"Ivy Kind of Guy"

Hey, check out that skinny single bed with the plaid spread. The contrasting plaid laundry bag looped over the doorknob. And that pint-size armoire -- how's a guy supposed to stack his shirts? No matter: Harvard freshman Scott Weinger, 19, who played wholesome teen Steve Hale on ABC's Full House for two seasons and was the speaking voice of Aladdin in the 1992 Disney hit movie, is thrilled to call his tiny dorm room home. "The other day," says Weinger, "I overheard a couple of people say, `Wow, do you believe that Aladdin kid? I hear they gave him a huge room, a kitchen, a stove and a VCR.' I have none of those things."

In fact, the Aladdin kid has only one thing most of his Crimson classmates lack: an ongoing showbiz career. Instead of lolling around during his Christmas break, he was back to work in New York City, taping eight episodes of the syndicated Aladdin cartoon series. And when the English lit enthusiast isn't churning out term papers such as "Manifestations of the Petrarchan Lover," he's writing his own copy as Good Morning America's Generation-X reporter, a part-time gig in which he has interviewed, among others, his girlfriend Kellie Martin, 19 -- star of CBS's Christy -- who plans to attend Yale next fall.

Juggling his extracurricular excursions with a full course load, he has earned plenty of A's and is pleased, he says, with "how easy it's been for me to assimilate and be, like, a normal kid." Still, Weinger walks warily across Harvard Yard. "He's always on the lookout [for celebrity stalkers]," says Harvard sophomore Matt Pearl, 19, his best pal since childhood. "A nervous character, but in a good sort of way."

Weinger says he was always "insanely interested in academics and acting," while growing up in Fort Lauderdale and later in Beverly Hills, where he moved at 17 with younger siblings Todd, now 16, and Lauren, 11 (both aspiring actors), and their mom, Barbara. (She and Weinger's father, an orthopedist, divorced in 1992.) He credits Barbara, who manages his siblings' careers, and his dad, Elliott, with instilling the self-discipline he needed to get good grades while acting. He scored a 1320 on his S.A.T.s, impressive enough, with his grades and resume, for Yale to also offer him a slot.

At some point he may tread the boards in campus productions. But there's another audience Weinger has yet to meet: his professors. Despite their open-office hours for all students, Weinger is hesitant to visit them. "I want to wait," he says, "until I can think of something really good to ask them."

Copyright 1995 Time, Inc.
People Magazine, February 13, 1995

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