Last year, the National Enquirer reported that former child actor and “Eight is Enough” star Willie Aames, now 49, was in danger of losing his home after filing for bankruptcy, having his car repossessed, and relying on unemployment and occasional day labor jobs to get by. At that time, Willie was still with his wife of over 20 years, Maylo, who suffers from the auto-immune disease Lupus. Maylo’s mounting medical bills, coupled with a $150,000 lost investment into an adventure show, sunk the family deep into debt. Aames held a garage sale earlier this year to raise money to get his house out of foreclosure, but without work he wasn’t able to save the home. His wife eventually left him, and he became homeless.

In a VH1 special to air Thursday night, Aames reveals that he had to sleep in garages and in the park occasionally when friends would not take him in. He’s since turned his life around and has been able to make ends meet with construction work. Aames, who squandered the millions he earned on “Eight is Enough” and “Charles in Charge,” is also studying to be a financial advisor:

Aames opens up about experiencing financial ruin after a successful career as an actor, “At the very peak [of "Eight Is Enough"] I was making a little over a million dollars a year,” he says. “Then suddenly there was no job, no bank account, no wife, no child. I never dreamt it could happen that fast. I found myself virtually homeless. I stayed with friends when I could, slept in parking garages or slept in the park. It was shameful. I remember laying underneath the bushes thinking, ‘Is this how it turns out? Is this how my life really turns out?’”

When asked about reports of a suicide attempt after his wife left with their young daughter, Aames says, “I gave people a lot of cause for concern and I think they acted on those concerns. I’m glad they did. Beyond that, that time period is a blur.”

Aames’s struggles have led to the new VH1 special, “Broke and Famous: Willie Aames,” airing Thursday night. “It’s a docu-drama on what happens to celebrities when they hit rock bottom,” he says. “You have to find some point that will give you the smallest amount of dignity and self respect back.”

Aames tells ET that throughout the years of trying to get back on his feet, he was turned down for several jobs, including wilderness guide, but was finally hired by a construction company.

Today Aames is reunited with his daughter and on his way to becoming a financial advisor. “I never dreamed I would want to be or become a financial advisor,” he reveals. “I am well on my way.”

[Press statement from Entertainment Tonight via The Huffington Post]

In our story last year about Aames’ financial trouble, a lot of you said that you saw him on Celebrity Fit Club and that he was a royal ass. He’s supposedly a born-again Christian, so he really has no excuse. He seems to have a lot of demons, and detailed his drug addiction and childhood sexual abuse in a 2007 book with his wife called Grace is Enough. It wasn’t enough to save his home, but it looks like he’s back on his feet now and is able to talk about what he went through.

If you’re looking for a good deal on some TV memorabilia, former “Eight is Enough” and “Charles in Charge” star Willie Aames might be able to help you out. The cash-strapped actor is holding a garage sale in order to save his foreclosed house. I hope Lindsay Lohan is paying attention to this story – this could be her someday soon!

Eight apparently wasn’t enough for Willie Aames.

The star of Charles in Charge and Eight Is Enough, after filing for bankruptcy last year and whose house is in foreclosure, has been reduced to holding a garage sale at his Olathe, Kan., home to raise some scratch.

Among the items on sale Thursday were antiques, artwork, a piano, leather couches, a TV set, a mounted lion’s head and other stuffed wildlife the 48-year-old had hunted, and movie memorabilia. Aames also signed autographs while and a film crew recorded the event for a TV documentary about his life, reports the Kansas City Star.

After his stints on TV and a self-admitted addiction to cocaine, the former child actor became religious and visited schools in a superhero costume as “Bibleman.” He moved to the Kansas City area in the 1990s, after filming a syndicated fishing show there.

[From People]

I remember him vaguely from the 70s and 80s, but I always used to get him confused with the other blond, curly haired kid who starred in “The Blue Lagoon” with Brooke Shields. I also remember that he could never say the name “Charles” correctly. It always sounded like he was saying “Chorles.” I have no idea how much money he owes on his house, but something tells me that if it’s already in foreclosure, a garage sale probably isn’t going to help much. Maybe he can move in with Gary Coleman or something.

Here’s Willie Aames with his wife in a promotional image for their book. Header is a still from Celebrity Fit Club 6: Boot Camp. Credit: tv.yahoo.com.

Eight is Enough and Charles in Charge star Willie Aames, now 48, was a millionaire when he was in his 20s and partied at the Playboy mansion. He’s now struggling to make ends meet in his post-fame life in Kansas. He’s on unemployment, and takes day labor construction jobs when they’re available. Aames is married with an 18 year-old daughter, and the former child actor is now so broke he couldn’t even afford to buy his daughter a dress for the prom. A lot of his money troubles stem from a project he invested $150,000 in last year that fell through. His wife suffers from the auto-immune disease lupus, and her high medical bills and the cost of medication also contributed to the family’s debt. Like a lot of people struggling in today’s economy, Aames filed for bankruptcy, had his car repossessed and may lose his home.

Willie Aames… is now virtually penniless. He’s had his jeep repossessed, stands to lose his home and has filed for bankruptcy…

Willie is so down on his luck, he couldn’t even afford a present for his daughter Harleigh’s 18th birthday, he told The Enquirer in an exclusive interview.

“What’s worse is that she had to buy her own prom dress last year,” said Willie. “That killed me!”

Willie says the past 2 1/2 years have been “absolute hell” for him and his family. “There were times when we had so little money that we actually had to make a choice between groceries or medication for my wife Maylo, who has lupus.”

Willie took a big financial gamble by investing in a Canadian adventure and hunting TV show called “MacMillan River Adventures” on the Outdoor Channel last year, sinking $150,000 into the project. He lost every penny.

Willie, who played Tommy Bradford on “Eight is Enough,” then took out a second mortgage on his home but quickly fell behind on the payments. He said he was unemployed until his recent gig on “Celebrity Fit Club.” But he only earned $14,000 for his role.

So, the actor says he’s been taking day labor jobs to put food on the table.

“I’ve never shied away from an honest day’s work,” he maintained.

Willie did everything from hanging drywall, sanding ceilings and digging sump pumps.

“It wasn’t much money, but it’s what I had to do to feed my family,” he said.

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, August 18, 2008]

Aames says that Scott Baio was “set for life” after their show Charles in Charge wrapped, but that his money quickly dwindled down to nothing. He also was addicted to drugs and alcohol for 15 years, the Enquirer reports, and then got sober, became a born-again Christian and met his wife. Aames starred in the Bibleman videos as a Christian superhero from 1995 to 2004. He lost 19 pounds on Celebrity Fit Club in 2005, but has since gained the weight back. He lost the weight again on Celebrity Fit Club 6: Boot Camp earlier this year, where he won the individual prize.

About 1/2 of US bankruptcies are at least partially due to medical expenses, and the fact that Aames wife is probably too ill to work has surely affected his family’s finances. It’s a shame his adventure show didn’t work out, and it speaks to his character that he’s willing to do construction work and whatever it takes to help his family. I didn’t seem Aames on either Celebrity Fit Club, but Wikipedia makes it souund like he was particularly surly on the 2005 show and says he had a big fight with the trainer. Have any of you seen it and what impression did you get of Aames?

Aames told The Enquirer that his dream job is to work as a producer for Oprah. She might be interested in his story at least.

I hope things pick up for him and his family, and for a lot of Americans who have to make the difficult choice between food or medication, especially seniors.

Willie Aames is shown below in a still from Celebrity Fit Club 6: Boot Camp. Credit: tv.yahoo.com He is shown above with his wife in a promotional image for their joint book Grace is Enough which was published in late 2007 and details their separate lives struggling with childhood sexual abuse and drug addiction before they found each other and their faith.