Daddy Dearest? Thora Birch's Dad Is the Latest Example of a Heavy-Handed Hollywood Father

Dec. 15, 2010 — -- We've heard the story about the pageant mom who forced her 3-year-old into high heels; the stage mother who hissed at her pint-sized protege from backstage; the nail-obsessed matron who all but clipped her ballerina's wings.

But what about the porn star dad who got his famous daughter fired from an off-Broadway production for allegedly harassing her co-star?

In what could be a case of fatherly love gone too far, Thora Birch had her stage dreams dashed after she was axed from an off-Broadway revival of "Dracula" a few weeks before its Jan. 5, 2011 opening. Why? According to Paul Alexander, "Dracula's" director, he removed her from the production after her father/manager, Jack Birch, threatened another actor.

Alexander told ABCNews.com that Jack Birch objected to another actor rubbing Thora Birch's back during a scene. When the actor (who Alexander declined to name) tried to explain that he had been directed to rub Thora Birch's back by Alexander, her father said, "Listen, man, I'm trying to make this easier on you – don't touch her."

Alexander interpreted that as a threat.

"Have you seen this guy? He looks a little bit like Freddy Krueger with sunglasses -- which he never takes off, by the way," Alexander said. "So you've got this dude who looks like a body builder standing there on stage saying 'I'm trying to make this easy on you' – how else do you interpret that?"

After meeting with "Dracula's" producers on Friday, Alexander decided to remove Thora Birch from the show and replace her with an understudy.

"I had to let her go for the safety of my cast and crew," he said. "It's unfortunate because Thora's performance would have been an extremely interesting and innovative performance to watch – that's why I hired her in the first place."