TODD BRIDGES 1981 CHILD ACTOR AUTOGRAPH POSTCARD Diff'rent Strokes VERY EARLY
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TODD BRIDGES 1981 CHILD ACTOR AUTOGRAPH POSTCARD Diff'rent Strokes VERY EARLY. TODD BRIDGES SIGNED 1981 POSTCARD WITH LENGTHY LETTER ON BACK HI FRAB I'M VERY SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR OPERATIONS AND I DO HOPE THAT YOU WILL KEEP WELL, AND IN THE VERY BEST OF HEALTH LOVE ALWAYS
Todd Anthony Bridges (born May 27, 1965) is an American actor and Comedian. He is known for his role as Willis Jackson on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, for his recurring role as Monk on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, and as a comedic commentator, from 2008 to 2013, on the television series TruTV Presents: World's Dumbest.... Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Television 2.2 Music videos 3 Personal life 3.1 Legal issues 4 Memoir 5 Filmography 5.1 Film 5.2 Television 5.3 Video games 6 References 7 External links Early life Bridges was born on May 27, 1965 in San Francisco, California, the son of Betty Alice Pryor, an actress, director, and manager, and James Bridges Sr., a talent agent.[1] Bridges' brother Jimmy Bridges, nieces Penny Bridges, Brooke Bridges and Rachel Bridges, and sister Verda Bridges are all actors.[citation needed] Career Television Bridges (at top right) with the cast of Fish, 1977 Bridges appeared on The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and the landmark miniseries Roots, and was a regular on the Barney Miller spinoff Fish. But it was playing Willis Jackson, on the long-running sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, that made him a household name, along with those of fellow co-stars Conrad Bain, Charlotte Rae, Dana Plato, and Gary Coleman. With Rae's death in 2018, Bridges became the last surviving original cast member.[2] Bridges defeated Vanilla Ice on a 2002 episode of Celebrity Boxing. In 2006, Bridges appeared as a contestant on a celebrity episode of Fear Factor, but was eliminated after the first stunt. Also in 2006, he appeared as a contestant on the Fox reality show Skating with Celebrities but was eliminated on the second episode of the show because he was using roller skates instead of ice skates. In January 2007, he appeared as a member of the "mob" on the US version of the game show 1 vs. 100. He and his wife Dori Bridges appeared in the November 14, 2007 episode of the MyNetworkTV show Decision House titled "Burned Bridges". He also had a recurring role on the UPN/The CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. In March 2008, Bridges appeared on TruTV Presents: World's Dumbest...; he continues to appear as a frequent commentator. That same year in October, he debuted as one of the contestants on Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling, on the CMT Network. He was a member of Team Beefcake (coached by former wrestler Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake). On the show, Bridges' wrestling persona was the character "Mr. Not So Perfect." In one episode, he put the smackdown on Tonya Harding with a lead pipe. The judges praised him for his athleticism and his cunning at defeating Harding. After reaching the finals along with Butterbean and Dustin Diamond, Bridges was defeated by Dennis Rodman. In 2015, Bridges was the host of a live game show, Lovers or Losers: The Game Show, at the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Music videos Bridges has appeared in a few music videos. His first music video appearance was in Penny Ford's single "Change Your Wicked Ways" (1984).[3] Almost 15 years later, he made a cameo in Moby's 2002 music video for "We Are All Made of Stars". In 2011, he appeared in the video for The Black Keys single "Howlin' for You". Personal life Bridges' son, Spencir Bridges (born July 15, 1998), with his now ex-wife Dori Bridges (née Smith), is also a former child actor who appeared in the film Daddy Day Camp and an episode of iCarly. Bridges also has a daughter from a previous relationship.[4] In 1998, Bridges and his brother James were credited with saving the life of Stella Kline, a 51-year-old paraplegic woman. The woman nearly drowned when her wheelchair rolled into a lake while she was fishing. Kline said, "I was thanking God that he was there, and you know, everybody's been saying nothing but bad stuff about Todd Bridges on the news and in the papers... He has a heart of gold." Bridges remarked on the rescue, "We felt God put us there at the right time to save this lady's life, because there was no one else around."[5] In a 2010 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Bridges said that he was sexually abused at age 11 by a publicist who was also a family friend.[6] Legal issues During his 20s, Bridges battled a crack cocaine addiction. In 1989, he was arrested and tried for the attempted murder of Kenneth "Tex" Clay, a Los Angeles-area drug dealer who, prosecutors argued, had been shot by Bridges. Bridges pleaded not guilty to the charges and was represented by the high-profile defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Cochran argued that Bridges was an abused minor who had been driven to drugs by an exploitative entertainment industry and was now being unfairly framed. A witness finally testified that Bridges was not present at the time of the shooting. Bridges was acquitted of all charges by a jury.[7] Memoir Bridges wrote a book titled Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted (2008), discussing his childhood sexual abuse, drug addiction, criminal charges, and efforts to establish a public identity independent of the character, "Willis," he portrayed.[8] He appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 28, 2010 to discuss the troubled past he chronicles in his memoir.[9] Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1989 She's Out of Control Water Man 1992 The Sounds of Silence Joe Goodman Independent film, co-starring Dana Plato 1992 Homeboy Johnny Davis 1996 Gangstaz Tyrone 1997 The Girl Gets Moe Dr. Glick 1998 The Waterfront Gary Franklin 1999 Flat Out Dr. Acosta 2000 The Thief & the Stripper Burn 2002 The Beach House Todd 2002 The Climb Eddie 2002 Welcome to America Easy T 2002 Scream at the Sound of the Beep Lamar 2002 Pacino is Missing Harrison Dodge Ind. film, co-starring Dana Plato 2002 Baby of the Family Ted 2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Himself Cameo 2003 Dumb Luck Lincoln 2004 Land of the Free? Alex 2004 Curse of the Maya Ruben Herardo 2005 Treasure N'Tha Hood Henry Nails 2005 Issues Carson 2005 I Got Five on It Jimmy Direct-to-video 2007 Frankie D Frankie D 2008 Darkroom Charles the Barkeep 2009 See Dick Run ATM 2009 I Got Five on It Too Jimmy 2009 The Jerk Theory Waiter Uncredited[citation needed] 2010 Big Money Rustlas Scruffy Scrub #3 2010 The Apparition of Roxanne Officer Johnston 2010 Do Me a Solid Maurice Short film 2011 King of the Underground Todd 2012 That's My Boy Himself Cameo 2012 Turning Point Marvin 2014 Monsters on Main Street Larry Goleman 2016 Dependent's Day Hank Wright 2016 Precious Mettle Sam 2016 The White Sistas Bishop Wilkins 2016 Dead Ringer Detective Billington 2016 Bar Chronicles The Customer Ind. film 2016 Nightblade Detective Francesco 2016 Renaissance Man Todd 2016 Hospital Arrest Prosecutor Denuyl 2017 The White Sistas Bishop Wilkins 2019 A Psycho's Path Haywood Television Year Title Role Notes 1975 Barney Miller Truman Jackson Episode: "The Hero" 1975 The Orphan and the Dude Leonard Brown TV movie 1975 Katherine Robert TV movie 1976 Police Story Little Walter Episode: "Oxford Gray" 1977 Little House on the Prairie Solomon Henry Episode: "The Wisdom of Solomon" 1977 A Circle of Children Todd TV movie 1977 A Killing Affair Todd York TV movie 1977–78 Fish Loomis Main role (35 episodes) 1977/78 The Waltons Josh Foster 2 episodes 1978 The Love Boat Michael Jr. Episode: "Mike and Ike" 1978–86 Diff'rent Strokes Willis Jackson Main role (169 episodes) 1979 The Return of Mod Squad Jason Hayes TV movie 1979/80 CHiPs Todd Bridges 2 episodes (uncredited)[citation needed] 1979 Hello, Larry Willis Jackson 3 episodes 1979/81 The Facts of Life Willis Jackson 2 episodes 1980/81 Here's Boomer Turk/Benny 2 episodes 1983 High School U.S.A. Otto Lipton TV movie 1988 Twice Dead Petie TV movie 1991 The New Lassie Deputy Kirby Episode: "Twin Pekes (Aka Justice)" 1992 The Ben Stiller Show Todd Bridges 2 episodes 1997 L.A. Heat Trevor Episode: "Cop Star" 2000 The Darkling Baron TV movie 2001 Son of the Beach Todd Bridges Episode: "It's a Nude, Nude, Nude, Nude World" 2002 The Rerun Show T.J. Davis 1 episode 2002 The Young and the Restless Juice 8 episodes 2003 Ghost Dog: A Detective Tail Power Plant Guard TV movie 2004 Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't The Man TV movie 2005 Alien Express Peter TV movie 2007–09 Everybody Hates Chris Monk 17 episodes 2008–12 World's Dumbest Himself 112 episodes 2014 Hotel P Bryce Pilot 2016–18 Sangre Negra Dante Lewis 3 episodes Video games Year Title Voice role 2014 Tesla Effect Mantus 2016 2064: Read Only Memories Hayden Webber 2019 Take a Seat Narrator Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies Johnny Brandon to Ric Burns Todd Bridges Biography (1965-) Born May 27, 1965, in San Francisco, CA; son of James, Sr. (an agent) and Betty A. (an actress, director, and manager) Bridges; brother of Jimmy Bridges (an actor); uncle of Penny Bae Bridges and Brook Marie Bridges (both actresses); married second wife, Dori Smith, May 25, 1998; children: Spencer Todd. Addresses: Agent: Nancy Chaidez Agency, 1555 Vine St., Suite 223, Hollywood, CA 90028. Nationality American Gender Male Occupation Actor, producer, director, cinematographer, writer Birth Details May 27, 1965 San Francisco, California, United States Famous Works CREDITS Film Appearances Himself/cyclist, Bicycle Safety (documentary), 1975 Petie, Twice Dead, Nelson, 1988 Water man, She's Out of Control, Columbia, 1989 The Sounds of Silence, 1992 Johnny Davis, Homeboys, American International Pictures Home Video, 1992 Tyrone, Prisoners of Love, 1996 Billy, Busted, PM Entertainment Group, 1996 Tyrone, Gangstaz (also known as Last Chance), 1996 Hoover Park, 1997 The Waterfront, Ares Motion Picture Company, 1997 Dr. Glick, The Girl Gets Moe (also known as Love to Kill),Girl Gets Moe Pictures, 1997 Thomas, A Devil Disguised, 1997 Richard, A Day in the Life of Mia, 1997 Burn, The Thief and the Stripper (also known as Strip 'n Run), Bruder Releasing, 1998 The Waterfront (also known as Maximum Justice), AMCO Entertainment Group, 1998 Dr. Acosta, Flat Out, 1998 Himself, Building Bridges, 1999 Himself, Labor Day, 2000 Night watchman, Hollywood, 2000 Terry, Flossin, Urban Domain, 2000 Lincoln, Dumb Luck, 2001 Inhumanity, York Entertainment, 2001 Himself, Wrong Way to Sundance, 2001 Ted, Baby of the Family, 2002 Harrison Dodge, Pacino Is Missing, 2002 Easy T, Welcome to America, 2002 Lamar, Scream at the Sound of the Beep, 2002 Todd, The Beach House, 2002 Eddie, The Climb, WorldWide Pictures, 2002 Tupac: Resurrection (documentary), Paramount, 2003 Himself, Pauly Shore Is Dead, CKrush Entertainment, 2003 Himself, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (also known as Dickie Roberts: (Former) Child Star), Paramount, 2003 Billy, Black Ball (also known as Full Circle), Cargo Films,2003 May Day, 2003 Alex, Land of the Free?, 2004 Herardo, Curse of the Maya (also known as Evil Grave: Curse ofthe Maya), David Heavener Entertainment, 2004 Carson, Issue, 2005 Henry Nails, Treasure `n tha Hood, Lightyear, 2005 Jimmy, I Got Five On It, Image Entertainment, 2005 William, Last Call, 2006 Dennis, The Damned, 2006 Also appeared in Fire Sale. Film Work Cinematographer, A Devil Disguised, 1997 Producer and director, Building Bridges, 1999 Producer and director, Flossin, 2000 Producer and director, Black Ball (also known as Full Circle), Cargo Films, 2003 Television Appearances Series Loomis, Fish, ABC, 1977-78 Willis Jackson Drummond, Diff'rent Strokes, NBC, 1978-85, then ABC, 1985-86 Juice number two, The Young and the Restless (also known as Y&R), CBS, 2002 Skating with Celebrities, Fox, 2006 Miniseries Bud, Roots, ABC, 1977 I Love the '70s, VH1, 2003 100 Greatest Kids Stars, VH1, 2005 Movies Robert, Katherine (also known as The Radical), ABC, 1975 Todd York, A Killing Affair (also known as Behind the Badge), CBS, 1977 Jason Hayes, The Return of the Mod Squad, ABC, 1979 Otto Lipton, High School U.S.A. (also known as High School USA), NBC, 1983 Circle of Pain, 1996 Baron, The Darkling, 2000 Himself, Dancing in September, HBO, 2000 Power plant guard, Ghost Dog: A Detective Tail, PAX, 2003 The man, Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't, Hallmark Channel, 2005 Peter, Alien Express, Sci-Fi Channel, 2005 Specials NBC team member, Battle of the Network Stars VI, ABC, 1979 Himself, Good Evening, Captain, CBS, 1981 Circus of the Stars #6, CBS, 1981 Roller Disco Championship, 1981 NBC Star Salute to 1981, NBC, 1981 Performer, Circus of the Stars #7, CBS, 1982 Red team member, Battle of the Video Games, syndicated, 1983 Hang Tight, Willy-Bill, syndicated, 1983 The Lost Youth of Hollywood, NBC, 1991 Robin Leach's Private Files: The Price of Fame, syndicated, 1993 The Beth Littleford Interview Special, Comedy Central, 1998 Diff'rent Strokes: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! Entertainment Television, 1998 Crack dealer, After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped,Fox, 2000 TV Guide's Truth behind the Sitcoms 2, Fox, 2000 Child Stars: Their Story (documentary), Arts and Entertainment, 2000 Entertainment Tonight Presents: TV's Greatest Scandals, syndicated, 2000 Celebrity Boxing, Fox, 2002 TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV (also known as 1stAnnual TV Land Awards), TV Land, 2003 BET Comedy Awards, Black Entertainment Television, 2004 100 Greatest Kid Stars, VH1, 2005 Pilots Leonard Brown, The Orphan and the Dude, ABC, 1975 Himself, Komedy Tonite, NBC, 1978 Episodic Truman Jackson, "The Hero," Barney Miller (also known as The Life and Times of Captain Barney Miller), ABC, 1975 Solomon Henry, "The Wisdom of Solomon," Little House on the Prairie, NBC, 1977 Josh, "The Stray," The Waltons, CBS, 1977 Michael Jr., "The Kissing Bandit/Mike and Ike/Witness," The Love Boat, ABC, 1978 Josh, "The Illusion," The Waltons, CBS, 1978 Willis Jackson, "The Drummonds' Visit," The Facts of Life, NBC, 1979 Himself, "CHiPs Goes Roller Disco," CHiPs, NBC, 1979 Dinah! syndicated, 1979 20/20, ABC, 1979 Here's Boomer, NBC, 1980 Himself, "The Great 5K Star Race and Boulder Wrap Party, Part 2," CHiPs, NBC, 1980 The Mike Douglas Show, syndicated, 1980 The Hollywood Squares, syndicated, 1980 The John Davidson Show, syndicated, 1980 "Boomer's Eastside Story," Here's Boomer, NBC, 1981 Willis Jackson, "Bought and Sold," The Facts of Life, 1981 Kids Are People, Too, ABC, 1981 Hour Magazine, syndicated, 1981 Dance Fever, syndicated, 1983 All-Star Blitz, ABC, 1985 The New Lassie, 1990 The Howard Stern Show, syndicated, 1991 Himself, "On Melrose Avenue," The Ben Stiller Show, Fox, 1992 Himself, "Episode with Bobcat Goldthwait," The Ben Stiller Show, Fox, 1992 Trevor, "Cop Star," L.A. Heat, TNT, 1999 "I Love 1980," I Love 1980's, BBC 2, 2001 Himself, "Newsmakers Edition," Weakest Link (also known as TheWeakest Link USA), NBC, 2001 Himself, Oh Drama!, Black Entertainment Television, 2001 "It's a Nude, Nude, Nude, Nude World," Sons of the Beach, FX Channel, 2001 Mad TV, Fox, 2001 T. J. Davis, "Saved by the Bell: Jessie's Song/The Jeffersons: Florence in Love," The Rerun Show, NBC, 2002 Contestant, Cram, Game Show Network, 2003 Himself, Banzai, Fox, 2003 Hollywood Squares (also known as H2 and H2: Hollywood Squares), syndicated, 2003 Himself, "Mel's Dinner," The Surreal Life, 2004 "Gary Coleman," A&E Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 2005 Himself, Punk'd, MTV, 2005 Himself, "Changing Times and Trends," TV Land Confidential, TV Land, 2005 Also appeared as young jockey, "The Jockey," Here's Boomer, and Turk, "Rocker Boomer," Here's Boomer. Television Work Specials Consultant, After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped, Fox, 2000 RECORDINGS Music Videos Appeared in Moby's "We Are All Made out of Stars," 2002. WRITINGS Film Scripts Building Bridges, 1999 Further Reference OTHER SOURCES Books Contemporary Black Biography, Vol. 37, Gale Group, 2003 Periodicals Entertainment Weekly, January 31, 1997, p. 11; February 4, 2000, p. 84 Jet, January 18, 1993, p. 58; February 1, 1993, p. 64; March 29, 1993, p. 34; April 5, 1993, p. 37; August 16, 1993, p. 56; December 27, 1993,p. 29; February 10, 1997, p. 48; October 18, 1999, p. 36; April 30, 2001, p.64 Newsweek, January 16, 1995, p. 60 People, July 22, 2002, p. 16 “Diff’rent Strokes” star Todd Bridges and his wife, Dori, have decided to go their different ways. The couple announced the end of their 14-year marriage. The two have one son, 13-year-old Spencir Bridges, who is following in the footsteps of his dad by becoming a child actor. Bridges acknowledged the breakup on Twitter. Dori is “a great mother im glad to have had the years to know her and have a great kid with her,'' he said. "As we know, people grow apart and we did.” He added Monday, “Life is full of changes.” The two married in 1998. A statement from Bridges reads, "The Bridges have decided that disunion is in the best interest of their collective futures. Although Todd and Dori are going their separate ways, they are mutually committed to the well-being of their son." When Bridges was 13, he won the part of Willis on the popular sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” which ran from 1978-1986 and also starred Dana Plato and Gary Coleman. [Related: The Battle Over Gary Coleman's Estate] In his 20s, the star battled a cocaine habit and ran into trouble with the law for allegations of drug possession and carrying a concealed weapon. Said Bridges about that time, "I know how terrible life was when I was using drugs.” Bridges wrote a tell-all memoir in 2010 called "Killing Willis," which detailed his drug addiction after the popular TV show ended. The 47-year-old, who says he is now clean, most recently played Monk on the show “Everybody Hates Chris.” He and Dori appeared on MyNetworkTV's new show, "Decision House," in the "Burned Bridges" episode. The actor next appears in the Adam Sandler comedy, “That’s My Boy.” Diff'rent Strokes is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985 and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two African-American boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman and widower named Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain) and his daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato), for whom their deceased mother previously worked.[2][3] During the first season and first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred as the Drummonds' housekeeper, Mrs. Edna Garrett (who ultimately spun off into her own sitcom, The Facts of Life). The series made stars out of child actors Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato and became known for the "very special episodes" in which serious issues such as racism, illegal drug use, alcoholism, hitchhiking, kidnapping and child sexual abuse were dramatically explored. The lives of these stars were later plagued by legal troubles and drug addiction, with Plato and Coleman suffering early deaths. Contents 1 History 1.1 Seasons 1–4 (1978–1982) 1.2 Seasons 5–6 (1982–1984) 1.3 Season 7 (1984–1985) 1.4 Season 8 (1985–1986) 2 Cast 2.1 Supporting characters 3 Episodes 3.1 Very special episodes 3.2 Spin-off and crossovers 3.3 Later appearances as the characters 3.4 Additional catchphrase references and appearances in popular culture 4 After Diff'rent Strokes ended 4.1 Gary Coleman 4.2 Dana Plato 4.3 Todd Bridges 5 Docudramas 6 Home media 7 See also 8 References 9 External links History The series was originally devised jointly to serve as a vehicle for Maude co-star Conrad Bain (after Maude had abruptly finished production in 1978), and child actor Gary Coleman, who had caught producers' attentions after appearing in a number of commercials. An early rough outline for the series, featuring the characters created for Bain and Coleman, had the proposed title 45 Minutes from Harlem (even though Harlem is only ten or fifteen minutes away from the Drummond residence by subway or taxi).[4] As the pitch was developed, Coleman's character gained an older brother, and the daughter of Bain's character and a housekeeper was added to the line-up. The title eventually became Diff'rent Strokes, inspired by the quote "Different strokes for different folks" popularized by boxer Muhammad Ali in 1966 (Ali makes a guest appearance in season 2).[5] The sitcom starred Coleman as Arnold Jackson and Todd Bridges as his older brother, Willis. They played two children from a poor section of Harlem whose deceased mother previously worked for rich widower Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain), who eventually adopted them. They lived in a penthouse with Drummond, his daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato), and their maid. There were three maids during the sitcom's run: Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), Adelaide Brubaker (Nedra Volz), and Pearl Gallagher (Mary Jo Catlett). They lived in the Penthouse Suite at 697 Park Avenue in New York City. As Arnold, Coleman popularized the catchphrase "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" The ending often varied, depending on whom he was addressing. Early episodes addressed typical issues in a family. As the series progressed, although sticking to more light-hearted sit-com themes in many episodes, at times it focused on more serious topics including drug abuse, alcoholism, hitchhiking, child abuse, and crime, among other issues. Seasons 1–4 (1978–1982) The first season very much covered 'every day life' of this unusual family line-up. Dana Plato, although billed on the opening credits, did not appear in every episode as her character was often said to be away at her private school (the character would become more regular later in the first season and across the second season). During the first season, the unseen character of "The Gooch" is first mentioned - a supposedly mean, hulking (but not very bright) bully at Arnold's school. First 'featured' in the first-season episode The Fight, where he is said to be bullying Arnold at school, The Gooch went on to be the focus of several future episodes, and is mentioned in countless others right across the run of the series. Charlotte Rae appeared in every first-season episode as Edna Garrett, and is present for most of the second season, but is absent in several episodes late on in the season, before leaving to star in her own spin-off, The Facts of Life, set at Kimberly's private school (Kimberly herself did not become a regular character in that series, although the two shows had a number of cross-overs). Following Rae's departure near the end of the second season, Nedra Volz took over as the housekeeper, the older and crankier Adelaide Brubaker. Although she was not added to the opening credits (instead always being credited with the guest cast on the closing credits), Volz appeared as a frequent semi-regular character. Also first seen in the second season was Arnold's best friend Dudley (initially called Dudley Ramsay, later Dudley Johnson). The character went on to be featured in many episodes, both school-based and otherwise, throughout the show's run. During the fourth season, Dody Goodman was also introduced as Philip's dotty sister Sophia. Also appearing on a semi-regular basis, she effectively filled the same function as Adelaide as the older female character in many stories. Seasons 5–6 (1982–1984) In Season 5, Mary Jo Catlett portrayed Pearl Gallagher, the last of the three maids, and joined the cast as a series regular. Pearl appeared in almost every episode until the final season. Midway through Season 6, Dana Plato became pregnant and approached the producers of the show to include her pregnancy. Initially they agreed to add it, but they later decided not to add the pregnancy, with Plato's publicized brushes with substance abuse contributing to this decision, resulting in her dismissal from the series.[citation needed] Plato's character, Kimberly, was written out of the story lines with the explanation that she moved to Paris to study for a couple of years. Plato did not appear as a regular cast member in the final two seasons of the series, but she made several guest appearances. At the same time, ratings were beginning to fall, so new characters were added to open up future storylines. Dixie Carter and Danny Cooksey portrayed recently divorced television aerobics instructor Margaret "Maggie" McKinney, and her son, Sam McKinney.[6] Carter was introduced midway into the sixth season; after she left for California, Drummond and the family took off after her, during a two-part trip in February 1984, a storyline which also introduced Sam. Phillip proposed to Maggie, and they married. Several past characters attended the wedding ceremony including Dudley, Aunt Sophia, Adelaide and Mrs. Garrett. Season 7 (1984–1985) In the seventh season, Dixie Carter and Danny Cooksey were added to the opening credits (with Carter getting special "and" billing, last in the order), and many new areas and ideas were explored in the storylines, as viewers now got to see Philip as a happily married man. Dana Plato was no longer appearing as a main cast member, because of her pregnancy in real life. The producers felt that the pregnancy wouldn't be acceptable, so she was dropped from the show and returned for the season finale A Special Friend as a guest star. Also, 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, and with Willis being dropped into the background slightly, this new brotherly duo took center stage for many storylines. In the season, Todd Bridges was continuing the show as a main cast member, but developed absences in several episodes. Additionally, stories focusing on Arnold's school life (featured occasionally in many previous seasons) were delved into much more. The ratings did not improve to NBC's hopes. Dixie Carter departed at the end of the seventh season and was replaced with Mary Ann Mobley in the eighth season. Season 8 (1985–1986) In the spring of 1985, NBC canceled the series because of poor ratings. ABC picked up the series for an eighth season, and aired it Friday nights. In this season, Mary Ann Mobley replaced Dixie Carter as Maggie McKinney Drummond. Mobley, who had previously played an unrelated, one-off love interest of Drummond's in the second-season episode "Teacher's Pet", was considered for Maggie when the role was created, but she was not initially chosen in part due to age disparity between her and Conrad Bain.[7] ABC canceled the series after 19 episodes, and aired its final episode on March 7, 1986. The show returned to ABC's schedule in June for three months of summer reruns, which ended on August 30, 1986. The final season ranked 76th out of 106 shows, and averaged an 11.5 household rating.[citation needed] Cast Main article: List of Diff'rent Strokes characters Conrad Bain as Phillip Drummond Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson Todd Bridges as Willis Jackson Dana Plato as Kimberly Drummond (1978–84, 1985–86 recurring) Charlotte Rae as Edna Garrett (1978–79) Nedra Volz as Adelaide Brubaker (1980–84) Janet Jackson as Charlene DuPrey (1980–84 recurring) Dody Goodman as Sophia Drummond (1981–84 recurring) Shavar Ross as Dudley Johnson (1980–86 recurring) Le Tari as Ted Ramsey (1980–84 recurring) Mary Jo Catlett as Pearl Gallagher (1982–86) Rosalind Chao as Miss Chung (1981–83 recurring) Steven Mond as Robbie Jason (1980–85 recurring) Dixie Carter as Maggie McKinney Drummond #1 (1984–85) Mary Ann Mobley as Maggie McKinney Drummond #2 (1985–86) and as Ms. Osbourne Danny Cooksey as Sam McKinney (1984–86) Jason Hervey as Charlie (1985–86 recurring) Nikki Swasey as Lisa Hayes (1982–86 recurring) Phillip Drummond is the only character to appear in every episode of the series. Arnold Jackson missed five episodes, two from the fourth season in 1981-82 (“First Day Blues" and "The Team") and three from the seventh season in 1984–85 ("The Gymnasts", "Sam Adopts a Grandparent" and "Baseball Blues"). Supporting characters Outside of the Drummond household, there were a large number of supporting characters seen over the years. Phillip's slightly dotty sister Sophia (Dody Goodman) was regularly seen in the fourth season, playing matchmaker for her brother in hopes of getting Philip to marry again. Dudley Johnson (Shavar Ross) was Arnold's new best friend, who, like Arnold, was also adopted, with whom he shared many memorable childhood scrapes. Some of these were important or serious storylines under the "very special episode" heading, which Diff'rent Strokes popularized (see below). Ted Ramsey (Le Tari) was Dudley's adoptive father, who turned up occasionally. In the third season, Janet Jackson played Willis' girlfriend Charlene DuPrey. She was a frequent recurring character until Season 6, when Charlene and Willis decided to break up, but remain friends. Other classmates and friends of Arnold seen over time included Robbie Jason (Steven Mond) and snobby Lisa Hayes (Nikki Swasey), who initially was sweet on Arnold, but later came to despise him, leading to hatred between the pair and many squabbles. Miss Chung (Rosalind Chao) was Arnold's teacher. In the fall of 1985, when the series moved to ABC, Arnold, Dudley and Lisa entered high school, where they gained a new friend in Charlie (Jason Hervey). An oft-mentioned character, spanning the entire show's run, was "The Gooch", a notorious bully at Arnold's school. First mentioned in the first-season episode "The Fight", which revolves around his bullying of Arnold, his name is mentioned in numerous episodes (and his bullying of Arnold returned as the center of several plots), with Arnold's frequent descriptions of him as a burly, troublesome brute, forever looking for trouble but not very intelligent, but the character never actually appeared on screen. In season 7, after years of harassing Arnold (and later Sam), the Gooch was finally defeated by Arnold's neighbor and nemesis Carmella. Episodes Main article: List of Diff'rent Strokes episodes Season Episodes Originally aired Rank Rating Tied with First aired Last aired Network 1 24 November 3, 1978 May 4, 1979 NBC 27 19.9 N/A 2 26 September 21, 1979 March 26, 1980 26 20.3 N/A 3 22 November 12, 1980 May 13, 1981 17 20.7 Fantasy Island Trapper John, M.D. 4 26 October 29, 1981 May 20, 1982 N/A N/A N/A 5 24 October 2, 1982 May 14, 1983 N/A N/A N/A 6 24 October 1, 1983 May 12, 1984 N/A N/A N/A 7 24 September 29, 1984 May 4, 1985 N/A N/A N/A 8 19 September 27, 1985 March 7, 1986 ABC N/A N/A N/A Very special episodes Nancy Reagan on the set of Diff'rent Strokes Diff'rent Strokes was also known for its many "very special episodes", most notably an anti-drug episode ("The Reporter", in Season 5) that featured First Lady Nancy Reagan, who promoted her "Just Say No" campaign, and "The Bicycle Man", a two-part episode that guest starred Gordon Jump as a pedophile who lures Arnold and Dudley into his bicycle shop and attempts to molest them. Another episode involved a con artist (played by Whitman Mayo) posing as a relative of Arnold and Willis in an attempt to get access to the inheritance they were left by a former neighbor. Another episode involved Kimberly's new boyfriend Roger not allowing his sister to go to their school's costume ball with Willis because he is African-American. A less serious episode had Kimberly's hair turning green from acid rain. In an episode on the dangers of hitchhiking, Kimberly and Arnold (who were out in the cold weather and didn't have money for cab or bus fare) were abducted by a serial kidnapper-rapist (played by Woody Eney), who initially acted as a good Samaritan by giving the two of them a ride, and inviting them to his apartment. After the man's true nature became known, Arnold escaped to look for help and the man nearly raped Kimberly before the police arrived to arrest him. At the end of the episode, Conrad Bain (in an out of character PSA) spoke about what to do if real life situations as the one portrayed on the show were to occur. Two notable episodes dealt with the consequences of alcoholism. In season 5, Willis moves out of the penthouse to live with a friend who abuses alcohol. In season 7, Arnold must deal with a classmate whom he catches drinking a thermos of alcohol in the school bathroom. In the final season (when the sitcom moved from NBC to ABC), the one-hour season opener revolved around Sam being kidnapped by a bereaved father (played by Royce D. Applegate) hoping to replace his own dead son. In other notable episodes, the family discovered that Kimberly was suffering from bulimia. In another episode, Arnold and Sam met Karen, a street performer. After a performance, she has an epileptic seizure, and Sam is scared thinking she's dying. The boys then feel uncomfortable around her, and when they begin making jokes about her seizures, they find out that housekeeper Pearl herself has epilepsy, but unlike Karen controls her seizures by taking medication. Spin-off and crossovers The Facts of Life (1979–88) is a spin-off of Diff'rent Strokes featuring Drummond's former maid Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae), who had accepted a job as the house-mother for a dormitory at an all-girls private school that Kimberly was attending. In a late first-season episode of Strokes (which served as the "backdoor pilot" of Facts), Mrs. Garrett took Kimberly to the school with the intent of helping her sew costumes for a school play. While there, Mrs. Garrett met Kimberly's classmates and was offered the job as "dorm mother". She declines in this episode, but come fall, clearly had a change of heart. The Diff'rent Strokes cast appeared in the first episode of The Facts of Life (at one point, Drummond asks Mrs. Garrett "Are you sure we can't change your mind to come back to us?"). The success of the spin-off led to several Strokes/Facts crossovers in the ensuing years. While not a spin-off, Hello, Larry (1979–80) had a connection to Strokes as it was established in a crossover episode that Philip Drummond and Larry Alder (McLean Stevenson) were old Army buddies, and Mr. Drummond had bought the company that owned the radio station where Larry worked as a talk show host. The episode "Almost American" (A.K.A. "Night School"), was the pilot for a potential spin-off series.[8] Additionally, Arnold appeared on the Silver Spoons episode "The Great Computer Caper" and the Amazing Stories episode "Remote Control Man". Later appearances as the characters In 1994, Coleman appeared in an episode of Married... with Children, playing a building code inspector whom Al Bundy called to report an illegal driveway. When Kelly recognizes him, he denies any connection to Arnold Jackson, but utters his catchphrase to Al, "What'chu talkin' about, Bundy?". Also, in 1996, Coleman and Bain reprised their roles for the series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air entitled "I, Done Part 2". In their scene, they reference Willis by name before meeting Will Smith's character, leading to Coleman uttering a variation of his catchphrase, "What'chu talkin' about, Will?". Additional catchphrase references and appearances in popular culture In 2004, Gary Coleman appeared on the second season of The Surreal Life and was pressured to quote his famous catchphrase by Vanilla Ice.[9][10] He also guest-starred as himself on The Wayans Bros., The Ben Stiller Show, Drake & Josh, The Jamie Foxx Show, The Parkers, Robot Chicken and The Simpsons. He also appeared on an episode of Married...With Children called How Green Was My Apple in which during a verbal confrontation with Al, he quipped, Whatchu talkin' bout Bundy? After Diff'rent Strokes ended Following the cancellation of Diff'rent Strokes, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato encountered difficulty in obtaining acting jobs. All three experienced various legal problems while Bridges and Plato also struggled with drug addictions, all of which were documented in the press. The press and fans of the series blamed the cast's personal problems and faltering careers on what was eventually dubbed the "curse of Diff'rent Strokes" by various tabloids.[11] Gary Coleman Main article: Gary Coleman Three years after the series ended, Gary Coleman sued his parents and his former manager over misappropriation of his trust fund. Although he was awarded over $1,000,000 in the decision, he filed for bankruptcy in 1999. In 1998, Coleman was charged with assault after he punched a woman while working as a security guard at a shopping mall. In 2001, Coleman (still working as a security guard) was videotaped trying to stop a vehicle from entering the mall. The driver ridiculed him, and released the tape to be broadcast on numerous television shows.[12] In 2007, Coleman was cited for disorderly conduct in Provo, Utah, for having a "heated discussion" with a woman.[13] On May 26, 2010, Coleman, who had battled health problems since childhood caused by congenital kidney disease, was admitted to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo after falling and hitting his head after suffering a seizure. Coleman was then placed on life support after suffering an intracranial hemorrhage, and died on May 28, 2010, from complications of his injury at age 42.[14] Dana Plato Main article: Dana Plato During Season 6, Dana Plato became pregnant and her character was written out of the series (though she would go on to make guest appearances for the final two seasons). In 1984 she married the father of her child, musician Lanny Lambert, but the couple divorced in 1990. Due to financial difficulties and her growing addiction to drugs and alcohol, Plato relinquished custody of her son, Tyler, to her ex-husband. In an attempt to boost her faltering career, Plato posed for Playboy in June 1989 but her appearance in the magazine did not help her land acting jobs.[11] By 1990, Plato was living in Las Vegas. Despite having made $25,000 an episode while on the series, she was often broke and was working as a cashier at a dry cleaning store.[15] In February 1991, she was arrested after robbing a Las Vegas video store armed with a pellet gun. She was arrested the following year for forging prescriptions for Valium.[16] In 1998, she appeared in a softcore pornographic film entitled Different Strokes: The Story of Jack and Jill...and Jill, which was intended to capitalize on her Diff'rent Strokes fame.[11] After her arrests, Plato publicly admitted that she struggled with an addiction to drugs and alcohol.[17] Plato died of a drug overdose in 1999 at age 34. Her death was ruled a suicide.[18] Her son, Tyler Lambert, would later commit suicide as well. Todd Bridges Main article: Todd Bridges After the series ended, Todd Bridges developed an addiction to cocaine. In February 1988, he was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of a drug dealer at a crack house in South Central Los Angeles. He was acquitted in November 1989.[19] Bridges was also arrested on a concealed weapon charge and possession of cocaine.[11] In 1994, he was arrested after allegedly ramming someone's car after an argument.[20] After years of battling his drug addiction, Bridges became sober in the early 1990s.[21] He now travels across the United States, touring schools and discussing the dangers of drug use.[22] Bridges has continued acting in films and television. His more high-profile role was as Monk, a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran, conspiracy theorist, and nephew of Chris' boss Doc on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.[23] With Plato's death in 1999 and Coleman's death in 2010, Bridges became the sole survivor of the show's original child actors. Bridges became the show's last surviving original cast member after the death of Charlotte Rae in 2018.[24] Docudramas Two unofficial docudramas were produced about the show: In 2000, Fox broadcast a one-hour television movie, After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped. This film, which starred unknown actors, focused on Dana Plato's life after the show, leading to her death. Todd Bridges guest starred in this film as a drug dealer who sold drugs—to a younger Todd Bridges.[25] On September 4, 2006, NBC aired a television drama titled Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Diff'rent Strokes. The film, which chronicles the rise and decline of the sitcom's child stars, also features recent interview clips with Coleman and Bridges. The two also star in the movie as themselves (briefly) in the final scene, standing by Plato's grave.[26] Home media Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released Seasons 1 and 2 of Diff'rent Strokes on DVD in Region 1 & 4. Season 1 was also released in Regions 2 & 5 on October 6, 2008.[27] On September 29, 2009, a "Fan Favorites" DVD was released. This is a one disc compilation consisting of eight episodes from Season 2.[28] On April 6, 2012, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to the series; they subsequently released the third season on DVD on July 17, 2012.[29] Season 4 was released on November 20, 2012.[30] Season 5 was released on April 4, 2017.[31] Season 6 was released on July 25, 2017.[32] Season 7 was released on February 27, 2018.[33] Season 8 was released on May 29, 2018.[34] On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library, including Diff'rent Strokes.[35] They subsequently re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on July 15, 2014.[36] DVD name No. of episodes Release dates Region 1 Region 4 The Complete First Season 24 September 14, 2004 July 15, 2014 (re-release) November 22, 2006 The Complete Second Season 26 January 31, 2006 July 15, 2014 (re-release) November 4, 2008 The Complete Third Season 22 July 17, 2012 N/A The Complete Fourth Season 26 November 20, 2012 N/A The Complete Fifth Season 24 April 4, 2017 N/A The Complete Sixth Season 23 July 25, 2017 N/A The Complete Seventh Season 24 February 27, 2018 N/A The Complete Eighth Season 19 May 29, 2018 N/A
Todd Anthony Bridges (born May 27, 1965) is an American actor and Comedian. He is known for his role as Willis Jackson on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, for his recurring role as Monk on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, and as a comedic commentator, from 2008 to 2013, on the television series TruTV Presents: World's Dumbest.... Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Television 2.2 Music videos 3 Personal life 3.1 Legal issues 4 Memoir 5 Filmography 5.1 Film 5.2 Television 5.3 Video games 6 References 7 External links Early life Bridges was born on May 27, 1965 in San Francisco, California, the son of Betty Alice Pryor, an actress, director, and manager, and James Bridges Sr., a talent agent.[1] Bridges' brother Jimmy Bridges, nieces Penny Bridges, Brooke Bridges and Rachel Bridges, and sister Verda Bridges are all actors.[citation needed] Career Television Bridges (at top right) with the cast of Fish, 1977 Bridges appeared on The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and the landmark miniseries Roots, and was a regular on the Barney Miller spinoff Fish. But it was playing Willis Jackson, on the long-running sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, that made him a household name, along with those of fellow co-stars Conrad Bain, Charlotte Rae, Dana Plato, and Gary Coleman. With Rae's death in 2018, Bridges became the last surviving original cast member.[2] Bridges defeated Vanilla Ice on a 2002 episode of Celebrity Boxing. In 2006, Bridges appeared as a contestant on a celebrity episode of Fear Factor, but was eliminated after the first stunt. Also in 2006, he appeared as a contestant on the Fox reality show Skating with Celebrities but was eliminated on the second episode of the show because he was using roller skates instead of ice skates. In January 2007, he appeared as a member of the "mob" on the US version of the game show 1 vs. 100. He and his wife Dori Bridges appeared in the November 14, 2007 episode of the MyNetworkTV show Decision House titled "Burned Bridges". He also had a recurring role on the UPN/The CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. In March 2008, Bridges appeared on TruTV Presents: World's Dumbest...; he continues to appear as a frequent commentator. That same year in October, he debuted as one of the contestants on Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling, on the CMT Network. He was a member of Team Beefcake (coached by former wrestler Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake). On the show, Bridges' wrestling persona was the character "Mr. Not So Perfect." In one episode, he put the smackdown on Tonya Harding with a lead pipe. The judges praised him for his athleticism and his cunning at defeating Harding. After reaching the finals along with Butterbean and Dustin Diamond, Bridges was defeated by Dennis Rodman. In 2015, Bridges was the host of a live game show, Lovers or Losers: The Game Show, at the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Music videos Bridges has appeared in a few music videos. His first music video appearance was in Penny Ford's single "Change Your Wicked Ways" (1984).[3] Almost 15 years later, he made a cameo in Moby's 2002 music video for "We Are All Made of Stars". In 2011, he appeared in the video for The Black Keys single "Howlin' for You". Personal life Bridges' son, Spencir Bridges (born July 15, 1998), with his now ex-wife Dori Bridges (née Smith), is also a former child actor who appeared in the film Daddy Day Camp and an episode of iCarly. Bridges also has a daughter from a previous relationship.[4] In 1998, Bridges and his brother James were credited with saving the life of Stella Kline, a 51-year-old paraplegic woman. The woman nearly drowned when her wheelchair rolled into a lake while she was fishing. Kline said, "I was thanking God that he was there, and you know, everybody's been saying nothing but bad stuff about Todd Bridges on the news and in the papers... He has a heart of gold." Bridges remarked on the rescue, "We felt God put us there at the right time to save this lady's life, because there was no one else around."[5] In a 2010 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Bridges said that he was sexually abused at age 11 by a publicist who was also a family friend.[6] Legal issues During his 20s, Bridges battled a crack cocaine addiction. In 1989, he was arrested and tried for the attempted murder of Kenneth "Tex" Clay, a Los Angeles-area drug dealer who, prosecutors argued, had been shot by Bridges. Bridges pleaded not guilty to the charges and was represented by the high-profile defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Cochran argued that Bridges was an abused minor who had been driven to drugs by an exploitative entertainment industry and was now being unfairly framed. A witness finally testified that Bridges was not present at the time of the shooting. Bridges was acquitted of all charges by a jury.[7] Memoir Bridges wrote a book titled Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted (2008), discussing his childhood sexual abuse, drug addiction, criminal charges, and efforts to establish a public identity independent of the character, "Willis," he portrayed.[8] He appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 28, 2010 to discuss the troubled past he chronicles in his memoir.[9] Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1989 She's Out of Control Water Man 1992 The Sounds of Silence Joe Goodman Independent film, co-starring Dana Plato 1992 Homeboy Johnny Davis 1996 Gangstaz Tyrone 1997 The Girl Gets Moe Dr. Glick 1998 The Waterfront Gary Franklin 1999 Flat Out Dr. Acosta 2000 The Thief & the Stripper Burn 2002 The Beach House Todd 2002 The Climb Eddie 2002 Welcome to America Easy T 2002 Scream at the Sound of the Beep Lamar 2002 Pacino is Missing Harrison Dodge Ind. film, co-starring Dana Plato 2002 Baby of the Family Ted 2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Himself Cameo 2003 Dumb Luck Lincoln 2004 Land of the Free? Alex 2004 Curse of the Maya Ruben Herardo 2005 Treasure N'Tha Hood Henry Nails 2005 Issues Carson 2005 I Got Five on It Jimmy Direct-to-video 2007 Frankie D Frankie D 2008 Darkroom Charles the Barkeep 2009 See Dick Run ATM 2009 I Got Five on It Too Jimmy 2009 The Jerk Theory Waiter Uncredited[citation needed] 2010 Big Money Rustlas Scruffy Scrub #3 2010 The Apparition of Roxanne Officer Johnston 2010 Do Me a Solid Maurice Short film 2011 King of the Underground Todd 2012 That's My Boy Himself Cameo 2012 Turning Point Marvin 2014 Monsters on Main Street Larry Goleman 2016 Dependent's Day Hank Wright 2016 Precious Mettle Sam 2016 The White Sistas Bishop Wilkins 2016 Dead Ringer Detective Billington 2016 Bar Chronicles The Customer Ind. film 2016 Nightblade Detective Francesco 2016 Renaissance Man Todd 2016 Hospital Arrest Prosecutor Denuyl 2017 The White Sistas Bishop Wilkins 2019 A Psycho's Path Haywood Television Year Title Role Notes 1975 Barney Miller Truman Jackson Episode: "The Hero" 1975 The Orphan and the Dude Leonard Brown TV movie 1975 Katherine Robert TV movie 1976 Police Story Little Walter Episode: "Oxford Gray" 1977 Little House on the Prairie Solomon Henry Episode: "The Wisdom of Solomon" 1977 A Circle of Children Todd TV movie 1977 A Killing Affair Todd York TV movie 1977–78 Fish Loomis Main role (35 episodes) 1977/78 The Waltons Josh Foster 2 episodes 1978 The Love Boat Michael Jr. Episode: "Mike and Ike" 1978–86 Diff'rent Strokes Willis Jackson Main role (169 episodes) 1979 The Return of Mod Squad Jason Hayes TV movie 1979/80 CHiPs Todd Bridges 2 episodes (uncredited)[citation needed] 1979 Hello, Larry Willis Jackson 3 episodes 1979/81 The Facts of Life Willis Jackson 2 episodes 1980/81 Here's Boomer Turk/Benny 2 episodes 1983 High School U.S.A. Otto Lipton TV movie 1988 Twice Dead Petie TV movie 1991 The New Lassie Deputy Kirby Episode: "Twin Pekes (Aka Justice)" 1992 The Ben Stiller Show Todd Bridges 2 episodes 1997 L.A. Heat Trevor Episode: "Cop Star" 2000 The Darkling Baron TV movie 2001 Son of the Beach Todd Bridges Episode: "It's a Nude, Nude, Nude, Nude World" 2002 The Rerun Show T.J. Davis 1 episode 2002 The Young and the Restless Juice 8 episodes 2003 Ghost Dog: A Detective Tail Power Plant Guard TV movie 2004 Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't The Man TV movie 2005 Alien Express Peter TV movie 2007–09 Everybody Hates Chris Monk 17 episodes 2008–12 World's Dumbest Himself 112 episodes 2014 Hotel P Bryce Pilot 2016–18 Sangre Negra Dante Lewis 3 episodes Video games Year Title Voice role 2014 Tesla Effect Mantus 2016 2064: Read Only Memories Hayden Webber 2019 Take a Seat Narrator Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies Johnny Brandon to Ric Burns Todd Bridges Biography (1965-) Born May 27, 1965, in San Francisco, CA; son of James, Sr. (an agent) and Betty A. (an actress, director, and manager) Bridges; brother of Jimmy Bridges (an actor); uncle of Penny Bae Bridges and Brook Marie Bridges (both actresses); married second wife, Dori Smith, May 25, 1998; children: Spencer Todd. Addresses: Agent: Nancy Chaidez Agency, 1555 Vine St., Suite 223, Hollywood, CA 90028. Nationality American Gender Male Occupation Actor, producer, director, cinematographer, writer Birth Details May 27, 1965 San Francisco, California, United States Famous Works CREDITS Film Appearances Himself/cyclist, Bicycle Safety (documentary), 1975 Petie, Twice Dead, Nelson, 1988 Water man, She's Out of Control, Columbia, 1989 The Sounds of Silence, 1992 Johnny Davis, Homeboys, American International Pictures Home Video, 1992 Tyrone, Prisoners of Love, 1996 Billy, Busted, PM Entertainment Group, 1996 Tyrone, Gangstaz (also known as Last Chance), 1996 Hoover Park, 1997 The Waterfront, Ares Motion Picture Company, 1997 Dr. Glick, The Girl Gets Moe (also known as Love to Kill),Girl Gets Moe Pictures, 1997 Thomas, A Devil Disguised, 1997 Richard, A Day in the Life of Mia, 1997 Burn, The Thief and the Stripper (also known as Strip 'n Run), Bruder Releasing, 1998 The Waterfront (also known as Maximum Justice), AMCO Entertainment Group, 1998 Dr. Acosta, Flat Out, 1998 Himself, Building Bridges, 1999 Himself, Labor Day, 2000 Night watchman, Hollywood, 2000 Terry, Flossin, Urban Domain, 2000 Lincoln, Dumb Luck, 2001 Inhumanity, York Entertainment, 2001 Himself, Wrong Way to Sundance, 2001 Ted, Baby of the Family, 2002 Harrison Dodge, Pacino Is Missing, 2002 Easy T, Welcome to America, 2002 Lamar, Scream at the Sound of the Beep, 2002 Todd, The Beach House, 2002 Eddie, The Climb, WorldWide Pictures, 2002 Tupac: Resurrection (documentary), Paramount, 2003 Himself, Pauly Shore Is Dead, CKrush Entertainment, 2003 Himself, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (also known as Dickie Roberts: (Former) Child Star), Paramount, 2003 Billy, Black Ball (also known as Full Circle), Cargo Films,2003 May Day, 2003 Alex, Land of the Free?, 2004 Herardo, Curse of the Maya (also known as Evil Grave: Curse ofthe Maya), David Heavener Entertainment, 2004 Carson, Issue, 2005 Henry Nails, Treasure `n tha Hood, Lightyear, 2005 Jimmy, I Got Five On It, Image Entertainment, 2005 William, Last Call, 2006 Dennis, The Damned, 2006 Also appeared in Fire Sale. Film Work Cinematographer, A Devil Disguised, 1997 Producer and director, Building Bridges, 1999 Producer and director, Flossin, 2000 Producer and director, Black Ball (also known as Full Circle), Cargo Films, 2003 Television Appearances Series Loomis, Fish, ABC, 1977-78 Willis Jackson Drummond, Diff'rent Strokes, NBC, 1978-85, then ABC, 1985-86 Juice number two, The Young and the Restless (also known as Y&R), CBS, 2002 Skating with Celebrities, Fox, 2006 Miniseries Bud, Roots, ABC, 1977 I Love the '70s, VH1, 2003 100 Greatest Kids Stars, VH1, 2005 Movies Robert, Katherine (also known as The Radical), ABC, 1975 Todd York, A Killing Affair (also known as Behind the Badge), CBS, 1977 Jason Hayes, The Return of the Mod Squad, ABC, 1979 Otto Lipton, High School U.S.A. (also known as High School USA), NBC, 1983 Circle of Pain, 1996 Baron, The Darkling, 2000 Himself, Dancing in September, HBO, 2000 Power plant guard, Ghost Dog: A Detective Tail, PAX, 2003 The man, Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don't, Hallmark Channel, 2005 Peter, Alien Express, Sci-Fi Channel, 2005 Specials NBC team member, Battle of the Network Stars VI, ABC, 1979 Himself, Good Evening, Captain, CBS, 1981 Circus of the Stars #6, CBS, 1981 Roller Disco Championship, 1981 NBC Star Salute to 1981, NBC, 1981 Performer, Circus of the Stars #7, CBS, 1982 Red team member, Battle of the Video Games, syndicated, 1983 Hang Tight, Willy-Bill, syndicated, 1983 The Lost Youth of Hollywood, NBC, 1991 Robin Leach's Private Files: The Price of Fame, syndicated, 1993 The Beth Littleford Interview Special, Comedy Central, 1998 Diff'rent Strokes: The E! True Hollywood Story, E! Entertainment Television, 1998 Crack dealer, After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped,Fox, 2000 TV Guide's Truth behind the Sitcoms 2, Fox, 2000 Child Stars: Their Story (documentary), Arts and Entertainment, 2000 Entertainment Tonight Presents: TV's Greatest Scandals, syndicated, 2000 Celebrity Boxing, Fox, 2002 TV Land Awards: A Celebration of Classic TV (also known as 1stAnnual TV Land Awards), TV Land, 2003 BET Comedy Awards, Black Entertainment Television, 2004 100 Greatest Kid Stars, VH1, 2005 Pilots Leonard Brown, The Orphan and the Dude, ABC, 1975 Himself, Komedy Tonite, NBC, 1978 Episodic Truman Jackson, "The Hero," Barney Miller (also known as The Life and Times of Captain Barney Miller), ABC, 1975 Solomon Henry, "The Wisdom of Solomon," Little House on the Prairie, NBC, 1977 Josh, "The Stray," The Waltons, CBS, 1977 Michael Jr., "The Kissing Bandit/Mike and Ike/Witness," The Love Boat, ABC, 1978 Josh, "The Illusion," The Waltons, CBS, 1978 Willis Jackson, "The Drummonds' Visit," The Facts of Life, NBC, 1979 Himself, "CHiPs Goes Roller Disco," CHiPs, NBC, 1979 Dinah! syndicated, 1979 20/20, ABC, 1979 Here's Boomer, NBC, 1980 Himself, "The Great 5K Star Race and Boulder Wrap Party, Part 2," CHiPs, NBC, 1980 The Mike Douglas Show, syndicated, 1980 The Hollywood Squares, syndicated, 1980 The John Davidson Show, syndicated, 1980 "Boomer's Eastside Story," Here's Boomer, NBC, 1981 Willis Jackson, "Bought and Sold," The Facts of Life, 1981 Kids Are People, Too, ABC, 1981 Hour Magazine, syndicated, 1981 Dance Fever, syndicated, 1983 All-Star Blitz, ABC, 1985 The New Lassie, 1990 The Howard Stern Show, syndicated, 1991 Himself, "On Melrose Avenue," The Ben Stiller Show, Fox, 1992 Himself, "Episode with Bobcat Goldthwait," The Ben Stiller Show, Fox, 1992 Trevor, "Cop Star," L.A. Heat, TNT, 1999 "I Love 1980," I Love 1980's, BBC 2, 2001 Himself, "Newsmakers Edition," Weakest Link (also known as TheWeakest Link USA), NBC, 2001 Himself, Oh Drama!, Black Entertainment Television, 2001 "It's a Nude, Nude, Nude, Nude World," Sons of the Beach, FX Channel, 2001 Mad TV, Fox, 2001 T. J. Davis, "Saved by the Bell: Jessie's Song/The Jeffersons: Florence in Love," The Rerun Show, NBC, 2002 Contestant, Cram, Game Show Network, 2003 Himself, Banzai, Fox, 2003 Hollywood Squares (also known as H2 and H2: Hollywood Squares), syndicated, 2003 Himself, "Mel's Dinner," The Surreal Life, 2004 "Gary Coleman," A&E Biography, Arts and Entertainment, 2005 Himself, Punk'd, MTV, 2005 Himself, "Changing Times and Trends," TV Land Confidential, TV Land, 2005 Also appeared as young jockey, "The Jockey," Here's Boomer, and Turk, "Rocker Boomer," Here's Boomer. Television Work Specials Consultant, After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped, Fox, 2000 RECORDINGS Music Videos Appeared in Moby's "We Are All Made out of Stars," 2002. WRITINGS Film Scripts Building Bridges, 1999 Further Reference OTHER SOURCES Books Contemporary Black Biography, Vol. 37, Gale Group, 2003 Periodicals Entertainment Weekly, January 31, 1997, p. 11; February 4, 2000, p. 84 Jet, January 18, 1993, p. 58; February 1, 1993, p. 64; March 29, 1993, p. 34; April 5, 1993, p. 37; August 16, 1993, p. 56; December 27, 1993,p. 29; February 10, 1997, p. 48; October 18, 1999, p. 36; April 30, 2001, p.64 Newsweek, January 16, 1995, p. 60 People, July 22, 2002, p. 16 “Diff’rent Strokes” star Todd Bridges and his wife, Dori, have decided to go their different ways. The couple announced the end of their 14-year marriage. The two have one son, 13-year-old Spencir Bridges, who is following in the footsteps of his dad by becoming a child actor. Bridges acknowledged the breakup on Twitter. Dori is “a great mother im glad to have had the years to know her and have a great kid with her,'' he said. "As we know, people grow apart and we did.” He added Monday, “Life is full of changes.” The two married in 1998. A statement from Bridges reads, "The Bridges have decided that disunion is in the best interest of their collective futures. Although Todd and Dori are going their separate ways, they are mutually committed to the well-being of their son." When Bridges was 13, he won the part of Willis on the popular sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” which ran from 1978-1986 and also starred Dana Plato and Gary Coleman. [Related: The Battle Over Gary Coleman's Estate] In his 20s, the star battled a cocaine habit and ran into trouble with the law for allegations of drug possession and carrying a concealed weapon. Said Bridges about that time, "I know how terrible life was when I was using drugs.” Bridges wrote a tell-all memoir in 2010 called "Killing Willis," which detailed his drug addiction after the popular TV show ended. The 47-year-old, who says he is now clean, most recently played Monk on the show “Everybody Hates Chris.” He and Dori appeared on MyNetworkTV's new show, "Decision House," in the "Burned Bridges" episode. The actor next appears in the Adam Sandler comedy, “That’s My Boy.” Diff'rent Strokes is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985 and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986. The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two African-American boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman and widower named Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain) and his daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato), for whom their deceased mother previously worked.[2][3] During the first season and first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred as the Drummonds' housekeeper, Mrs. Edna Garrett (who ultimately spun off into her own sitcom, The Facts of Life). The series made stars out of child actors Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato and became known for the "very special episodes" in which serious issues such as racism, illegal drug use, alcoholism, hitchhiking, kidnapping and child sexual abuse were dramatically explored. The lives of these stars were later plagued by legal troubles and drug addiction, with Plato and Coleman suffering early deaths. Contents 1 History 1.1 Seasons 1–4 (1978–1982) 1.2 Seasons 5–6 (1982–1984) 1.3 Season 7 (1984–1985) 1.4 Season 8 (1985–1986) 2 Cast 2.1 Supporting characters 3 Episodes 3.1 Very special episodes 3.2 Spin-off and crossovers 3.3 Later appearances as the characters 3.4 Additional catchphrase references and appearances in popular culture 4 After Diff'rent Strokes ended 4.1 Gary Coleman 4.2 Dana Plato 4.3 Todd Bridges 5 Docudramas 6 Home media 7 See also 8 References 9 External links History The series was originally devised jointly to serve as a vehicle for Maude co-star Conrad Bain (after Maude had abruptly finished production in 1978), and child actor Gary Coleman, who had caught producers' attentions after appearing in a number of commercials. An early rough outline for the series, featuring the characters created for Bain and Coleman, had the proposed title 45 Minutes from Harlem (even though Harlem is only ten or fifteen minutes away from the Drummond residence by subway or taxi).[4] As the pitch was developed, Coleman's character gained an older brother, and the daughter of Bain's character and a housekeeper was added to the line-up. The title eventually became Diff'rent Strokes, inspired by the quote "Different strokes for different folks" popularized by boxer Muhammad Ali in 1966 (Ali makes a guest appearance in season 2).[5] The sitcom starred Coleman as Arnold Jackson and Todd Bridges as his older brother, Willis. They played two children from a poor section of Harlem whose deceased mother previously worked for rich widower Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain), who eventually adopted them. They lived in a penthouse with Drummond, his daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato), and their maid. There were three maids during the sitcom's run: Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), Adelaide Brubaker (Nedra Volz), and Pearl Gallagher (Mary Jo Catlett). They lived in the Penthouse Suite at 697 Park Avenue in New York City. As Arnold, Coleman popularized the catchphrase "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" The ending often varied, depending on whom he was addressing. Early episodes addressed typical issues in a family. As the series progressed, although sticking to more light-hearted sit-com themes in many episodes, at times it focused on more serious topics including drug abuse, alcoholism, hitchhiking, child abuse, and crime, among other issues. Seasons 1–4 (1978–1982) The first season very much covered 'every day life' of this unusual family line-up. Dana Plato, although billed on the opening credits, did not appear in every episode as her character was often said to be away at her private school (the character would become more regular later in the first season and across the second season). During the first season, the unseen character of "The Gooch" is first mentioned - a supposedly mean, hulking (but not very bright) bully at Arnold's school. First 'featured' in the first-season episode The Fight, where he is said to be bullying Arnold at school, The Gooch went on to be the focus of several future episodes, and is mentioned in countless others right across the run of the series. Charlotte Rae appeared in every first-season episode as Edna Garrett, and is present for most of the second season, but is absent in several episodes late on in the season, before leaving to star in her own spin-off, The Facts of Life, set at Kimberly's private school (Kimberly herself did not become a regular character in that series, although the two shows had a number of cross-overs). Following Rae's departure near the end of the second season, Nedra Volz took over as the housekeeper, the older and crankier Adelaide Brubaker. Although she was not added to the opening credits (instead always being credited with the guest cast on the closing credits), Volz appeared as a frequent semi-regular character. Also first seen in the second season was Arnold's best friend Dudley (initially called Dudley Ramsay, later Dudley Johnson). The character went on to be featured in many episodes, both school-based and otherwise, throughout the show's run. During the fourth season, Dody Goodman was also introduced as Philip's dotty sister Sophia. Also appearing on a semi-regular basis, she effectively filled the same function as Adelaide as the older female character in many stories. Seasons 5–6 (1982–1984) In Season 5, Mary Jo Catlett portrayed Pearl Gallagher, the last of the three maids, and joined the cast as a series regular. Pearl appeared in almost every episode until the final season. Midway through Season 6, Dana Plato became pregnant and approached the producers of the show to include her pregnancy. Initially they agreed to add it, but they later decided not to add the pregnancy, with Plato's publicized brushes with substance abuse contributing to this decision, resulting in her dismissal from the series.[citation needed] Plato's character, Kimberly, was written out of the story lines with the explanation that she moved to Paris to study for a couple of years. Plato did not appear as a regular cast member in the final two seasons of the series, but she made several guest appearances. At the same time, ratings were beginning to fall, so new characters were added to open up future storylines. Dixie Carter and Danny Cooksey portrayed recently divorced television aerobics instructor Margaret "Maggie" McKinney, and her son, Sam McKinney.[6] Carter was introduced midway into the sixth season; after she left for California, Drummond and the family took off after her, during a two-part trip in February 1984, a storyline which also introduced Sam. Phillip proposed to Maggie, and they married. Several past characters attended the wedding ceremony including Dudley, Aunt Sophia, Adelaide and Mrs. Garrett. Season 7 (1984–1985) In the seventh season, Dixie Carter and Danny Cooksey were added to the opening credits (with Carter getting special "and" billing, last in the order), and many new areas and ideas were explored in the storylines, as viewers now got to see Philip as a happily married man. Dana Plato was no longer appearing as a main cast member, because of her pregnancy in real life. The producers felt that the pregnancy wouldn't be acceptable, so she was dropped from the show and returned for the season finale A Special Friend as a guest star. Also, 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, and with Willis being dropped into the background slightly, this new brotherly duo took center stage for many storylines. In the season, Todd Bridges was continuing the show as a main cast member, but developed absences in several episodes. Additionally, stories focusing on Arnold's school life (featured occasionally in many previous seasons) were delved into much more. The ratings did not improve to NBC's hopes. Dixie Carter departed at the end of the seventh season and was replaced with Mary Ann Mobley in the eighth season. Season 8 (1985–1986) In the spring of 1985, NBC canceled the series because of poor ratings. ABC picked up the series for an eighth season, and aired it Friday nights. In this season, Mary Ann Mobley replaced Dixie Carter as Maggie McKinney Drummond. Mobley, who had previously played an unrelated, one-off love interest of Drummond's in the second-season episode "Teacher's Pet", was considered for Maggie when the role was created, but she was not initially chosen in part due to age disparity between her and Conrad Bain.[7] ABC canceled the series after 19 episodes, and aired its final episode on March 7, 1986. The show returned to ABC's schedule in June for three months of summer reruns, which ended on August 30, 1986. The final season ranked 76th out of 106 shows, and averaged an 11.5 household rating.[citation needed] Cast Main article: List of Diff'rent Strokes characters Conrad Bain as Phillip Drummond Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson Todd Bridges as Willis Jackson Dana Plato as Kimberly Drummond (1978–84, 1985–86 recurring) Charlotte Rae as Edna Garrett (1978–79) Nedra Volz as Adelaide Brubaker (1980–84) Janet Jackson as Charlene DuPrey (1980–84 recurring) Dody Goodman as Sophia Drummond (1981–84 recurring) Shavar Ross as Dudley Johnson (1980–86 recurring) Le Tari as Ted Ramsey (1980–84 recurring) Mary Jo Catlett as Pearl Gallagher (1982–86) Rosalind Chao as Miss Chung (1981–83 recurring) Steven Mond as Robbie Jason (1980–85 recurring) Dixie Carter as Maggie McKinney Drummond #1 (1984–85) Mary Ann Mobley as Maggie McKinney Drummond #2 (1985–86) and as Ms. Osbourne Danny Cooksey as Sam McKinney (1984–86) Jason Hervey as Charlie (1985–86 recurring) Nikki Swasey as Lisa Hayes (1982–86 recurring) Phillip Drummond is the only character to appear in every episode of the series. Arnold Jackson missed five episodes, two from the fourth season in 1981-82 (“First Day Blues" and "The Team") and three from the seventh season in 1984–85 ("The Gymnasts", "Sam Adopts a Grandparent" and "Baseball Blues"). Supporting characters Outside of the Drummond household, there were a large number of supporting characters seen over the years. Phillip's slightly dotty sister Sophia (Dody Goodman) was regularly seen in the fourth season, playing matchmaker for her brother in hopes of getting Philip to marry again. Dudley Johnson (Shavar Ross) was Arnold's new best friend, who, like Arnold, was also adopted, with whom he shared many memorable childhood scrapes. Some of these were important or serious storylines under the "very special episode" heading, which Diff'rent Strokes popularized (see below). Ted Ramsey (Le Tari) was Dudley's adoptive father, who turned up occasionally. In the third season, Janet Jackson played Willis' girlfriend Charlene DuPrey. She was a frequent recurring character until Season 6, when Charlene and Willis decided to break up, but remain friends. Other classmates and friends of Arnold seen over time included Robbie Jason (Steven Mond) and snobby Lisa Hayes (Nikki Swasey), who initially was sweet on Arnold, but later came to despise him, leading to hatred between the pair and many squabbles. Miss Chung (Rosalind Chao) was Arnold's teacher. In the fall of 1985, when the series moved to ABC, Arnold, Dudley and Lisa entered high school, where they gained a new friend in Charlie (Jason Hervey). An oft-mentioned character, spanning the entire show's run, was "The Gooch", a notorious bully at Arnold's school. First mentioned in the first-season episode "The Fight", which revolves around his bullying of Arnold, his name is mentioned in numerous episodes (and his bullying of Arnold returned as the center of several plots), with Arnold's frequent descriptions of him as a burly, troublesome brute, forever looking for trouble but not very intelligent, but the character never actually appeared on screen. In season 7, after years of harassing Arnold (and later Sam), the Gooch was finally defeated by Arnold's neighbor and nemesis Carmella. Episodes Main article: List of Diff'rent Strokes episodes Season Episodes Originally aired Rank Rating Tied with First aired Last aired Network 1 24 November 3, 1978 May 4, 1979 NBC 27 19.9 N/A 2 26 September 21, 1979 March 26, 1980 26 20.3 N/A 3 22 November 12, 1980 May 13, 1981 17 20.7 Fantasy Island Trapper John, M.D. 4 26 October 29, 1981 May 20, 1982 N/A N/A N/A 5 24 October 2, 1982 May 14, 1983 N/A N/A N/A 6 24 October 1, 1983 May 12, 1984 N/A N/A N/A 7 24 September 29, 1984 May 4, 1985 N/A N/A N/A 8 19 September 27, 1985 March 7, 1986 ABC N/A N/A N/A Very special episodes Nancy Reagan on the set of Diff'rent Strokes Diff'rent Strokes was also known for its many "very special episodes", most notably an anti-drug episode ("The Reporter", in Season 5) that featured First Lady Nancy Reagan, who promoted her "Just Say No" campaign, and "The Bicycle Man", a two-part episode that guest starred Gordon Jump as a pedophile who lures Arnold and Dudley into his bicycle shop and attempts to molest them. Another episode involved a con artist (played by Whitman Mayo) posing as a relative of Arnold and Willis in an attempt to get access to the inheritance they were left by a former neighbor. Another episode involved Kimberly's new boyfriend Roger not allowing his sister to go to their school's costume ball with Willis because he is African-American. A less serious episode had Kimberly's hair turning green from acid rain. In an episode on the dangers of hitchhiking, Kimberly and Arnold (who were out in the cold weather and didn't have money for cab or bus fare) were abducted by a serial kidnapper-rapist (played by Woody Eney), who initially acted as a good Samaritan by giving the two of them a ride, and inviting them to his apartment. After the man's true nature became known, Arnold escaped to look for help and the man nearly raped Kimberly before the police arrived to arrest him. At the end of the episode, Conrad Bain (in an out of character PSA) spoke about what to do if real life situations as the one portrayed on the show were to occur. Two notable episodes dealt with the consequences of alcoholism. In season 5, Willis moves out of the penthouse to live with a friend who abuses alcohol. In season 7, Arnold must deal with a classmate whom he catches drinking a thermos of alcohol in the school bathroom. In the final season (when the sitcom moved from NBC to ABC), the one-hour season opener revolved around Sam being kidnapped by a bereaved father (played by Royce D. Applegate) hoping to replace his own dead son. In other notable episodes, the family discovered that Kimberly was suffering from bulimia. In another episode, Arnold and Sam met Karen, a street performer. After a performance, she has an epileptic seizure, and Sam is scared thinking she's dying. The boys then feel uncomfortable around her, and when they begin making jokes about her seizures, they find out that housekeeper Pearl herself has epilepsy, but unlike Karen controls her seizures by taking medication. Spin-off and crossovers The Facts of Life (1979–88) is a spin-off of Diff'rent Strokes featuring Drummond's former maid Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae), who had accepted a job as the house-mother for a dormitory at an all-girls private school that Kimberly was attending. In a late first-season episode of Strokes (which served as the "backdoor pilot" of Facts), Mrs. Garrett took Kimberly to the school with the intent of helping her sew costumes for a school play. While there, Mrs. Garrett met Kimberly's classmates and was offered the job as "dorm mother". She declines in this episode, but come fall, clearly had a change of heart. The Diff'rent Strokes cast appeared in the first episode of The Facts of Life (at one point, Drummond asks Mrs. Garrett "Are you sure we can't change your mind to come back to us?"). The success of the spin-off led to several Strokes/Facts crossovers in the ensuing years. While not a spin-off, Hello, Larry (1979–80) had a connection to Strokes as it was established in a crossover episode that Philip Drummond and Larry Alder (McLean Stevenson) were old Army buddies, and Mr. Drummond had bought the company that owned the radio station where Larry worked as a talk show host. The episode "Almost American" (A.K.A. "Night School"), was the pilot for a potential spin-off series.[8] Additionally, Arnold appeared on the Silver Spoons episode "The Great Computer Caper" and the Amazing Stories episode "Remote Control Man". Later appearances as the characters In 1994, Coleman appeared in an episode of Married... with Children, playing a building code inspector whom Al Bundy called to report an illegal driveway. When Kelly recognizes him, he denies any connection to Arnold Jackson, but utters his catchphrase to Al, "What'chu talkin' about, Bundy?". Also, in 1996, Coleman and Bain reprised their roles for the series finale of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air entitled "I, Done Part 2". In their scene, they reference Willis by name before meeting Will Smith's character, leading to Coleman uttering a variation of his catchphrase, "What'chu talkin' about, Will?". Additional catchphrase references and appearances in popular culture In 2004, Gary Coleman appeared on the second season of The Surreal Life and was pressured to quote his famous catchphrase by Vanilla Ice.[9][10] He also guest-starred as himself on The Wayans Bros., The Ben Stiller Show, Drake & Josh, The Jamie Foxx Show, The Parkers, Robot Chicken and The Simpsons. He also appeared on an episode of Married...With Children called How Green Was My Apple in which during a verbal confrontation with Al, he quipped, Whatchu talkin' bout Bundy? After Diff'rent Strokes ended Following the cancellation of Diff'rent Strokes, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato encountered difficulty in obtaining acting jobs. All three experienced various legal problems while Bridges and Plato also struggled with drug addictions, all of which were documented in the press. The press and fans of the series blamed the cast's personal problems and faltering careers on what was eventually dubbed the "curse of Diff'rent Strokes" by various tabloids.[11] Gary Coleman Main article: Gary Coleman Three years after the series ended, Gary Coleman sued his parents and his former manager over misappropriation of his trust fund. Although he was awarded over $1,000,000 in the decision, he filed for bankruptcy in 1999. In 1998, Coleman was charged with assault after he punched a woman while working as a security guard at a shopping mall. In 2001, Coleman (still working as a security guard) was videotaped trying to stop a vehicle from entering the mall. The driver ridiculed him, and released the tape to be broadcast on numerous television shows.[12] In 2007, Coleman was cited for disorderly conduct in Provo, Utah, for having a "heated discussion" with a woman.[13] On May 26, 2010, Coleman, who had battled health problems since childhood caused by congenital kidney disease, was admitted to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo after falling and hitting his head after suffering a seizure. Coleman was then placed on life support after suffering an intracranial hemorrhage, and died on May 28, 2010, from complications of his injury at age 42.[14] Dana Plato Main article: Dana Plato During Season 6, Dana Plato became pregnant and her character was written out of the series (though she would go on to make guest appearances for the final two seasons). In 1984 she married the father of her child, musician Lanny Lambert, but the couple divorced in 1990. Due to financial difficulties and her growing addiction to drugs and alcohol, Plato relinquished custody of her son, Tyler, to her ex-husband. In an attempt to boost her faltering career, Plato posed for Playboy in June 1989 but her appearance in the magazine did not help her land acting jobs.[11] By 1990, Plato was living in Las Vegas. Despite having made $25,000 an episode while on the series, she was often broke and was working as a cashier at a dry cleaning store.[15] In February 1991, she was arrested after robbing a Las Vegas video store armed with a pellet gun. She was arrested the following year for forging prescriptions for Valium.[16] In 1998, she appeared in a softcore pornographic film entitled Different Strokes: The Story of Jack and Jill...and Jill, which was intended to capitalize on her Diff'rent Strokes fame.[11] After her arrests, Plato publicly admitted that she struggled with an addiction to drugs and alcohol.[17] Plato died of a drug overdose in 1999 at age 34. Her death was ruled a suicide.[18] Her son, Tyler Lambert, would later commit suicide as well. Todd Bridges Main article: Todd Bridges After the series ended, Todd Bridges developed an addiction to cocaine. In February 1988, he was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of a drug dealer at a crack house in South Central Los Angeles. He was acquitted in November 1989.[19] Bridges was also arrested on a concealed weapon charge and possession of cocaine.[11] In 1994, he was arrested after allegedly ramming someone's car after an argument.[20] After years of battling his drug addiction, Bridges became sober in the early 1990s.[21] He now travels across the United States, touring schools and discussing the dangers of drug use.[22] Bridges has continued acting in films and television. His more high-profile role was as Monk, a shell-shocked Vietnam veteran, conspiracy theorist, and nephew of Chris' boss Doc on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.[23] With Plato's death in 1999 and Coleman's death in 2010, Bridges became the sole survivor of the show's original child actors. Bridges became the show's last surviving original cast member after the death of Charlotte Rae in 2018.[24] Docudramas Two unofficial docudramas were produced about the show: In 2000, Fox broadcast a one-hour television movie, After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped. This film, which starred unknown actors, focused on Dana Plato's life after the show, leading to her death. Todd Bridges guest starred in this film as a drug dealer who sold drugs—to a younger Todd Bridges.[25] On September 4, 2006, NBC aired a television drama titled Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Diff'rent Strokes. The film, which chronicles the rise and decline of the sitcom's child stars, also features recent interview clips with Coleman and Bridges. The two also star in the movie as themselves (briefly) in the final scene, standing by Plato's grave.[26] Home media Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released Seasons 1 and 2 of Diff'rent Strokes on DVD in Region 1 & 4. Season 1 was also released in Regions 2 & 5 on October 6, 2008.[27] On September 29, 2009, a "Fan Favorites" DVD was released. This is a one disc compilation consisting of eight episodes from Season 2.[28] On April 6, 2012, it was announced that Shout! Factory had acquired the rights to the series; they subsequently released the third season on DVD on July 17, 2012.[29] Season 4 was released on November 20, 2012.[30] Season 5 was released on April 4, 2017.[31] Season 6 was released on July 25, 2017.[32] Season 7 was released on February 27, 2018.[33] Season 8 was released on May 29, 2018.[34] On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library, including Diff'rent Strokes.[35] They subsequently re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on July 15, 2014.[36] DVD name No. of episodes Release dates Region 1 Region 4 The Complete First Season 24 September 14, 2004 July 15, 2014 (re-release) November 22, 2006 The Complete Second Season 26 January 31, 2006 July 15, 2014 (re-release) November 4, 2008 The Complete Third Season 22 July 17, 2012 N/A The Complete Fourth Season 26 November 20, 2012 N/A The Complete Fifth Season 24 April 4, 2017 N/A The Complete Sixth Season 23 July 25, 2017 N/A The Complete Seventh Season 24 February 27, 2018 N/A The Complete Eighth Season 19 May 29, 2018 N/A
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