Like millions of other teenagers in the 1980s, April Price was a huge fan of the swashbuckling 1982 ABC drama, Tales of a Gold Monkey.
When the then-13-year-old left Oklahoma to visit her aunt in Los Angeles in 1983, she was floored when she learned the show’s swoon-worthy star, actor Stephen Collins, lived next door.
“To find out that he lived next door to my aunt, yes, I was absolutely starstruck,” says Price in Investigation Discovery’s new six-part series, Hollywood Demons, which debuts Monday, March 24, at 9 p.m. ET/PT and will stream on Max. (An exclusive clip from the debut episode, titled “Stephen Collins, America’s Dad,” is shown below.)
“I remember wanting to get a headshot from him,” Price says. “When I knocked on the door and he opened the door, he was a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed god that was really nice and drove a sports car.”
She happily posed for a Polaroid picture with the actor and later received a headshot from his team that he signed, “Love, Stephen Collins.”
Initially finding the signed headshot “off-putting,” Price shrugged it off and was excited to return to Los Angeles to spend the summer with her aunt.
Her carefree trip took a dark turn when Collins allegedly exposed himself to her on two separate occasions, she says in the episode.
The first time allegedly came when she asked him to help her set up her Atari gaming system.
“He said, ‘Sure, he could do that. No problem,” says Price in the episode.
“And he’s in the living room in my aunt’s apartment hooking up that Atari, and he turned around and his jeans were completely open and he’s completely exposed.”
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE‘s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
The episode of Hollywood Demons goes in depth on allegations that Collins, now 77, had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with three underage girls. The episode includes interviews with Jeremy London and Kyle Searles, Collins’ co-stars on the hit WB series, 7th Heaven, where he portrayed wholesome pastor and father Eric Camden.
Reached by phone by PEOPLE, Collins said he didn’t have any comment.
The accusations surfaced in 2012 when a recording of Collins allegedly confessing his transgressions to a therapist was leaked to TMZ.
In 2014, he released a lengthy statement to PEOPLE admitting he had inappropriate sexual conduct with three female minors over twenty years, from 1973 to 1994.
But shortly after, Collins told Katie Couric in an exclusive interview that aired on ABC News’ 20/20 that he was “absolutely not attracted, physically or sexually attracted to children.”
The episode on Collins is the first in a series featuring six mini-documentaries that pull back “the glamorous curtain of fame to expose the hidden struggles, sacrifices and scandals of life in the spotlight,” according to an ID press release.
“Each gripping two-hour episode features accounts from Hollywood insiders, project collaborators, and survivors who endured harrowing abuse and struggles,” ID says.
Shining a spotlight on some of Hollywood’s biggest scandals, the series features an episode titled, “Child Stars Gone Violent,” premiering Monday, March 31, about the “path of crime, addiction and violence” that ensued for some young celebrities once their moment in the spotlight had faded.
Former child actors Brian Bonsall of Family Ties and Dee Jay Daniels of The Hughleys open up about “the harsh reality of life after fame,” according to ID.
The show’s producers reached out to more than 100 of Collins’ contacts, according to ID. “Nearly everyone declined to participate or did not respond,” viewers are told.
Hollywood Demons: Stephen Collins, America’s Dad airs Monday, March 24, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ID, and will stream on Max.
Read the full article here
