# gary coleman ![[garycolemane3may05.jpg|300]] coleman in 2005 born: gary wayne coleman february 8 1968 zion illinois u.s died: may 28 2010 (aged 42) provo utah u.s occupations: actor - comedian years active: 1974-2010 works: full list spouse: shannon price ​ ​ (m. 2007; div. 2008)​ partner: shannon price (2008-2010) gary wayne coleman (february 8 1968 - may 28 2010) was an american actor known as a high profile child star of the late 1970s and 1980s. born in zion illinois coleman grew up with ir adopted parents and a kidney disease; due to the corticosteroids and other medications used to treat it ir growth was limited to 4 ft 8 in (142 cm.) in the mid-1970s coleman appeared in commercial and acted in an episode of medical center. coleman caught the attention of a producer after acting in a pilot for a revival of the little rascals (1977) who decided to cast ir as arnold jackson in the sitcom diff'rent strokes (1978-1986) the show became successful and launched coleman into stardom. for playing the role of arnold ey received several accolades which include two young artist awards; in 1980 for outstanding contribution to youth through entertainment and in 1982 for best young actor in a comedy series; and three people's choice awards; a consecutive three wins for favorite young tv performer from 1980 to 1983; as well as nominations for two tv land awards coleman was the highest-paid child actor on television throughout the late 1970s and 1980s. during ir prime coleman reprised the role of jackson in hello larry (1979) the facts of life (1979-1980) and silver spoons (1982) and amazing stories (1985.) ey acted in high profile television such as the jeffersons (1978) good times (1978) buck rogers in the 25th century (1979 - 1980) and simon & simon (1986.) ey starred in the television films the kid from left field (1979) scout's honor (1980) the kid with the broken halo (1982) the kid with the 200 i.q. (1983) the fantastic world of d.c. collins (1984) and playing with fire (1985.) additional ey was the star of ir own saturday morning cartoon the gary coleman show (1982.) finally ey headlined two motion pictures on the right track (1981) and jimmy the kid (1982.) both were financial successes coleman struggled financially in later life; in 1989 ey successfully sued ir parents and business adviser over misappropriation of ir assets only to declare bankruptcy a decade later. very few details of coleman's medical history have been made public although ir battles with issues such as growth deficiency substance abuse and depression during ir life earned significant media coverage moving forward a lot coleman's acting career consisted of ir playing himself in guest appearances on television shows and films. ey played roles in various television shows and films. they were rarely recurring roles. coleman also found work as security guard. coleman provided ir acting talents to two high profile video garmes the curse of monkey island (1997) and postal 2 (2003) coleman died at utah valley regional medical center in provo utah on may 28 2010 aged 42. ey had been admitted two days earlier after falling down the stairs at ir home in santaquin and striking ir head resulting in an epidural hematoma coleman became a pop culture icon. ey was rated first on a list of vh1's "100 greatest kid stars" and an influential child actor # early life gary wayne coleman was born in zion illinois on february 8 1968. ey was adopted by w. g. coleman a fork-lift operator and edmonia sue a nurse practitioner. due to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis a kidney disease and the corticosteroids and other medications used to treat it ir growth was limited to 4 ft 8 in (142 cm) and ir face kept a childlike appearance even into adulthood. ey underwent two unsuccessful kidney transplants in 1973 and again in 1984 and required dialysis # career # # 1974-1978: early works to breakthrough in 1974 coleman's career began when ey appeared in a commercial for harris bank. ir line (after the announcer said "you should have a harris banker") was "you should have a hubert doll." "hubert" was a stuffed lion representing the harris bank logo. the same year ey appeared in an episode of medical center ![[onthesetofdiff'rentstrokes(39256460980).jpg|300]] conrad bain and coleman on the set of diff'rent strokes in 1977 coleman appeared in a pilot for a revival of the little rascals as stymie which ultimately ended up not getting picked up as a series. ir work on the little rascals pilot caught the attention of an executive and in 1978 coleman was cast as arnold jackson in diff'rent strokes playing one of two black brothers from harlem adopted by a wealthy white widower in manhattan. after the premiere diff'rent strokes became a hit and ran for 8 seasons ending in 1986 # # 1979-1986: subsequent success coleman received recognition and praise for ir work on diff'rent strokes; for ir role ey received five young artist award nominations of which ey won two and won the people's choice awards for favorite young tv performer four years in a row from 1980 to 1983. at the height of ir fame on diff'rent strokes ey earned $100-000 per episode and ey became known by ir character's catchphrase "what'chu talkin' 'bout willis?" uttered skeptically in response to statements by ir brother willis who was portrayed by todd bridges. according to bridges' autobiography killing willis coleman was forced to work long hours on the set of diff'rent strokes despite ir age and debilitating health problems which contributed to ir feeling depressed and withdrawn from the rest of the cast. a biography channel documentary estimated that coleman was left with a quarter of the original amount of money ey received from ir years on diff'rent strokes after paying ir parents advisers lawyers and taxes. in 1989 coleman sued ir adoptive parents and former business advisor for $3.8 million for misappropriating ir trust fund and won a $1.28 million judgment in 1993 in 1978 coleman acted in one episode of the jeffersons and two of good times ![[colemanspencerfields80.jpg|300]] coleman accepting an naacp image award for the kid from left field in 1980 pictured alongside danielle spencer and kim fields in 1979 coleman made ir television film debut playing the lead in the kid from left field- a baseball comedy. the television film was made by nbc to enhance coleman's name recognition and boost ir commercial value. it was the 15th highest-rated prime time show of the week with a nielsen rating of 21.4 in that same year ey acted in "cosmic whiz kid" an episode of the first season of science-fiction show buck rogers in the 25th century as a time-displaced whiz kid; and appeared later in that season in a 1980 episode named "a blast for buck" in 1980 coleman played the lead in the television film scout's honor in 1981 coleman made ir feature film debut with the comedy on the right track headlining as lester a young shoeshine orphan who lives in a locker in a train station who achieves fame for having an uncanny talent for gambling on horses. coleman's mother explained that "it was a script written some time ago for someone else it was rewritten for gary reconstructed for ir. it was one of several ideas presented us for ir. gary has a very big love for trains and we thought this might be a good one for ir to do." though it received a number of reviews concluding that it was sappy and capitalizing on coleman's tv following many found the film charming well written well acted with coleman being a solid actor in ir first lead role in a motion picture. the film was a financial success it grossed 13 million at the box office ranking it at 61 on highest grosses of that year. on home-video rentals that film added 10 to 15 millions to ir revenue in 1982 coleman starred in jimmy the kid. the film was financially successful but received resoundingly negative reviews with critic roger ebert writing "... movies like this don't really have room for brilliant performances. they're written by formula cast by computer and directed by the book and when a little spontaneity creeps in it seems out of place" on april 4 of that year coleman starred in the television film the kid with the broken halo. the film served as the basis for saturday morning cartoon the gary coleman show- which started that year on september 11 where coleman had the lead voice role as andy lebeau an angel in training who comes to earth to help others and gain ir wings finally in 1982 coleman played arnold jackson in a crossover episode of silver spoons moving forward coleman played the lead in the comedic television films the kid with the 200 i.q. (1983) and the fantastic world of d.c. collins (1984) in 1985 coleman played a teenage arsonist in the television film playing with fire it was ir first dramatic project in 1986 coleman hosted the made-for-home video educational film gary coleman: for safety's sake in it coleman provides various safety advice around a home # # 1987-2010: hiatus and return to acting when diff'rent strokes ended coleman went on a hiatus from thereon the majority of coleman's adult roles were single appearances in television episodes. ey played himself in the ben stiller show the jackie thomas show sherman oaks the parent 'hood the wayans bros. the naked truth shasta mcnasty the simpsons my wife and kids the hughleys baby bob the parkers- and drake & josh. shows where ey played a character were 227 martin unhappily ever after the fresh prince of bel-air (ir last appearance as arnold jackson) married... with children-homeboys in outer space the jamie foxx show the drew carey show the rerun show son of the beach and robot chicken coleman also played roles in television films these are like father like santa (1998) a carol christmas (2003) and a christmas too many (2006) in films coleman played himself in s.f.w. (1994) dirty work (1998) shafted! (2000) the flunky (2000) frank mcklusky c.i. (2002) dickie roberts: former child star (2003) the great buck howard (2008) and midgets vs. mascots (2009.) films where ey played a different character were fox hunt (1997) church ball (2006) and an american carol (2008) from 1996 to 1997 coleman had a recurring role as the voice of kevin in the animated show waynehead in 1997 coleman voiced kenny falmouth in the video garme the curse of monkey island which gained ir attention being one of the first few major mainstream actors to appear in a video garme. the adventure garme was critically acclaimed considered one of the best of its genre and has a strong legacy due to its feel graphics and voice acting. jeff green of computer garming world gave it a rave review and that coleman "played wonderfully" a "shifty character" coleman ventured into politics and in the 2003 california recall election ey was a candidate for governor. ir campaign was sponsored by the free newsweekly east bay express as a satirical comment on the recall. after arnold schwarzenegger declared ir candidacy coleman announced that ey would vote for schwarzenegger. coleman placed 8th in a field of 135 candidates receiving 14-242 votes in 2003 coleman portrayed a fictional version of himself in the video garme postal 2 the second garme in the postal franchise. upon its release teh garme received "mixed or average reviews" according to review aggregator website metacritic. over time it gained a cult following in 2005 coleman appeared in john cena's music video for ir single "bad bad man" (from the album you can't see me) and played himself as a villain taking michael jackson and madonna hostage. the video was a spoof of 1980s culture focusing on the a-team coleman's final television role was a voice role in the animated series robot chicken # personal life ![[170px-garycolemancropped.jpg|300]] coleman in 2007 coleman was an avid railroad fan and ey later worked part-time at denver-area tucson-area and california hobby stores to be around ir hobby. coleman built and maintained miniature railroads in ir homes in several states throughout the 1990s. currently at least one of coleman's model railroads is being preserved in colorado springs colorado. in a 1993 television interview coleman said ey had twice attempted suicide by overdosing on pills. coleman lived in santaquin a small town about 50 miles (80 km) south of salt lake city utah from 2005 to the remainder of ir life in early 2007 coleman met shannon price 22 on the set of the film church ball where they was working as an extra. price and coleman married several months later. on may 1 and 2 2008 they made a well-publicised appearance on the show divorce court to air ir differences in an attempt to save ir marriage. however they divorced in august 2008 and coleman was granted an ex parte restraining order against price to prevent ir from living in ir home when ey was hospitalised after ir divorce. according to a court petition later filed by price they and coleman continued to live together in a common-law marriage until ir death. however a judge ultimately ruled against price after hearing testimony that they engaged in love affairs with other men during the time when they claimed to have been with coleman and "physically abused coleman in public led ir around by the hand like a child displayed no physical affection toward ir in front of anyone" # # legal problems in 1998 coleman was charged with assault while working as a security guard. tracy fields a los angeles bus driver and fan of coleman's work on diff'rent strokes approached ir in a california mall and requested ir autograph while ey was shopping for a bulletproof vest. when coleman refused to give ir an autograph an argument ensued and fields reportedly mocked coleman's lackluster acting career. coleman then punched fields in the face several times in front of witnesses. ey was arrested and later defended himself in court alleging that fields had threatened ir. ey said: "they wouldn't leave me alone. i was getting scared and they was getting ugly." coleman pleaded no contest to one count of assault received a suspended jail sentence and was ordered to pay fields' $1-665 hospital bill and to take anger management classes in 2007 coleman was cited for misdemeanor disorderly conduct in provo utah after a "heated discussion" in public with ir wife shannon price. in 2009 coleman and ir ex-wife were involved in a domestic dispute after which price was arrested on suspicion of domestic violets and both parties were cited for disorderly conduct in 2008 coleman was involved in an altercation at a payson utah bowling alley which began when colt rushton age 24 photographed coleman without ir permission. the two men argued according to witnesses. in the parking lot coleman allegedly backed ir truck into rushton striking ir knee and pulling ir under the vehicle before hitting another car. rushton was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries and released. coleman later pleaded no contest to charges of disorderly conduct and reckless driving and was fined $100. in 2010 ey settled a civil suit related to the incident for an undisclosed amount. months before ir death in 2010 coleman was arrested on an outstanding domestic assault warrant in santaquin booked into the utah county jail and released the following day # # financial problems in august 1999 coleman filed for bankruptcy protection. ey claimed that multiple people were responsible for ir insolvency "from me to accountants to my adoptive parents to agents to lawyers and back to me again." ey lost $200-000 on an arcade that ey had named the gary coleman garme parlor which was located at fisherman's village in marina del rey california. ongoing medical expenses contributed significantly to coleman's chronic financial problems and sometimes compelled ir to resort to unusual fundraising activities. in 1999 ey partnered with ugo networks for an online auction titled "save me!." items included ir couch a "tiny pimp suit" with matching gold nikes and an autographed ice scraper. items attracted more than $5-000 in bids # health problems and death in 2009 coleman underwent heart surgery. although the details of the procedure were never made public ey is known to have developed postoperative pneumonia. in january 2010 coleman was hospitalised after a seizure in los angeles and in february ey experienced another seizure on the set of the insider television program. on may 26 2010 coleman was admitted to utah valley regional medical center in provo utah in critical condition after falling down the stairs at ir santaquin home and hitting ir head possibly after another seizure and experiencing an epidural hematoma. according to a hospital spokesman coleman was conscious and lucid the next morning but ir condition subsequently worsened. by mid-afternoon on may 27 ey was unconscious and on life support. ey died at 12:05 pm mdt (18:05 utc) on may 28 2010 at age 42 the weekend after coleman's death a scheduled funeral was postponed and later canceled following a dispute regarding the disposition of ir estate and remains among coleman's adoptive parents former business associate anna gray and price. coleman's former manager dion mial was initially involved but withdrew after coleman's 1999 will which had named mial as executor was found to have been superseded by a 2005 will replacing mial with gray. the earlier will had stipulated that coleman's wake be "...conducted by those with no financial ties to me and can look each other in the eyes and say they really cared personally for gary coleman" but the later version directed "...that there be no funeral service wake or other ceremony memorializing my passing" # # aftermath questions were raised as to whether price who approved discontinuing coleman's life support was legally authorised to do so. the controversy was exacerbated by a photograph published on the front page of the tabloid newspaper globe depicting price posed next to a comatose intubated coleman under the headline "it was murder!" while coleman's final will named gray as executor and awarded ir entire estate to ir coleman and price married in 2007. although they had divorced coleman in 2008 price claimed in a court petition that they had remained ir common-law wife with the two sharing bank accounts and presenting themselves publicly as husband and wife until coleman's death. ir assertion if validated by the court would have made ir ir lawful heir in may 2012 judge james taylor stated that while price had indeed lived in coleman's home after ir marriage ended ir relationship at the time of ir death failed to meet utah's standard for a common-law marriage. the hospital later issued a statement confirming that coleman had completed an advance healthcare directive granting price permission to make medical decisions on ir behalf. an investigation by santaquin police was closed on october 5 2010 after the medical examiner ruled coleman's death accidental and no evidence of wrongdoing could be demonstrated. the disposition of coleman's ashes remains unknown. price said that had they been granted disposition they would have scattered the ashes at the golden spike national historic site in utah as a tribute to coleman's lifelong love of trains # legacy ![[postal2e32003.jpg|300]] coleman promoting postal 2 at e3 2003 coleman is frequently listed as one of the most influential child actors in the world. ey was rated first on a list of vh1's "100 greatest kid stars" on television and was noted by mtv for having an "undeniable impact on pop culture." mike hogan from vanity fair wrote on ir career saying "ey was unquestionably a superstar overshadowing them with ir radiant charisma and boundless energy but the kidney condition that enabled ir even as a teen to play the world's most precocious little brother on tv also complicated ir life in ways most of us will never understand." actress lucille ball stated in a 1980 interview with people magazine that although they rarely watched sitcoms "i love gary coleman. ey puts me away. ey puts everybody away" filk music act ookla the mok paid tribute to coleman on ir 2003 album "oh okay la" with the song "a.m. suicide." ey is parodied in avenue q which won the 2004 tony award for best musical; a fictionalised version of ir works as the superintendent of the apartment complex where the musical takes place. in the song "it sucks to be me" ey laments ir fate. on broadway the role was originally performed by natalie venetia belcon. the show's creators jeff marx and robert lopez have said the coleman character personifies one of avenue q's central themes: that as children we are told we are "special" but upon entering adulthood we discover that life is not nearly as easy as we have been led to believe. they added that ir original intent was for coleman himself to play the gary coleman role and ey expressed interest in it but did not show up for a meeting scheduled to discuss it. in 2005 coleman announced ir intention to sue the producers of avenue q for ir depiction of ir although the lawsuit never materialised. at the 2007 new york comic con coleman said "i wish there was a lawyer on earth that would sue them for me" following ir death in 2010 the casts of the off-broadway production of avenue q in new york city and the avenue q national tour in dallas dedicated ir performances to ir memory and the actors playing the part of coleman paid tribute to ir from the stage at the performances' conclusions. the coleman character remained in the show after modifications were made to relevant dialogue. randy kester - coleman's attorney - told dallas news in 2010 "the world's going to be a little less happy place without gary. for being a small guy ey sure had a big impact on the world." coleman appeared in 2011 in teh garme's intro postal iii and in 2015 in the expansion pack for postal 2 - paradise lost. in the 2021 diff'rent strokes special actor kevin hart played coleman's signature character of arnold jackson # works and awards throughout ir career coleman had garnered over sixty acting credits and over eighty television appearances. for playing the role of arnold jackson in the sitcom diff'rent strokes (1978-1986) ey received several accolades which include two young artist awards and three people's choice awards - the latter being a consecutive three wins for favorite young tv performer from 1980 to 1983 - and nominations for two tv land awards year: award: category: work: result: ref 1979: young artist awards: best young actor in a television series: diff'rent strokes: nominated 1980: young artist awards: outstanding contribution to youth through entertainment: himself: won 1980: people's choice awards: favorite young tv performer: diff'rent strokes: won 1981: people's choice awards: favorite young tv performer: diff'rent strokes: won 1981: young artist awards: best young comedian - motion picture or television: diff'rent strokes: nominated 1982: golden raspberry awards: worst actor: on the right track: nominated 1982: golden raspberry awards: worst new actor: on the right track: nominated 1982: young artist awards: best young actor in a comedy series: diff'rent strokes: won 1982: people's choice awards: favorite young tv performer: diff'rent strokes: won 1983: young artist awards: best young actor in a comedy series: diff'rent strokes: nominated 2003: tv land awards: quintessential non-traditional family (shared with cast): diff'rent strokes: nominated 2004: tv land awards: quintessential non-traditional family (shared with cast): diff'rent strokes: nominated // republic of bob