15 MORE Classic TV Stars Who Destroyed Their Own Careers in One Night

On screen, they had everything — a hit show, a famous face and millions of people who tuned in just to see them. Off screen, it took one single night to lose it all. Using the newspaper reports, the broadcasts and their own words, we look at fifteen more classic TV stars who destroyed their own careers in one night — from the children's host who collapsed live on camera while the audience laughed, to the TV bandleader who went from star to prisoner in a single evening. Which of these nights shocked you most? Tell us in the comments. CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 0:32 Geraldo Rivera (The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults) 2:32 Soupy Sales (The Soupy Sales Show) 4:29 Pinky Lee (The Pinky Lee Show) 6:14 Jaye P. Morgan (The Gong Show) 7:55 Alan Freed (The Big Beat) 9:38 Bill Grundy (Today) 11:14 Andrew Dice Clay (MTV Video Music Awards) 12:46 Ashlee Simpson (Saturday Night Live) 14:47 Todd Bridges (Diff'rent Strokes) 16:30 Dana Plato (Diff'rent Strokes) 18:14 Bill Maher (Politically Incorrect) 20:21 Peter Arnett (NBC News) 22:29 Jessica Savitch (NBC News) 24:24 Sinéad O'Connor (Saturday Night Live) 26:21 Spade Cooley (The Spade Cooley Show) 28:15 Bonus: Uncle Don SOURCES Mental Floss oral history (2016) · Geraldo Rivera, "Exposing Myself" (1991) · Snopes · Ultimate Classic Rock · Associated Press (1955) · The New York Times (1993) · A.V. Club (2014) · The Wall Street Journal · The Guardian (1976) · Daily Mirror (1976) · UPI (1989) · Los Angeles Times · Deseret News / AP (1991) · Gwenda Blair, "Almost Golden" · People (1983) · Marie Claire (2023) · The New York Times (1992) · Time (2020) · Los Angeles Times / UPI (1961) #ClassicTV #OldHollywood #HollywoodSecrets