'7th Heaven' Actor Wants To Stop Payments To Wife

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Stephen Collins asked a judge to eliminate any future spousal support payments over leaked audio in which the former "7th Heaven" star purportedly acknowledged molesting underage girls.

Collins' attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan filed a trial brief Friday stating that his client has lost all future earning power due to the posting of the audio last month on celebrity website TMZ.

His estranged wife Faye Grant has denied she provided TMZ with the recording made during a 2012 therapy session. The Associated Press hasn't authenticated the audio.

A trial on how to divide the pair's assets is scheduled to begin Wednesday.

The recording cost the 67-year-old Collins a role in the upcoming film "Ted 2" and knocked scheduled re-runs of "7th Heaven" off two cable networks. Collins was due to be paid $75,000 for the "Ted 2" role, according to the filing.

"Spousal support should be zero, as a result of the unlawful recording that was disseminated to the media," Kaplan's brief states.

Collins has not commented on the audio.

Collins and Grant were married in 1985 and the actor filed for divorce in 2012.

The actor had agreed to pay Grant $13,000 a month in spousal support, although the trial will focus on how to divide assets accumulated during the marriage.

Grant's attorney Larry Ginsberg did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

Collins had worked steadily in television and movie roles since the early 1970s, with appearances in movies such as "All the President's Men," ''Star Trek: The Motion Picture," and recurring roles on TV series after "7th Heaven" concluded its 11-season run in 2007.

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