Kirk Cameron

Infobox actor
name = Kirk Cameron


caption = Kirk Cameron at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, May 5, 2007.
birthname = Kirk Thomas Cameron
birthdate = birth date and age|1970|10|12
location = Panorama City, California, United States
yearsactive = 1979—present
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername =
spouse = Chelsea Noble (1991—present)
website = http://www.kirkcameron.com/

Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor best-known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy "Growing Pains". He is also a film director and a Christian evangelist. Cameron is currently a partner in the evangelical Christian ministry "The Way of the Master".

Early life

Cameron was born in Panorama City, California, USA, to Rob Cameron, a middle school teacher, and Barbara Bausmith, and is the brother of Bridgette, Melissa, and Candace Cameron. [http://www.kirkcameron.com/ Cameron's Official Site] (Clicking on "Family" and the individual photos details the information in question.)]

Acting career

Cameron began acting at the age of nine, appearing in television commercials and guest roles. His first starring role was at the age of ten in the series "Two Marriages". He gained renown after being cast as "Michael Seaver" in the 1985 television series "Growing Pains", for which he received two Golden Globe nominations. [cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0131647/awards |title= Awards page for Kirk Cameron |accessdate=2008-08-24 |work=Internet Movie Database |publisher= |date= ] He subsequently became a teen idol in the late 1980s, when he appeared on the covers of several teen magazines, including "Tiger Beat", "Teen Beat", "16" and others.

Cameron went on to star in a number of films, including 1987's "Like Father Like Son" (a body-switch comedy with Dudley Moore), which was a box-office success. His next theatrical film, 1989's "Listen to Me", performed poorly at the box office.

When "Growing Pains" ended in 1992, Cameron went on to star in The WB sitcom "Kirk" which premiered in 1995 and ended two years later. He has since left mainstream film, though a decade after "Growing Pains" ended, he starred in a TV reunion movie, "The Growing Pains Movie", in 2000, and another one, "Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers", in 2004. Cameron reunited with the cast of "Growing Pains" for a CNN "Larry King Live" interview which aired on February 7, 2006, in conjunction with the Warner Brothers release of the complete first season of "Growing Pains" on DVD. Aside from this, Cameron works almost exclusively in Christian-themed productions, among them the post-Rapture movies ', ', and "". He works with Cloud Ten Pictures, a company which produces Christian-themed movies, and has starred in several of their other films, including "Miracle of Cards". The "Left Behind" Series is probably one of Kirk's best known roles in the Cloud Ten Pictures movie productions.

Evangelism ministry

Cameron claims he used to be an atheist, but when he was 17, during the height of his career on "Growing Pains", he developed a belief in God. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ImQruoZ7VU Video segment of the May 5, 2007 debate between Way of the Master and the Rational Response Squad in which Cameron states that he used to be an atheist.] ] [ [http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2003/002/1.20.html "The Rebirth of Kirk Cameron"; "Christianity Today"; March/April 2003] ] After converting to Christianity, he began to protest what he perceived as immorality in "Growing Pains", ostracizing himself from his fellow cast members. He did not invite them to his wedding. A decade later, Cameron agreed to appear in a "Growing Pains" TV movie, and apologized to his TV family, attributing his prior behavior to his lack of maturity.

Cameron currently partners with fellow evangelist Ray Comfort in training Christians in evangelism. The two have a ministry together called "The Way of the Master", which includes a television/video series, a multimedia website, and a live daily radio show "The Way of the Master Radio Show" with Minnesota talk show host Todd Friel.

On March 17, 2006, Martin Bashir interviewed Comfort and Cameron about "The Way of the Master" on a segment of "Nightline". Cameron also appeared on "The O'Reilly Factor" on April 12, 2006. [cite podcast|url=http://www.wayofthemasterradio.com/podcast/2006/04/14/kirk-cameron-on-the-oreilly-factor/ |title=Kirk Cameron on The O’Reilly Factor |website=www.wayofthemasterradio.com |host= |date=April 12, 2006 |accessdate=08-24 |accessyear=2008 ]

Comfort and Cameron participated in a televised debate with atheists Brian Sapient and Kelly O'Conner of the Rational Response Squad, at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan on May 5, 2007. At issue was the existence of God, which Comfort stated he could prove scientifically, without relying on faith or the Bible. Martin Bashir served as moderator at the event. No official winner was declared by the event producers due to business practices held by ABC, and audience reaction was mixed, with support shown for both sides. Highlights included Cameron and Comfort repeatedly referencing the Ten Commandments and denouncing the theory of evolution. Conversely, the RRS provided several counterarguments in favor of atheism and evolutionary theory. [ [http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=3148940&page=1 Bashir, Martin; "Prepare for a Conflict: The Nightline 'Face-Off' No-Holds Barred Battle Over the Existence of God";] May 7, 2007] While many atheists contended that Comfort violated the rules by talking about the Ten Commandments, Cameron later stated on the Way of the Master radio show that the rules of the debate did not say that the Bible could never be referenced, but rather that Comfort simply had to come up with one argument that didn't reference the Bible or faith. [Way of the Master Radio, May 9 2007 Hour 2, [http://www.wayofthemasterradio.com/podcast/2007/05/10/may-09-2007-hour-2/ Was somebody lying or just plain forgetful?] ]

Personal life

Cameron met his wife, actress Chelsea Noble, on the set of "Growing Pains". [cite web |url=http://www.celebtreat.com/Chelsea-Noble.html |title=Chelsea Noble marries Kirk Cameron |accessdate=2008-08-23 |work=Celebtreat.com |publisher= |date= ] They would later co-star on "Kirk". They married on July 21, 1991, and have six children, four of whom were adopted: Jack (born 1996), Isabella (born 1997), Anna (born 1998), and Luke (born 2000); and two biological: Olivia Rose (born July 18, 2001) and James Thomas (born April 13, 2003). Kirk wrote an autobiography called "Still Growing" in 2008.

Kirk's sister Candace is also notable for the role of D.J. Tanner on the sitcom, "Full House". Kirk made a guest appearance on the show in 1988.

In popular culture

*In an episode of "Family Guy", Stewie and Brian attend a performance of Les Misérables where Kirk Cameron plays the role of Jean Valjean.
*In another episode, he joins other sitcom veterans to lure followers of Peter from his Fonzie-based church by offering Christianity (the others offer churches of their respective characters).
*Cameron and his association with The Way of the Master were parodied in "Lost in Parking Space, Part One", an episode of the animated comedy "Drawn Together".

Partial filmography

References

Further reading

*"Still Growing: An Autobiography" ISBN 0830744517

External links

Websites

* [http://www.kirkcameron.com/ KirkCameron.com]
* [http://www.wayofthemaster.com/ The Way of the Master] — the evangelistic ministry of Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort
*imdb name|0131647|Kirk Cameron

Interviews

* [http://www.alphaomeganews.org/features/04/08/cameron.html Alpha Omega news interview] (July 11, 2004)
* [http://www.crosswalk.com/community/chat/1277290.html Crosswalk chat]
* [http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/news/leftbehind2-103000.html Christianity Today interview] (October 2000)
* [http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/churchandministry/evangelism/bagby-kirkcameron_wayofthemaster.asp?option=print The Christian Broadcasting Network interview]