Alzheimer's complications. She starred in the 1975 ABC sitcom Hot l Baltimore, which was produced by Norman Lear. [29] He now travels across the United States, touring schools and discussing the dangers of drug use. at the age of 9, he could still pass as a precocious five-year-old. When Arnold and Dudley were having lunch outside and ready to trade sandwiches like they do everyday, they both were upset that they both . 3 Diff'rent Strokes: Arnold and Dudley Get Molested Diff'rent Strokesfollowed the lives of two young brothers from Harlem, Arnold and Willis, after their mother died and they were adopted by the wealthy Mr. Drummond. young woman, but her acting career could never escape the long shadows cast by her sitcom from 1961 to 1963. custody of Tyler. In January 2007, he appeared as a member of the "mob" on the US version of the game show 1 vs. 100. In 1993, he did the lead vocal in the band Bad4Good and also has He Coleman was featured in the 2004 season of The Surreal Life. made a brief appearance in the movie "The Benchwarmers.". MyNetworkTV's new show, Decision House with his wife, Dori Bridges on the episode titled, 'Burned Bridges' aired on November 14th, 2007. Market data provided by Factset. [19] By 1990, Plato was living in Las Vegas. long life and was 93. [3][4] During the first season and the first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred, as Mrs. Edna Garrett, the Drummonds' first housekeeper, who ultimately spun off into her own sitcom, The Facts of Life, as a housemother at the fictional Eastland School. Bridges, Plato and Catlett were all absent from the episode, and several cast members later voiced their disappointment that they had not realized it would be the final episode, and would have liked to have been present to mark the end of the series onscreen more adequately. Premiering on November 3, 1978, "Diff'rent Strokes" was a touchstone of 1980s pop culture. But ABC picked up the series for an eighth season, airing it on Friday nights. Rae was also known for her voice work. They lived in the penthouse suite at 697 Park Avenue in New York City. Unable to launch a serious acting career, Plato appeared in "Playboy" and in a few "B" grade movies. ", Before landing the TV role for which he would become best known, Bain acted on Broadway, with a role in "The Iceman Cometh," in films including Woody Allen's "Bananas," and on the sitcom "Maude.". Additionally, Todd Bridges appeared along with Gary Coleman and Vanilla Ice on a VH-1's She has worked in television on the "Just Jordan" and "So Random" kids show. Long story short, acting was taking During 2006 and 2007, Coleman appeared in commercials for a cash-advance loan company called CashCall. Some of these were important or serious storylines under the "very special episode" heading, which Diff'rent Strokes popularized. In the seventh season, after years of harassing Arnold (and later Sam), the Gooch was finally defeated by Arnold's neighbor and nemesis (and eventually friend) Carmella, a foreign exchange student. Shavar Malik Ross is an American actor, film director, screenwriter, film producer, editor, photographer, author, and retail entrepreneur. favorite car is a Hummer. the other cast members worked, and after Todd Bridges appeared, was encouraged by Vanilla Ice to say "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" Summary: Arnold and Dudley succumb to peer pressure and ignore warnings against cigarette smoking, only to have the harsh realities brought to light by Dudley's father, a chronic smoker. became fascinated with acting. They also have a daugther named Bo. (2005) - S10E04 Blonde Ambition, Never Have I Ever (2020) - S01E05 started a nuclear war. Within a year of Diff'rent Strokes' debut, Gary ), Internet Movie Database entry for Melanie Watson, Train Rite (formerly Spoke N' Paws Assistance Dogs) - Melanie was the executive director, press photo of Melanie and Gary Coleman on the Diff'rent Strokes set. I now am 36 (updated), single (updated: he was engaged to be married in the spring of 2001), and an attorney OK. Initially they agreed to add it, but they later decided not to (although a previous episode, the third season's "Little Mother", had tackled a similar theme, when Kimberly's friend falls pregnant and, due to a misunderstanding, it is thought that Kimberly is pregnant). Replacing Dixie Carter in the role of Phillip Drummond's second wife, Maggie McKinney, she appeared on the show's eighth and final season after its move to ABC. tapes out called "Dixie Carter's Unworkout" and "Yoga for You." Dixie Carter lasted two seasons as Drummond's wife, Maggie. Bain had recently finished a six-year run co-starring as Dr. Arthur Harmon on the hugely successful Maude. The fifth season also continued the upturn of many more serious-themed stories, which became the epitome of "Very Special Episodes" in 1980s sitcoms,[citation needed] a trend that continued until the end of the show's run, the best-known example[11] being the fifth season's two-part story "The Bicycle Man" (originally broadcast on February 5 and 12, 1983), in which Arnold and Dudley are lured in by pedophilic bicycle shop owner Mr. Horton (Gordon Jump) who attempts to molest them. 28, 1914 in Columbus OH. She was 70. Elsewhere, Murder, She Wrote, Thunder in Paradise, Sisters, Diagnosis: Murder, Strong Medicine, ER, Life and Pretty Little Liars. and his sister to Macon, Georgia, while his father went to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. When the laugh track stopped, he had to scrounge for work. Son Seven Shavar Ross [citation needed]. was in the short-lived Fox series, Mr. President, where he was the chief advisor to Wikipedia entry for Dana Plato I appeared as As Goodman's fame She turned plenty of heads with her scintillating Dixie's Mother. Several such concepts were considered before a rough outline for the eventual seriesin which Bain plays a wealthy businessman left to take care of his late housekeeper's son, the orphaned Colemanwas settled upon and given the working title 45 Minutes from Harlem (even though Harlem is only ten to fifteen minutes away from the Upper East Side by subway or taxi). His mother took Shavar and his sister to Macon, Georgia, while his father went to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. Mary Ann Mobley, who was the second Mrs. Drummond, was born February 17, 1939 Dana and Lanny would divorce Rae received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama for her role as Helen in the 1975 CBS television movie Queen of the Stardust Ballroom. in the television series, but by an uncredited voice actor who voiced the car for various Universal Studios promotions.). Watson on July 20th, 1968 in South Laguna, California. By her own admission, Jackson has struggled for most her life with a negative body image and poor self-esteem. Determined that her condition would not rule her life, she got serious about health and nutrition, and with the help of the right doctor, was able to continue working. In the third season, Janet Jackson played Willis's girlfriend, Charlene DuPrey. Producers immediately decided child actor Todd Bridges should play the older brother; he had appeared in a number of commercials and guest roles. . The final episode which was "The Front Page", aired on March 7, 1986. Hervey himself was not implicated, although he was fired from HealthSouth during the scandal. His second short film, A Taste of Us (2004), dealt with the civil unrest of the 1960s segregation in the south and was originally made as a pilot presentation for the TV One Network. do get evidence that Robert is guilty by criminal negligence or actual participation, "The first thing I ever tried was pot, and Dana made that first time possible," Bridges writes. stopped auditioning for other roles about 2-3 years before the show ended. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, So while Linda Blair went on to huge stardom, Dana So if the police She died on August 5, 2018, at her home in Los Angeles, California. He was 89. managed to appear in several movies (Busted, Homeboys, and The Sounds of Character actress Nedra Volz, who played housekeeper Adelaide Brubaker in the early 1980s on the Diff'rent Strokes But currently, the only time I hear "Oh my kid, that guy was on He ranked at #71 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars. With this move, the show's recognizable opening credits theme song was rerecorded, updating it into a then-more modern pop style. Her character took down The Gooch! He married Dori Smith (pictured above) on March 25, 1998. sending me out on enough auditions and went with Gary Coleman's manager. where I got my start.". So if the police He was casting a new sitcom for NBC which was to become A daughter to Bain's character and a housekeeper were added to the lineup. recently, he has reappeared in Hollywood. she was arrested for the armed robbery of a Las Vegas video store (which she used 9 episodes 1985-1986 Rosalind Chao Miss Chung 8 episodes 1981-1983 Dody Goodman Aunt Sophia Drummond 8 episodes 1981-1984 Bobby Herbeck The Waiter 7 episodes 1979-1984 Creators Jeff Harris Bernie Kukoff All cast & crew Production, box office & more at IMDbPro More like this 6.8 Watch options 7.4 Watch options 7.4 Watch options 7.1 Arizona and worked at Tucson Hobby Shop because he is/was an active model railroader. 2000. Roberto and Eddie are teenage bullies and extortionists and the main antagonists in the 2-part episode "Crime Story (aka Crime in the Schools) " of the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes. Some of her early television guest appearances included Armstrong Circle Theatre, NBC Television Opera Theatre, Appointment with Adventure, The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, The DuPont Show of the Month, The Phil Silvers Show, Play of the Week, Way Out and From These Roots. Factory? in Hollywood as a producer of sports vignettes and as a director. As the youngest sister of one of the most popular musical families in entertainment history, Janet Jackson grew up in the shadow of her famous brothers. According to Sgt. [30] Bridges has continued acting in films and television. I had In 1987, he Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. His mother took Shavar However, he is still best known for playing Arnold Jackson's best friend Dudley on "Diff'rent Strokes." Both marriages ended in divorce. She was 70. Miss Chung (Rosalind Chao) was Arnold's teacher. In April 1984, she married Lanny and on July 2nd, 1984 The introduction of Maggie and Sam had not boosted ratings, and in the spring of 1985, in the face of sagging ratings, NBC cancelled Diff'rent Strokes. run, which lasted from 1978 to 1986. my information and the write up of the 2 episodes I appeared in from your Sadly and tragically, she died of a prescription drug overdose on May 8th, 1999. In 1995, she was in a play called "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" where she received passing grades. April 6, 1972 in Los Angeles, California. She also had a long career as a stage actress. Her last film was The Great White The was born on August 24, 1993. [26] Her son, Tyler, died by suicide in 2010. The disease claimed her life in 2014. Two hour-long episodes on the first season DVD are presented in their edited, two-part syndicated versions. Her death was ruled a suicide. Her final appearance which is the episode "Bulimia", dealt with the revelation of Kimberly's eating disorder, and won praise both for Plato's performance and the sensitivity of the writing. She has been married to actor Hal Holbrook since 1984. As detailed by Oprah, Bridges avoided returning to jail by entering a year-long rehabilitation program. Dana's mother, Florine 'Kay' Plato, who had guided her career died of a blood disease in January She received Tony Award nominations for Pickwick in 1966 and Morning, Noon and Night in 1969. The series lasted six seasons on NBC and two on ABC. Rae starred as Mrs. Garrett (Mrs. G), who was the housemother at the prestigious Eastland School for Girls in Peekskill, New York. place. This same episode introduces wheelchair-aided Melanie Watson, born with osteogenesis imperfecta, as Kathy Gordon, who continued to guest-star one episode per season until Season 6. On May 26, Coleman struck his head in a fall in his Santaquin, Utah, home. he pleaded guilty to drug possession and carrying a loaded weapon. I was thrilled to hear personally from Steve in 1998 and 2000: Here's a more filled-in story on my "where are they now" entry: I "retired" from show business when the show was cancelled, as much as any Following her jail term, Dana appeared in a string of B-grade features including such co-starred with Harry Hamlin in holiday TV-movie on cable's Fox Family Channel called 'Like Father, Like Santa'. According to Reuters, he was lucid the following day but soon slipped into unconsciousness. Eventually, he was forced to file bankruptcy. Kimberly was written out of the show with the explanation that she moved to Paris to study for a couple of years, but returned as a guest star for the season finale "A Special Friend", after Plato gave birth. of 1988 and her husband reportedly left her the same week. She Grammy-Award winning singer Al Jarreau and many others marked his feature film directorial debut. Arnold is writing a report on athletes at his school who are using anabolic steroids. Todd Bridges Todd Bridges was born May 27, 1965 in San Francisco, CA. Shavar Ross was born March 4, 1971 in the South Bronxm New York. She died in 2009. Since there was a new fresh-faced kid in the house with Sam, Arnold now had his own little sidekick and was happy to be a "big brother" for a change. in Los Angeles, California. who posted the $13,000 bail for her. and his former manager for mishandling his funds in 1989 and was awarded 1.3 million . Her first role as the "Old Lady" came in a 1975 episode of Good Times. and "Superbad." (Dana did grab a an 18-month-old child) gave her up for adoption as an infant and she was taken in by a "I had just won a Golden Globe and was feeling on top of the world," she told Saratoga Living'sAnn Hauprich in 2003. Also in 1980, Shavar appeared in the TV film Scout's Honor, also with Gary Coleman. seemingly effortless way with comedy won her lots of fans during the show's prime time Some of her other sitcom guest appearances included The Love Boat, 227, Baby Talk, Can't Hurry Love (which starred Nancy McKeon), The King of Queens and Girl Meets World. This campaign was sponsored by the free newsweekly the East Bay Express as a satirical comment on the recall. And Mary Dixie was born on July 6, 1970. She played the recurring role of Sylvia Schnauser, the wife of Officer Leo Schnauser (Al Lewis), in 10 episodes of Car 54, Where Are You? different strokes dudley's dad. Since then series, coupled with the precocious Coleman's spirited TV talk show appearances, that Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain) is a widower for whom their deceased mother previously worked; his daughter, Kimberly is played by Dana Plato. a pellet gun and netted her $164) - she was charged with armed robbery and was later sentenced with the interest of my appearing as a guest artist on the show. In addition, she has 2 yoga She died on August 5, 2018, at her home in Los Angeles, California. My Mom and Dad were approached by the producers of Diff'rent Strokes So while Linda Blair went on to huge stardom, Dana During my time there, I performed as guest cast for one episode, which I decided wasn't In May 2006, Ross appeared on an E! My next job was as stage production assistant on 'Living Single'. to do next, I took part-time jobs in retail during my later high school As a result, from the later first season and on into the second season, Plato became a regular character. In March 2017, Shavar founded Shavar Ross Academy, an online school via Teachable, designed to teach everyday people how to get started making money with their own online retail business. In 1980, Ross landed his first recurring television role, on NBC 's Diff'rent Strokes, as Dudley Johnson, the best friend of Gary Coleman 's character, Arnold Jackson. Martine Allard played Carmella Robinson in 2 episodes web site. Coleman's role was almost certainly based on a 1998 incident in which Coleman punched a fan who sought his autograph while he was at a shopping mall. However, to fans of "Diff'rent Strokes," he will forever be remembered as Ted Ramsey, the adoptive father of Arnold Jackson's best friend, Dudley, played by Shavar Ross. performance in the 1997 straight-to-video epic "Different Strokes." The cast reunited at the TV Land Awards in 2007 and 2011, where it won the award for Pop Culture Icon. "I cared about him deeply when he got into difficulty," Bain said. This terrible situation actually happened to me personally in real life," Ross explains "Tonight, On a Very Special Episode,"by Lee Gambin. Dana's fortunes began to turn when she was spotted by a producer during a brief appearance His daughter Jennifer told TMZ: "He was an amazing person. Roberto was portrayed by Sal Lopez and Eddie was portrayed by Shannon Presby. The backdoor pilot episode on Diff'rent Strokes titled The Girls School on May 4, 1979, led to the spin-off series The Facts of Life. On July 30th, he allledgly struck a woman who asked for his autograph, a court hearing was held August 25th where he pleaded not guilty. Coleman played a supporting role in the controversial 2003 computer game Postal by Running With Scissors, Inc. Coleman, who played himself, appeared at a shopping mall, and one of the game's objectives was to secure his autograph. Southern California couple (adopted by Dean and Florine 'Kay' Plato in June 1965) who soon Her birth "Diff'rent Strokes" touched on serious themes but was known better as a family comedy that drew most of its laughs from its standout child actor, Gary Coleman. opposite Dolly Parton and Lee Majors in the telefilm A Smoky Mountain Christmas, where he played an orphan, and also starred and shattering lows. Two notable episodes dealt with the consequences of alcoholism. [35], On April 6, 2012, it was announced that Shout! He died of natural causes on January 14, 2014, at a retirement home in Livermore, California. Years. had undergone three operations for a congenital kidney defect known as nephritis. He married artist Monica Sloan in 1945. She appeared on the spin-off Forever Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. She appeared on many TV game shows as well such as Liar's Club, Cross-wits, and many more. The first and second seasons of Diff'rent Strokes also starred Conrad Bain, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato.