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In 1957, seven-year-old Stanley Fafara's mother took him to an open casting call for a new television series about a suburban family entitled "Leave It To Beaver." He had been working in commercials and television westerns since the age of four, and was somewhat of an old hand at auditions. He earned the part of "Whitey" Whitney, one of the lead character's best buddies. The show quickly became a hit, giving the young actor a dazzling taste of Hollywood fame and money which he would never forget.
Stanley enjoyed six years on the sitcom, and after the cancellation of "Leave It To Beaver" in 1963, Stanley attended North Hollywood High School. While there, he developed a liking for alcohol and soon learned how to use his fame to his best advantage. He became friendly with the pop-rock band Paul Revere and the Raiders, and reportedly moved in with the band for a time. He discovered hard drugs in the mid-1960s, an unfortunate obsession that would dog him for many years to come.
For a while, at his parents' insistence, he attempted living with his sister in Jamaica, where he tried his hand at painting. But he couldn't abstain from drug use. He returned to Los Angeles at age 22, where he was married briefly. Then, to support himself, he started dealing illegal drugs. Even worse, later he was convicted of breaking into pharmacies, and was sentenced to a year in jail.
After being incarcerated, Stanley tried his hand at being a roofer, waiter and janitor before descending back into drug use, particularly heroin. He was in and out of rehab centers for many years, eventually getting sober in 1995. He managed to turn his life around, and finally conquered his addictions, without any relapses. But, unfortunately, he had already contracted hepatitis C.
Eventually Stanley re-established a relationship with a daughter who he hadn't seen in twenty years, and became close to his nephew, Dez Fafara, of the rock band Coal Chamber. He also kept in contact with other child actors who were in recovery, and helped fellow addicts stay clean and sober. He started a business designing web sites, and was beginning to have some success. At the time of his death he had a flat in Portland's Mark Harfield Building, an apartment complex created for people in recovery from addiction.
Stanley Fafara was given two well-attended funerals.
