Gary Coleman

Gary Wayne Coleman was born on February 8, 1968, in Zion, Illinois, and was adopted by his parents. A kidney condition called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, along with the corticosteroids and other drugs used to treat it, stunted his growth to 4 ft 8 in (142 cm) and kept his face looking childlike into adulthood. He first appeared in a 1974 commercial for Harris Bank and later that year in an episode of *Medical Center*. In 1977, he acted in a pilot for a revived *The Little Rascals*, which didn’t become a series, but his performance caught a producer’s eye. That led to his casting as Arnold Jackson on *Diff’rent Strokes* (1978–1986), the sitcom that made him a star. As Arnold, he won two Young Artist Awards—one in 1980 for Outstanding Contribution to Youth Through Entertainment and another in 1982 for Best Young Actor in a Comedy Series—plus four consecutive People’s Choice Awards for Favorite Young TV Performer from 1980 to 1983. He also earned two TV Land Award nominations. VH1 ranked him first on its list of the “100 Greatest Kid Stars,” and he was considered an influential child actor.

During the late 1970s and 1980s, Coleman was the highest-paid child actor on television, earning $100,000 per episode at his peak. He reprised his role as Arnold Jackson on *Hello, Larry* (1979), *The Facts of Life* (1979–1980), *Silver Spoons* (1982), and *Amazing Stories* (1985). He also appeared on high-profile shows like *The Jeffersons* and *Good Times* (both 1978), *Buck Rogers in the 25th Century* (1979–1980), and *Simon & Simon* (1986). His television films included *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). He also starred in his own Saturday morning cartoon, *The Gary Coleman Show* (1982), and headlined two financially successful movies: *On the Right Track* (1981) and *Jimmy the Kid* (1982).

Later in life, Coleman struggled financially. In 1989, he sued his adoptive parents and former business adviser for misappropriating his assets, winning a $1.28 million judgment in 1993, but he still filed for bankruptcy a decade later. Public details about his medical history were scarce, though his battles with growth deficiency, substance abuse, and depression received heavy media coverage. Much of his later acting work involved playing himself in guest spots on TV shows and films, with few recurring roles. He also voiced characters in two video games: *The Curse of Monkey Island* (1997) and *Postal 2* (2003).

Coleman died on May 28, 2010, at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah, at age 42. He had been admitted two days earlier after falling down the stairs at his home in Santaquin and hitting his head, which caused an epidural hematoma.