AOL News is reporting that former American Gladiator star Debbie "Storm" Clark has been homeless for almost three years. Clark was one of the stars of the hit syndicated television series that matched amateur athletes against the show's own elite team of "gladiators" with names like "Zap," "Tower," "Laser" and "Storm." Clark was on the show for two years, earning $1,500 a week until she suffered a career-ending injury. The show went off the air in 1993 (it was relaunched in 2008) but continues to run in syndication, although Clark does not receive residuals.
After American Gladiator, Clark moved on to other opportunities, including, she says, a country-music career that didn't pan out, culinary school and various jobs as a personal trainer. She also spent thousands on in vitro fertilization to have her son, Crayton, who is 10 and lives on the streets with her.
Clark says she ended up homeless after fleeing a domestic violence situation and hasn't been able to get back on her feet. She says she has no family to help her because her parents died within months of each other. She says that it has been tough getting help from outside sources because they tell her she is too high-functioning, and shelter rules are not conducive to finding work, which she seeks every day.
Help may be on the way in the form of Embrace, an organization that works to get people from all walks of life, but especially college students, to help the less fortunate. Clark doesn't have a golden voice, but she seems to have the will to get her life back. We hope so, for the sake of her child.
Read more at AOL News and watch video of Debbie "Storm" Clark during the height of her fame below:
In other news: CBO: Social Security Drained by 2037.