From wikipedia;
In the late 1980s, an urban legend circulated that Criss was a homeless alcoholic, culminating in a 1989 Star Magazine article that appeared to lend credence to the notion. Jeffrey Scott Holland paid tribute to Peter's alleged plight by painting his portrait in an alley with a bottle in his hand, and Roseanne Barr and Tom Arnold began a campaign to try to rescue Criss. Barr and Arnold had discovered a homeless man living under a bridge who had claimed to be Criss, but it was later revealed to be a hoax. The hoaxer, Christopher Dickinson, appeared with the real Criss on The Phil Donahue Show in 1991. On the same show, there was a woman who claimed to also have had an affair with Criss back in 1982, which was vehemently denied by Criss (and his ex wife who called in to the show). For years afterward, the belief still persisted that Peter was broke and sleeping on the streets. Criss later sued the Star[1] and they settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.




