In the Hills With Harry: Chad Lowe voluntarily threw away his career at age 16

[Harry Hollywood]

Picture this...

It's 1984, and you are 16 years old. A sitcom has been written specifically for you as the main character. It's hyped by the network, the critics love it, and the ratings are solid. You get along well with your co-stars.

Previously in the shadow of your much more famous older brother, you are now coming into your own, appearing on the cover of magazines aimed at squealing teenage girls. Your future's so bright, you gotta wear shades.




Then you drop the ball. You're unhappy. You don't want to be part of the sitcom written specifically for you. You want out. They tell you that you'll never work in this town again. You don't care, and leave anyway. The network sues you. Your career, for the most part, is ruined.

That was the story of Chad Lowe, younger brother of Rob. If you're around Druff's age, or perhaps a bit older, you might remember Spencer, a clever little sitcom about a Holden Caulfield type teenage protagonist, played by Chad Lowe. The show lasted just 6 episodes, despite high priase from critics and good ratings. It could have been a 1980s-defining hit which lasted for many years. Chad could be collecting royalties right now from 2022 DVD sales, snapped up by nostalgic Gen-X fans who are now around 50.

Instead, Spencer is just a footnote in TV history, and a reminder that the rug can be pulled out from any show at any time.

Chad had various concerns, after just a short time of working on his first sitcom. He didn't like the long hours,. He didn't feel he was being paid enough, noting that his adult co-stars were making more than him, even though he was the face of the show. He also felt that he was already on the way to being typecast as a TV sitcom guy, while big brother Rob was starting to catch fire in the more respected world of film.

Chad was, to put it bluntly, a big ball of stress. On one hand, Spencer was becoming everything he had wanted from it. On the other, he felt trapped and underappreciated. He started to worry that the show would forever define him. How could he get serious roles in film or television in the future, if he were to be forever known as Spencer the Troublemaking Teen?

Chad went to his mom and expressed his concern. She didn't give him much guidance. She told him to do whatever made him happy, and if quitting Spencer made him happy, then so be it.

After just a few epsiodes, Lowe broke the news to NBC and the production team. He initially framed it as a monetary issue, claiming that he could continue with the show if he was made the highest paid actor on the program. This demand was refused, but in reality, Lowe was already emotionally checked out from the show. He figured he could force himself to stay on if the money was substantially more, but otherwise it just wasn't worth it. He saw it as a win-win, as he'd either be getting paid much more money, or be rid of the burden of the sitcom he no longer wanted.

What Chad didn't expect, however, was a lawsuit. NBC sued him, claiming breach of contract. Not only did Chad lose, it didn't even go to trial. NBC won on summary judgment. Ouch!

Chad was also given the cliche warning supposedly screamed at Hollywood actors who run afoul of their producers: "You'll never work in this town again!"

Did that end up coming true? Did Chad Lowe ever work in this town again? Sort of and sort of, and I will explain that shortly.

In the meantime, you can watch the best remembered episode of Spencer, which featured the very tall and then-unknown Terry Farrell as guest star.

[Harry Hollywood]

Just about everyone who saw Spencer liked it. The writing was clever. Chad Lowe was good looking and cool, but not to the point of being unrelatable. In some ways, he was a misfit. It was even believable that his only friends were the nerdy Wayne (Grant Heslov) and douchey Bailey (Dean Cameron).

The show had clever writing, and dealt with mid-80s teen issues without being too preachy. Spencer was always getting in trouble, and often had a defiant attitude, but he wasn't a bad kid. Lowe had good chemistry with the rest of the cast, and the show deftly toed the fine sitcom line between too ridiculous and too serious.

You also need to understand the position NBC was in, coming into the 1984 season. The network was struggling big time in the 1983-84 season, and was far behind competitors CBS and ABC. In fact, NBC had the worst ratings of any network since 1957! They had introduced ten new shows for the 83-84 season, and all ten failed. They hadn't realized yet that the 84-85 season would be their reinaissance, with instant hits such as The Cosby Show and Miami Vice.

Spencer began a bit later in the season, starting on December 1. I can't tell you the reason for this, as I don't remember. I do know that it was fairly hyped by NBC at the time, especially because it was starring Rob Lowe's younger brother. By the time Lowe came with his demands to NBC, they were feeling less desperate. They were flying high on the surprise hits of Cosby and Miami Vice, while three other new shows, Highway to Heaven, Punky Brewster, and Hunter were also looking promising. They didn't have time for the narcissistic shenanigans of a 16-year-old. If Lowe was going to demand more money mid-season and threaten to breach his contract, they would let him, and then work around it. Had Spencer began earlier in the season, before Brandon Tarkitoff and company realized what a hit their 84-85 lineup would be, they might have actually backed down to Lowe.



In any case, Lowe was out, and so was Spencer. The last episode aired on January 12, 1985, but the fate of the show was already known by then.

Six episodes, and it was done, and our story should be over. However, like a zombie in a bad horror movie, Spencer simply wouldn't die. Instead, it rose from the grave, limping along, eating the brains of anyone who dared get close. I will explain in my next post.

[Harry Hollywood]

NBC simply would not let Spencer die. They felt they could salvage it. After all, it was a successful show for six episodes, loved by both audiences and critics. They were not to have all of that destroyed by a self-important 16-year-old.

If they could simply recast Spencer to another actor, the show could continue after a brief hiatus, right?

The idea was tossed around, and it was decided that it would be too weird for audiences to see a new actor play the title character, even after just six episodes. It was assumed that Spencer was synonymous with Chad Lowe, so they needed to shift the focus somewhat away from the Spencer character.

Writers Chet Dowling and Sandy Krinski came up with an idea. What if the show could be transformed into a generational sitcom? Instead of spotlighting Spencer's teenage angst and hijinks, what if two grandparents were to move into the house, and three generations would be constantly at odds with one another? The show would be retitled Under One Roof.

Not only was this extremely cliche, but it was poorly conceived for the existing audience of Spencer. Recall that this was a show about and aimed at teenagers. It was very popular with teens and middle-schoolers, and also did fairly well with young adults. However, that demographic really wasn't interested in seeing crotchety grandparents yelling at the younger members of the household. Even the theme song was depressing, and looked like something which was made to appeal to elderly viewers.



The new role of Spencer was given to Ross Harris, who had appeared in tons of commercials as a child. He was best known as the boy in Airplane! who was on the receiving end of perverted comments from the flight's captain. Unfortunately, the 15-year-old Harris simply was no Chad Lowe. He came off as mopey and dorky, whereas Chad Lowe was cool and smooth.

Ronny Cox, who played Spencer's father in the original show, was smart enough to see the fail coming. He refused to reprise his role for Under One Roof, so he was written out. His character's absence was explained by claiming that he ran off with a 23-year-old girl, which was quite hard to swallow, as the character had been previously shown to be very much in love with his wife. Rather than just giving this little explanation and trying to avoid further mentioning him, one episode had Spencer moping around depressed because he blamed himself for his dad leaving. It amazes me that the same crack writing team was involved with this terrible follow-up effort.

As you might have guessed, Under One Roof was a huge flop. It lasted 7 episodes, and NBC decided to pull the plug.



Amy Locane, then 12, had her television debut on Spencer, starring as his younger sister. She is now best known for a bad drunk driving accident in 2010, where she killed a 60-year-old woman, and was found to have a blood alcohol level of .23. Locane is presently in New Jersey state prison.

[Harry Hollywood]

How did Chad Lowe's career fare?

Not very well, to be honest.

His IMDB will show a lot of roles, but these were mostly guest roles or small parts. He did have a regular role in Life Goes On in the '90s, as well as Pretty Little Liars in the 2010s. He's done some directing.

Overall, his career hasn't been an utter failure, but it's a shell of what it could have been.

Lowe refused to discuss the Spencer situation for many years. Finally, he opened up a bit about it. The most interesting part of his discussion was the indirect blame on his mother for the situation. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mom had custody of him. As an adult, he looked back upon his Spencer decision, and was disappointed in his mom for not giving him parental guidance. He felt she should have interfered and told him he was throwing away a great opportunity, rather than validating the somewhat unfounded concerns of an angsty teen.

Chad felt he basically had no parents at that point, and had to make a very adult decision at age 16. He now feels that decision was incorrect, and believes he would have handled everything differently, if only he had real parental guidance.

One can only wonder. In an alternate universe somewhere, Spencer was a huge hit, had a 7-year run, and is presently airing all over cable in syndication, delighting a whole new generation of viewers in Spencer's hijinks.

[country978]

You're the best Harry! I love these stories.

[gut]

I hadn't thought of Amy Locane in forever, and hadn't heard of that DUI-manslaughter. Did a dive on it, and that is a weird story.

https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021...tor-amy-locane

tl;dr summary: she gets sentenced to 3 years, serves it, is free for 5 years, another judge says earlier judge was too lenient and gives her 5 more years! How is that legal? SHE'S A PRETTY WHITE GIRL DAMMIT

[limitles]

File under too bad, so sad.

One of the twins from Everybody Loves Raymond committed suicide.

It's just a big bowl of cherries.

[The Boz]

Great stuff as always Harry. I’ll always remember Dean Cameron as Chainsaw in Summer School, one of most underrated movies of all time.

[Texter]

I always mix up Amy Smart and Amy Locane….

And to continue Limits cheery train of thought….Amanda Peterson, love interest in the surprisingly good “Can’t Buy Me Love”…died of a morphine overdose at 43…