Gary Coleman has died
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Gary Coleman, 42, the diminutive, wisecracking child star of the sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes," whose adult life collapsed into a tabloid calamity, died Friday at a hospital in Provo, Utah. He suffered a brain hemorrhage after falling at his home in Santaquin, Utah.
Mr. Coleman was 10 when he stepped into the national spotlight in 1978, playing the witty, lovable Arnold Jackson on NBC's "Diff'rent Strokes." The role was created for him and made Mr. Coleman the best-known child star on television for the eight years the hit comedy was on the air.
He played the younger of two orphaned African-American brothers adopted by a white Manhattan millionaire after the death of their mother, the rich man's housekeeper. The show was a comedic showcase for Mr. Coleman, who looked younger than his actual age because his growth had been stunted by a congenital kidney condition.
On the set, he proved to be a thorough professional who could memorize his dialogue in a single reading and deliver it with perfect timing. His signature line, directed toward his brother Willis, played by Todd Bridges, became a nationwide catch phrase: "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"
"The true star of the show is 10-year old Gary Coleman as 8-year-old Arnold," Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales wrote when the show premiered, calling Mr. Coleman "a most unusual tot with a strikingly professional comic delivery."
Newsweek pronounced him "NBC's Littlest Big Man" and "possibly the most original vid-kid since Howdy Doody."
The show was such a cultural touchstone that first lady Nancy Reagan appeared on "Diff'rent Strokes" in 1983 to make an anti-drug pitch.
Mr. Coleman also had his own Saturday morning cartoon show and was a guest on "The Tonight Show," where he upstaged Johnny Carson, who jokingly asked if he wanted to take over the rest of the show.
"With all the laughing and cheering out there," he replied, "quite possibly."
As Mr. Coleman's salary rose from $1,500 to $70,000 an episode, his fragile health continued to deteriorate. He had undergone two kidney transplants by the time he was 14, and he was on dialysis while taping "Diff'rent Strokes."
When the show was canceled in 1986, he was 18 and had amassed a personal fortune estimated at $18 million. But his life quickly devolved into a sorry spectacle of lawsuits, countersuits, recriminations and hurt feelings.
He sued his parents and advisers for taking money from trust funds meant to support him as he grew older. In court, his parents charged that Mr. Coleman had been brainwashed by a manager and was not competent to handle his affairs. In the end, Mr. Coleman won a $1.28 settlement, but his relationship with his parents was all but fractured.
Now an adult with two failed two kidneys, the 4-foot-8 Mr. Coleman was becoming increasingly embittered and unemployable. He found occasional work in film and TV, but mostly he watched his money slip through his hands. At one point, his father said, Mr. Coleman tried to run him over with a car.
"Gary Coleman's rage," as a Los Angeles Times article bluntly put it, "is the direct result of being pampered, badgered and obliged to keep on being a cute freak for hire."
By the late 1990s, his life was crashing in a sad, gossip-fueled tailspin. One of his fellow child stars on "Diff'rent Strokes," Dana Plato, died of a drug overdose. Bridges was arrested for drug violations and for shooting a man.
Mr. Coleman sold many of his possessions, filed for bankruptcy and was working as a security guard at a Los Angeles mall in 1999 when a woman recognized him and asked for an autograph. They got into an argument, exchanged blows and ended up in court, where a tearful Mr. Coleman pleaded no contest to battery.
Describing his fight with the 200-pound woman, he reportedly said, "I'm 4-foot, 8-inches, 86 pounds of nothing."
Gary Wayne Coleman was born Feb. 8, 1968, in Zion, Ill., and was adopted as an infant by a blue-collar family. Mr. Coleman's kidney disease was diagnosed at 18 months, and he had his first transplant at 5.
He began modeling for a local store at 7 and appeared in TV commercials. A talent scout recommended him to producer Norman Lear, who cast the budding actor in episodes of "Good Times" and "The Jeffersons." Recognizing Mr. Coleman's appeal, Lear and his production team designed "Diff'rent Strokes" around him.
In later years, Mr. Coleman felt trapped by his early fame and yearned to find a dramatic role to play as an adult. He appeared on a celebrity dating show, worked as a corporate pitchman and wrote an online advice column. In 2003, a weekly newspaper promoted him as an independent candidate for California governor, and during his half-serious campaign he said he was the only virgin on the ballot. He received more than 14,000 votes in the election won by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
After moving to Utah, Mr. Coleman married 22-year-old Shannon Price in August 2007. Nine months later, they appeared on the TV show "Divorce Court" apparently trying to work out a public reconciliation. Mr. Coleman and his wife were arrested several times for disorderly conduct and, in January 2010, he was jailed overnight for domestic violence.
He continued to have health problems, including heart surgery in 2009 and a series of seizures.
Besides his wife, survivors include his parents, W.G. Coleman and Edmonia Sue Coleman of Zion.
"Family never meant anything to me," Mr. Coleman said in 2003, "but a whole lot of trouble that I don't need."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... id=entnews
Former child star Gary Coleman is reportedly in a critical condition in a Utah Hospital after falling and hitting his head.
Coleman's brother-in-law told TMZ.com the 42-year-old actor was in a critical condition, but details of the incident remain unclear.
Media outlet CBC reported he has undergone emergency surgery.
Coleman's manager told E! News: "We're just getting bits and pieces right now, so there's really nothing to report."
His latest health scare comes after he was twice hospitalised earlier this year after suffering seizures.
Coleman came to prominence through TV show Diff'rent Strokes, which started in 1986 and ran for eight years.
But since the show has ended, Coleman has been beset with a string of financial, relationship and legal problems.
He was arrested earlier this year on domestic assault charges and has previously pleaded guilty to reckless driving after he hit a pedestrian. He was also charged with punching a woman in 1998.
Despite earning as much as $US100,000 an episode during his time on Diff'rent Strokes, Coleman filed for bankruptcy in 1999.
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/ ... -wiab.html
Mr. Coleman was 10 when he stepped into the national spotlight in 1978, playing the witty, lovable Arnold Jackson on NBC's "Diff'rent Strokes." The role was created for him and made Mr. Coleman the best-known child star on television for the eight years the hit comedy was on the air.
He played the younger of two orphaned African-American brothers adopted by a white Manhattan millionaire after the death of their mother, the rich man's housekeeper. The show was a comedic showcase for Mr. Coleman, who looked younger than his actual age because his growth had been stunted by a congenital kidney condition.
On the set, he proved to be a thorough professional who could memorize his dialogue in a single reading and deliver it with perfect timing. His signature line, directed toward his brother Willis, played by Todd Bridges, became a nationwide catch phrase: "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"
"The true star of the show is 10-year old Gary Coleman as 8-year-old Arnold," Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales wrote when the show premiered, calling Mr. Coleman "a most unusual tot with a strikingly professional comic delivery."
Newsweek pronounced him "NBC's Littlest Big Man" and "possibly the most original vid-kid since Howdy Doody."
The show was such a cultural touchstone that first lady Nancy Reagan appeared on "Diff'rent Strokes" in 1983 to make an anti-drug pitch.
Mr. Coleman also had his own Saturday morning cartoon show and was a guest on "The Tonight Show," where he upstaged Johnny Carson, who jokingly asked if he wanted to take over the rest of the show.
"With all the laughing and cheering out there," he replied, "quite possibly."
As Mr. Coleman's salary rose from $1,500 to $70,000 an episode, his fragile health continued to deteriorate. He had undergone two kidney transplants by the time he was 14, and he was on dialysis while taping "Diff'rent Strokes."
When the show was canceled in 1986, he was 18 and had amassed a personal fortune estimated at $18 million. But his life quickly devolved into a sorry spectacle of lawsuits, countersuits, recriminations and hurt feelings.
He sued his parents and advisers for taking money from trust funds meant to support him as he grew older. In court, his parents charged that Mr. Coleman had been brainwashed by a manager and was not competent to handle his affairs. In the end, Mr. Coleman won a $1.28 settlement, but his relationship with his parents was all but fractured.
Now an adult with two failed two kidneys, the 4-foot-8 Mr. Coleman was becoming increasingly embittered and unemployable. He found occasional work in film and TV, but mostly he watched his money slip through his hands. At one point, his father said, Mr. Coleman tried to run him over with a car.
"Gary Coleman's rage," as a Los Angeles Times article bluntly put it, "is the direct result of being pampered, badgered and obliged to keep on being a cute freak for hire."
By the late 1990s, his life was crashing in a sad, gossip-fueled tailspin. One of his fellow child stars on "Diff'rent Strokes," Dana Plato, died of a drug overdose. Bridges was arrested for drug violations and for shooting a man.
Mr. Coleman sold many of his possessions, filed for bankruptcy and was working as a security guard at a Los Angeles mall in 1999 when a woman recognized him and asked for an autograph. They got into an argument, exchanged blows and ended up in court, where a tearful Mr. Coleman pleaded no contest to battery.
Describing his fight with the 200-pound woman, he reportedly said, "I'm 4-foot, 8-inches, 86 pounds of nothing."
Gary Wayne Coleman was born Feb. 8, 1968, in Zion, Ill., and was adopted as an infant by a blue-collar family. Mr. Coleman's kidney disease was diagnosed at 18 months, and he had his first transplant at 5.
He began modeling for a local store at 7 and appeared in TV commercials. A talent scout recommended him to producer Norman Lear, who cast the budding actor in episodes of "Good Times" and "The Jeffersons." Recognizing Mr. Coleman's appeal, Lear and his production team designed "Diff'rent Strokes" around him.
In later years, Mr. Coleman felt trapped by his early fame and yearned to find a dramatic role to play as an adult. He appeared on a celebrity dating show, worked as a corporate pitchman and wrote an online advice column. In 2003, a weekly newspaper promoted him as an independent candidate for California governor, and during his half-serious campaign he said he was the only virgin on the ballot. He received more than 14,000 votes in the election won by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
After moving to Utah, Mr. Coleman married 22-year-old Shannon Price in August 2007. Nine months later, they appeared on the TV show "Divorce Court" apparently trying to work out a public reconciliation. Mr. Coleman and his wife were arrested several times for disorderly conduct and, in January 2010, he was jailed overnight for domestic violence.
He continued to have health problems, including heart surgery in 2009 and a series of seizures.
Besides his wife, survivors include his parents, W.G. Coleman and Edmonia Sue Coleman of Zion.
"Family never meant anything to me," Mr. Coleman said in 2003, "but a whole lot of trouble that I don't need."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... id=entnews
Former child star Gary Coleman is reportedly in a critical condition in a Utah Hospital after falling and hitting his head.
Coleman's brother-in-law told TMZ.com the 42-year-old actor was in a critical condition, but details of the incident remain unclear.
Media outlet CBC reported he has undergone emergency surgery.
Coleman's manager told E! News: "We're just getting bits and pieces right now, so there's really nothing to report."
His latest health scare comes after he was twice hospitalised earlier this year after suffering seizures.
Coleman came to prominence through TV show Diff'rent Strokes, which started in 1986 and ran for eight years.
But since the show has ended, Coleman has been beset with a string of financial, relationship and legal problems.
He was arrested earlier this year on domestic assault charges and has previously pleaded guilty to reckless driving after he hit a pedestrian. He was also charged with punching a woman in 1998.
Despite earning as much as $US100,000 an episode during his time on Diff'rent Strokes, Coleman filed for bankruptcy in 1999.
http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/people/ ... -wiab.html
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Sydney 14/02/2003
Sydney 07/11/2006
Sydney 18/11/2006
Sydney 22/11/2009
EV Sydney 18/03/2011
EV Sydney 19/03/2011
EV Sydney 20/03/2011
Melbourne 24/01/2014
Sydney 26/01/2014
EV Sydney 13/02/2014
That crazy Coleman...
seriously though...hope he recovers...
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
of income.
Get well Webster.
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?
Sad to hear of the loss.
6/12/08 - Tampa, FL
8/23/09 - Chicago, IL
9/28/09 - Salt Lake City, UT (11 years too long!!!)
9/03/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 1
9/04/11 - East Troy, WI - PJ20 - Night 2
RIP.
Willis is all alone now.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Bain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v17lMr0j2D8
This is just so wrong now that the thread has been re-named.
But yeah, r.i.p. lil guy.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmgphotos/4731512142/" title="PJ Banner2 by Mister J Photography, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1135/4731512142_258f2d6ab4_b.jpg" width="630" height="112" alt="PJ Banner2" /></a>
Who the illest?
You know my name's Adam
Stop calling me Phyllis.
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
4/28/16- Philly, PA
4/29/16- Philly, PA
5/1/16- NYC
5/2/16- NYC
9/2/18- Boston, MA
9/4/18- Boston, MA
9/14/22- Camden, NJ
9/7/24- Philly, PA
9/9/24- Philly, PA
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly, PA
RNDM- 3/9/16- Philly, PA
Godspeed little angry midget. May you be met by Willis at Heaven's gates.
This Michael Oher/Blindside story was ahead of its time.
R.I.P. Gary
2009 - Toronto
2010 - Buffalo
2011 - Toronto 1&2
2013 - London, Pittsburgh, Buffalo
2014 - Cincinnati, St. Louis, Detroit
2016 - Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, Ottawa, Toronto 1
2018 - Fenway 1&2
2022 - Hamilton, Toronto
2023 - Chicago 1&2
2024 - Las Vegas 1&2
You and Dennis Hopper will be hanging together.
...and stay away from the Bicycle Man.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlkoxsEpODo
*NYC 9/28/96 *NYC 9/29/96 *NJ 9/8/98 (front row "may i play drums with you")
*MSG 9/10/98 (backstage) *MSG 9/11/98 (backstage)
*Jones Beach 8/23/00 *Jones Beach 8/24/00 *Jones Beach 8/25/00
*Mansfield 8/29/00 *Mansfield 8/30/00 *Nassau 4/30/03 *Nissan VA 7/1/03
*Borgata 10/1/05 *Camden 5/27/06 *Camden 5/28/06 *DC 5/30/06
*VA Beach 6/17/08 *DC 6/22/08 *MSG 6/24/08 (backstage) *MSG 6/25/08
*EV DC 8/17/08 *EV Baltimore 6/15/09 *Philly 10/31/09
*Bristow VA 5/13/10 *MSG 5/20/10 *MSG 5/21/10
Wish you were here...
♥~RIP Dad