Watching Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, the new documentary showcasing the problematic environment at Nickelodeon network in the late nineties, has raised significant questions about child actors’ safety and welfare. Former Nickelodeon stars are revealing their harsh working conditions under then-leadership and, most shockingly, the not-so-subtle sexual and racist undertones within the network’s most popular series of the time.
Pamela Warner, who managed her son, actor and singer Malcolm-Jamal Warner, through his childhood and teen TV career, can see why the Nickelodeon environment was allowed to thrive. “Parents did not understand that they had the power to address the issues that they were seeing and were uncomfortable with,” she tells EBONY exclusively. “They just did not want to ‘rock the boat,’ make a mistake, take a risk or ‘ruin’ their child’s chances for stardom and/or the next paycheck.”
It was even more of a struggle for young Black actors on Nickelodeon series, who were often cast in racially tinged roles, such in the cast of former child actor Bryan Hearne. In an episode of SNICK On-Air Dare, he was covered in peanut butter and attacked by dogs. Warner says, “Bryan’s mother clearly saw that the way in which her son was being portrayed and treated was just not right. When she tried to speak up about it, she was told she was the problem. She was doing exactly what she should have been doing, protecting the welfare of her child and sounding the alarm. Unfortunately, her son was dismissed from the show.”
ShowBiz Consulting 411 presents: A Parent’s Guide to Managing Showbiz Kids
Pamela Warner
Price: $25
As the fellow mother of a Black son, Warner states, “I think being extremely supportive and understanding the culture of America and how we are cast in certain ways, along with what’s available for a Black child, is key. Parents have to find a way to converse with their actor children and establish an understanding that some things are just the way our society is. That’s a hard and not necessarily a pretty truth of our society.”
Warner is helping parents navigate and avoid these pitfalls in her new book, ShowBiz Consulting 411 presents: A Parent’s Guide to Managing Showbiz Kids. The successful mom manager says it wasn’t a role she initially sought out.
“I would probably be the most reluctant stage parent that ever existed. Being in show business was the furthest from my mind,” she chuckles. She had put Malcolm in children’s theater as an extracurricular activity and to learn to multitask and manage his time; he was the one to discover it was his calling.
Warner tested her son’s commitment to becoming an actor. “I increased his chores, he had to do his homework before he even thought about playing outside, and he rose to the occasion every single time.” She supported his dream, the first reason Warner believes parents should become the children’s managers.
“The parent may have a dream for a child to do this, and they put their children in show business, which for me is backward,” she declares. As a parent, I felt the only thing I had to do was support his dream no matter what mine might have been.”
After making that decision, Warner suggests that parents thoroughly investigate the industry. “I always recommend that your child participate in community theater before you get an agent and manager. Put them in a situation where they have to study their lines and learn a whole new vocabulary, where they have to interact and become team members. See if they like and can handle that.”
Warner’s book also covers the technical side of the business: accessing a manager, dealing with union work and understanding emancipated minors. She also addresses the taboo of a child’s income and who it really belongs to.
“I talk about the Coogan Law, which protects a child’s earnings, and the Green Blues. People automatically think you’re wealthy whenever you’re on television, which is not always the case. But it encourages family members and friends to ask for money; everybody will have their hands out.”
Warner realizes while this may be more income than a family has ever seen, parents need to ponder this: “Do you want to look at your child years later when they want to know, ‘What happened to the money?’ Do you want to stand before your child and say, ‘Well, I bought that Mercedes; I had to give your grandma money for her arthritis. Or do you want to say, ‘Here is your bank account; here’s the money you made.’ I think that’s a very important conversation.”
Warner’s next lesson is protecting children from those who would prey on their innocence. “Stranger danger. Just because these people have titles, it does not mean that they are good people, it does not mean that they are there for the best interest of your child. It does not mean you can leave your child in the company of these people. It does not mean that you can abdicate your authority and let them take over your child,” she emphasizes.
“Be careful where you place your child and who you place your child with. If conversations have to be had with your child, you can zoom or get on the line and talk. Never allow your child to have one-on-one contact with a manager or an agent if you choose not to manage yourself. The spokes of the wheel that you need in terms of putting together your child’s team, you are in front of your child at all times, and you are the first line of protection for your child. It’s a professional relationship, it must remain professional. Most people are genuine and good people. But you do have some bad actors. And you don’t want to be a victim.”
While she understands the fear a parent experiences that does not allow them to speak up, she says it must be countered with ‘what is best for my child.’ “It is very risky for most parents to ask this question. If you and your child are in an uncomfortable situation and you stand up for your child, you absolutely run the risk of being fired. But what good is it to have the bills paid and you have a child that has been psychologically and emotionally damaged?”
For those whose children still want to be in show business, Warner surmises there are many gatekeepers to an actor’s career, adult or child. But for the parent, “Knowledge is power. Do your research. Learn what is ok on a set and what is not. Familiarize yourself with the union and the laws that protect the child actor. Stand in integrity at all times as it relates to your child.”
ShowBiz Consulting 411 presents: A Parent’s Guide to Managing Showbiz Kids, available on Amazon.
