I think the culprit was that other sponge child actor, Absorbine Jr, who lost out to him in landing the TV show and whose now increasingly marginal career has ever since has been relegated to being out on the porifera of the industry, doing bathing scenes in porno movies and a recent cameo as a contraceptive device in a medical training film. Meanwhile he has been reduced to crashing at various friends' apartments and borrowing undisclosed sums of money from them and soaking up liquor like a.....well...er...never mind.