From child actor to advocate. Corey Feldman started his career at the age of 3 and went on to speak candidly about his alleged experiences with abuse as a young person in the entertainment industry.
“The biggest problem in Hollywood is pedophilia,” the California native told The Guardian in February 2020. In 2013, he released his first memoir, Coreography, which detailed his struggles with addiction and child sexual abuse. The tell-all delves into his friendship with fellow child star Corey Haim, who he says was also a victim of sex crimes.
“Corey asked me to make sure that if he died before me that his story was told. I am doing exactly that,” Feldman told E! News of his Lost Boys costar in January 2018. Dubbed “The Two Coreys,” the actors had their own A&E reality show of the same name from 2007 to 2009. They remained close friends until Haim — who also struggled with addiction for much of his life — died of pneumonia in March 2010 at 38.
Feldman posted a heartwarming tribute to the Lucas star after his death.
“I miss you so much already. When I think of something funny, I don’t know who to tell it to. I find myself trying to call you but then remember you’re not there,” he wrote via his blog at the time. “I always feared this day would come, and often rehearsed how to face it. But once confronted with the reality of it, it’s so much more painful than I could have ever imagined.”
The Bad News Bears actor rose to prominence in the 1980s, appearing in films including Gremlins, The Goonies, and Stand By Me. He later pivoted to a music career, releasing three solo albums between 1994 and 2016. In May 2020, Feldman had his first top 20 hit with “U R Free,” the theme song to his documentary My Truth: The Rape of 2 Coreys, an exposé about the alleged abuse that he and Haim suffered during their younger years.
“It’s really for all survivors of any type of abuse, in saying, ‘You don’t have to live in it anymore. You can be free of it and let it go,’” the ‘Burbs actor said of the track during a May 2020 appearance on Sirius XM’s Volume. “And I think doing this film is a big part of that for me — letting it go for myself and telling him that it’s OK to let it go, wherever he is. It’s about moving on and being free from the bondage of abuse.”
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Scroll down for a look at Feldman’s ups and downs over the years:
Feldman acted in a McDonald’s commercial, which he has dubbed his earliest memory. “When you ask most people to reflect on their very first memory, the recollections usually fall within a range of familiar vignettes — that first game of catch with Mom or Dad, playing with a beloved stuffed animal or favorite toy, or watching Saturday morning cartoons,” he wrote in his 2013 memoir Coreography. "My first memory is shooting that McDonald’s commercial. I can’t remember anything before the start of my career.” Kobal/Shutterstock
The child actor played Pete in Gremlins. “The experiences that were bad weren’t working on Gremlins or Goonies,” Feldman told The Guardian in February 2020, speaking fondly of working on the black comedy horror film. Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock
Steven Spielberg introduced Feldman to Michael Jackson on the set of The Goonies. In Coreography, Feldman wrote that his friendship with the “Billie Jean” singer provided him with solace after being molested as a child. “Michael Jackson’s world, crazy as it sounds, had become my happy place. He was adamantly against drugs and alcohol, he was extremely straight-laced; I couldn’t even swear around him. Being with Michael brought me back to my innocence. When I was with Michael, it was like being 10 years old again,” he wrote. Shutterstock (2)
Feldman starred in the coming-of-age film Stand By Me alongside Will Wheaton, River Phoenix and Jerry O’Connell. Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock
The Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter actor appeared on screen with Haim for the first time in The Lost Boys. He later reprised his role in Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008) and Lost Boys: The Thirst (2010). Warner Bros/Kobal/Shutterstock
Feldman briefly dated Drew Barrymore, accompanying her to the Oscars. Bei/Shutterstock
Feldman married his first wife, Vanessa Marcil. “We were kids. I was 18, it was puppy love, and we thought it would be fun to fly to Las Vegas at 3 o’clock in the morning and get married,” Marcil said of the union during an April 2003 interview with Soap Opera Digest. The General Hospital alum continued: “We were legally married for about three years, but it wasn’t a conventional marriage. We never moved in together or really did any of the married stuff. Really, how much of a marriage can you have at 18?” Shutterstock (2)
Feldman and Marcil divorced. Shutterstock (2)
The “Angelic 2 the Core” musician married Susie Sprague, whom he had met nine months prior, during an episode of the reality TV show The Surreal Life. Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock
Feldman and Sprague welcomed son Zen. Unimedia/Shutterstock
The Dream a Little Dream star’s reality show with Haim, The Two Coreys, premiered on A&E. The show ran for two seasons. Digital/Mediapunch/Shutterstock
Feldman mourned Jackson after the singer died of acute propofol intoxication at 50. "He was my idol, he was a role model, he was someone to cry to when my childhood was unbearable, he was a brother, he was a dear friend,” the Corbin Nash actor wrote via his website at the time. "I am trembling and shaking at the moment and it is very hard to type. I am filled with tremendous sadness and remorse." Shutterstock
The reality TV personality lost another dear friend when Haim died of pneumonia at 38. One year later, Feldman claimed that a man who sexually abused Haim as a child was to blame for his untimely death. “There’s one person to blame in the death of Corey Haim and that person happens to be a Hollywood mogul,” the actor said during an August 2011 episode of Nightline, claiming that his longtime friend had turned to drugs in an effort to deal with his trauma. Feldman continued: “And that person needs to be exposed, but unfortunately, I can’t be the one to do it. But the person that knows who did it and knows who he is? Is watching right now, I guarantee you.” Rory Gilder/Shutterstock
Feldman opened up about his struggles with addiction and surviving childhood sexual abuse in Coreography. In the memoir, the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! alum wrote that he hadn’t used hard drugs since 1995. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The “Comeback King” singer and Sprague finalized their divorce after initially separating in 2009. All Access/Shutterstock
Feldman exchanged vows with longtime girlfriend Courtney Anne Mitchell. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/Shutterstock
The musician spoke out against his former friend, Jackson, in response to the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, which features first-hand accounts from two men who claim the “Beat It” singer sexually abused them as children. “It comes to a point where as an advocate for victims, as an advocate for changing the statutes of limitations to make sure that victims' voices are heard, it becomes impossible for me to remain virtuous and not at least consider what's being said and not listen to what the victims are saying — this is very important,” Feldman said during a March 2019 appearance on CNN, noting that he could “no longer defend” the late Grammy winner, who died in 2009. London Entertainment/Shutterstock
Feldman served as a producer on the explosive documentary My Truth: The Rape of 2 Coreys. In the film, the M Word actor alleged that he and Haim were both sexually assaulted in their youth by several men connected to the entertainment industry. Youtube
The child star reunited with Barrymore during a January appearance on her talk show. “I remember taking you to the movies. It was the movie theater next to [grocery chain] Gelson's parking lot, so we parked at the Gelson's, walked across the street, and you put your little hand up for me to hold, and I held your hand as we walked across the street,” Feldman said, recalling their first date, when he was 11 or 12 and the Never Been Kissed actress was 10 or 11. He continued: "We just stayed friends, and then it was years before we actually dated." Shutterstock (2)
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