Rob Lowe went on to become a massive talent (a couple years ago he was appearing on three different TV shows at once: “Parks and Rec,” “Brothers and Sisters” and “Californication”) but he needed a little help making it on TV as a child in Dayton, OH. Here’s what he recalled in Stories I Only Tell My Friends:
My dad arranged for me to appear on a local cable-access kids’ show, “Clubhouse 22.” I’d watched it for years and loved the host, a hip guy named Malcolm and his sidekick, Duffy the Dog. Walking into the television studio, I feel an electric charge I still get sometimes today. The bright lights, the smell of paint and freshly cut wood, and the thrilling disconnect between fantasy and reality.
On the air, I help Malcolm and Duffy the Dog pick a prize-winner from the mailbag and am shocked when Duffy later removes his giant dog head to reveal a very beautiful blonde woman. (Years later, when I discover that my dad had been secretly banging Duffy the Dog, I don’t think I was ever more proud.)
