Here’s What Happened to Scott Baio and the Cast of ‘Charles in Charge’ Before and After the Show

Scott Baio (Charles)

You’ve got to give Scott credit in the sense that he did something that is so incredibly hard to do: he shook the shackles of the part he was most famous for — Chachi on Happy Days — and managed to find even greater success as Charles. He was born Scott Vincent James Baio on September 22, 1960 (though it’s possible it was 1961 — it’s never been totally nailed down) in Bensonhurts, Brooklyn. In 1976 he made his debut on the big screen as the title character of Bugsy Malone, a children’s musical set in the gangster genre in which the characters would break into song and were armed with Tommy guns that fired pies instead of bullets. It sounds bizarre, but it was more endearing than you’d think (especially when you’d hear adult singing voices coming out of kids’ mouths).

In 1977 he joined the cast of the Nancy Walker series Blansky’s Beauties, which was actually a spin-off from Happy Days — despite the fact that the episode Nancy appeared in was set in the ‘50s, but Blansky’s was dropped into the 1970s. Weird. The show only lasted 13 episodes and when it was over, producer Garry Marshall invited him to be a part of Happy Days.

When he was 16, Scott was hired by producer Garry Marshall to play Chachi Arcola, Fonzie’s younger cousin on Happy Days. There he gained a huge teen following and was a part of the show from 1977 until its conclusion in 1984. In 1982, he and Erin Moran, who played Chachi’s girlfriend on the show, Joanie Cunningham, were spun off into their own series titled Joanie Loves Chachi, which brought them to Chicago where they pursued their dream of breaking into music. In the final episode of Happy Days, Joanie and Chachi were married.

During the Happy Days years, Scott starred in the movies Skatetown, U.S.A. (1979), Foxes (1980) and Zapped! (1982). On TV there were episodes of The Love Boat (1977), The Runaways (1978), being a regular on the 11 episodes making up Who’s Watching the Kids? (1978 to 1979), which was produced by Garry Marshall and had Scott playing the younger sibling to a Las Vegas showgirl (it was a comedy).  After that he appeared on Fantasy Island (1979), Goodtime Girls and Here’s Boomer (both 1980) and Hotel (1983). There were also the TV movies The Boy Who Drank Too Much (1980), Senior Trip (1981) and Gemini (1982).

Pretty much right after Happy Days came to a close, he moved over to Charles in Charge, which, as noted, ran on CBS from 1984 to 1985 before airing in syndication from 1987 to 1990. The show also gave him the opportunity to write one episode and serve as director of 36 others.

When Charles wrapped up production, he made more guest appearances and starred in a number of TV movies. He was also the star of Baby Talk, which ran from 1991 to 1992, and from there segued over to Dick Van Dyke’s Diagnosis: Murder from 1993 to 1995. Dipping into the reality genre, he starred in the series Scott Baio is 45 … and Single in 2008 and, in 2009, hosted Confessions of a Teen Idol. He starred in 2012 to 2015’s See Dan Run.

In his personal life, he married Renee Sloan (who he met at a part at the Playboy Mansion in the 1990s) in 2007 and together they have one child. He has vehemently denied accusations of sexual abuse by Charles in Charge co-star Nicole Eggert.

Willie Aames (Buddy Lembeck)

Willie plays Charles’ best friend, Buddy Lembeck. He was born Albert William Upton on July 15, 1960 in Newport Beach, California. He made his acting debut in a 1971 episode of The Odd Couple playing Felix Unger’s son, Leonard. After that he could be seen on multiple episodes of The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, Gunsmoke, Adam-12 and Medical Center. From 1972 to 1974, he provided his voice for the character of Jamie Boyle on the animated series Wait Till Your Father Gets Home.

He was a regular on the TV series We’ll Get By (1975) and The Swift Family Robinson (1975 to 1976), which led to six episodes of the drama Family (1976 to 1977) and, then, his popular role of Tommy Bradford on Eight is Enough (1977 to 1981), which spawned a pair of TV movies, Eight is Enough: A Family Reunion (1987) and An Eight is Enough Wedding (1989). In the reality world, he appeared in season two of Celebrity Fit Club (2005), served as narrator of Bugtime Adventures (2006), was back in front of the camera for MacMillian River Adventures: Season 1 (2007) and season eight of Celebrity Fit Club: Boot Camp. His most recent credit is as Principal Reed in a pair of episodes of Date My Dad (2017).

Willie has waged an on and off battle with alcoholism. In his private life he’s been married three times, to Vicki Weatherman from 1979 to 1984, Maylo McCaslin from 1986 to 2009; and Winnie Hung beginning in 2014. He has two children.

Jennifer Rynyon (Gwendolyn Pierce)

She played Charles’ girlfriend in the first season of the show. She was born Jennifer Victoria Runyon on April 1, 1960 in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents are radio announcer and disc jockey Jim Runyon and actress Jane Roberts. She made her acting debut in the horror film To All a Goodnight (1980) and followed up with such titles as Kenny Rogers’ Six Pack (1983), Ghostbusters (1984), Killing Streets (1991), Carnosaur (1993), Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival (2015) and Bloodsucka Jones vs. The Creeping Death (2017).  From 1981 to 1982 she played Sally Frame on the daytime soap Another World and made a number of guest appearances before being cast as Gwendolyn on Charges in Charge. Afterwards she starred in the TV miniseries Space (1985) and appeared on shows like Who’s the Boss?, Quantum Leap, Beverly Hills 90210 and Vinnie & Bobby.

Jennifer married former actor and collegiate basketball coach Todd Corman on March 9, 1991. The couple has a son named Wyatt, who was born in 1993, and a daughter, Bayley, who was born in 1995. Based on an interview from a few years ago, Jennifer describes herself as being semi-retired, hosting a cooking podcast and working as a teacher.

April Lerman (Lila Pembroke)

Now known as April Haney, she was born February 6, 1969 in Chicago, Illinois. Her acting career began when she was a young child, appearing in a touring production of the musical Annie, in which she played Tessie, and then found herself cast as Kate in the 1982 movie version. Following Charles in Charge, she guest starred on shows like Growing Pains, Kate & Allie and Parker Lewis Can’t Lose.  It isn’t clear when she married attorney William Pearson, but the two of them were divorced in 2015. They do have a son together, Sean Haney. Changing career directions, she received a Master’s Degree from the University of Santa Monica in Counseling Psychology, and today works with children and adolescents in a community counseling group.

Jonathan Ward (Douglas Pembroke)

Born February 24, 1970 in Elkridge, Maryland, Jonathan made his acting debut as Michael Darling in the Broadway production of Peter Pan. In the 1980s he made a number of guest appearances on such TV shows as Heart of the City, Beauty and the Beast and In the Heat of the Night; the TV movie Maid in America and the films White Water Summer, Mac and Me, Steel Magnolias and Geronimo: An American Legend. Beginning in 1995, Jonathan and his wife Jamie have been the co-owners of TLC: Toyota Land Cruisers, a repair and restoration shop focusing on first, second and third-generation Toyota Land Cruisers. The duo are the parents of sons Quinn and Nash.

Michael Pearlman (Jason Pembroke)

There’s no avoiding it: Michael’s post-acting life has been far more intriguing than the time he spent in front of the camera. He made his acting debut in Paul Simon’s film One-Trick Pony (1980), which was followed by Soup for One (1982). Besides Charles in Charge, he appeared in the TV movies Muggable Mary, Street Cop (1982) and The Gift of Love: A Christmas Story (1983), and guest starred on the series Kate & Allie. Giving up acting after that, he earned his degree in journalism from New York University, then moved to Wyoming where he worked as a journalist. In 2019 he joined Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon’s office as Communications Director.

Nicole Eggert (Jamie Powell)

Nicole Elizabeth Eggert was born January 13, 1972 in Glendale, California. Her life in showiz began when, at the age of five, her mothered entered her into a beauty contest and Nicole won the title of Miss Universe in the petite division. This in turn led to a Johnson’s baby shampoo commercial and, in 1980, to her big screen debut in the Jacqueline Bisset and Candice Bergen film Rich and Famous, playing Candice’s daughter. Next up was a recurring role on William Shatner’s T.J. Hooker and as Marci Ferguson on Who’s the Boss?, several TV movies and guest star appearances on a number of shows.

Following Charles in Charge she’s appeared in 20 movies from 1990’s The Haunting of Morella to 2008’s Loaded. In 1992 she had a recurring role as Libby Kramer on the series Home Fires, and that same year joined the ranks of Baywatch, playing lifeguard Roberta “Summer” Quinn and remaining on the show for its third and fourth seasons. She appeared on many different TV series and as herself was a part of Celebrity Paranormal Project, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrity Ghost Stories and Splash. According to Fox News, in 2014 she was operating an ice cream truck.

Baywatch Reunion Dinner held at Michael Mina’s XIV Restaurant, West Hollywood, America – 19 Aug 2010

On the personal side of things, Nicole had been engaged to the late Corey Haim. From 2000 to 2002 she was married to former actor Justin Herwick, with whom she had a daughter. She has a second child as well. As noted above, she has accused Scott Baio of sexual abuse, which he has repeatedly denied.

Josie Davis (Sarah Powell)

Josie, who was born January 16, 1973 in Los Angeles, began starring in commercials when she was only three. When she finished her run on Charles in Charge, she quickly realized that people were ready to typecast her as her character of Sarah, so it was something she actively had to push back against. Over the years she’s starred in a total of 30 movies and TV movies, most recently Lifetime’s Locked In (2017). She had many guest starring roles and was a recurring character on the original Beverly Hills, 90210 (she played Camille Desmond) and Hollywood Heights (playing Daphne Miller). She was a regular on the 2000 series Titans as well.

Alexander Polinsky (Adam Powell)

This voice actor was born on October 7, 1974 in San Francisco. While he may be best known as Adam on Charles in Charge, his vocal performances have been featured in video games, on television and in movies. His credits include Teen Titans Go!, The Boondocks, Ben 10: Omniverse, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Spider-Man: The New Animated Series and Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles. He has been teaching voice acting classes in Los Angeles.

And for anyone who has forgotten how popular Scott Baio was in the day, what follows are some photos of him with other celebrities.

Scott and Brooke Shields (1979)

Scott and Lisa Whelchel (1979)

Scott and Valerie Bertinelli (1982)

Scott and Heather Locklear (1983)

Scott and Nicollette Sheridan (1988)

Scott and Kay Lenz (1992)

Scott and Pamela Anderson (1993)

Scott and Kristy McNichol (Year Unknown)