TVSquad

Willie Aames has had it tough as of recent. After his time as a celebrity (including high-profile roles on Eight is Enough, Charles in Charge and the voice of Hank in the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon), he then spent some time as BibleMan (and if you ever saw BibleMan, you'd understand why that was a bad thing), had an argument with his trainer on Celebrity Fit Club, and tried to commit suicide after his wife left him. Now he's apparently selling some of his possessions in a garage sale in suburban Kansas City.

Why do I have the feeling that this is going to lead to him being on another reality television show like his Charles in Charge co-star, Scott Baio? They say there is no such thing as bad publicity, but I have to wonder.

The article lists some of the items he's selling, but it neglects to specifically mention the autographed picture of Scott Baio, the magic bow that shoots fire-arrows and the magic Bible.

I saw this ad a few times last year, and they're starting to show it again, during tennis and golf matches (is that the right term for what golfers play? Matches?), and I think the lead actor in the commercial looks really familiar.

I'm talking about the ads for the Royal Bank of Scotland. The ones where the scout leader is talking about money and the other guy is sinking into quicksand. The scout leader looks a lot like Brian Patrick Clarke, who played baseball player Merle "The Pearl" on Eight Is Enough ("There's a plate of homemade wishes, on the kitchen window sill ..."). Of course, it's been over 20 years since I've seen an episode of the show, but I think this actor and Clarke would be the right age. And, by the way, I'm both proud and disturbed that I actually remembered the actor's full name without even doing a search.

I just checked Clarke's IMDB listing, and he has been in a few TV shows lately (CSI: Miami, Judging Amy), and the pic sorta looks like the guy in the RBS ads (and a little like Ed Begley, Jr.), but I don't know if it's him or not. Readers?