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Sure, you remember their stories. You might even be able to remember their names. But here’s the real question: it’s 7am, do you know where these kids are right now?
That Kid: Who Got Stuck Down a Well
The Story: Back in 1987, an 18-month old “Baby Jessica” McClure captured the nation’s attention when she tumbled into an old well in her aunt’s backyard. Emergency workers piped fresh air and heat into the well, and expert miners spent 58 straight hours digging a parallel shaft 22 feet into the ground to rescue her. While healthy at the moment, The Today Show reported that Jessica has undergone 15 surgeries and 9 blood transfusions since reemerging.
The Post-Puberty Report: Adult Jessica seems to be, pardon the phrase, well-adjusted. Now 21, she’s married, has a child, and according to all reports, remains thoroughly down-to-earth. In fact, she’s refused to get plastic surgery to cover up her scars because it reminds her to be thankful for her life. Of course, she’ll probably be even more thankful for her life in 4 years. That’s when a trust fund, set up in her name with public donations, should kick a few million dollars her way.
That Kid: Who Was Too Old to Play Little League
The Story: Back in 2001, Danny Almonte didn’t just pitch his Bronx, NY team to a third-place finish in the Little League World Series; the 12-year old phenom also pitched a perfect game along the way. Of course, there was just one problem: turns out little Danny wasn’t so little. After a rival Staten Island team hired a private investigator to look into the case, Sports Illustrated followed-up with their own investigation. Unbeknownst to Danny, his father had falsified his birth certificate by two years to hand his son an arm up on the competition.
The Post-Puberty Report: Well, to be accurate, the story actually started post-puberty. That said, while the team was stripped of their Little League title, all the players including Danny Almonte were cleared of any wrong-doing (since he didn’t know his own age at the time). As for where Danny is today: after helping his high school team win 2 public school athletic league championships (and garnering MVP honors), ESPN is reporting that he’s now pitching professionally, throwing “90s plus fast-balls” for the Southern Illinois Miners.
PLUS: We catch up with rock ‘n’ roll’s favorite baby, a 13-year old cover model and the kid who outspelled Dan Quayle after the break.
That Kid: from Nirvana’s Nevermind album
The Story: According to CommonGate, when Nirvana initially brainstormed on CD artwork, they started by looking at stock photography of babies swimming. But when the costs proved too stiff for their slim wallets, the band hired a photographer who in turn paid a friend’s couple $200 to use their 4-month old baby in the shoot. Supposedly Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love were so pleased with the pic, they vowed to take the kid out to dinner when he grew up as thanks for his contribution to the album. As for the hook and dollar also featured in the pic? Those were actually Photoshopped into the scene later.
The Post-Puberty Report: Now 16, Spencer Elden has been featured in various Nirvana documentaries and magazine features. He claims to be a big fan of the band, and proud of his child labor for the album. And while there’s no word on whether Courtney Love has followed up on her promise to feed the kid, Nirvana’s isn’t the only album on which he’s been featured. Elden also appears on the cover of Skinny Puppy founder cEvin Key’s 2003 album The Dragon Experience.
That Kid: Who Spelled Potato Right (until the VP corrected him)
The Story: In 1992, Vice President Dan Quayle made a pit stop in Trenton, NJ, where he acted as judge in a 6th grade spelling bee. Unfortunately for Quayle, the cards he’d been handed hadn’t been spell-checked. So when William Figueroa, who’d been bused in for the event, spelled out his word correctly, Quayle told him “You’re close, but you left a little something off. The e on the end.” The press immediately picked up the story, Figueroa appeared on Letterman and Quayle’s reputation as a mental midget was solidified in the public’s mind.
The Post-Puberty Report: Not good, from what we’ve read. In 2004, a New York Times reporter met up with Figueroa, who’d since dropped out of high school, had his first child by 16, two more by age 24, and was reportedly working a low paying job.
That Kid: from the National Geographic
The Story: While visiting a Pashtun refugee camp in Pakistan, photographer Steve McCurry snapped a pic of a 13-year old orphan with hauntingly beautiful eyes. The image made the cover of a 1984 National Geographic, and the girl became an international celebrity. Well, sort of. Despite securing a great shot, McCurry never took down the girl’s name, and despite taking more than 10 trips back to the region to locate her, it would be another 17 years before she was tracked down.
The Post-Puberty Report: Now a wife and mother of three, Sharbat Gula lives in a 
remote village in Afghanistan. She lives in purdah, and while only female reporters were allowed to visit and photograph her for National Geographic’s long awaited follow-up, supposedly she’s now “being looked after” by the magazine. Of course, as the BBC reports, the most amazing part is that she hates the iconic photo. She never liked the red scarf she was photographed in, she doesn’t like media attention, and has since moved to avoid future interviews.
Plus, a few more tykes you might’ve forgotten about:
Louise Brown, the world’s first test tube baby, has had her own baby.
Elian Gonzales is now a Cuban celeb, has a lot of pets, gets front row seats to Castro speeches, and apparently helped land his father a plush gig in Cuba’s national assembly.
And Heather DeLoach, who tapped danced her way into MTV viewers’ hearts as a tap-dancing bee in Blind Melon’s “No Rain” video, has since landed several acting jobs, including 2 episodes of ER.
Special thanks to Kara Kovalchik for all her research work on this piece.
Comments (54)
Comment
I was curious whatever happened to the baby/young child who was the sole survivor of a horrific jet airliner crash near Detroit back in the the 1980’s.
Thanks,
CD
posted by CD on 7-16-2007 at 1:01 pm
Looks like she’s doing well CD.
Can’t post a link, but Wikipedia has an article on her. Her name was Cecelia Cichan
posted by Irma on 7-16-2007 at 1:15 pm
Wikipedia has some info on Cecilia Cichan, the little girl from flight 255. Her name is hyphenated, so I assume she’s married. Also, she has a bachelor’s in psychology.
posted by Matthew Tobey on 7-16-2007 at 1:26 pm
Hey Baby Jessica, thanks for ruining my TV viewing. I remember watching an episode of “Beauty and the Beast” (or whatever the name of that show was with Linda Hamilton where the mutant guy that looked like Barbara Streisand would rush out of the sewers and ride the subway to save her in every episode), and they broke into it to show your sorry butt getting yanked out of the well, and I never got to see the end of that episode, so I don’t know if the Beast rescued her or not. Thanks a lot.
posted by Howie Feltersnatch on 7-16-2007 at 2:11 pm
Cecelia Cichan-Lumpkin hypenates her name because the relatives who raised her were named Lumpkin. She occasionally posts on a Northwest Flight 255 message board, and is doing well. She remembers nothing of the crash, but is appreciative of the good wishes sent her way.
posted by Kara on 7-16-2007 at 3:59 pm
RE: Baby Jessica, it was quite a sad story with one of her rescuers, who, after all the publicity and media went away, fell into a pit of depression and killed himself. I forget his name. I’m sure someone here will remember.
posted by Absurdistan on 7-16-2007 at 4:10 pm
What about little Jessie Arbogast - the little boy that had his arm biten off by a shark in 2001? The last update I saw on him was in 2004.
Thanks,
RG
posted by Riqui Gardner on 7-16-2007 at 4:17 pm
HEY HOWIE, ANY MALE BEING COMCERNED OVER BEAUTY AND THE BEAST SHOULD CHANGE THIER NAME FROM “FELTHERSNATCH” TO “YANKSMYCRANK”
posted by BOOMER on 7-16-2007 at 4:21 pm
You think baby jessica ruined your life? I was her neighbor, well her aunt’s neighbor. Trying getting a nights sleep as a seven year old kid in stupid midland while the block is lit up like a night game at yankee stadium, all the while camera crews, roughnecks, and monkeys with sandwiches are trampling your mother’s geraniums. I’d like to know where my trust fund is.
posted by Tyson on 7-16-2007 at 4:30 pm
F with Dan Quayle and your life turns to crap.
Word of warning to all those who think they can spell.
posted by Bob Roberts on 7-16-2007 at 5:02 pm
Thanks– just the other day I was wondering (aloud) what the Nirvana kid was up to. And maybe making up some short stories. The more I know…
posted by sweatpantsrok on 7-16-2007 at 5:42 pm
Danny Almonte was recently cut by his pro team. His pro career is effectively over. Here’s the article:
Almonte released
By Justin Walker - American News Service
MARION - Left-handed starter Danny Almonte has been released from the Southern Illinois Miners, team manager Mike Pinto said Saturday.
Known for throwing the first perfect game in Little League World Series history, the 20-year-old Almonte struggled to throw strikes for the Miners and ended up with an 0-1 record and 5.28 ERA in 30 2-3 innings.
He gave up 30 hits - including four homers - and walked 19 batters while striking out just 17 in six games.
Almonte joined the Miners out of high school and Pinto hopes he works his way back into professional ball by taking the collegiate route.
“I hope for his sake he attends a junior college and gets a chance to develop as a pitcher,” Pinto said. “It’s hard when you come to a performance league like the Frontier League because it’s not a developmental league.
“He just needs a chance to develop.”
posted by girard31 on 7-16-2007 at 5:50 pm
Hey Howie: The first two seasons of Beauty and the Beast have come out on DVD in the past few months - the second season came out last Tuesday, in fact. If you were watching it in 1987, that would’ve been Season 1. Just FYI. Netflix has it.
posted by Chris on 7-16-2007 at 6:07 pm
Baby Jessica even has her own Simpson’s episode. “Cause we’re sending our love down a well!” That event was actually a real watershed in terms of craptacular media events. Then OJ raised the bar.
And scars are cool. At least she seems to understand she’s pretty fortunate, all things considered.
posted by Jason T on 7-16-2007 at 7:45 pm
Didn’t one of them do porno? I could have swore they did.
posted by hpv on 7-16-2007 at 9:21 pm
What about OJ’s kids? What are they up too?
posted by thejuiceisloose on 7-16-2007 at 9:50 pm
Forget Beauty and the Beast, They interrupted Max Headroom during its best episode - the one about the addictive game show that made people watch and watch and watch TV until they died.
Ironically, that episode opened up mere seconds after baby Jessica came out of the well with the rescue of a “little one” from a deep hole except that the “little one” was a TV and the rescuers immediately sat down and started watching it as soon as they pulled the thing from the hole (addictive game show ya know).
posted by Edison Carter on 7-16-2007 at 11:33 pm
Baby Jess was not the first celeb well baby - there were several from the 1930’s and on - only then - covered by radio, newsreels or in LIFE mag - until the late 1970’s and early 1980’s - it was expensive to do live, live remotes for a long period (sat time expensive).
posted by jbelkin on 7-17-2007 at 1:23 am
Dan Quayle was set up according to one story at the time. The teacher added an ‘e’ to the potato card before handing it to Quayle. It worked because he was too stupid to notice.
posted by Old one on 7-17-2007 at 3:47 am
hpv: Screech from Saved By the Bell…?
posted by Liam on 7-17-2007 at 5:24 am
Now that’s hilarious. The Afghan girl was just given some a little bit of money for appearing in the National Geographic documentary. Lol imagine this: “You’re likeliness is the world’s most popular National Geographic cover” - the one they’ve come to be known by, and the one they’ve made millions if not billions off of (cumulative expenses) and all they can say is errr “Thanks for the picture, we made you a celebrity” oh and here’s a $100
posted by TV Online on 7-17-2007 at 6:12 am
What about the sad story of the “I know my name is Stephen” kid who was kidnapped an molested for 7 years? He married, had two kids, and was killed in a motorcycle accident on his way home from work. Oddly, his brother was a serial killer. (Check it out on Wikipedia.)
posted by Lori on 7-17-2007 at 7:09 am
Screech from Saved by the Bell is now a porn star and he was recently on Celebrity Fit Club and cause a commotion with Kimberly Locke and took diet pills to cheat and a ton of other things to just generally piss people off.
posted by Kadye on 7-17-2007 at 7:42 am
Sorry to see that the beautiful Afghan girl turned into a hideous she-man. I blame the Taliban.
posted by Jon on 7-17-2007 at 8:22 am
What ever happened to the lone survivor of Flight 255 in Michigan years ago? There was ONE survivor and nothing was ever said of it..?
posted by Sunshine on 7-17-2007 at 8:40 am
The nirvana baby makes me feel old
posted by Deal$ on 7-17-2007 at 8:59 am
whatever happened to the ‘i love turtles’ kid? Remember him? He was famous like 72 hours ago.
posted by joe on 7-17-2007 at 9:14 am
What about Kim Phuc, the Vietnamese napalm kid? There’s info at www.ocregister.com/
posted by Martin on 7-17-2007 at 9:57 am
Hey Tyson, get a life! You don’t deserve a trust fund just because you lost sleep and a couple flowers. Did you need loads of treatments and almost die, or did u just need nappy time later on?
posted by Catcher on 7-17-2007 at 10:05 am
Dustin Diamond (Screech) isn’t a porn star. He’s had one homemade video in which he convinced some hot girls to have sex with him somehow. He’s still acting (semi) seriously, and can be seen working with other child star Wil Wheaton (Wesley Crusher from Star Trek TNG) in Jane White Is Sick And Twisted. He is no more a porn star than Paris Hilton.
posted by ebbomega on 7-17-2007 at 10:05 am
Sunshine, read the first few comments in this topic. The answer is already posted.
posted by engunneer on 7-17-2007 at 11:02 am
Pfft. Baby Jessica interrupted Rags To Riches! You know, that tv show where the rich man adopts 5 girls and they sang & danced their way through lots of sticky situations?
I’ll be asking for my check for $500,000 for pain & suffering in 4 years. Thanks.
posted by Melissa on 7-17-2007 at 11:46 am
Is the picture of the little Pakistan girl the same as the older women? The shape of the nose is differnt, the brow ridge is lower, and the eyes seem farther apart. I feel a conspiracy.
posted by Mandie on 7-18-2007 at 12:42 pm
“Remember me?”
They forgot about the Encyclopedia Britannica kid!
posted by Alex G. on 7-18-2007 at 3:11 pm
Hey - what about that kid who survived the Flight 255 crash in Michigan? Anyone know about him/her? kthx
posted by Rainbow Dim on 7-19-2007 at 1:09 pm
As for Baby Jessica, I was 17 when it happened and living in San Antonio, Tx, and….I was glued to my tv set, and any other one nearby when I had to leave. I was so worried about the poor little baby girl, I prayed the whole time(and I’m not that religious)About a year or so later? She came with her family to a place I worked (Jungele Jims Playland)and I felt nothing but joy that she survived the nightmare, I’m glad she’s doing so well now, and I’m glad that she’s got some trust fund, anyone being selfish/griping is a pitiful excuse for a human being, she was only a baby after all!
posted by toni on 7-21-2007 at 10:29 pm
I want to know about Baby M!!! The surrogate baby who was fought over!
posted by L on 7-24-2007 at 7:48 am
My mother always told me a story, not quite sure what year. There was a bomb explosion, not quite sure where either, but after serveral days they found a room full of babies..alive. Whenever these ‘Where Are They Now’ reports pop up on TV. She always bring that story up. So Where are they now?
posted by moni on 7-29-2007 at 12:00 pm
Does anyone came across a story where two jewish friends met up here in America after several long years. Suposably the little girl was the one who kept the boy alive by bringing him food while he was hiding out and then later on disappeared. Eventually they came across each other again as strangers, here in US. But later on they found out who they really were. Can anyone link me to any type of source, either website, book, etc. Thanx
posted by alexandra on 8-15-2007 at 5:23 pm
Hey Mandie, they’ve done eye analysis and yes it’s her. She just grew old in a tough environment.
posted by jenny on 9-20-2007 at 9:10 am
Jessica McClure = Sphinx?
posted by Brad on 9-20-2007 at 11:22 am
Sharbat Gula, the Afghan woman, is indeed the same person from the famous photo of her as a 13-year-old. If you read the article from that edition shown, you find out that National Geographic got an expert to examine close-up photos of her irises, which which do not change or age over the years. Eyes are as unique as fingerprints. Yes, her nose looks very different, but some people’s facial features change drastically between the ages of 12 and 20.
posted by ansav on 9-21-2007 at 2:20 pm
Alexandra - I remember that story from RD in 1996. And they were older and widowed and met in NYC and turned out she had saved him by bringing food to the camp fence each day. They had re-met on a blind date? and later married.
posted by Pat on 9-21-2007 at 9:47 pm
#33, I feel constipated too, I just don’t go around announcing it on public forums like this. Err, I guess I do now.
posted by Ralphy on 9-23-2007 at 8:31 pm
The man who is Baby M’s father worked in the same laboratory I was working in, 20 years later, and I was surprised to find out this fact. She has come in a couple of times to visit with him. I don’t know much about her, but she is in her early 20’s now, has a normal relationship with her natural father and his wife, and visits regularly with her biological mother.
posted by Cindy on 9-26-2007 at 9:48 am
I wanted to now a lot more about the afghan girl. where do i get more information about her?
posted by Angel on 9-29-2007 at 11:38 am
What ever happened to that monkey that thre grenades at Gilligan?
posted by montanaman on 10-11-2007 at 5:28 pm
hentai
posted by hentai on 10-11-2007 at 6:56 pm
I am so glad that I finally have an opportunity to defend Indiana, not Quayle. When I was attending elementary school in a rural Indiana community, I was marked off points on my spelling tests because I kept forgetting the e and the end of potato (I was getting it confused with the spelling for tomato. I was also taught to spell other words with extra letters, ie. flavour, doughnut, colour. Imagine my surprise when my family moved to the city and words were suddenly shorter!
posted by Alicia on 10-19-2007 at 5:35 pm
Alicia! Hmmm, I always thought all of my ‘mispellings’ were because of 50 year old children’s books given to my mother by English donating to poor rural Americans. I also attended Indiana schools for 2 years as a kid and now I am positive: I was taught to spell those words that way and those are the correct spellings. I knew my memory wasn’t failing on something so fundamental.
These simplified spelling taught in most American schools was and is stupid and it’s getting worse: today’s elementary school kids’ math is nothing more than being taught to key numbers into a calculator.
posted by Andy on 10-22-2007 at 7:28 pm
I think it was in the early to late 80’s that these sisters were forceably removed from their loving foster family. The removal was televised and was so heart-breaking. Does anyone have any info on that situation?
posted by Trisha C on 10-29-2007 at 11:10 pm
Totally random question: Does anyone remember how Baby Jessica fell down the well in the first place? Why was she allowed to play near a rusty, seemingly bottomless hole to begin with? Where were her parents? Did they get in trouble? And just how injured was she when she was extracted (I was four when this happened, so excuse my ignorance.)
posted by BAS on 12-10-2007 at 3:48 pm
What ever happened to the baby that was rescued from a demolished hospital in that Mexico City earthquake? I think it was just one baby they found like 3 or 4 days after the earthquake, almost completely unharmed.
posted by KO on 12-11-2007 at 10:12 am
my best mp3 goa music download library ;)
posted by goa on 1-23-2008 at 2:36 am