Earl (Jason Lee) runs away from Jake ( Cameron Clapp), the "no-legged" boyfriend of the "one-legged" Didi, from whom Earl stole a car.
Cameron debuts on NBC's "My Name Is Earl", a new show bringing a new audience to NBC.
Pictured here, an angry Jake, as played by Cameron, is chasing a bewildered Earl (Lee), who had arrived at the woman's house hoping to make amends for stealing her car.
Clapp and Tracy Ashton, who plays Didi, have no problem with the lost-limb humor. Clapp, who lost an arm and two legs after being hit by a train four years ago, says he's happy to be able to demonstrate his mobility skills to a national audience. "That'll open people's boundaries a little bit," he says.
The humor goes well with Earl, a recovering ne'er-do-well who means well even though he sometimes thinks or says the wrong thing. "We're making light of all the serious, politically correct stuff that society has created.
Read entire article at USA Today:
Behind the scenes, 'Earl' is as quirky as its plotlinesBill Keveney, USA Today, Oct. 18
Check out this week's People Magazine with Demi and Ashton on the cover!
Emily Slater, Managing Editor of The Times-Press-Recorder, shares this story in her article, "
Pismo youth spotlighted in People magazine". Some of that article is included below.
After a long journey of loss and recovery, the triple amputee is in the middle of a media frenzy. He is happy, though, for the chance to spread his message that good can come out of the horrific.
"I'm not in this for fame," Clapp explained. "I'm in it to give people hope."
His appearance in the national magazine -- now on newsracks -- is the latest in a string of appearances in high-profile television shows, newspapers and athletic events. He was given a bit part in HBO's "Carnivale" and was also featured in a New York Times article about prosthetics and technology. That article, in fact, caught the eye of People staffers, who flew to his Pismo Beach home to interview and photograph Clapp.
Producers of the new NBC hit "My Name is Earl" spotted Clapp in the magazine this week and asked him to audition for a guest role as an amputee. He will visit the Hollywood set in mid-October.
"There's a lot to be happy about right now," Clapp said from his Pismo Beach home.
Once, doctors predicted he would only walk a few steps in his lifetime. Not only has he walked, but he also has sprinted, swum, golfed and body boarded, proving an inspiration to a growing number of fans.
During a recent trip to Kennedy Club Fitness to train for an upcoming triathlon, Clapp said the employees and members congratulated him on his recent magazine appearance.
He added he receives an overwhelming amount of e-mail and has to make a priority list to accomplish what he must in a day.
Upon finding a measure of fame, Clapp initially struggled with the realization that "everyone wanted a piece of Cameron." Now, though, he is grateful for a moment in the spotlight.
"I'm thinking now that these are great possibilities to get my name and message out," he said, adding, "I've lived a lifetime since my accident."
Since graduating from Lopez High School last year, Clapp has traveled across America, competing against other athletes with physical disabilities and showing people that the impossible is possible.
"I want to show people you can do anything, even without an arm," Clapp said last year.
Besides athletics, Cameron serves as a patient advocate for Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, educating physical therapists and prosthetists.
His favorite engagement thus far has been speaking to disabled veterans, as he once dreamed about serving as a soldier.
Clapp returned Saturday from a trip to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he encouraged soldiers who have sustained severe injuries, mostly in Iraq. He showed amputees how he can race, navigate stairways and swim with flippers in the hopes he would motivate them in their recovery processes.
"I reached out to these guys and showed them my appreciation (for serving). They got to hear my experiences and I got to hear their stories," Clapp said.
Later, he toured Washington, D.C., visiting monuments and memorials. While on his tour, he tracked down the latest People magazine in the hopes his story would be there. And it was.
"That was the best day of my life," he said. "I was so proud to be an American."
This last year has proven monumental for the Lopez High School graduate, but Clapp wouldn't change his life or circumstances.
"If worse comes to worst, you can overcome challenges. It was hard to grasp the change in my life, but it was a good change."
