As a kid , I was hooked onto “Diff’erent Strokes” …glued to the sitcom every time it made it to TV.
I loved everything abt it… the theme song, to the neat star cast : Gary Coleman ( Arnold); Todd Bridges ( Willis , Arnold’s elder bro ) and Conrad Bain ( Mr. Drummond).
The story line revolved around the lives of two black guys from Harlem played by Gary and Todd -adopted into the rich and white Drummond household. Conrad Bain played their new dad and Dana Plato (Kimberly) his daughter, played their sister.
They had a housekeeper, played by I guess 3 different actresses but my favorite was Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett in the sit-com).
The themes revolved around accepting each other and the various “howlarious” incidents surrounding them.
Ofcourse there were some serious themes too during the course of the shows run…but the moral in every episode was bought out in a real nice way.
And how can I ever forget Arnold’s line “What’choo talkin abt Willis? “
I kinda find myself saying it subconsciously so very often…:)
This was one sitcom that made me real happy…
So imagine my pleasant surprise when Zee Café decided to run it at the 11 pm slot :)
It really a ride down memory lane….
However, when I tried to find out what happened to the star cast after the show ran its course… what I did discover, made me really sad… it was almost like all the three kids were jinxed in some way…
Dana Plato: who played Kimberly… died of a drug over dose at the age of 34. And just a day prior to her death, she interviewed with Howard Stern… commented that she would never contemplated suicide and was happy in her skin…how ironic!
Todd Bridges: Had drug problems for years… seemingly he turned his life around.
Gary Coleman: who played the adorable Arnold… sued his parents and manager for misappropriation of funds; he won his case… but still filed for bankruptcy in 1999! I’ve read that he works as a security guard at shopping mall and has been held up for heated arguments….
…hmmm…
Its sad… these guys bought so much joy and cheer…hate to see them go down these roads.
With child stars, its funny…Macaulay Culkin, Britney Spears… the list is long
But not every one ends up this way.
But life is strange…
I loved everything abt it… the theme song, to the neat star cast : Gary Coleman ( Arnold); Todd Bridges ( Willis , Arnold’s elder bro ) and Conrad Bain ( Mr. Drummond).
The story line revolved around the lives of two black guys from Harlem played by Gary and Todd -adopted into the rich and white Drummond household. Conrad Bain played their new dad and Dana Plato (Kimberly) his daughter, played their sister.
They had a housekeeper, played by I guess 3 different actresses but my favorite was Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett in the sit-com).
The themes revolved around accepting each other and the various “howlarious” incidents surrounding them.
Ofcourse there were some serious themes too during the course of the shows run…but the moral in every episode was bought out in a real nice way.
And how can I ever forget Arnold’s line “What’choo talkin abt Willis? “
I kinda find myself saying it subconsciously so very often…:)
This was one sitcom that made me real happy…
So imagine my pleasant surprise when Zee Café decided to run it at the 11 pm slot :)
It really a ride down memory lane….
However, when I tried to find out what happened to the star cast after the show ran its course… what I did discover, made me really sad… it was almost like all the three kids were jinxed in some way…
Dana Plato: who played Kimberly… died of a drug over dose at the age of 34. And just a day prior to her death, she interviewed with Howard Stern… commented that she would never contemplated suicide and was happy in her skin…how ironic!
Todd Bridges: Had drug problems for years… seemingly he turned his life around.
Gary Coleman: who played the adorable Arnold… sued his parents and manager for misappropriation of funds; he won his case… but still filed for bankruptcy in 1999! I’ve read that he works as a security guard at shopping mall and has been held up for heated arguments….
…hmmm…
Its sad… these guys bought so much joy and cheer…hate to see them go down these roads.
With child stars, its funny…Macaulay Culkin, Britney Spears… the list is long
But not every one ends up this way.
But life is strange…
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