Most of us will live a life outside of the spotlight and away from Hollywood. Others will become a big star when they are very young.
One child actor who rose to fame at the young age of 9 is Scott Baio. He got his start in a movie with Frankie Valli, ‘Bugsy Malone’. In order to land the part in 1976, he beat 2,000 other hopefuls and ended up playing the child gangster.
The very next year, he would go on to star in the popular sitcom, Happy Days. He played the part of the cousin of The Fonz, Chachi Arcola. Soon, he was a household name.
After his career started to pick up steam, his family moved to Hollywood. They were very supportive of the young star. He would go on to star in a number of movies, including Zapped!, Foxes, and Skatetown U.S.A.
Eventually, he would continue his career on television, going from Happy Days to Charles in Charge after Happy Days ended.
Offscreen, his life continued to develop as well. He would marry an actress and stuntwoman, Renee Sloan. The marriage got its start in 2007 but they experienced many problems.
When the couple found out they were expecting twins they were excited but that was shortlived because they would lose the babies at 11 weeks. They then went on to have a daughter together, Bailey.
Shortly after bringing Bailey home in 2007, the pediatrician called. They had seen a possible issue with the newborn screening. It was a rare condition called glutaric acidemia type 1, or GA-1.
The condition was possibly fatal and they waited for 2 months while additional tests were done. When Bailey was 10 weeks old, she had additional medical evaluations that revealed she did not have GA-1.
The couple didn’t keep their issues to themselves. They went on to help spread awareness about the importance of expanded newborn screening. A foundation was also started to help.
Something else happened in 2015 that proved to be a challenge. Renee was diagnosed with meningioma brain tumors, which were described as “benign tumors that grow on the outer casing of the brain.” She had also been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer but was able to successfully undergo three lumpectomies.
They did struggle with these health problems but continued to remain strong during these difficult times.
When Renee was diagnosed, Scott was afraid he would lose her. He said: “It was all about our kid. I would’ve been devastated for our daughter, because she’s everything to us, so that would’ve crushed her.”
Renee also spoke about this, saying: “Before we told our daughter, he had put his head on my shoulder in the kitchen and he wept, and our daughter witnessed this, and she said, ‘Mommy, why are you making Daddy cry?
“You need to apologize. You apologize for making Daddy cry.’ So I bit the inside of my mouth and I said, ‘I’m sorry, Daddy, for making you cry.’ You just got to be strong.”
In 2017 Scott again spoke about the ongoing health struggles.
Wife was fighting breast cancer! Now what? U can see I twtd abt it that yr. ET covered it @AndreaCGWW @ProPublica pic.twitter.com/ZlMT1S40x3
— Scott Baio (@ScottBaio) June 20, 2016
Despite the challenges, Renee stayed strong for the family. She said: “I’m tough in a different way”
Scott agreed, saying: “She’s life tough”
Scott Baio has been through plenty of ups and downs over the years. He has been a good husband, father, and friend. We wish him and his family many years of happiness.
