In Memory of Child Star Trent Lehman (TV's 'Nanny and the Professor'): 4 Decades After His Suicide

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It's been over four decades since former child star Trent Lehman killed himself in 1982 at just 20 years old. Best known as Butch on the beloved supernatural sitcom, Nanny and the Professor (ABC, 1970), Lehman's body was found hanging from an elementary school fence. This is his tragic story.

A Closer Look

Trent Lehman was born on February 23, 1961, in Los Angeles. He began his acting career on TV's legendary Gunsmoke Western, in the 1969 TV-movie Fear No Evil, and the feature film, The Love God. He also appeared in The Christine Jorgensen Story, which debuted in 1970.

That same year Lehman was cast as one of Richard Long's children, Butch, on Nanny and the Professor, which featured Juliet Mills as a magical housekeeper.

After the series finished its brief but beloved run of only 54 episodes, Lehman made a guest appearance in TV's Emergency! series and provided his Butch voice for an animated Nanny and the Professor movie.

Things Changed

Trent Lehman eventually lost interest in acting, and his mother moved the family to Colorado, where he worked odd jobs for a while.

A few years later, Lehman returned to California at the request of his girlfriend. Shortly after that, the couple parted ways, leaving Lehman despondent.

Some months after that, Lehman's apartment was ransacked and burglarized, and his depression increased. To help cope with the increasing trauma in his life, Lehman was invited to stay that night with his friend, Joseph Allen.

Allen was a former school classmate of Lehman's who lived in Arleta, near North Hollywood. Their childhood school, Vena Avenue Elementary School, was across the street from Allen's house.

Later that night, Allen had returned home from going out earlier. He parked his vehicle opposite the school, and within seconds, he was horrified by what he saw: Trent's body was hanging from the chain link fence.

Unemployed, emotionally destitute, and heartbroken over the souring of his romantic breakup, Lehman climbed the fence, tied a belt to the top, and pushed himself off. In one pocket was a suicide note, part of which promised his belongings to his parents in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

An All-Too Familiar Story

Unfortunately, Trent Lehman's tragic life and death is an all-too-familiar story in the history of former child stars. Many young actors through the decades have lived troubled lives or died in some tragic way, if by suicide or other means.

In the end, the glamour and spotlight of Hollywood arrives with enormous pressures for performers of every age. Sadly, many such individuals are former child stars. Not all, but several find themselves facing extreme challenges minus the key emotional and psychological skills and strengths required to help deal with their larger-than-life circumstances and career struggles.