Gary Coleman, Dead at 42, Led a Life of ‘Diff’rent Strokes’

CHICAGO – Television fans from the early 1980s lost a bit of their era yesterday as Gary Coleman, Arnold Jackson from the NBC sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” died of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 42. Coleman is the second of the three siblings on the show to pass away, as Dana Plato, who played his sister Kimberley, took her own life in 1999.

Gary Coleman was born in the Chicago suburb of Zion, IL, and had a host of kidney problems that led to his diminutive size. He achieved his first notoriety near his hometown, when his commercial for the Chicago-based Harris Bank – featuring Coleman interacting with the bank’s stuffed lion – became a local sensation. This brought him to the attention of Hollywood, where he won the role of Arnold Jackson on Diff’rent Strokes in 1978.

In a time when TV stars became national treasures, Coleman took the show and the catch phrase, “What’choo Talkin’ ‘Bout Willis,” into the cultural consciousness. Diff’rent Strokes was a high concept situation – a rich white widower with a daughter adopting the two African-American sons of one of his deceased workers. The show peaked in the ratings at #19 in the 1980-81 season, and remained on the air until 1986.

Dana Plato, Todd Bridges, Conrad Bain and Gary Coleman in ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ Photo Credit: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Coleman’s post sitcom life was much more problematic than his childhood acting days. In 1989, he sued his parents and former business advisor for misappropriation of his estimated 3.8 million dollar trust fund. He filed for bankruptcy in 1999, and ended up working as a security guard in California. He was arrested for assault after confronting a women who asked for an autograph in 1998.

He continued to play bit parts, mostly parody cameos of his Arnold character. He did a memorable turn on a 1999 Christmas episode of “The Simpsons,” turning his catch phrase into a takeoff of Tiny Tim’s famous phrase, “What’choo Talkin’ About, Everyone.” The Broadway show “Avenue Q” features a character named Gary Coleman, who essentially is a washed-up version of the real life counterpart.

Todd Bridges, who played Arnold’s brother Willis called the passing, “unfortunate…a sad day,” and summed up the legacy of the Diff’rent Strokes family by concluding “It’s sad I’m the last kid alive from the show.” For once, there was no one to contradict Willis.

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By PATRICK McDONALD Senior Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]