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LOS ANGELES (CC) - In an interview supporting the ID Network's docuseries “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV" which premiered in March, former child actor Kirk Cameron revealed his experiences in the "toxic" and lascivious Hollywood world of kids and family TV shows.
The series uncovers alleged pedophilia and obnoxious behavior behind the scenes at SOME OF Nickelodeon's popular 1990s and early 2000s programs.
A professed Christian, Cameron spoke with The Daily Wire about the alleged disturbing behavior he witnessed from Brian Richard Peck, his purported former personal dialogue and acting coach at Nickelodeon.
Peck was imprisoned for 16 months, after being arrested in 2003, for sexually assaulting then 15-year-old actor Drake Bell.
Peck pleaded no contest to two charges of child sexual abuse, was sentenced and ordered to register as a sex offender.
After leaving prison Peck was hired by the Disney Channel to work on set at “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.” On that production, he rejoined his former coworkers, Rich and Beth Correll, producer and stage manager, respectively, of “Drake & Josh.”
The Correls told the documentary's producers that they had “no input or involvement in the casting” of Peck, and that when they asked him about his status “Mr Peck. simply replied that ‘the problem had been resolved.’”
Cameron, 53, worked with Peck on "Growing Pains," the sitcom in which the actor starred from 1985 to 1992. Cameron also said he worked with Steven Marshall, executive producer.
In 2010, Marshall pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography, as reported by the New York Post. He was sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison for distribution of child pornography
"So, the evil, the darkness, the twisted sickness of Hollywood has been going on for a long time," Cameron said.
"I started acting when I was nine years old. I began 'Growing Pains' at 14 years old. And I was suspicious that that stuff was going on behind the curtains even when I was working on 'Growing Pains.'"
Per Variety, Peck was 43-years-old when the LAPD arrested him on 11 molestation charges in August 2003. He pleaded no contest.
His counts included "sodomy, lewd act upon a child 14 or 15 by a person 10 years older and oral copulation by anesthesia or controlled substance."
Bell, a former child actor who was the plaintiff in Peck's trial, is now 37-years-old.
He revealed recently that he was the minor whose name was not released after Peck's arrest back then.
Bell said that he first met Peck at the beginning of Season two of “The Amanda Show.”
He further stated that Peck had initially assaulted him while the actor was asleep on the couch at Peck's home.
A spokesperson for Nickelodeon gave Variety the following statement:
“Though we cannot corroborate or negate allegations of behaviors from productions decades ago, Nickelodeon as a matter of policy investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to fostering a safe and professional workplace environment free of harassment or other kinds of inappropriate conduct.
"Our highest priorities are the well-being and best interests not just of our employees, casts and crew, but of all children, and we have adopted numerous safeguards over the years to help ensure we are living up to our own high standards and the expectations of our audience.”
Bell’s dad and former manager, Joe, reportedly voiced concerns about his son to the show's production team.
“I go, ‘I don’t see anything abnormal but it just doesn’t — I don’t have a good feeling,'” he said.
Joe Bell insisted that he was "ostracized" and pushed out of Drake's life.
Joe further claimed that unnamed producers admitted that Peck is gay and told him: “Maybe you’re just homophobic and you just don’t understand that he’s a touchy-feely guy.”
Evidently "all the parents loved" Peck and "everyone trusted" him, according to actor Kyle Sullivan who appeared on “The Amanda Show" and “All That.”
Sullivan also said Peck was pen pals with notorious sex offender and serial killer, the late John Wayne Gacy. Peck proudly displayed gifts and notes from Gacy, including a painting of a birthday clown.
“He kept this pile of letters and photos from John Wayne Gacy in his nightstand next to his bed,” Sullivan claimed.
“When we uncovered this revelation during the process of making the documentary, we were shocked," said Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz, series directors.
"It raised a lot of questions about power dynamics on set and off, and what dangers were hiding in plain sight. Exploring those dynamic and revealing the secrets behind how culture is made is at the core of what we are trying to do with Quiet on Set."
Gacy, infamously dubbed the "Killer Clown," reportedly confessed to sexually assaulting, abducting, drugging, torturing and murdering some 33 young men and boys during the 1960s and '70s.
He operated in places such as Waterloo, Iowa and Norwood Park Township near Chicago, sometimes pretending to be a sheriff by flashing a vehicle-mounted spotlight and a badge.
Gacy also performed in public as both "Patches" and Pogo the Clown, only to later allegedly ask gullible victims to be handcuffed for a magic trick before he violated and killed them at his house.
Authorities reportedly found 29 dead bodies buried in his home.
Described by neighbors and associates as a "pillar of the community": a charming, bombastic, divorced businessman and Democratic precinct captain, Gacy was sentenced to death on March 13, 1980.
He was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994.
The general public "would feel much more comfortable if Gacy was this type of creepy, sequestered ghoul that was unkempt and heinous,” a lead investigator on the Gacy case, Detective Sgt. Jason Moran of the Cook County sheriff’s office said in 2018.
The Chicago Tribune further quoted Moran's take on Gacy.
“But instead, he dressed as a clown and bounced kids on his knee. He would knock at your door and say vote for my candidate.”
Cameron said the following about Gacy's purported pen pal, Peck.
"And there were several young boys like us (Cameron and Leonardo DiCaprio) that he (Peck) interacted with on a regular basis. So, it’s shocking. It’s sickening."
Cameron said he expressed his gratitude to his family for keeping him safe in the "predatory environment."
He insisted that his mother was very observant and "on the set every day" when he was a minor still acting on the show "Growing Pains."
"Thank God I got out of there unscathed in the 1980s. Those people who did this stuff to these kids are the same kind of people in the industry today," Cameron asserted.
"Still making twisted, sick, perverted material that's hurting children today. And they need to be completely rooted out and replaced."
Perhaps the docu-series is only the beginning of further exposing Hollywood's darkness and perversion.
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Reginald Spann is the founder, senior writer, content editor and publisher of The Christian Commander.
He is available for freelance endeavors. Reach him through the partnership page at christiancommander.com
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Such a jaw dropping story.