Todd Bridges doesn’t think there will ever be another Gary Coleman
By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — Actor Gary Coleman was 42 when he died following a brain hemorrhage in 2010, but most people remember him as a child star who found fame on the hit comedy “Diff’rent Strokes.”
His costar, Todd Bridges, told CNN Coleman was one of a kind, something he hopes viewers of the new Peacock documentary “Gary” will pick up on.
“I hope they take away realizing how Gary was probably the best child star ever,” Bridges said. “They need to see that.”
The documentary examines the sometimes troubled life and eventual death of the actor, who throughout his life suffered from kidney disease that limited his growth to a height of 4 feet, 8 inches.
Coleman’s chubby cheeks and small stature caught the eye of television icon Norman Lear, who cast him as an orphan, along with his brother played by Bridges, adopted by a wealthy white man.
“They hired us to make sure they had talented people around him so that we could carry him through to becoming better,” Bridges recalled.
The cast was aware back then in the 1980s how groundbreaking it was to have a show with a racially blended family, Bridges said. It resulted in both positive and hateful responses.
“We got a lot of mail from both sides in the beginning,” he said. “Then all the mail turned positive after that.”
Bridges said he doesn’t really see the level of fame around young performers like the attention he and Coleman received at the height of their popularity. That’s probably for the best, he said, because life as a child star has historically not been easy.
Bridges and actress Dana Plato, who played their adopted sister on the series, spiraled into substance abuse as they grew up, while Coleman suffered financial troubles and ended up suing his parents after he alleged they mismanaged his money.
Plato died of a drug overdose in 1999. She was 34.
Bridges, now sober more than 30 years, said that while he faced legal issues starting in 1983 for a decade until he quit using drugs, Coleman’s struggles were different.
“I was a full-sized guy, so I was able to go out with girls and stuff and have fun,” Bridges said. “He wasn’t able to do any of that.”
As an adult Coleman gained a reputation for having anger issues – ranging from storming out of an interview to being accused of assaulting a fan – that are explored in the documentary.
In 2022, actress Molly Shannon recalled an incident from her early days in the industry in which she said Coleman sexually harassed her.
Bridges said the bitter Coleman the public saw in negative headlines or through his appearance on the reality series “The Surreal Life” is not the man he called his friend.
“That’s not the Gary Coleman that I knew even when…we were chitchatting right before he died,” Bridges said. “I think that he just had a chip on his shoulder because of what he went through.”
Coleman’s medical directive and the accident in his Utah home that preceded his brain hemorrhage are also explored in “Gary.”
“We all have questions about what happened,” Bridges said.
He is the only surviving original “Diff’rent Strokes” cast member (Conrad Bain, who played the father, Phillip Drummond, died following a stroke at the age of 89 in 2013).
Bridges and his wife, Bettijo, have a podcast debuting in November, and he is reprising his role as Monk on “Everybody Still Hates Chris ” in the animated-reboot of the series set to debut on Comedy Central in September.
“Everybody Hates Chris” is based on the adolescent adventures of actor and comedian, Chris Rock.
“I think people are gonna really gonna enjoy it,” Bridges said. “Because Chris Rock is playing himself this time.”
Bridges would love to do more acting and his choice of a dream role actually aligns with Coleman’s love of sci-fi and outerspace.
“I think I want to end up being in [a] ‘Star Wars’ [movie],” Bridges said. “I think something like that.”
“Gary” debuts Thursday on Peacock.
The-CNN-Wire
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