:01:00
Peggy never said for sure
who the father was,
:01:02
but the most persistent rumor
:01:04
concluded
that it was David Soul,
:01:06
the talented, hunky actor
from Starsky and Hutch.
:01:09
Don't give up on us, baby...
:01:12
And on July 2, 1967,
:01:14
Dickie Roberts
came into the world.
:01:16
Peggy began auditioning him
for acting parts almost daily.
:01:19
Here's Peggy Roberts
in a 1989 interview.
:01:22
When it came to auditions,
:01:23
I used to dress him up
for the part, whatever it was.
:01:26
I mean, if they wanted a cowboy,
:01:28
they got a cowboy.
:01:30
Even if they wanted a girl,
I'd give them one.
:01:33
Do you know that he once
auditioned
:01:35
for Pippi Longstocking?
:01:36
And he got the part.
:01:39
I felt so stupid
walking into an office
:01:41
holding the kid's hand.
:01:43
It was rough on me.
:01:46
Then, in 1972, when NBC
:01:48
created a show called
The Glimmer Gang,
:01:50
Dickie was cast immediately.
:01:51
The show became
an instant success
:01:53
and soon Dickie's picture
was plastered on magazines,
:01:56
Iunch boxes and board games.
:01:58
And his trademark catch phrase
was everywhere.
:02:01
This is Nucking Futs!
:02:03
But after six years of success,
the ratings began to slip.
:02:07
And just as fast as the Dickie
phenomenon exploded,
:02:09
it was over.
:02:11
Dickie's mother,
soon after, left him
:02:13
and moved out of the area.
:02:14
He found himself alone.
:02:16
Here's former Eight is Enough
star Dick Van Patten.
:02:18
Stardom is really hard
on child actors,
:02:21
and when you throw in a horrible
stage mother like Peggy Roberts,
:02:25
poor little Dickie
had no chance.
:02:28
Nobody would hire
the troubled actor,
:02:30
and pictures surfaced
of Dickie's odd behavior--
:02:33
including compulsive
glove wearing.
:02:35
He had his name legally changed
to "David Soul's Son."
:02:38
Then, tired of explaining
who David Soul was,
:02:40
he tried "Hutch's Son."
:02:43
Later, he changed it again
:02:44
to the element chart symbols
:02:45
for fluorine,
titanium and zinc.
:02:49
Today, Dickie Roberts
:02:51
is certain
that a showbiz comeback
:02:52
is in the cards for him.
:02:54
He is working
as a valet parking cars.
:02:56
But as everybody knows,
:02:58
in Hollywood, sometimes your
dreams can come true... again.