad luck began more than two decades ago.
“When I was 18, I dated a stripper and she took what was left of my trust fund; then, one of my advisers stole a half-million dollars from me."
The former child star says he's "worked at different steakhouses for the last 15 years, but two years ago … was laid off from a restaurant in Henderson, Nevada, due to the economy."
Jerry, who played the role of Jamie Lawson, says he hasn't "been able to find a job since" 2010.
“I had to move back to central California where my brother lives with his family," he said. "And while he helps me with hot meals and a shower, he doesn’t have the room for me to stay there.
"So I either sleep at the homeless shelter I volunteer at, or under a local bridge,” said Jerry, who uses Facebook to chat up his former TV co-stars.
Down, but not out, Jerry says he's banking on another gig in the food service industry to put an end to his financial drought.
“I’m just looking for a break," he said.
Small Wonder — which focused on ‘robotic daughter’ Vicki -- ran in first-run syndication from 1985-1989.
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