Corey Feldman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Corey Feldman
Feldman in 2023
Born	Corey Scott Feldman (1971-07-16) July 16, 1971 (age 53) Los Angeles, California
Occupation	Actor musician
Years active	1976–present
Spouse(s)	Vanessa Marcil ​ ​ (m. 1989; div. 1993)​ Susie Sprague ​ ​ (m. 2002; div. 2014)​ Courtney Anne Mitchell ​ ​ (m. 2016; sep. 2023)​
Children	1

Corey Scott Feldman (born July 16, 1971) is an American actor. As a youth, he became well known for his roles in popular 1980s films such as Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985) and Stand by Me (1986). Feldman collaborated with Corey Haim starring in numerous films such as the comedy horror The Lost Boys (1987), the teen comedy License to Drive (1988) and the romantic comedy Dream a Little Dream (1989). They reunited for the A&E reality series The Two Coreys, which ran from 2007 to 2008.

Feldman experienced diminishing success in the film industry as an adult, amid well-publicized personal conflicts with Haim and with Michael Jackson, who had befriended him during his time as a teen celebrity. Feldman has released six albums, including Love Left (1992), Former Child Actor (2002), and Angelic 2 the Core (2016).

Early life

Feldman was born on July 16, 1971, in Reseda, California, the son of record producer Bob Feldman and cocktail waitress Sheila Feldman. Feldman was raised Jewish.

Career

1980–1989: Teen years and breakthrough

Feldman started his career at the age of three, appearing in a McDonald's commercial. In his youth, he appeared in over 100 television commercials and on 50 television series, including The Bad News Bears, Mork & Mindy, Eight Is Enough, One Day at a Time, Madame's Place, and Cheers. He was in the films Time After Time and Disney's The Fox and the Hound. In 1981, he appeared in NBC's musical comedy children's special How to Eat Like a Child alongside other future child stars Billy Jayne and Georg Olden. In 1982, he portrayed "Little Big" Jim Malloy in the single-episode situation comedy Cass Malloy, which served as the pilot for the later sitcom She's the Sheriff.

Feldman at the Academy Awards in 1989

Feldman became known as a teen idol in the 1980s. During the mid-to-late 1980s, he "was known for being one of the most popular teen pin-ups in the world". He was featured in several consecutive high-grossing movies during this period; those movies included Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985), and Stand By Me (1986) as Teddy Duchamp, the latter alongside River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, and Jerry O'Connell. In 1987, Feldman appeared with Corey Haim in The Lost Boys, in which he played Edgar Frog, a role he reprised in two direct-to-video sequels years later, Lost Boys: The Tribe (2008) and Lost Boys: The Thirst (2010). The Lost Boys marked the first onscreen pairing of Feldman and Haim, who became known as "The Two Coreys". The pair went on to star in a string of films, including License to Drive (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989). Feldman also voiced the character of Donatello in the original live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

1990–present: Career fluctuations

Feldman fought to re-establish his life and career by working with youths, starring in several lesser-known films, and branching out with an album titled Love Left. He returned to the big screen with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, once again providing the voice of Donatello, and starred in the Richard Donner/Robert Zemeckis/Joel Silver film Tales From The Crypt Presents:... of Blood opposite Dennis Miller and Angie Everhart.

In 1995, Feldman starred with Haim in their last mainstream film together, Dream a Little Dream 2. In the late 1990s, Feldman starred in the CBS series Dweebs. In 1996, Feldman appeared alongside his former Stand By Me co-star Jerry O'Connell in "Electric Twister Acid Test", an episode of the Fox Network series Sliders. In 1999, he appeared as Officer Corey Feldman in the music video for the New Found Glory single "Hit or Miss". In the same year, he made an appearance in the television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven. In 2003, he appeared in the celebrity-driven reality series The Surreal Life on The WB. He also made a cameo appearance in the film Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star starring David Spade. He appeared in the theatrical release My Date with Drew and was the voice of "Sprx-77" in the Toon Disney/ABC Family series Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!.

In 2005, Feldman starred as Michael Douglas in the Off-Broadway play Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy, a parody of the 1987 film Fatal Attraction. In 2007, Feldman and Haim began a reality television series titled The Two Coreys on the A&E Network. In January 2008, they started production on the second series of The Two Coreys. He was also executive producer for both seasons. In January 2012, Feldman joined the British television series Dancing on Ice with American pair skater Brooke Castile. On October 28, 2013, Feldman released his first memoir, Coreyography. The book details his early life as a child actor all the way up to the death of Corey Haim. In April 2018, Feldman was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the third annual Young Entertainer Awards.

In October 2019, Feldman appeared in an episode of Marriage Boot Camp.

Feldman became friends with director Jordan Peele who called him, "one of the greatest teen icons of all time". In 2023, Peele programmed screenings of Feldman's film The Birthday (2005) at Film at Lincoln Center.

In 2024, Feldman competed in season eleven of The Masked Singer as the wild card contestant "Seal". While eliminated in the Group B finals alongside Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard as "Beets", there were references to his interactions with Jenny McCarthy.

Music career

Feldman says his greatest influence has been his idol Michael Jackson. Feldman said he studied his dance moves and fashion style and "copied him effortlessly". His first public dancing experience was when he was 12 years old he lip synched Michael Jackson's song "Billie Jean".

In 1992, he released his first album Love Left. He then released his second album, Still Searching for Soul (1999), with his band, Corey Feldman's Truth Movement. In 2002, Feldman released a solo album, Former Child Actor, and promoted it with a second US tour. He appeared in the music video for the Moby single "We Are All Made of Stars".

In 2010, Feldman made an appearance in the music video for the single "1983" by Neon Trees. In 2011, he also appeared in the music video for the Katy Perry single "Last Friday Night". In April 2013, Feldman also appeared in the music video for the Mac Miller single "S.D.S.". In October 2013, He appeared in the music video for "City of Angels" by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

In 2016 to promote his double album Angelic 2 the Core, he performed with Corey's Angels on the Today Show. The album was a tribute to Michael Jackson and Corey Haim but the performance went viral with many online mocking it including Rolling Stone who labeled it "bizarre". Anthony Fantano ranked it as both the worst album of 2016 and the 2010s.

In 2023, Feldman performed at the punk rock music festival Riot Fest in Chicago, Illinois. The booking of Feldman was met with criticism. Julie River of New Noise Magazine wrote, "Booking Corey Feldman for this show felt a little bit mean-spirited. If you've ever seen a video of Feldman performing live, you'll notice it's completely overdone, pretentious, and just outright bizarre." River described the performance writing, "The music is mediocre at best, but Feldman's choreography and stage theatrics are positively laughable... Feldman spent an inordinate amount of time on stage complaining about his ex-wives, which felt like a Hollywood cliché and a tad misogynistic".

Personal life

Feldman stated that he began the "Emancipation Proclamation in Hollywood" at age 15, when he was granted emancipation from his parents. He stated that he was worth $1 million by age 15, and by the time the judge ordered the bank records to come forward, only $40,000 remained.

On March 28, 2018, Feldman claimed that he received a small puncture wound and admitted himself to a hospital. It was later reported by the police that he had no lacerations.

Feldman is a Democrat and an advocate for animal welfare and animal rights; he has adhered to a vegetarian diet since his youth. He appeared with his wife in a PETA ad campaign promoting vegetarianism. He was awarded the Paws of Fame Award by the Wildlife WayStation for his dedication to animal rights. Feldman holds beliefs in the paranormal.

Friendship with Corey Haim

Feldman and fellow actor Corey Haim were close friends. Feldman first met Haim at the age of 14 on the set of The Lost Boys, a film in which they both acted. The two became known as "The Two Coreys". The Two Coreys "became the hosts of a weekly underage party night for Hollywood Youth called Alphy's Soda Pop Club".

The Two Coreys went on to star in License to Drive (1988) and Dream a Little Dream (1989) together. Becoming a brand, The Two Coreys achieved mainstream fame and notoriety as teen idols.

The Two Coreys, a reality show about The Two Coreys, aired on the A&E Network from 2007 to 2008. The disintegrating relationship between the former best friends prompted a six-month hiatus before the second season. Before Haim's death, he and Feldman reconciled off-camera.

Haim died of pneumonia in 2010. Following Haim's death, Feldman said that he "hoped his friend would be remembered 'as a beautiful, funny, enigmatic character who brought nothing but life and lights and entertainment and art to all of our lives'".

Friendship with Michael Jackson

Feldman was close friends with Michael Jackson, as a child and teenager. In his book Coreyography and several interviews, he wrote and spoke about his positive childhood experiences with Jackson: "Michael Jackson's world, crazy as it sounds, had become my happy place... When I was with Michael, it was like being ten years old again."

In 2001, their friendship ended because Jackson thought, based on erroneous information, that Feldman would negatively portray him in an upcoming book. Feldman claimed that on September 11, 2001, Jackson helped get Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor and Liza Minnelli out of New York City, but did not help him. He in turn retaliated with the song, "Megalo Man", featuring the lyrics: 'I believed in your words/I believed in your lies/But in September in New York/You left me to die/I love you, Megalo Man.'

When Jackson died in 2009, Feldman dedicated a Los Angeles hospital concert with his rock band, Truth Movement, to the singer.

Marriages and relationships

Feldman was married to actress Vanessa Marcil from 1989 until 1993.

He met actress and model Susie Sprague in a nightclub in January 2002 and they married on October 30 that year on the final episode of the first season of The Surreal Life. The ceremony was co-officiated by a rabbi and by MC Hammer, an ordained minister. In October 2009, the couple split after seven years of marriage. Later that month, Sprague filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. She sought full custody of their son, with Feldman having visitation rights. She also sought spousal support. Feldman sought joint custody and wanted the court to block Sprague's spousal support demand. After a five-year process, the couple's divorce became final in 2014.

On November 22, 2016, Feldman married his long-time girlfriend, Courtney Anne Mitchell. The ceremony was officiated by television producer Marklen Kennedy, at Elton John's Fizz champagne lounge at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. In August 2023, after 7 years it was announced that Feldman was divorcing Courtney amid her continued health issues.

Selected Filmography

Films

Television

Music video

Video games

Discography

Solo

• Love Left (1994)
• Former Child Actor (2002)
• Angelic 2 the Core (2016)
• Love Left 2: Arm Me with Love (2021)

With Corey Feldman's Truth Movement

• Still Searching for Soul (1999)
• Technology Analogy (2010)

Awards and nominations