`Diff'rent Strokes' star Gary Coleman dies

[okarol]

`Diff'rent Strokes' star Gary Coleman dies

By JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writer Jennifer Dobner, Associated Press Writer 31 mins ago

PROVO, Utah – Gary Coleman, the adorable, pint-sized child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" who spent the rest of his life struggling on Hollywood's D-list, died Friday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 42.

Life support was terminated and Coleman died at 12:05 p.m. MDT with family and friends at his side, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank said.

Coleman, with his sparkling eyes and perfect comic timing, became a star after "Diff'rent Strokes" debuted in 1978. He played Arnold Jackson, the younger one of a pair of African-American brothers adopted by a wealthy white man.

"It's unfortunate. It's a sad day," said Todd Bridges, who played the older brother Willis. "It's sad that I'm the last kid alive from the show."

The series lives on thanks to DVDs and YouTube. But its equally enduring legacy became the troubles in adulthood of its former child stars.

Dana Plato, who played the boys' white, teenage sister, committed suicide in 1999. Bridges was tried and acquitted of attempted murder.

Coleman's popularity faded when the show ended after six seasons on NBC and two on ABC.

He remained estranged from his parents Sue and Willie Coleman, who said they learned about his hospitalization and death from media reports.

Sue Coleman said she wanted to reconcile and had been patiently waiting for her son to be ready.

"One of the things that I had prayed for was that nothing like this would happen before we could sit with Gary and (wife) Shannon and say, 'we're here and we love you,'" Sue Coleman said. "We just didn't want to push him."

She would not discuss the cause of the estrangement.
Click image to see photos of Gary Coleman



AP

In 1989, when Gary Coleman was 21, she filed a court request trying to gain control of her son's $6 million fortune, saying he was incapable of handling his affairs. He said the move "obviously stems from her frustration at not being able to control my life."

Coleman chafed at his permanent association with "Diff'rent Strokes" but also tried to capitalize on it through minor reality shows and other TV appearances. His adult life also was marked with legal, financial and health troubles, suicide attempts and even a 2003 run for California governor.

Coleman suffered continuing ill health from the kidney disease that stunted his growth. He suffered the brain hemorrhage Wednesday at his Santaquin home, 55 miles south of Salt Lake City.

A statement from his family said he was conscious and lucid until midday Thursday, when his condition worsened and he slipped into unconsciousness. Coleman was then placed on life support.

"Diff'rent Strokes" debuted on NBC in 1978 and drew most of its laughs from the tiny, 10-year-old Coleman.

Race and class relations became topics on the show as much as the typical trials of growing up.

Coleman was an immediate star, and his skeptical "Whatchu talkin' 'bout?" — usually aimed at Willis — became a catchphrase.
See 'Whatchu talkin' 'bout' catchphrase


In a 1979 Los Angeles Times profile, Sue Coleman said her son had always been a ham as a small child. He acted in some commercials before he was signed by T.A.T., the production company that created "Diff'rent Strokes."

The attention his starring role brought him could be a burden as well as a pleasure.

Coleman said in 2001 that he would do a TV series again, but "only under the absolute condition that it be an ensemble cast and that everybody gets a chance to shine."

"I certainly am not going to be the only person on the show working," he said. "I've done that. I didn't like it."

Coleman's kidney disease required dialysis and at least two transplants. As an adult, his height reached only 4 feet 8 inches.

He continued to get credits for TV guest shots and other small roles over the years. But in 2001 he said he preferred earning money from celebrity endorsements.

"Now that I'm 33, I can call the shots," he said. "And if anybody has a problem with that, I guess they don't have to work with me."

Coleman was among 135 candidates who ran in California's bizarre 2003 recall election to replace then-Gov. Gray Davis, whom voters ousted in favor of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Coleman finished in eighth place with 12,488 votes, or 0.2 percent, just behind Hustler magazine publisher Larry Flynt.

Running for office gave him a chance to show another side of himself, he said at the time.

"This is really interesting and cool, and I've been enjoying the heck out of it because I get to be intelligent, which is something I don't get to do very often," he said.

Legal disputes dogged him repeatedly. And in a 1993 television interview, he said he had twice tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills.

He moved to Utah in fall 2005, and according to a tally in early 2010, officers were called to assist or intervene with Coleman more than 20 times in the following years. The responses included a call where Coleman said he had taken dozens of Oxycontin pills and wanted to die.

Some of the disputes involved his wife, Shannon Price, whom he met on the set of the 2006 comedy "Church Ball" and married in 2007.

In September 2008, a dustup with a fan at a Utah bowling alley led Coleman to plead no contest to disorderly conduct. The fan also sued him, claiming the actor punched him and ran into him with his truck.

Coleman was born Feb. 8, 1968, in Zion, Ill., near Chicago. His mother told Ebony his kidney disease was diagnosed when he was 2. He underwent his first transplant at age 5.

He attracted attention when he took part in some local fashion shows and people suggested he should get work performing in commercials, which he then did, she said.

She stayed with her son in California while he was making "Diff'rent Strokes," while her husband Willis, a pharmaceutical company worker, stayed behind in Illinois.

[Darthvadar]

This poor man was such a troubled soul of late... As if KD's not hard enough to live with.....

I hope he's found peace.....

Darth...

[Stacy Without An E]

I remember reading about Gary Coleman when I was ready to have my first kidney transplant in 1983.  I assumed he still had a workable transplant, and that could possibly explain the anger issues.  Immunosuppressives can really screw with your head.

I watched the "Divorce Court" episode where his wife stated that sometimes he gets so angry, he bangs his head into a wall repeatedly.  That action, along with the recent fall, could have exasperated the problems in his brain with the hemorrhage.

This is really sad.  I grew up with Coleman on my TV, and remember the show fondly.

Maybe he's finally at peace.

[Rerun]

I wish with his position in life that he could have done more for CKD.  He struggled in life.  I hope he is at peace too.

[lola]

He finally know's what Willis was talkin about.... R.I.P.

[okarol]

Gary Coleman Timeline
by Kim Potts, posted May 28th 2010 6:57PM

From adorable kid TV actor and sometimes tragic former child star to a money-related estrangement from his parents and a tumultuous marriage, one thing was consistent in Gary Coleman's life: He lived it all out in front of a public that never, sometimes to his chagrin, could forget the sweet-cheeked little boy who'd won their hearts in 'Diff'rent Strokes.' Here, a timeline of the major events in the actor's life:

Feb. 8, 1968 -- Gary Wayne Coleman is born in Zion, Illinois. Like his most memorable TV character, Coleman was adopted, by Edmonia Sue, a nurse practitioner, and W.G. Coleman, a pharmaceutical company employee. He never met his birth parents.

1973 -- Born with a congenital kidney disease that found his right kidney atrophied and his left kidney close to failing, Coleman undergoes his first kidney transplant.

1974 -- Because Coleman's fragile health limits his physical activity, and because people responded so much to his cherubic face and outgoing personality, his parents decide to let him pursue work as a model and actor. His early jobs include roles on 'Good Times' and 'The Jeffersons,' where he plays George and Louise's ornery nephew, and commercials for McDonald's, Hallmark and Betty Crocker.

1978 -- TV uber-producer Norman Lear sees Coleman in a TV commercial for a Chicago bank and decides to cast him as Stymie in a 'Little Rascals' remake. That show never gets off the ground, so Lear develops 'Diff'rent Strokes' for Coleman.

Nov. 3, 1978 -- 'Diff'rent Strokes' premieres on NBC and Coleman, as precocious, fast-talkin' Arnold Jackson, who, with his brother Willis (Todd Bridges), is adopted by the wealthy white man who had employed his mom, becomes a child star icon. His "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" catchphrase becomes a classic that is oft-repeated by TV fans and frequently pops up on T-shirts.

Nov. 9, 1978 -- In his first appearance on 'The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson,' Coleman charms the host so much that Carson quips, "What night are you available (to) guest host?"

1978-1986 -- During his years as Arnold Jackson (which he also played in guest appearances on 'The Facts of Life' and 'Silver Spoons'), Coleman's salary grows, to a height of around $70,000 an episode. He will later claim in a lawsuit that his parents, who were acting as his professional representation, were taking more than three-quarters of his earnings for themselves.

1980-1983 -- For four consecutive years, Coleman wins the People's Choice Award for Favorite Young TV Performer.

April 1982 -- Coleman moonlights as an angel in the made-for-TV movie 'The Kid With the Broken Halo,' which leads to the animated TV series 'The Gary Coleman Show,' in which he voices the character of kiddie angel Andy Le Beau.

1984 -- Coleman undergoes another kidney transplant, and will require dialysis for the rest of his life. The surgeries, and the drugs required to treat his health issues, ensure that he never grows beyond 4'8".

1986 -- After adding new characters, including another kiddie star (Danny Cooksey) to try and recapture some of Coleman's earlier charm as Arnold, and failing to spike a ratings boost, 'Diff'rent Strokes' is canceled, finishing its eight-season run on ABC. Coleman later says he was happy to end the series. "I got tired of doing the show. I didn't wanna do it anymore. But there was nothing I could do about that, because the contract was already signed. So I was a little bitter about that, because I didn't wanna be there. The character wasn't growing, he wasn't interesting to me anymore. When (the show) got canceled, I was enormously thrilled and was very much looking forward to starting the rest of my life."

1989 -- Coleman sues his parents, claiming they had stolen more than $1 million from him. His mother countersues in an effort to wrest control of the then-21-year-old's $6 million bank account, saying he wasn't equipped to handle his fortune.

Feb. 23, 1993 -- A Santa Monica judge awards Coleman $1.28 million in ruling that his parents and a former manager had stolen money from him for five years while he was a minor. The fallout from the financial situation will estrange Coleman from his parents for the rest of his life, and his dad will even claim that Gary was so angry at him that he tried to run him over with a car.

1993 -- In a TV interview with Geraldo Rivera, Coleman says he had attempted suicide twice, sparked by his continuing, and worsening, health woes, as well as the split with his parents.

1998 -- With acting work, especially anything beyond the occasional guest TV role, drying up, Coleman begins working as a security guard. He'll also eventually operate a video game arcade and work as a celebrity spokesman.

July 1998 -- While shopping in a uniform store in a Hawthorne, California mall, Coleman gets into a scuffle with bus driver Tracy Fields, who sues him for punching her in the head after she asked him for an autograph. He's later ordered to pay under $2,000 to Fields for her hospital bills, and receives probation, anger management and a suspended jail sentence.

1999 -- Fellow former 'Diff'rent Strokes' child star Dana Plato commits suicide, furthering talk of the curse that supposedly befell the young cast members of the sitcom. Though tragic, her death, Coleman said, was also freeing. "It's very unfortunate that Dana is no longer with us ... she was a wonderful woman, but her death was a welcome, though sad piece of closure to 'Diff'rent Strokes.' The possibility of a reunion no longer exists now, and thank God."

Aug. 18, 1999 -- Coleman files for bankruptcy in Los Angeles. Though he still blamed his parents for much of the loss of his fortune (which, at one point, had been estimated at $18 million), he admitted to a People magazine interviewer that he also had spent like a star. "I have lifestyle requirements," he said. "Photos, meetings, lunches, dinners, facial care, tooth care. It requires an exorbitant amount of money." At the time of the bankruptcy, he said he had lost several luxury homes, and had to cancel his cable TV.

2003 -- The Broadway musical 'Avenue Q' includes a character called Gary Coleman, played by a female, who sings a song called 'It Sucks to Be Me.' Coleman would later say he wanted to sue the show's producers, but never did.

Aug. 2003 -- Coleman -- along with celebrities like Arianna Huffington, porn star Mary Carey, Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and comedian Gallagher, as well as eventual winner Arnold Schwarzenegger -- declares himself a candidate for governor of California. Coleman earned more than 12,000 votes, enough for eighth place. "My slogan is, I'm the least qualified guy for the job, but I'd probably do the best job," the actor said. He also told The New York Times, "I want to escape that legacy of Arnold Jackson. I'm someone more. It would be nice if the world thought of me as something more."

2005 -- He moves to Utah, and becomes notorious among local law enforcement officers, who say that, in the next five years, they'll be called to his home more than a dozen times, including domestic dispute calls and an incident in which he told them he had swallowed dozens of Oxycontin pills in an effort to end his life.

June 2005 -- In a five-night miniseries titled '100 Greatest Kid Stars,' VH1 names Coleman the all-time greatest young star, topping the Olsen twins, Macaulay Culkin, all the 'Cosby Show' kids and the whole 'Brady Bunch.'

2007 -- He marries Shannon Price, who he met on the set of the movie 'Church Ball.' In the summer of 2007, he's charged with disorderly conduct in Provo after a cop witnessed him having a fight with Price.

2008 -- Coleman is sued by a fan who claims Coleman tried to run him over in his truck after the fan snapped a cell phone photo with Coleman and then, according to Coleman, refused to pay for it. In Jan. 2010, he settles for an undisclosed amount of money.

May 1-2, 2008 -- Coleman and Price appear on 'Divorce Court,' where Judge Lynn Toler lets them air their grievances with each other, in an effort to save their marriage. She says he's angry, violent and has no friends. He ... admits it's true. "I don't have any friends and don't have any intention of making any," Coleman tells Toler. "People will stab you in the back, mistreat you, talk about (you) behind your back, steal from you. And they're not really your friends. (They're) only there because you're a celebrity or because they want to get something from you."

July 2009 -- Coleman and Price have a fight, which leads to her arrest for domestic violence, and both of them being cited for disorderly conduct.

Fall 2009 -- Coleman undergoes heart surgery, which is complicated by the fact that he also has pneumonia.

Jan. 2010 -- Coleman is reportedly hospitalized after experiencing a seizure

Jan. 24, 2010 -- Coleman spends a night in jail for failing to appear in court, and is released only after a fan pays his bail.

Feb. 8, 2010 -- On his 42nd birthday, Coleman pleads guilty in a Utah court to a domestic violence charge involving his wife. He avoids jail time with a fine and an order to complete a domestic violence course .

Feb. 26, 2010 -- Coleman suffers a seizure while taping an episode of 'The Insider' in Los Angeles and has to be rushed to the hospital.

May 26, 2010 -- After a fall at his Santaquin, Utah home, Coleman is rushed via ambulance to the Mountain View Hospital in Payson, then moved to a hospital in Provo, where he was diagnosed with a brain hemorrhage.

May 27, 2010 -- Coleman begins the day awake and lucid, but deteriorates by the afternoon, when he is put on life support.

May 28, 2010 -- Coleman is taken off life support and passes away at 12:05PM MDT at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. His 'Diff'rent Strokes' dad, actor Conrad Bain, told TMZ.com that he had been "hoping and praying for his recovery," though they hadn't talked in several years; 'Diff'rent Strokes' brother Todd Bridges, whose 2010 autobiography 'Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted' details his own "former child star" difficulties (a cocaine addiction and attempted murder charge among them), says, "It's unfortunate. It's a sad day. It's sad that I'm the last kid alive from the show"; and co-star Charlotte Rae, who played 'Diff'rent Strokes' housekeeper Mrs. Garrett, told TMZ.com, "I said a prayer for him this morning after hearing about his condition. Gary was so loving, so charming. He was the big star of the show. He was the reason the show was a hit." As for Coleman's parents, with whom he never reconciled, his mother told the Chicago Tribune, "One of the things that I had prayed for was that nothing like this would happen before we could sit with Gary and Shannon and say, 'We're here, and we love you.' We just didn't want to push him."

http://www.321.roars.tvsquad.com/2010/05/28/gary-coleman-timeline/

[harv]

i had the pleasure of meeting Gary on several occasions first in the 1980s  several times at a toy train collectors events as he was an avid Lionel train collector and in later years at DaVita UCLA
Dialysis where he was a patient and we would briefly chat.   I found him congenial and with a wonderful sense of humor.   I am sorry to hear that and my friend who I am caregiver to  was upset the learn of someone in his condition had died so early in life.