I recently received the following email from a friend of mine….
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, July 19, 2002 11:34 AM
To: Jennifer
Subject: Six Degrees of Danny Pintauro
Oh my God! I just read a little of your "When Andy Rooney Attacks" story, and it's totally like "Six Degrees of Danny Pintauro"! Everybody I know has a Danny Pintauro story! It's so freaky! My very good friend Alice went to Fire Island one summer, and met this guy Griffin who she became friends with. Well, Griffin's boyfriend was none other than...Danny Pintauro! Alice hung out with them a few times. She said Griffin was sad because Danny still wasn't over his previous boyfriend. Well, guess who Danny's previous boyfriend was? Jose's roommate Justin! Weird!
In and of itself, this tale of a (minor) celebrity encounter was really nothing to write home about. However, this particular sighting was not an isolated incident. Danny Pintauro entered my life when I was 13 years old, and I have yet to shake him.
On March 22, 1990, my after-school snack was interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. I dragged myself away from some bad afternoon television and found a uniformed Western Union Employee standing on our porch. “Mailgram for Jennifer Stephan!” She said brightly. The fact that Western Union still delivered mailgrams door to door was perplexing enough on its own; the fact that someone was actually sending ME a mailgram was even more difficult to believe. I signed for the letter, opened it, and found some startling and exciting news. There it was in black and white..."Congratulations! You have been named a winner in the Speak For Yourself letter writing Contest…."
At first I didn’t even know what they were referring to, but quickly remembered back to a youth group meeting a couple of months before. While at the meeting, the youth group leader informed us that he wanted us all to enter a writing contest. The RespecTEEN Speak For Yourself writing contest asked that the entrants draft a letter speaking out about an issue that was of concern to them. “It doesn’t have to be long,” he said. "It just needs to be from the heart. Oh…AND the prize is $500 and a weeklong trip to Washington DC for the RespecTEEN National Youth Convention!!” Spurred on by the thought of cash and a free trip, everyone immediately set out to find an topic to write about. While most of the kids immediately began writing about standard adolescent issues such as drug abuse or teenage pregnancy, I took the opportunity to voice my opinion about a problem that was very near and dear to my heart at the time: eliminating the practice of dissection of animals at the junior high and high school level. At the time, I was embroiled in a heated battle with my 8th grade biology teacher. I was refusing to participate in the latest mandatory experiment; the dissection of approximately 30 innocent little frogs. I completely understand that dissection is necessary in the case of say a medical student studying to be a doctor. It is however completely unneccesary for 13 year olds to kill an animal so they can see what it looks like inside. I insisted that the knowledge gained from such an act was negligible, and most likely we would learn more if we simply saw detailed pictures of the frog’s anatomy, or used computer programs that simulated dissection. I was quite emphatic about my beliefs, and I saw this contest as a perfect opportunity to further validate my point. I had no idea that the 20 minutes I put into writing the letter would result in winning the contest.
The letter stated that I had won the Speak For Yourself contest for the state of Rhode Island, and was invited to attend the RespecTEEN National Youth Convention in Washington DC. I, along with 49 other winners from around the country, would attend conferences, tour the nation’s capital, and meet with congressmen from around the country. It was actually really exciting for me at the time. I was interviewed by a couple of local newspapers, I received letters from my congressmen, and I got to buy my first pair of high-heeled shoes. What more could a girl ask for??
After a month of preparations, my mother and I set out for Washington DC. Upon arrival we were thrilled to find that RespecTEEN was no shoddy operation. It was clear that the convention was going to be first class all the way. They were putting us up at the Westin Grand Hotel in Washington DC..not too shabby. Our days were to be filled with fancy meals, first class tours, and (as was labeled on the itinerary sheet) getting to know your fellow “Respectable Teens.” Regardless of how cheesy it sounds now, I was really excited. The first event was a formal Congressional Reception, to be held at the Hyatt Regency. As I donned my very first Laura Ashley dress and slipped on my new 1-inch white patent leather heels. I couldn’t have been more delighted. The reception was lovely, I met congressmen from all over the country, and for the first time in my life attempted the act of “mingling.” We were just beginning to enjoy the crab cakes and pigs in a blanket when someone at the podium interrupted us. After welcoming us to the convention and going on and on about what a special experience this was going to be, the speaker announced that he had quite a surprise for us. “I want to welcome a young man that you all might find quite familiar,” he bellowed, “star of the television show Who's the Boss?…Mr. Danny Pintauro.” I don’t know about you, but like most children of the 80’s, I was a religious follower of Who’s the Boss. Granted, my favorite character was Samantha (she was soooo cool), but Danny was the one that had graced us with his very tiny presence, and he would have to do. He gave a little speech, his voice cracking every so often with the telltale signs of puberty. He was wearing a cute little suit, and gigantic eyeglasses that changed color in bright light. I was smitten.
The next couple of days were filled with excitement. Sure the special White House Visit and the tours of various national monuments were great, but most of my energy was focused on hanging out with Danny Pintauro. He was a fixture among the group. He went on most of the outings with us, and hung out in the RespecTEEN lounge in the evenings. He even went with us to Hard Rock Café where we danced the night away. The highlight of the week came as the convention came to a close, when I mentioned that I wanted to take a trip to Georgetown Mall. Much to my surprise, Danny agreed to come along. Granted, we were not alone on our mall date per se (there were several other RespecTEEN members along for the ride), but he did walk next to ME. Also in attendance was Danny’s father-slash-bodyguard. The senior Mr. Pintauro followed along about 20 feet behind the group, sporting a red, white, and blue leather “Who's the Boss?” jacket. It was bliss. Sadly, Danny said goodbye to us the next morning. He gave me a hug, a kiss on the cheek, and an autographed postcard displaying a picture of himself. At that moment I thought that he was the sweetest boy in all the land.
I never heard from Danny again and after Who's the Boss went off the air, I didn’t see him either (Nor did anyone else for that matter). In fact, he almost completely faded out of my memory. He would randomly come up in conversation on occasion. Friends of mine who knew about the illustrious mall-date with Danny Pintauro would occasionally bring him up to poke fun at me, but for the most part Danny became a thing of my past…that is until about a year ago. I was watching the E True Hollywood Story about the cast of “Whose the Boss?” and was intrigued to find out what had happened to little Danny Pintauro. I was not so shocked to find out that he had very bravely and quite publicly come out of the closet. He was one of the first child stars to do so, and was a huge gay rights advocate, making tons of public appearances. (I wonder if he still does spots with RespecTEEN?) According to “E” he was living in New York City while pursuing a career in the theater. That career in the theater was precisely where we found him. Last December we discovered that he was starring in a play called “A Queer Carol” at The Duplex in the West Village. “A Queer Carol” was basically a gay version of “A Christmas Carol.” In this version of Dickens’s classic, the setting was not in fact an old lending house, but instead an interior design firm. Tiny Tim (played by Danny) was not a little boy, but a young gay man dying of AIDS. The ghosts of Christmas's past, present, and future, were not ghosts, but flamboyant drag queens. We immediately purchased tickets. At the show I was surprised to realize that he was much as I remembered him (of course sans the big ugly glasses, Guess Jeans overalls, and fluorescent Hard Rock Café shirt). Unfortunately, I couldn’t work up the courage to speak to him, so I instead forced Gina to accost him as he was running out of the dressing room. He did not remember me, but did in fact remember the Guess Jeans overalls. Go figure.
After the play, stories of Danny began popping up everywhere. First I had a very involved, and very strange dream about Danny, and shortly afterwards, while walking in midtown Manhattan, I found myself standing shoulder to shoulder with him on a street corner waiting for a light to change. Again, I couldn’t work up the courage to speak to him, and instead flashed him a smile in the hopes that he’d maybe recognize me. He did not. A little while later, Gina and Jerry spotted him at a party at The Park, surrounded by scantily clad male dancers. Now, as per the email above, we’ve found out that he’s one of our friend’s roommate’s ex-boyfriends. Confused yet? I am. I have no clue how a relatively unknown child star has become somewhat of a constant presence in my life. Seriously, what are the chances? Perhaps some things are just meant to be....
