Whatever Happened to Meeno Peluce, Star of TV’s ‘Voyagers!’?
What To Know
- Meeno Peluce is best remembered for his role as a young time traveler on the early 1980s TV show Voyagers!, which was canceled after one season despite its popularity due to tough competition from 60 Minutes.
- After a successful child acting career, including appearances on The Bad News Bears, The Love Boat, and The Incredible Hulk, Meeno transitioned to teaching history and later became a professional photographer.
- Meeno occasionally returns to acting and directing, often collaborating with his half-sister Soleil Moon Frye, and continues to focus on photography and creative projects.
If you grew up during the early eighties, then you might remember a TV show called Voyagers!. I will award bonus points if you remember the name of that show’s young costar: Meeno Peluce.
Without a doubt, Meeno is remembered best for Voyagers!, where he and Jon-Erik Hexum played a couple of time travelers who did their very best to help history along when it got a bit off track. The show was just plain fun because of the great stories and good chemistry between the two actors.
In a 2011 interview with author Jeff Pearlman, Meeno said working with Jon-Erik was “the best working relationship I ever knew. The most seamless and fun interaction. Jon-Erik and I had this way of playing off each other.”
Universal Television/Courtesy: Everett Collection
Way back then, I thought Voyagers! was going to be really big. Unfortunately, the network brainiacs at NBC decided to schedule this show against ratings juggernaut 60 Minutes, and the show was canceled after just one season.
Before Voyagers!, Meeno had found steady work on the TV version of The Bad News Bears. Also notably, he made guest appearances on programs like The Love Boat, Fantasy Island and The Incredible Hulk.
On The Incredible Hulk, Meeno got the chance to work with two amazing actors: Bill Bixby and Mariette Hartley. The episode was called “Married,” and it’s really good — so darn good, in fact, that it played theatrically in some parts of the world, and Mariette Hartley won an Emmy for her work as David Banner’s tragic love.
Alright, enough Hulk talk. Another thing that you may or may not know about Meeno is that his half-sister is quite famous as well. Her name is Soleil Moon Frye, better known as Punky Brewster.
Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images
Where is Meeno Peluce today?
After high school, Meeno attended UC Santa Cruz and worked as a history teacher at Hollywood High School during the nineties. It was a complete 180 from the fast-paced world of show business and a sign of things to come, because Meeno had other plans as well.
You see, truth be told, despite all of his acting in front of a camera, Meeno really enjoyed being behind the lens. So, for the past couple of decades, he has been sharing his vision of the world as a professional photographer. Without a doubt, it is a far cry from the days of appearing in magazines aimed at young teenage girls. If you’d like to learn more about Meeno’s life behind the camera, check out this 2020 interview over on BoingBoing.
Along with establishing a career as an in-demand photographer, Meeno has from time to time returned to work as both an actor and a director. In 1998, he co-wrote and co-directed a movie with his sister Soleil titled Wild Horses, which is about a group of teenagers who think they only have 24 hours to live.
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Then, in 2001, Meeno showed up ever so briefly on screen in a movie called Alex in Wonder. I haven’t seen this film, which also goes by the more sensational name of Sex and a Girl, but I can’t help but notice that Soleil is also in this movie as well. So, it may be entirely possible that Meeno only moves from behind the lens these days when he has a chance to work with his sister. Truthfully, who can blame the guy? Being close to family and friends is what life is all about, right?
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