Trevor Eyster (born October 10, 1978), formerly known as Tim Eyster, is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Eugene "Sponge" Harris on the television program ''

Salute Your Shorts ''Salute Your Shorts'' is an American television sitcom created by Steve Slavkin and produced by Propaganda Films, which aired on Nickelodeon from July 4, 1991, to September 12, 1992. Focused around the life of young campers at the fictional C ...

'', which aired from 1991 to 1992 on

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

. The role garnered him a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

nomination for "Best Young Actor Co-Starring in a Cable Series".

Early life

Eyster was born Timothy Richard Eyster on October 10, 1978, in

Tarzana, California Tarzana () is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan. His ...

, and grew up in Chatsworth and

Dana Point Dana Point () is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 33,107 at the 2020 census. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast; with ready access via State Route 1, it is a popu ...

, California. He attended Dana Hills High School, and became an

emancipated minor Emancipation of minors is a legal mechanism by which a minor before attaining the age of majority is freed from control by their parents or guardians, and the parents or guardians are freed from responsibility for their child. Minors are norma ...

in 1996. In 2002, he legally changed his first name to Trevor.

Career

Eyster began his career at the age of 9, on an episode of the soap opera '' Santa Barbara'' in 1987. He thereafter appeared in a number of television episodes, two TV films, and two feature films through 1992. As a voice actor he also performed in

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's 25-minute animated featurette ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The plot conce ...

'' (1990). In 1991, he played

Ray Krebbs Ray Krebbs is a fictional character in the American television series ''Dallas'', played by Steve Kanaly from 1978 to 1989. Ray Krebbs is the illegitimate son of Texas oil baron Jock Ewing. He later appeared in the reunion movie '' Dallas: War of ...

' son Jock in the ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

'' series finale "

Conundrum Conundrum may refer to: * A riddle, whose answer is or involves a pun or unexpected twist, in particular ** Riddle joke, a riddle that constitutes a set-up to the humorous punch line of a joke * A logical postulation that evades resolution, an in ...

". His best-known role as a child actor was starring in the role of Eugene "Sponge" Harris on the two-season

television series ''

'' (1991–1992). In 1992 he was nominated for a

for "Best Young Actor Co-Starring in a Cable Series" for the role. Since 2010 Eyster has appeared in various reunion gatherings of the show's stars. After the ''Salute Your Shorts'' series was discontinued in 1992, except for a role in an episode of ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

'' in 1998, Eyster took a 21-year break from screen acting, resuming in 2013 as an adult actor after changing his first name from Tim to Trevor. As an adult he has appeared in a number of short films, done small roles in television series and TV films, and starred in his own self-produced docudrama series.

Activism

In 2011, Eyster founded the non-profit organization "...and then, Angels descended", an empathy-driven, micro-volunteering organization which seeks to bridge the empathy deficit. His organization was granted 501(c)(3) status by the IRS in 2012. The organization pairs volunteer "angels" with those who reach out for help through the organization's website. In 2016, he created the docudrama miniseries '' SpongeyLeaks'' after he discovered his disabled aunt was being abused by her state-paid In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) caregiver. The series documents the events that happened after Eyster discovered the abuse and neglect that was occurring, and also examines the issue of

elder abuse Elder abuse (also called elder mistreatment, senior abuse, abuse in later life, abuse of older adults, abuse of older women, and abuse of older men) is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where ...

and

dependent adult abuse Elder abuse (also called elder mistreatment, senior abuse, abuse in later life, abuse of older adults, abuse of older women, and abuse of older men) is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where ...

. The ''SpongeyLeaks''

webisode A webisode (portmanteau of "web" and "episode") is an episode of a series that is distributed as part of a web series or on streaming television. It is available either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cab ...

series premiered December 19, 2016. In January 2017, Eyster appeared on ''The Dee Armstrong Show'' to discuss elder abuse and disabled-adult abuse.

Major filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eyster, Trevor 1978 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors Male actors from California Living people Television male child actors American activists American nonprofit executives