Brian Bonsall

A precocious blond moppet of television fame who graduated to features upon adolescence, Brian Bonsall made his first impact as Andrew Keaton, the adorable little brother of Michael J Fox, during the last three seasons (1986-89) of the hit NBC sitcom "Family Ties." So cute as to tug at maternal heartstrings, he proved a natural for issue-oriented TV movies about such subjects as juvenile AIDS like "Go Toward the Light" (CBS, 1988) and child molestation with "Do You Know the Muffin Man?" (CBS, 1989). Bonsall's credits include various TV specials and series guest spots. Under heavy make-up, he portrayed the Klingon youth Alexander, the son of Worf, on the syndicated "Star Trek: The Next Generation." In his feature debut, "Mikey" (1992), Bonsall was improbably cast as a psychotic kid who murders a succession of foster families. He reverted to type as the innocent son of Patrick Swayze in "Father Hood" (1993).

By 1994, Bonsall was tiring of the acting grind and after appearing in that year's uninspired "Blank Check" and two TV movies - "Father and Scout" (ABC) and "Lily in Winter" (USA Network) - he more or less retired when his mother and future stepfather relocated to Denver, CO. Proving unruly in school, he was sent to the Missouri Military Academy for a year before returning to Colorado. In Denver, he and two friends formed the punk rock band, Late Bloomers, and issued a recording, This One's for Dick. When asked about a possible return to acting, Bonsall stated he planned instead to defer college and concentrate on a music career when he graduated from high school in 2000. He would make news almost a decade later after several run-ins with the law, including an arrest for assault in 2009 and another arrest only two months later for marijuana usage in violation of the terms of his release from the previous incident.