Kirk Cameron
Encyclopedia
Kirk Thomas Cameron is an American
actor
best known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy
Growing Pains
(1985–1992), as well as several other television and film appearances as a child actor
. In the 1980s and 1990s, Cameron appeared in dozens of television shows and in the films Like Father Like Son
and Listen to Me.
Recently, he portrayed Cameron "Buck" Williams
in the Left Behind film series
and Caleb Holt in the 2008 drama film, Fireproof
. Cameron is also an active Christian
evangelist
, currently partnering with Ray Comfort
in the evangelical ministry The Way of the Master
, and has co-founded The Firefly Foundation with his wife, actress Chelsea Noble
.
. His parents are Robert Cameron, a retired school teacher, and Barbara Bausmith, a stay-at-home mom
. He is the brother to Bridgette, Melissa, and Candace. His younger sister Candace Cameron Bure
is most notable for her role as D.J. Tanner on the popular television sitcom, Full House
. He went to school on the set of Growing Pains, as opposed to public school. He graduated from high school at age 17 with high honors.
Cameron and his wife, fellow "Growing Pains" star Chelsea Noble
, were married on July 21, 1991. They now have six children, four of whom were adopted: Jack (born 1996), Isabella (born 1997), Anna (born 1998), and Luke (born 2000); and two biological: Olivia Rose (born July 18, 2001) and James Thomas (born April 13, 2003).
Cameron began acting at age nine, and his first job was in an advertisement for a breakfast cereal
. His first starring role was at age 10, in the television series Two Marriages. At this age, he appeared in several television shows and films. He became famous in 1985 after being cast as Mike Seaver in the ABC
television sitcom Growing Pains
. In the series, Seaver's girlfriend was Kate MacDonald, who was played by Chelsea Noble
, Cameron's future wife. Cameron subsequently became a teen heartthrob in the late 1980s, while appearing on the covers of several teen magazines, including Tiger Beat
, Teen Beat
, 16
and others. At the time, he was making $50,000 a week. He was also in a 60-second Pepsi
commercial during Super Bowl XXIV
.
Cameron also guest starred in "Just One of the Guys" a 1988 episode of Full House
in which he played the cousin of D.J. Tanner, who was played by Cameron's sister, Candace
.
Cameron went on to star in many films, including 1987
's Like Father Like Son
(a body-switch
comedy with Dudley Moore
), which was a box office success. His next theatrical film, 1989
's Listen to Me, performed poorly at the box office. When Growing Pains ended in 1992, Cameron went on to star in The WB sitcom Kirk
which premiered in 1995 and ended two years later. In Kirk, Cameron played Kirk Hartman, a 24-year-old who has to raise his siblings. Cameron and Noble also worked together on Kirk.
Cameron has since left mainstream film, though a decade after Growing Pains ended, he starred in a television reunion film, The Growing Pains Movie
, in 2000, and another one, Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers
, in 2004. Cameron reunited with the cast of Growing Pains for a CNN
Larry King Live
interview which aired on February 7, 2006, in conjunction with the Warner Bros.
release of the complete first season of Growing Pains on DVD. Aside from this, Cameron has often worked in Christian-themed productions, among them the post-Rapture
films Left Behind: The Movie
, Left Behind II: Tribulation Force
, and Left Behind: World at War
, in which he plays Cameron "Buck" Williams
. Cameron's wife Noble also starred in the film series, playing Hattie Durham
. Cameron has worked with Cloud Ten Pictures
, a company which produces Christian-themed films, and has starred in several of their films, including The Miracle of the Cards
.
He also appeared in the 2008 drama film, Fireproof
, which was produced by Sherwood Pictures
. The film was created on a budget of $500,000, with Cameron as the lead actor, portraying Captain Caleb Holt. Though it was a low-budget film, the film grossed $33,415,129 and was a box office success. It was the highest grossing independent film
of 2008.
Cameron was an atheist
in his early teens, but when he was 17, during the height of his career on Growing Pains, he developed a belief in God, and became a born-again Christian. After converting to Christianity, he began to insist that story lines be stripped of anything he thought too adult or racy in Growing Pains. A decade later, Cameron agreed to appear in The Growing Pains Movie
, where the entire main cast reunited with one another. Cameron said, "It’s a lot less crazy of a time than when we were teenagers. It’s an opportunity to begin new friendships as adults, and I’m really looking forward to that."
Cameron currently partners with fellow evangelist Ray Comfort
, training Christians in evangelism. Together, they founded the ministry of The Way of the Master
, which is best known for the television show of the same name that Cameron co-hosts, and which won the National Religious Broadcasters’ Best Program Award for two consecutive years. It also formerly featured a radio show known as The Way of the Master Radio with talk show host Todd Friel. The radio show was later canceled, and replaced with Wretched Radio, hosted by Friel. Cameron, along with his wife, founded The Firefly Foundation, which runs Camp Firefly
, a summer camp
that gives terminally ill
children and their families a free week's vacation.
Cameron and Comfort participated in a televised debate with atheists Brian Sapient and Kelly O'Conner of the Rational Response Squad
, at Calvary Baptist Church, in Manhattan
, on May 5, 2007. It was moderated by ABC
's Martin Bashir
and parts of it were aired on Nightline. At issue was the existence of God
, which Comfort stated he could prove scientifically, without relying on faith or the Bible. The audience was composed of both theists and atheists. Points of discussion included atheism and evolutionary theory
. While Sapient contended during his arguments that Comfort violated the rules by talking about the Ten Commandments, Cameron later stated on the Way of the Master radio show that the rules of the debate did not say that the Bible could never be referenced, but rather that Comfort simply had to come up with one argument that didn't reference the Bible or faith.
In November 2009, Cameron and others distributed free copies of an altered version of Darwin's On the Origin of Species on college campus in the United States. The book consisted of Darwin's text with chapters of the book removed, and with an added introduction by Ray Comfort
reiterating common creationist assertions about Darwin and evolution. The book has been criticized by scientists and Darwin biographers who state that key chapters of the book have been omitted, and that its introduction contains misinformation about Darwin, logical fallacies and "a hopeless mess of long-ago-refuted creationist arguments
, teeming with misinformation about the science of evolution". Comfort later said that the four chapters were chosen at random to be omitted in order to make the book small enough to be affordable as a giveaway, with the absent chapters available for download, but that the missing chapters were included in the second edition, which had a smaller text size that made printing the entire book as a giveaway affordable. The second edition still lacks Darwin's preface and glossary of terms. The National Center for Science Education arranged a campaign at colleges across the U.S. to distribute an analysis of the Comfort introduction and a banana bookmark, in reference to Comfort's argument that the structure of the banana is evidence for Intelligent Design
, or God.
Saturn Award
Golden Globe Award
s
People's Choice Award
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
Interviews
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
best known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Growing Pains
Growing Pains
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based...
(1985–1992), as well as several other television and film appearances as a child actor
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
. In the 1980s and 1990s, Cameron appeared in dozens of television shows and in the films Like Father Like Son
Like Father Like Son (1987 film)
Like Father Like Son is a 1987 comedy film starring Kirk Cameron and Dudley Moore. This film is a remake of the 1976 classic Disney film Freaky Friday. The film is one of four body swap comedies to appear in the space of a year; the others were the Italian film Da grande , 18 Again! and Vice Versa...
and Listen to Me.
Recently, he portrayed Cameron "Buck" Williams
Cameron "Buck" Williams
Cameron "Buck" Williams is a fictional character in the Left Behind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Buck is a celebrated news reporter who, after being left behind following the Rapture, becomes one of the founding members of the Tribulation Force.-Pre-Rapture:Buck was born 30...
in the Left Behind film series
Left Behind film series
The Left Behind film series is a series of films based on the Left Behind best-selling book series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. They were produced by Cloud Ten Pictures, and directed by Vic Sarin , Bill Corcoran , and Craig R. Baxley...
and Caleb Holt in the 2008 drama film, Fireproof
Fireproof (film)
Fireproof is a 2008 American Christian drama film released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Affirm Films , directed by Alex Kendrick, who co-wrote and co-produced it with Stephen Kendrick...
. Cameron is also an active Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
, currently partnering with Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort is a New Zealand-born Christian minister and evangelist. Comfort started Living Waters Publications and The Way of the Master in Bellflower, California and has written a number of books.-Early life and career:...
in the evangelical ministry The Way of the Master
The Way of the Master
The Way of the Master is a United States-based Christian evangelism ministry, founded in 2002 and headed by American former child actor Kirk Cameron, New Zealand-born evangelist Ray Comfort, and American radio host Todd Friel...
, and has co-founded The Firefly Foundation with his wife, actress Chelsea Noble
Chelsea Noble
Chelsea Noble is an American actress who is best known for her role as Kate MacDonald on the American television sitcom Growing Pains...
.
Early life and family
Cameron was born on October 12, 1970, in the Panorama City area of Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. His parents are Robert Cameron, a retired school teacher, and Barbara Bausmith, a stay-at-home mom
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
. He is the brother to Bridgette, Melissa, and Candace. His younger sister Candace Cameron Bure
Candace Cameron Bure
Candace Helaine Cameron is an American actress and author best known for playing DJ Tanner on the television series Full House from ages 10 to 18. She is the sister of Kirk Cameron and the sister-in-law of Chelsea Noble...
is most notable for her role as D.J. Tanner on the popular television sitcom, Full House
Full House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
. He went to school on the set of Growing Pains, as opposed to public school. He graduated from high school at age 17 with high honors.
Cameron and his wife, fellow "Growing Pains" star Chelsea Noble
Chelsea Noble
Chelsea Noble is an American actress who is best known for her role as Kate MacDonald on the American television sitcom Growing Pains...
, were married on July 21, 1991. They now have six children, four of whom were adopted: Jack (born 1996), Isabella (born 1997), Anna (born 1998), and Luke (born 2000); and two biological: Olivia Rose (born July 18, 2001) and James Thomas (born April 13, 2003).
Acting career
Breakfast cereal
A breakfast cereal is a food made from processed grains that is often, but not always, eaten with the first meal of the day. It is often eaten cold, usually mixed with milk , water, or yogurt, and sometimes fruit but sometimes eaten dry. Some cereals, such as oatmeal, may be served hot as porridge...
. His first starring role was at age 10, in the television series Two Marriages. At this age, he appeared in several television shows and films. He became famous in 1985 after being cast as Mike Seaver in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television sitcom Growing Pains
Growing Pains
Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based...
. In the series, Seaver's girlfriend was Kate MacDonald, who was played by Chelsea Noble
Chelsea Noble
Chelsea Noble is an American actress who is best known for her role as Kate MacDonald on the American television sitcom Growing Pains...
, Cameron's future wife. Cameron subsequently became a teen heartthrob in the late 1980s, while appearing on the covers of several teen magazines, including Tiger Beat
Tiger Beat
Tiger Beat is an American fan magazine marketed primarily to adolescent girls. It is currently published by Laufer Media, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, which also produces its sister publication, Bop....
, Teen Beat
Teen Beat
Teen Beat was an American magazine geared towards teenaged readers.First published in August 1976, the magazine was preceded by sister publications 16 Magazine, published in 1956, and Tiger Beat, which was first published in 1965...
, 16
16 magazine
16 Magazine was a fan magazine based out of New York City. It was the first magazine marketed to adolescents that focused exclusively on celebrities...
and others. At the time, he was making $50,000 a week. He was also in a 60-second Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
commercial during Super Bowl XXIV
Super Bowl XXIV
Super Bowl XXIV was an American football game played on January 28, 1990 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1989 regular season...
.
Cameron also guest starred in "Just One of the Guys" a 1988 episode of Full House
Full House
Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and...
in which he played the cousin of D.J. Tanner, who was played by Cameron's sister, Candace
Candace Cameron Bure
Candace Helaine Cameron is an American actress and author best known for playing DJ Tanner on the television series Full House from ages 10 to 18. She is the sister of Kirk Cameron and the sister-in-law of Chelsea Noble...
.
Cameron went on to star in many films, including 1987
1987 in film
-Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records....
's Like Father Like Son
Like Father Like Son (1987 film)
Like Father Like Son is a 1987 comedy film starring Kirk Cameron and Dudley Moore. This film is a remake of the 1976 classic Disney film Freaky Friday. The film is one of four body swap comedies to appear in the space of a year; the others were the Italian film Da grande , 18 Again! and Vice Versa...
(a body-switch
Body swap
A body swap is a storytelling device seen in a variety of fiction, most often in television shows and movies, in which two people exchange minds and end up in each other's bodies. Alternatively, their minds may stay where they are as their bodies adjust...
comedy with Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
), which was a box office success. His next theatrical film, 1989
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
's Listen to Me, performed poorly at the box office. When Growing Pains ended in 1992, Cameron went on to star in The WB sitcom Kirk
Kirk (TV series)
Kirk is an American family sitcom which aired for two seasons on The WB from August 23, 1995 to January 12, 1997.-Synopsis:The show revolves around Kirk Hartman, played by Kirk Cameron, an aspiring illustrator and recent college graduate living in Greenwich Village. After his aunt decides to move...
which premiered in 1995 and ended two years later. In Kirk, Cameron played Kirk Hartman, a 24-year-old who has to raise his siblings. Cameron and Noble also worked together on Kirk.
Cameron has since left mainstream film, though a decade after Growing Pains ended, he starred in a television reunion film, The Growing Pains Movie
The Growing Pains Movie
The Growing Pains Movie is a made-for-television movie that premiered on ABC November 5, 2000, as a two-hour episode of ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney anthology series. It was the first of two reunion movies based on the sitcom Growing Pains....
, in 2000, and another one, Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers
Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers
Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers is a 2004 American television film, first airing on ABC Family October 16, 2004...
, in 2004. Cameron reunited with the cast of Growing Pains for a CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
Larry King Live
Larry King Live
Larry King Live is an American talk show hosted by Larry King on CNN from 1985 to 2010. It was CNN's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly....
interview which aired on February 7, 2006, in conjunction with the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
release of the complete first season of Growing Pains on DVD. Aside from this, Cameron has often worked in Christian-themed productions, among them the post-Rapture
Rapture
The rapture is a reference to the "being caught up" referred to in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, when the "dead in Christ" and "we who are alive and remain" will be caught up in the clouds to meet "the Lord"....
films Left Behind: The Movie
Left Behind: The Movie
Left Behind is a Christian based film released in 2000 and starring Kirk Cameron, Brad Johnson, Gordon Currie and Clarence Gilyard. It was directed by Vic Sarin. Left Behind was proclaimed by its creators as the biggest and most ambitious Christian film ever made...
, Left Behind II: Tribulation Force
Left Behind II: Tribulation Force
Left Behind II: Tribulation Force is a Christian Bible-based apocalyptic/thriller film, and the second in a series of films based on the Left Behind book series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. It was produced and distributed by Cloud Ten Pictures and Namesake Entertainment. The film was...
, and Left Behind: World at War
Left Behind: World at War
Left Behind: World at War is a Christian Bible-based apocalyptic/thriller film and the third in the series of films based on the Left Behind book series. It was produced by Cloud Ten Pictures. The film premiered in churches on October 21, 2005 before its release on DVD and VHS on October 25, 2005...
, in which he plays Cameron "Buck" Williams
Cameron "Buck" Williams
Cameron "Buck" Williams is a fictional character in the Left Behind series of novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Buck is a celebrated news reporter who, after being left behind following the Rapture, becomes one of the founding members of the Tribulation Force.-Pre-Rapture:Buck was born 30...
. Cameron's wife Noble also starred in the film series, playing Hattie Durham
Hattie Durham
Hattie Durham is a fictional character in the Left Behind series, by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.Hattie was a senior flight attendant, young and beautiful, working for Pan-Continental Airlines. She seemed to be attracted to Pan-Con pilot Rayford Steele, perhaps wanting an affair with him...
. Cameron has worked with Cloud Ten Pictures
Cloud Ten Pictures
Cloud Ten Pictures is a film production and distribution company located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, specializing in Christian-themed films.- Overview :Cloud Ten was formed by brothers Peter LaLonde and Paul LaLonde in 1994...
, a company which produces Christian-themed films, and has starred in several of their films, including The Miracle of the Cards
The Miracle of the Cards
The Miracle of the Cards is 2002 American television drama film distributed by Cloud Ten Pictures. It starred Kirk Cameron, Karin Konoval, Catherine Oxenberg, Peter Wingfield and Richard Thomas...
.
He also appeared in the 2008 drama film, Fireproof
Fireproof (film)
Fireproof is a 2008 American Christian drama film released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Affirm Films , directed by Alex Kendrick, who co-wrote and co-produced it with Stephen Kendrick...
, which was produced by Sherwood Pictures
Sherwood Pictures
Sherwood Pictures is an American Christian film production company in Albany, Georgia, United States. It is unusual among production companies in that it is a ministry of a local church, Sherwood Baptist Church. The company uses mostly volunteers in their productions...
. The film was created on a budget of $500,000, with Cameron as the lead actor, portraying Captain Caleb Holt. Though it was a low-budget film, the film grossed $33,415,129 and was a box office success. It was the highest grossing independent film
Independent film
An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...
of 2008.
Christianity and evangelism ministry
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
in his early teens, but when he was 17, during the height of his career on Growing Pains, he developed a belief in God, and became a born-again Christian. After converting to Christianity, he began to insist that story lines be stripped of anything he thought too adult or racy in Growing Pains. A decade later, Cameron agreed to appear in The Growing Pains Movie
The Growing Pains Movie
The Growing Pains Movie is a made-for-television movie that premiered on ABC November 5, 2000, as a two-hour episode of ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney anthology series. It was the first of two reunion movies based on the sitcom Growing Pains....
, where the entire main cast reunited with one another. Cameron said, "It’s a lot less crazy of a time than when we were teenagers. It’s an opportunity to begin new friendships as adults, and I’m really looking forward to that."
Cameron currently partners with fellow evangelist Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort is a New Zealand-born Christian minister and evangelist. Comfort started Living Waters Publications and The Way of the Master in Bellflower, California and has written a number of books.-Early life and career:...
, training Christians in evangelism. Together, they founded the ministry of The Way of the Master
The Way of the Master
The Way of the Master is a United States-based Christian evangelism ministry, founded in 2002 and headed by American former child actor Kirk Cameron, New Zealand-born evangelist Ray Comfort, and American radio host Todd Friel...
, which is best known for the television show of the same name that Cameron co-hosts, and which won the National Religious Broadcasters’ Best Program Award for two consecutive years. It also formerly featured a radio show known as The Way of the Master Radio with talk show host Todd Friel. The radio show was later canceled, and replaced with Wretched Radio, hosted by Friel. Cameron, along with his wife, founded The Firefly Foundation, which runs Camp Firefly
Camp Firefly
Camp Firefly is week-long summer camp run by The Firefly Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia, which was founded by married-couple film actors Kirk Cameron and Chelsea Noble. It gives terminally ill children and their families a free week's vacation. It was given a donation by Sherwood Baptist Church, as...
, a summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
that gives terminally ill
Terminal illness
Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...
children and their families a free week's vacation.
Cameron and Comfort participated in a televised debate with atheists Brian Sapient and Kelly O'Conner of the Rational Response Squad
Rational Response Squad
The Rational Response Squad, or RRS, is an atheist activist group that confronts what it considers to be irrational claims, most notably those made by theists, particularly Christians. The most visible member of RRS is co-founder Brian Sapient...
, at Calvary Baptist Church, in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, on May 5, 2007. It was moderated by ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Martin Bashir
Martin Bashir
Martin Bashir is a British journalist and media personality, currently with NBC News as a contributor for its Dateline program, and an afternoon anchor for MSNBC, hosting Martin Bashir...
and parts of it were aired on Nightline. At issue was the existence of God
Existence of God
Arguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others. In philosophical terms, arguments for and against the existence of God involve primarily the sub-disciplines of epistemology and ontology , but also of the theory of value, since...
, which Comfort stated he could prove scientifically, without relying on faith or the Bible. The audience was composed of both theists and atheists. Points of discussion included atheism and evolutionary theory
Modern evolutionary synthesis
The modern evolutionary synthesis is a union of ideas from several biological specialties which provides a widely accepted account of evolution...
. While Sapient contended during his arguments that Comfort violated the rules by talking about the Ten Commandments, Cameron later stated on the Way of the Master radio show that the rules of the debate did not say that the Bible could never be referenced, but rather that Comfort simply had to come up with one argument that didn't reference the Bible or faith.
In November 2009, Cameron and others distributed free copies of an altered version of Darwin's On the Origin of Species on college campus in the United States. The book consisted of Darwin's text with chapters of the book removed, and with an added introduction by Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort
Ray Comfort is a New Zealand-born Christian minister and evangelist. Comfort started Living Waters Publications and The Way of the Master in Bellflower, California and has written a number of books.-Early life and career:...
reiterating common creationist assertions about Darwin and evolution. The book has been criticized by scientists and Darwin biographers who state that key chapters of the book have been omitted, and that its introduction contains misinformation about Darwin, logical fallacies and "a hopeless mess of long-ago-refuted creationist arguments
Objections to evolution
Objections to evolution have been raised since evolutionary ideas came to prominence in the 19th century. When Charles Darwin published his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, his theory of evolution by natural selection initially met opposition from scientists with different theories, but came to...
, teeming with misinformation about the science of evolution". Comfort later said that the four chapters were chosen at random to be omitted in order to make the book small enough to be affordable as a giveaway, with the absent chapters available for download, but that the missing chapters were included in the second edition, which had a smaller text size that made printing the entire book as a giveaway affordable. The second edition still lacks Darwin's preface and glossary of terms. The National Center for Science Education arranged a campaign at colleges across the U.S. to distribute an analysis of the Comfort introduction and a banana bookmark, in reference to Comfort's argument that the structure of the banana is evidence for Intelligent Design
Intelligent design
Intelligent design is the proposition that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection." It is a form of creationism and a contemporary adaptation of the traditional teleological argument for...
, or God.
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes/Box office |
| 1981 | Goliath Awaits Goliath Awaits Goliath Awaits is a 1981 American television movie originally broadcast in two parts in November 1981 on various stations as a part of Operation Prime Time's syndicated programming... |
Liam | Television film Television movie A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to... |
| 1982 | Beyond Witch Mountain Beyond Witch Mountain Beyond Witch Mountain is the second sequel to the 1975 Disney film Escape to Witch Mountain. Although Eddie Albert returned to play Jason O'Day from the original 1975 movie, the parts of Tony and Tia were recast with actors comparable only in age to Ike Eisenmann and Kim Richards when they first... |
Boy | Television film |
| 1983 | Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land is a 1983 television movie starring Lee Majors and Hal Linden... |
Gary | Television film |
| 1986 | The Best of Times The Best of Times (film) The Best of Times is a 1986 American film starring Robin Williams and Kurt Russell.-Plot:Robin Williams plays Jack Dundee, a banker obsessed with what he considers the most shameful moment in his life: The moment that he dropped a perfectly thrown pass in the final seconds of the 1972 high school... |
Teddy | $7,790,931 |
| 1987 | Like Father Like Son Like Father Like Son (1987 film) Like Father Like Son is a 1987 comedy film starring Kirk Cameron and Dudley Moore. This film is a remake of the 1976 classic Disney film Freaky Friday. The film is one of four body swap comedies to appear in the space of a year; the others were the Italian film Da grande , 18 Again! and Vice Versa... |
Chris Hammond | $34,377,585 |
| 1989 | Listen to Me | Tucker Muldowney | $4,299,023 |
| 1991 | A Little Piece of Heaven A Little Piece of Heaven (film) A Little Piece of Heaven is a 1991 television film directed by Mimi Leder, written by Betty Goldberg, and starring Kirk Cameron. It was created by NBC.- Plot :... |
Will Loomis | Television film Television movie A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to... |
| 1995 | The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes | Dexter Riley | Television Film |
| 1998 | You Lucky Dog You Lucky Dog You Lucky Dog is a 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie, first aired on June 27, 1998. It starred Kirk Cameron and was directed by Paul Schneider.- Plot :... |
Jack Morgan | Disney Channel Original Movie |
| 2000 | The Growing Pains Movie The Growing Pains Movie The Growing Pains Movie is a made-for-television movie that premiered on ABC November 5, 2000, as a two-hour episode of ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney anthology series. It was the first of two reunion movies based on the sitcom Growing Pains.... |
Mike Seaver | Television reunion film |
| Left Behind: The Movie Left Behind: The Movie Left Behind is a Christian based film released in 2000 and starring Kirk Cameron, Brad Johnson, Gordon Currie and Clarence Gilyard. It was directed by Vic Sarin. Left Behind was proclaimed by its creators as the biggest and most ambitious Christian film ever made... |
Buck Williams | $4,224,065 | |
| 2001 | The Miracle of the Cards The Miracle of the Cards The Miracle of the Cards is 2002 American television drama film distributed by Cloud Ten Pictures. It starred Kirk Cameron, Karin Konoval, Catherine Oxenberg, Peter Wingfield and Richard Thomas... |
Josh | Television film Television movie A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to... |
| 2002 | Left Behind II: Tribulation Force Left Behind II: Tribulation Force Left Behind II: Tribulation Force is a Christian Bible-based apocalyptic/thriller film, and the second in a series of films based on the Left Behind book series written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. It was produced and distributed by Cloud Ten Pictures and Namesake Entertainment. The film was... |
Buck Williams | Direct-to-video Direct-to-video Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television... |
| 2004 | Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers is a 2004 American television film, first airing on ABC Family October 16, 2004... |
Mike Seaver | Television reunion film |
| 2005 | Left Behind: World at War Left Behind: World at War Left Behind: World at War is a Christian Bible-based apocalyptic/thriller film and the third in the series of films based on the Left Behind book series. It was produced by Cloud Ten Pictures. The film premiered in churches on October 21, 2005 before its release on DVD and VHS on October 25, 2005... |
Buck Williams | Direct-to-video |
| 2008 | Fireproof Fireproof (film) Fireproof is a 2008 American Christian drama film released by Samuel Goldwyn Films and Affirm Films , directed by Alex Kendrick, who co-wrote and co-produced it with Stephen Kendrick... |
Caleb Holt | $33,456,317 |
| 2011 | Monumental Monumental: In Search of America's National Treasure Monumental: In Search of America's National Treasure is an upcoming documentary film hosted by Kirk Cameron. It is directed by Duane Barnhart, and written by Kevin Miller. Filming was completed in September 2010... |
Host | Documentary |
Television and video games
| Year | Title | Episode | Role |
| 1981 | Bret Maverick Bret Maverick Bret Maverick is an American Western series starring James Garner in the role that made him famous in the 1957 series Maverick: a professional poker player traveling alone year after year through the Old West from riverboat to saloon... |
The Lazy Ace: Part 1–2 | Boy #1 |
| 1982 | Disneyland | Boy | |
| Herbie the Matchmaker Herbie the Matchmaker Herbie the Matchmaker, also known as Herbie, The Love Bug, was a short-lived situation comedy that aired on CBS in the spring of 1982. The series was based on Walt Disney Productions' popular Herbie film series, about a Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own... |
Young Kid | ||
| 1983 | Two Marriages | Eric Armstrong | |
| ABC Afterschool Special ABC Afterschool Special The ABC Afterschool Special is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from 1972 to 1996, usually in the late afternoon on week days. Most of the episodes were dramatic presentations of situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were... |
The Woman Who Willed a Miracle Andrea's Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy |
Jeff | |
| 1984 | Children in the Crossfire | Mickey Chandler | |
| More Than Murder | Bobby | ||
| 1985–1992 | Growing Pains Growing Pains Growing Pains is an American television sitcom about an affluent family, residing in Huntington, New York, with a working mother and a stay-at-home psychiatrist father raising three children together, which aired on ABC from September 24, 1985 to April 25, 1992.-Synopsis:The show's premise is based... |
Mike Seaver | |
| 1988 | Full House Full House Full House is an American sitcom television series. Set in San Francisco, the show chronicles widowed father Danny Tanner, who, after the death of his wife, enlists his best friend Joey Gladstone and his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis to help raise his three daughters, D.J., Stephanie, and... |
Just One of the Guys | Cousin Steve |
| 1991 | A Little Piece of Heaven A Little Piece of Heaven (film) A Little Piece of Heaven is a 1991 television film directed by Mimi Leder, written by Betty Goldberg, and starring Kirk Cameron. It was created by NBC.- Plot :... |
Will Loomis | |
| 1993 | The Horde (video game) The Horde (video game) The Horde is a hybrid action-strategy video game developed by Toys For Bob and published by Crystal Dynamics in 1994. It was originally released on the 3DO platform, but was soon after ported to the Sega Saturn and PC. It was an unusual hybrid of action and strategy game for the time... |
Chauncey | |
| 1994 | Star Struck | Runner | |
| 1995 | The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (TV) The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes is a 1995 TV remake of the 1969 film The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. It starred Kirk Cameron.... |
Dexter Riley | |
| 1995–1996 | Kirk Kirk (TV series) Kirk is an American family sitcom which aired for two seasons on The WB from August 23, 1995 to January 12, 1997.-Synopsis:The show revolves around Kirk Hartman, played by Kirk Cameron, an aspiring illustrator and recent college graduate living in Greenwich Village. After his aunt decides to move... |
Kirk Hartman | |
| 1997 | WMAC Masters WMAC Masters WMAC Masters is an American live-action television show produced by Norman Grossfeld featuring choreographed martial arts fights. It was created and licensed by 4Kids Entertainment.... |
The Bibler | |
| 2002 | Family Law Family Law (TV series) Family Law is a television drama starring Kathleen Quinlan as divorced lawyer Lynn Holt, who attempted to start her own law firm after her lawyer husband took all their old clients... |
Blood and Water | Mitchell Stark |
| Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della... |
The Birthday Present | Chuck Parker | |
| 2003–present | The Way of the Master The Way of the Master The Way of the Master is a United States-based Christian evangelism ministry, founded in 2002 and headed by American former child actor Kirk Cameron, New Zealand-born evangelist Ray Comfort, and American radio host Todd Friel... |
Himself | |
| 2004 | Jack & Bobby Jack & Bobby Jack & Bobby is an American television series that aired on The WB network. It featured two brothers, one of whom would become President of the United States, serving from 2041 to 2049... |
Today I Am a Man | |
| 2005 | Night of Joy | Host | |
| 2009 | 19 Kids and Counting | Lights, Camera, Duggars | Himself |
Awards
Young Artist Awards- 1985 Best Young Supporting Actor in a Daytime or Nighttime Drama, Two Marriages (Nominated)
- 1986 Best Young Actor Starring in a New Television Series, Growing Pains (Won)
- 1987 Exceptional Performance by a Young Actor Starring in a Television Comedy or Drama Series, Growing Pains (Won)
- 1987 Best Young Male Superstar in Television, Growing Pains (Won)
- 1989 Best Young Actor Starring in a Motion Picture, Listen to Me (Nominated)
Saturn Award
Saturn Award
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
- 1987 Best Performance by a Younger ActorSaturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger ActorThe following are a list of Saturn Award winners for Best Performance by a Younger Actor:- References :* , Saturn Awards...
, Like Father, Like Son (Won)
Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
s
- 1987 Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film, Growing Pains (Nominated)
- 1989 Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film, Growing Pains (Nominated)
People's Choice Award
- 1988 Favorite Young TV Performer (Won)
- 1989 Favorite Young TV Performer (Won)
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, also known as the KCAs or Kids Choice Awards, is an annual awards show that airs on the Nickelodeon cable channel, which airs live and is usually held and telecast live on a...
- 1990 Favorite TV Actor1990 Kids' Choice AwardsThe April 23, 1990 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards was the third annual event. The hosts for the event were Dave Coulier, Candace Cameron and David Faustino. What was perhaps most notable about this particular event was that it saw the introduction of the orange blimp awards.-Favorite Movie...
, Growing Pains (Won)
Further reading
- Still Growing: An Autobiography (with Lissa Halls JohnsonLissa Halls JohnsonLissa Halls Johnson is the author of novels for teens, preteens and young adults. Notably, she was the creator, editor and writer for the Brio girls series and for the Kid Witness series of Christian books. She has contributed to Brio, Breakaway, Focus on the Family Magazine, TQ, and other...
): ISBN 0-8307-4451-7
External links
WebsitesInterviews
- Christianity Today interview (October 2000)
- CNN People In The News (August 20, 2005)
- The Dallas Morning News interview (September 24, 2008)