"What'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?"
Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 1:46 pm
I was a bit surprised to see this headline when I signed into my iGoogle just now... I recall watching Different Strokes as a child.
[url="http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2010/05/28/coleman-gary-utah.html?ref=rss"]Diff'rent Strokes star Gary Coleman dies[/url]
Gary Coleman, best known as the child star of the TV sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, has died after he suffered a fall at his Utah home earlier this week.
Coleman, 42, died at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Centre in Provo on Friday, according to a statement from his representatives.
The actor was admitted to a local hospital on Wednesday with head injuries. He was transferred to the ICU at Utah Valley Regional for further tests and treatment.
By Thursday afternoon, his condition had worsened. On Friday morning, a hospital spokeswoman reported that Coleman was in critical condition.
Coleman faced other medical emergencies earlier this year. He was briefly in hospital after collapsing in Los Angeles in January. In February, he suffered a seizure while filming an interview with celebrity magazine show The Insider.
The Illinois-born actor suffered from a congenital kidney ailment that halted his growth at an early age and resulted in his diminutive stature. He underwent two kidney transplants during his lifetime and also required dialysis.
Coleman, who was adopted as an baby, was a child actor who made appearances in commercials on TV shows like The Jeffersons and Good Times, but truly rose to fame as the wise-cracking, mischievous Arnold Jackson of Diff'rent Strokes, a U.S. sitcom about two black orphans adopted by a wealthy white widower.
Diff'rent Strokes, which ran from 1978 through 1986, was a hit, and Coleman became a pop culture fixture for his catchphrase "What'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" He also made cameo appearances in character for other shows, including The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons, and even had an eponymous Saturday morning cartoon show.
The sitcom also became the source of financial conflict for Coleman: he eventually sued his parents and former advisers — successfully — for misappropriation of his finances, including the $100,000 US per episode he reportedly made at the height of his Diff'rent Strokes fame. The settlement he eventually received, however, was just a fraction of his original earnings.
As he matured, Coleman had difficulty making the transition from child star to adult actor. He continued his performing career with occasional cameo roles on TV, small roles in some direct-to-video or DVD movies, and in advertisements, but he was also forced to take ordinary jobs, regularly working a mall security guard and hobby shop employee.
He had run-ins with police and was embroiled in legal battles in more recent years, facing a host of charges, including domestic disputes, disorderly conduct and reckless driving.
Coleman is survived by his wife, Shannon Price, whom he married in 2007.
[url="http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2010/05/28/coleman-gary-utah.html?ref=rss"]Diff'rent Strokes star Gary Coleman dies[/url]
Gary Coleman, best known as the child star of the TV sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, has died after he suffered a fall at his Utah home earlier this week.
Coleman, 42, died at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Centre in Provo on Friday, according to a statement from his representatives.
The actor was admitted to a local hospital on Wednesday with head injuries. He was transferred to the ICU at Utah Valley Regional for further tests and treatment.
By Thursday afternoon, his condition had worsened. On Friday morning, a hospital spokeswoman reported that Coleman was in critical condition.
Coleman faced other medical emergencies earlier this year. He was briefly in hospital after collapsing in Los Angeles in January. In February, he suffered a seizure while filming an interview with celebrity magazine show The Insider.
The Illinois-born actor suffered from a congenital kidney ailment that halted his growth at an early age and resulted in his diminutive stature. He underwent two kidney transplants during his lifetime and also required dialysis.
Coleman, who was adopted as an baby, was a child actor who made appearances in commercials on TV shows like The Jeffersons and Good Times, but truly rose to fame as the wise-cracking, mischievous Arnold Jackson of Diff'rent Strokes, a U.S. sitcom about two black orphans adopted by a wealthy white widower.
Diff'rent Strokes, which ran from 1978 through 1986, was a hit, and Coleman became a pop culture fixture for his catchphrase "What'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" He also made cameo appearances in character for other shows, including The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons, and even had an eponymous Saturday morning cartoon show.
The sitcom also became the source of financial conflict for Coleman: he eventually sued his parents and former advisers — successfully — for misappropriation of his finances, including the $100,000 US per episode he reportedly made at the height of his Diff'rent Strokes fame. The settlement he eventually received, however, was just a fraction of his original earnings.
As he matured, Coleman had difficulty making the transition from child star to adult actor. He continued his performing career with occasional cameo roles on TV, small roles in some direct-to-video or DVD movies, and in advertisements, but he was also forced to take ordinary jobs, regularly working a mall security guard and hobby shop employee.
He had run-ins with police and was embroiled in legal battles in more recent years, facing a host of charges, including domestic disputes, disorderly conduct and reckless driving.
Coleman is survived by his wife, Shannon Price, whom he married in 2007.