'Diff'rent Strokes' star dies at 42
Source: Agencies |
May 30, 2010, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
FORMER child star Gary Coleman, who shot to fame on TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" but suffered personal troubles as an adult, died in a Utah hospital on Friday, after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 42.
Coleman gained stardom as the sharp-talking Arnold Jackson, adopted son of a wealthy New Yorker, in the hit sitcom that aired on US television from 1978 to 1986 and in syndication around the world. His line "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" to his brother on the series became a pop culture catchphrase.
But when the show was taken off the air, Coleman saw his Hollywood star fade, and he found himself suffering through financial, legal and domestic problems.
The diminutive Coleman, who suffered from a congenital kidney disease that halted his growth, was hospitalized on Wednesday night after suffering an intracranial hemorrhage at his home in Santaquin, Utah. Media reports said he had fallen and hit his head.
Born on February 8, 1968, in Illinois, Coleman suffered a condition known as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, an autoimmune disease that alters the kidneys. As a result, Coleman stopped growing at a height of 1.42 meters and underwent two kidney transplants.
But his size, coupled with his age, made him the perfect fit for the role of the funny, sassy and often emotional child Arnold Jackson on "Diff'rent Strokes."
But as an adult much of his work went straight to video, and he became a symbol of faded Hollywood stardom.
Coleman gained stardom as the sharp-talking Arnold Jackson, adopted son of a wealthy New Yorker, in the hit sitcom that aired on US television from 1978 to 1986 and in syndication around the world. His line "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" to his brother on the series became a pop culture catchphrase.
But when the show was taken off the air, Coleman saw his Hollywood star fade, and he found himself suffering through financial, legal and domestic problems.
The diminutive Coleman, who suffered from a congenital kidney disease that halted his growth, was hospitalized on Wednesday night after suffering an intracranial hemorrhage at his home in Santaquin, Utah. Media reports said he had fallen and hit his head.
Born on February 8, 1968, in Illinois, Coleman suffered a condition known as focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, an autoimmune disease that alters the kidneys. As a result, Coleman stopped growing at a height of 1.42 meters and underwent two kidney transplants.
But his size, coupled with his age, made him the perfect fit for the role of the funny, sassy and often emotional child Arnold Jackson on "Diff'rent Strokes."
But as an adult much of his work went straight to video, and he became a symbol of faded Hollywood stardom.
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