7 Sitcom Stars Accused of Serious Crimes
As Tim Allen’s new sitcom Shifting Gears launches this week, his Home Improvement son, Zachery Ty Bryan, was arrested on domestic violence charges — again. He was jailed for similar charges in July 2023, on top of his multiple arrests for driving under the influence. No “very special episode” jokes here — there’s nothing funny about sitcom stars who are accused of serious crimes, as these seven examples prove.
Dustin Diamond
The late Diamond was in the “I’m moving to Wisconsin” portion of his post-Saved By The Bell years when he was arrested for possession of a switchblade. Not only did Diamond allegedly own the blade, but he also was accused of stabbing a dude in a bar. Screech was eventually convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and disorderly conduct, earning him three months in the pokey.
Lori Loughlin
Aunt Becky made The New York Times when she was busted for her role in “the largest college admissions scam ever.” Loughlin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, earning her two months behind bars. Proving she had a sense of humor (?), Loughlin later played herself on Curb Your Enthusiasm as a privileged celebrity who would lie and cheat to get the best country-club tee times.
Dana Plato
Like nearly every child performer on Diff’rent Strokes (see below), Plato fell afoul of the law once the show ended. After losing her childhood earnings to a con-artist accountant, Plato suffered a series of failed relationships before robbing a Las Vegas video store with a pellet gun in 1991. When she made off with the cash, the clerk called 911 and reported, “I've just been robbed by the girl who played Kimberly on Diff'rent Strokes.”
She got five years’ probation after Vegas legend Wayne Newton paid her bail, then served 30 days in jail after violating the terms of probation.
Todd Bridges
Bridges, who played Plato’s adopted brother on Diff’rent Strokes, appears to have his act together these days. That wasn’t the case in his 20s when Bridges struggled with an addiction to crack cocaine. He was arrested for felony assault and cocaine possession and that wasn’t even the worst of it. In 1989, he was accused of shooting a drug dealer eight times after a cocaine binge. He spent nine months in jail fighting the charges before he was acquitted.
Bill Cosby
Art imitated life on The Cosby Show when everyone fell prey to Cliff Huxtable’s secret sauce, a potion that turbocharged the characters’ libidos. Cosby was later accused of slipping something into the drinks of several women among the 35 who accused him of sexual assault. He was sentenced to three to ten years in state prison in 2018, a decision that was later overturned on a technicality after he’d served nearly three years.
Danny Masterson
Despite letters of support from Ashton Kutcher and other cast members of That ‘70s Show, Masterson was convicted on two charges of forcible rape in 2023. He was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison, a conviction that he filed to appeal just last month.
Tim Allen
Let’s bring it back to beloved TV dad Allen, who was busted at a Michigan airport in 1978 for possession of more than 650 grams of cocaine. (That’s a lot of cocaine.) He snitched on other dealers to reduce a possible life sentence down to three to seven years. He only served a little over two years before he was paroled and released to the comedy clubs.