Stephen Collins in an actor who was born in Des Moines, Iowa and has a net worth of approximately $10 million. Most people recognize him most from his longtime role of Reverend Eric Camden on the hit television series 7th Heaven. He is currently being investigated after being taped admitting to molesting several young girls over the course of many years. Despite being born in Iowa, Collins was raised in New York. The 67-year-old actor was born on October 1, 1947 and began his acting career in 1974.
The Early Years
Stephen Collins comes from a long line of powerful men. His great-great grandfather was the famed General James Baird Weaver, who was the 1880 presidential candidate for the Greenback party. He was also a presidential candidate for the Populist party in 1892. His father was an airline executive, and Collins was raised in a fairly well-to-do family with his two brothers. He was a good student, and he graduated cum laude from Amherst College. He’s reportedly very close to his family, particularly his brothers, whom he sees often.
Collins’ Career
He began acting in the mid-1970s, playing small roles here and there. While most of the world remembers him most from his role in 7th Heaven, Collins has appeared in dozens of films, television shows and even Broadway productions. In 2008 he played the role of King Arthur in Spamalot. He was Captain Willard Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture, he was Reverend Eric Camden on 7th Heaven and he has co-starred alongside Diane Keaton in two famous movies; Because I Said So and The First Wives Club. While he demands a sizable payday for each of his roles on television, the vast majority of his income is derived from his starring role in 7th Heaven. The actor starred on the show for the entire run of the its popularity, and it’s been in syndication for many years.
When 7th Heaven was cancelled in 2007, Stephen Collins was reportedly making $100,000 per episode. The show aired from 1996 to 2007 over the course of 11 seasons and 243 episodes.
Some of his most famous guest appearances include roles on Tales of the Gold Monkey, The Waltons, Charlie’s Angels and even several made-for-television movies and miniseries. He was nominated for an Emmy for his role in the television miniseries The Two Mrs. Grenvilles. He played the role of JFK in the miniseries A Woman Named Jackie, which was the winner of an Emmy Award. Though his role in 7th Heaven ended many years ago, he’s had several roles in television since. He starred as Dr. Gene Porter on the NBC series Revolution in 2013, he had a role in The Office and he also had a role in Brothers & Sisters. He was in the first season of the hit show Devious Maids. He played the man who killed a young maid and the ex-husband of a socialite played by Susan Lucci.
The actor is not just an actor and a philanthropist. He is also an author of two suspense thrillers. The first is Eye Contact, a book that was published back in 1994. The second is Double Exposure, which was published four years later in 1998. The actor has made millions on the sales of his books, especially when they were first released.
Collins’ Personal Life
In 1970, Collins married a woman by the name of Marjorie Weinman. The couple divorced in 1978 after they cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for their divorce. He married actress Faye Grant in 1985. The couple has one daughter by the name of Kate, who was born in 1989. The couple divorced in 2012 after the actor decided to file for divorce from his wife of more than two decades.
The actor is a spiritual man who is a practicing Episcopalian. He also practices something by the name of Transcendental Meditation and its TM Yogic Flying technique. This is something he’s done since the early 1980s. Because of his deep love of meditation, he was driven to become a part of the Committee for Stress-Free Schools, for which he is also national co-director. The group encourages the practice of TM yogic flying in schools and raises money for research on the project.
Up until October 7, 2014, the actor has been someone that everyone seems to love. Despite his two failed marriages, the actor has been recognized and awarded on numerous occasions for his philanthropic work, his roles in movies and television and those who have worked with him in the 40 years he’s been acting have nothing but kind words to say about the Stephen Collins they knew, currently know and worked with. However, on October 7, a celebrity gossip site (TMZ) released a tape they’d acquired from the most recent ex-wife of the actor on which he admits to several acts of child molestation on young teenage girls that lasted many years. The tape was made during a marriage counseling session during 2012 when the couple was working on their marriage. An investigation into the allegations is ongoing.
The same day allegations were made that he was a child a molester, the actor resigned from his Screen Actors Guild national board position. Additionally, the television channel that syndicates old 7th Heaven reruns immediately put a stop to repeats of the show.
In what the actor’s lawyer refers to as a disgusting display of extortion, it is believed that Collins’ ex-wife handed over the tapes to TMZ to get more money from her ex. However, according to Grant, the tapes were handed over to the police in 2012 and she has never handled them again. There is no word as to whether or not this is true, but it appears that the instances in which Collins is accused of behaving inappropriately occurred decades ago. Additionally, it appears that if his ex-wife’s statements are true, it has not been two years that she has lived with this knowledge without going to authorities with it. The investigation is still ongoing, and no formal charges have been filed.
Photo by Michael Buckner/#getty Images
