TruTV's World's Dumbest Commentator Danny Bonaduce

This is the second in a series of articles about truTV's World's Dumbest commentators. The first installment was about Leif Garrett . Danny Bonaduce is the next on the list. He has had troubles since he was a kid. In fact, he's seen so much trouble that he got his own reality show for a while. Danny is a mess sometimes, but there are still redeeming qualities about him that make people root for him.

An overview of Danny will show that he, at times, can be violent. He has a tendency to use force rather than reason when he feels threatened. He beat up a transvestite who he thought was a woman. Without going into the entire story, he also threw someone over his shoulders , busting out some of the guy's teeth. Danny is addicted to drugs and alcohol as well. He has struggled with the problems for a long time. That struggle has cost him jobs and possibly his second wife, Gretchen. It didn't help that he cheated on her. The reality show, 'Breaking Bonaduce', ran while he and Gretchen tried to repair their failing marriage. With all that, there are still some redeeming qualities about the man.

A closer look at Danny Bonaduce

Bonaduce is trouble. That is common knowledge. He started out on the hit television sitcom, 'The Partridge Family ' in the seventies. It appears the seventies weren't the greatest for too many people who were "in the business". Danny was fortunate enough to find a family within his television family. Cast members are reported to have invited Danny to spend the time at their homes. They knew that Danny was going through an abusive situation at home with his father. At one point, Danny moved into the home of Dave Madden who played Reuben Kincaid on the show.

Danny seemed to drop off the face of the earth after the show ended. He re-emerged with the not surprising bad attitude that he has become famous for today. Even with all the trouble he has been in and considering he is a so called 'B List' actor, people still love Danny.

Here is what I found while researching Danny:

Work: It cannot be denied that Danny has lost jobs along the way. The most noted was when he lost his job as a disc jockey. He made a comeback though. He has worked steadily. In fact, in one interview, he is heard talking about how work is the one thing that feels normal to him. He has had problems finding work at times, but has turned that around. He is quite successful in just about everything he attempts as of late(regarding work).

Danny not only works for World's Dumbest , he is also a boxer and from some reports is also working in radio again. He's a workaholic from all indications. The idea that all drug addicts and alcoholics do not work is proven wrong by both Bonaduce and Garrett. They may have had troubles with jobs along the way, but they always made great effort to keep work going and to earn their own way in the world.

Family: Okay, so Danny and his father didn't get along. In fact, his father was an extremely abusive man. That may be where Danny gets his volatile behavior from. His father is just one person in his family though. His mother loved him very much and did what she could. Danny's first marriage didn't make it. His second marriage was based on the fact that Danny went out with Gretchen. When she refused to be bedded prior to marriage, he married her without hesitation. Amazingly enough, that marriage lasted for about 18 years. Both he and Gretchen were committed to making the marriage work.

Normal people don't do what Bonaduce did. Marrying someone after 8 hours (or something ridiculous like that) of knowing them is not normal behavior. Staying married for any length of time under these circumstances is incredible. In fact, Bonaduce is heard in several spots saying that Gretchen stood by him through his antics and he didn't know how he would have survived had it not been for her. In some spots, he can even be heard with what sounds like regret over his behavior, which caused the split. They have both moved on now. Danny is remarried and Gretchen is seeking her own way in the world apart from Danny. In any case, he and Gretchen had two children together. There is not much information on Danny's children. They have been kept rather sheltered from the limelight from all indications.

The bottom line is that although Danny is a troubled person and he hasn't appeared to be good at relationships, he does want them to work. He just hasn't figured out the formula yet. Maybe his newest wife will be able to deal with the issues better. It pays to mention that Danny really didn't seem to want the divorce from Gretchen. She filed the papers because she simply couldn't fight it any longer. He seems to have at least learned some lessons from Gretchen though. Maybe those lessons will help Amy Railsback along the way. Even with his troubles, Danny does care. He just doesn't, apparently, do well at figuring out the fact that there are certain things that you should and shouldn't do in a marriage. He most often puts on the "I don't care what you think" appearance. Rest assured, deep within Bonaduce, there is something that desperately cares about what happens in his life. He just can't let go of the bad boy.

He's a survivor: Danny has been through some pretty tough situations. Most of those situations could have been avoided had he kept his temper in check, but that's not the point. Danny didn't just suddenly become troubled. He was troubled long before he ever started working on the set of 'The Partridge Family". He survived all those situations and just comes back for more. He doesn't appear to mind poking fun at himself on World's Dumbest. He does what he has to in order to survive and make life work as best as he knows how. That is a redeeming quality. Many people would have given up by now. That is not how Danny works. He can be in the pits of hell and still come back up with a vengeance. In an odd sort of way, Danny is an inspiration to people who have been fighting demons of their own.

Charity: What is a celebrity of any type if they can't bother to give back a little of what they have been blessed with. Danny does a great deal of charity work. The charities vary and the money he brings in helps hundreds, if not thousands of people along the way. The great advantage of being a celebrity is that you can help others in the process. Danny does his part to give back.

Patriotism: Some people have a bug up their butt about the United States. Danny Bonaduce is not one of those people. He fiercely and aggressively defends the United States against those who speak against it. He does not buy into the conspiracy theories floating around about the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. What does this show about Bonaduce? It shows that he is loyal. He is loyal to his country, but also shows loyalty to those he cares about. He doesn't always go about his personal business in the right way, but as I said before, he does make an effort, in a Danny Bonaduce sort of way, to be as loyal as he can to those around him. Go Danny!

For all the problems that Bonaduce has seen over the years, he's still popular in a lot of circles. I said it before and I will say it again, I like Bonaduce for some reason. He seems like he could be a major pain in the butt sometimes, but there are sides to him that people tend to ignore. It's just easier to look at the bad stuff. It just goes to show you that there is good in just about everyone. Danny was even homeless at one point, but he kept on plugging away.