Washed Up Celebrities: Scott Schwartz

By: Rick Ace Rhodes

Hello users of Retro-Daze! Welcome to my new article series called Washed Up Celebrities, where I chronicle and examine the lives of former stars who have become completely washed up, whether it be actors, musicians or even athletes.

My very first article will deal with the former child actor named Scott Schwartz.

Scott Schwartz used to be a minor child actor in the 1980's. I take it many of you have never even heard his name. Schwartz appeared in a couple of television shows throughout the decade, such as appearing in a couple of episodes in the ABC Afterschool Special television series. He also appeared opposite of Richard Pryor and Jackie Gleason in the 1982 film The Toy.

However, the biggest role Schwartz ever had came in 1983 when he appeared as the character Flick in the sleeper hit A Christmas Story.

A Christmas Story was a Christmas film dealing with a kid named Ralphie Parker in the 1940's trying to get a BB gun for Christmas, while also dealing with a whole bunch side stories like Ralphie dealing with a bully and Ralphie's parents arguing over a lamp. The film was not a big hit when first released in theaters, however, since the 90's the television channels TBS or TNT usually take turns hosting a 24-hour marathon of A Christmas Story that begins at 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve and airs until 8 p.m. Christmas day. Since then the film has become a holiday classic.

Scott Schwartz played Ralphie's friend Flick in the movie, and he was involved in one of the most memorable scenes in the movie. Flick receives a triple dog dare to lick the frozen flagpole, arguing that his tongue won't stick. He does so, and is shocked when his tongue does stick. The fire department ends up being called in order to free the terrified Flick.

Unfortunately for Schwartz, that one scene is the highlight of his career.

Like with many other child stars, puberty kicked Schwartz's *ss. Schwartz only grew to be 5'2", developed an overall pudgy build and went from being a normal looking kid to having a troll-like face.

With nowhere else to turn, a now adult Schwartz descended into the lowest-level within the entertainment industry: pornography.

Yup.

Schwartz entered the pornographic industry when no other entertainment roles were available. Initially Schwartz worked behind the scenes and appeared in minor, non-sexual roles in various films. However, he eventually began appearing in sexual roles. He also worked as an agent for various porn stars.

After spending the 90's being involved in the porn industry, Schwartz decided to leave the pornographic world in 2000 in an attempt to revive his career in mainstream entertainment. However, since then he's only appeared in a few low-budget B Movies, never even coming close to making it back in major mainstream entertainment.

During his failed attempts at reviving his career, Schwartz has worked within the memorabilia business. Since the 1980's Schwartz has helped run a movie and sports memorabilia store with his father. From what I found at an old blog site dealing with washed up celebrities that was inspiration for this article series(http://washedupcelebrities.blogspot.com/2007/03/scott-schwartz.html), Schwartz has had several run-ins with major athletes over the years and likes to pretend that he's friends with them.

Scott Schwartz's career is now completely over. Schwartz has become an overweight troll that is trying to cling to what little fame he has instead of moving on with his life. From what I've read, Schwartz continuously appears at anything related to A Christmas Story. His inability to move on with his life along with his attempts to make himself out to be more important then he really is makes him one washed up celebrity!

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Rick Ace Rhodes Posted on Sep 05, 2015 at 03:47 AM

@Vaporman87 Thanks!

Rick Ace Rhodes Posted on Sep 05, 2015 at 03:46 AM

@mickyarber For someone like Schwartz probably not. He's too old and he was never that deep (no pun intended) into Hollywood to make a serious threshold for an acting career. For someone like Chris Klein maybe, someone who had a falling out with Hollywood after developing a good path to stardom, went through a dark period in his life and has since began to rebuild upon his lost career. You never know with someone like him.

Vaporman87 Posted on Sep 04, 2015 at 07:33 PM

It's true that you never know what the future might hold for some "washed up" celebs. But then there are those that you just know are pretty well done. I think Scotty here fits in there. Probably the most fame he could gain nowadays would be on some show like Celebrity Apprentice or Dancing With The Stars, and that's fleeting.

Great start to the series Rick. Keep 'em coming!

mickyarber Posted on Sep 04, 2015 at 07:27 PM

Never knew his story. It's kind of sad actually. But as for an article, I like the idea...seeing where some familiar faces are these days. I hate to think of them as washed up though. You never know what may be right around the corner for some folks.