Okay, I'm not posting this because I want to laugh at the misfortunes of others. I don't like seeing anyone go through hard times, and I'd never wish something like this on anyone. At least not on anyone whose worst crime is just being kind of annoying.
Still, as much empathy as I feel for someone in the D-man's situation, there's a little guy living in my head that won't be quiet. That little guy loves to see celebrities weaned from the public teat and learn to live in the real world like everyone else. So when I see something like this, the most socially responsible emotion I can work up is some solid ambivalence.
Check it out (caution: a bit of questionable language)
I really can't decide whether I hope this plan of his will fail or succeed. But there's something very sad about seeing someone try so hard to make himself believe his 10-year-old D-list celebrity status is still worth $15 to anyone, and realize that he's wrong.
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
Oh for crying out loud...
I mean really..."the D-man?"
This is sad on many levels, only one of which is that the guy will probably lose his house and any money he's put into it.
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
Can banks call in mortgages like that?
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
*cough* *cough*
*tries not to laugh*
*chokes*
I remember going to a taping of "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" or some such crud. He was still there; it was sad. My drama teacher, who took us, told us afterward how he had totally ruined his career and probably his voice by getting himself so typecast and contracted up that he could never do any other acting work.
But much as I'm sorry for him, he's really full of himself, isn't he?
Posted by dkw (Member # 3264) on :
He didn't qualify for a mortgage, so he bought with a land contract.
So yes, the seller (not the bank) can tell him to pay up or forfeit. A land contract is kind of like a lease with/option to buy -- the title doesn't transfer until he pays it off, either by making all the payments or by securing a regular mortgage. Which he apparently still can't get because of lousy credit.
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
Thanks for the info, dkw.
ketchupqueen,
It doesn't matter how full of yourself you are, eviction is sad business.
I hope something works out for him.
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
I know it's sad. That's why I feel sorry for him. That's why I'm trying not to laugh. But the way he wrote it makes me giggle.
Posted by Belle (Member # 2314) on :
quote:The lender can demand payment in full of the loan, forcing you to procure a loan to pay off the mortgage if you don't want to give up the property. If you can't come up with the money, you'll lose everything you have invested in the property and be forced to move out. This can be especially painful if you have also spent money and energy improving the property.
From dkw's link.
Sorry, little sympathy here. He signed a land contract knowing this could happen, agreed to the terms, and now wants other people to pay for his lack of foresight.
As for wanting to screw over the lawyer who was looking at his case, did he have a contract with said lawyer? Did he pay a retainer? From the link it sounds as if he was expecting the guy to work for free and save his house for him becuase he used to be on a lousy tv show. Grow up, be mature, and accept the consequences of your actions. When bad things happen, it isn't always someone elses' fault. Have some sense of personal responsibility for Pete's sake.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
Don't forget he was in the Half-Life movie. That's got to count for something. Right? God, that movie was so pathetic that IMDB doesn't even list it.
And didn't anyone notice that, according to IMDB, his full name is... prepare yourself... "Dustin Neil Diamond".
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
I saw him on celebrity boxing beat the crap out of the Ron Palillo, guy who played Horshack on Welcome Back Kotter. D-Man, about 6 foot, 200 lbs. and in his 20s beat up a 5 foot nothing guy in his 50s.
I feel bad that he's losing his house, but that made it tough for me to feel too sorry for him. However strapped for cash and recognition you are, you really shouldn't stoop to beating up other celebrities who don't stand a chance.
I heard a rumor he's in talks with Estelle Getty's agent for the next season.
Posted by Juxtapose (Member # 8837) on :
I was with him until he started referring to himself in the third person.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
Nighthawk agrees.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Land Contracts are a great tool, but he should have made sure the paperwork was filed. If it had been then the lender couldn't have demanded payment before the due date of the contract.
I have little sympathy for a man who, despite making huge amounts of money from TV, has credit so poor he can't buy a house. Even if he wasn't payed huge amounts by Hollywood standards, he was by the standards of most Americans.
Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
quote:Let's face it, if he can't find the time to work on a mortgage for a famous celebrity, how will he handle the average person?
I'd never even heard of Dustin Diamond before I read this thread. (I don't think I ever saw Saved by the Bell)
I second all that Belle said.
Posted by James Tiberius Kirk (Member # 2832) on :
quote:Don't forget he was in the Half-Life movie.
(... there was a Half-Life movie?)
--j_k goes to investigate. In third person, no less.
Posted by Baron Samedi (Member # 9175) on :
quote:1. I want Arthur to lose his cushy job at NYCE where he screws over the working man then laughs at their expense.
The working man, eh? If you need to make a quarter million dollars in a month, and the first idea that comes to mind is selling T-shirts with your picture on them, you're not the "working man".
I really like how he calls himself a "famous celebrity" in one paragraph, and then "the working man" in the next. This dude isn't either, but he needs to decide what he's trying to make people believe he is before he publishes his article.
By the way, is it just me, or does this whole story sound like the setup to a really crappy movie starring Adam Sandler and/or Rob Schneider? Maybe the D-man can make enough money to save his house by selling the rights to his pitiful life story.
Posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong (Member # 2229) on :
quote:The working man, eh? If you need to make a quarter million dollars in a month, and the first idea that comes to mind is selling T-shirts with your picture on them, you're not the "working man".
I haven't posted to this thread cause it sucks for him and I really didn't want to comment on the situation. I know for one that I never want to be in his position and hope that he finds better days.
Posted by ssasse (Member # 9516) on :
Exactly, B34N.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
Irami.....Why should that matter at all?
Are you implying that he shouldn't have to deal with things like that because he is semi-famous? We all do.
He made a ton of money....then blew it. Ruined his credit, then didn't research his land contract properly.
And he expects people to care, and to bail him out, because he was on a corny weekend TV show years ago.
While I wouldn't wish this on anyone, I filed this in my brain under the same catigory as Willie Nelson's tax evasion.....he should have known better, and seems to think that he deserves more consideration that regular folks because he was "famous".
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Out of all the celebrities out there doing lousy things, Diamond is near the bottom of the list of those that need to be taken down a notch.
quote:He made a ton of money....then blew it.
Actually, this isn't true. He made a ton of money, but his parents blew it. By the time he was an 18 and could control it himself, it it was all gone.
Posted by Kwea (Member # 2199) on :
I don't hate him, but I have little to no pity left for someone who has already made more money that I will in my entire life.
I am not even saying I don't feel sorry for him. Moving sucks....eviction sucks. I should know, both have happened to me.
But I didn't act like anyone owed me anything because of it.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
quote:Originally posted by James Tiberius Kirk:
quote:Don't forget he was in the Half-Life movie.
(... there was a Half-Life movie?)
--j_k goes to investigate. In third person, no less.
So what was he doing with the spas? Looked like he was touring the facility where they were giving them away.
Anyway, I don't think this is about whether he's a good guy or a bad guy. As I said earlier, he's a little bit annoying, but he's not a criminal or a terrorist and I'd never say he deserves to lose his home.
But there were times in my life when I needed some money, and I never went to Dustin Diamond for help. I never told the people of America to chip in and bail me out. If you don't have $250,000 for a house, and you don't have enough credit to get a loan, you don't get a house.
I put myself through school living in the smallest, most depressing basement apartment you can imagine. Two years after I graduated, when I had enough savings for a down payment, I bought a tiny starter home. That's how life works. Screech clearly thinks he deserves to skip those steps and get the people of America to buy his broke ass a house in the country because he spent 10 years annoying us every saturday morning. I'm not saying I hope he fails, but it does strike me as a little tacky.
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
Actually, Irami, if you follow the link a step further, it's pretty clear that he has some serious reality-disconnect issues.
Finding out you're pregnant is "being blessed with a child"? (I actually had to reread that part several times, I was so confused by that phrasing.) And his girlfriend must not have had much, if any, prenatal care. Not if it took two months to diagnose an ectopic pregnancy!
Don't get me wrong. I have a friend who had an ectopic pregnancy diagnosed at a similar stage. But she fully acknowledges that she was too sure of herself (having had two kids already) and didn't bother to go see the doctor as early as she should have. Ectopic pregnancies are horrible, even when diagnosed early.
But yeesh.
Posted by Baron Samedi (Member # 9175) on :
quote:Originally posted by Irami Osei-Frimpong: *shrugs* I hope it works out for him
Really? Did you buy a shirt? Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
When I saw the thread title I thought it was going to be about his recent altercation with the law where a woman who apparently was trying to rob him accused him of rape to deflect blame.
She'd been hanging around close by when he was collecting payment for a gig and I guess followed him up to his room. When he tried to leave the next morning, she forced her way in, demanded money, and ended up grabbing his PSP and games.
Posted by Nighthawk (Member # 4176) on :
quote:Originally posted by Goody Scrivener: When he tried to leave the next morning, she forced her way in, demanded money, and ended up grabbing his PSP and games.
See, I could accept an attempted rape charge or demanding money, but that's just MEAN.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
That's exactly it, Nighthawk. His quote was "man, i'm a gamer, you don't mess with my PSP". He went after her to get them back, and that's when she screamed rape.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 9253) on :
The other day, my girlfriend's mom's car was broken into. The first thing my GF said, bless her, is "Did they take the GameBoy?"
Now that I think about it, maybe T-shirts is the wrong thing to sell. If he were selling little talking Screech action figures, and he would personally record the message that it said, people might pay $15 for them.
I know I'd be tempted to get one for a friend of mine, "Hey, this is Screech, and even I think you look funny."
Posted by Baron Samedi (Member # 9175) on :
Upon reflection, I think this is my favorite part of the site. All those empty bricks... But at least he got sponsored by GetDShirts.com.
quote:You can buy as many as you like
Wow! What a deal!
Posted by Bob_Scopatz (Member # 1227) on :
I'm confused. His longest running series was the sequel series Saved by the Bell: The New Class He joined that in the 2nd of 7 seasons and by the end of that season, he would've been 18, at which point the prior arrangement under the Coogan law (Diamond credits that law with reserving 25% of his SbtB income from his parents) would've ended and ALL the income would've been his.
He was earning $250,000/yr for SbtB. He never said what his "The New Class" earnings were, but he was in complete "legal" control of that income for a course of 6 years -- 2 years longer than the original series even ran.
Also, his salary doubled (roughly) during the SbtB 4 years, so if we take a rough average, we can figure that he would've turned 18 with a bankroll of around $100,000 - $150,000.
Unless he turned it all over to his parents after reaching his majority, it does sort of appear that he not only had a nest egg from his first acting "gig" but also was making some serious money for 6 years after turning 18.
I deplore the continued exploitation of children in the Entertainment industry (the Coogan law only applies to contracts approved by the courts, only to contracts in California, and only protects a small portion of the child's earnings), it's a little bit odd to read nothing of the young man's personal decisions for well over 1/2 of his career, especially since some of those years include a recurring role on a network series.
Even if that series paid 1/2 what the original SbtB did, he was still making a reasonable living. It also should be the case that any residuals earned NOW from any of his prior work would come to him. He would still be benefitting from the popularity of SbtB (video sales, etc.) even though his parents spent much of his earned income for the years that he played on that show.
Now, that doesn't say that his current situation is not tragic. Losing one's home is always a sad and tragic thing. I just think that plays for sympathy are not always what they seem (one way or the other), and this guy is not coming forward with a full accounting by any stretch.
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