Move over, Macaulay Culkin! Take a seat, Buzz McCallister! Find a new RV, Dana Plato!
Late last week, Oklahoma’s infamous link to troubled child actors added yet another zany chapter when Zachery Ty Bryan – the oldest kid from the Taylor family in Home Improvement – was arrested in Custer County, western Oklahoma, on DUI-related charges.
Here’s the mug shot:
Apparently, Zachery was passing through the state on his way to Tennessee from California and decided to stop at a random bar in Clinton for a late-night bender. After last call, he kept the party going by driving off in search of a back road to use as a napping spot. You know, typical alcoholic moron behavior.
The cops saw the car and checked on Zach, and even though they could have arrested him then, they initially let him be. However, when they later saw the booze hound cruising down the road, they took action.
Via E! News:
"Bryan—who starred on the 1990s sitcom for its entire run—was found by authorities sleeping in the back seat of a vehicle in the early hours of the morning on Oct. 25… Per the docs, Oklahoma authorities had a short conversation with Bryan before letting him go. Shortly after, the police saw Bryan driving the vehicle and promptly pulled him over. The 43-year-old told authorities that he was intoxicated after being pulled over, the documents said, and later failed sobriety tests."
Naturally, TMZ scored the dashcam video of Zachery’s interaction with a chipper OHP trooper. They had a cordial conversation about life and responsibility that – outside of the DUI-in-Oklahoma context – felt like a friendly chat Tim and Wilson would have by the fence:
As I noted in the lede, the big takeaways here are:
• Don't drink and drive
• Another 20th-century child star is having legal troubles in Oklahoma!
As we all remember, Macaulay Culkin was arrested on I-44 in Oklahoma City back in 2004 with a stash of drugs, while Devin Ratray – who played Culkin's mean big brother in Home Alone – was arrested in Bricktown in 2021 on domestic violence charges. And, of course, Dana Plato of Diff’rent Strokes died in an RV in Moore. Although she wasn’t technically arrested, the incident did involve the cops, so it counts.
So, who will be the next 20th-century child star to run afoul of Oklahoma law?
No offense to Culkin, Bryan, or Plato, but I’m hoping for someone a bit more famous and relevant – maybe a legit star like Neil Patrick Harris, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, or Drew Barrymore.
Knowing our luck, though, it’ll probably be Haley Joel Osment or the kid from Jerry Maguire, who – fun fact – is better known around these parts as KFOR weatherman Jon Slater:
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
