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'Gary Wayne Coleman' (born February 8, 1968) is an American actor.
Coleman is best known for his role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom ''Diff'rent Strokes'' (1978–1986), and his character's catchphrase "what'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" After the cancellation of ''Diff'rent Strokes'', his acting career declined sharply.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Diff'rent Strokes

Later media appearances

Other media appearances

Avenue Q character

Legal struggles

Candidate for Governor of California

Filmography

Films

Television work

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Coleman was born in Zion, Illinois. He suffers from a congenital kidney disease causing nephritis (an autoimmune destruction of the kidney), which halted his growth at an early age, leading to a small stature (4 ft 8 in; 1.42 m). He has undergone two kidney transplants, one in 1973 and one in 1984, and requires daily dialysis.

Diff'rent Strokes

Due to his cherubic face and keen comic timing, Coleman captured the role of Arnold Jackson on ''Diff'rent Strokes'', portraying a child adopted by a wealthy widower. The show was broadcast from 1978 to 1986, and was a quick success.
Capitalizing on this fame, Coleman became a popular figure, starring in a number of feature films and made-for-TV movies including ''On the Right Track'', and ''The Kid with the Broken Halo''. The latter eventually served as the basis for the Hanna-Barbera-produced animated series ''The Gary Coleman Show'' from 1982.
At the height of his fame on ''Diff'rent Strokes'', Coleman earned $70,000 per episode. As he grew older, however, he fell from public favor.

Later media appearances

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. (Season 8, Episode 16, "How Green Was My Apple")
In 1995, Coleman was featured as the character "Mad Dog No Good" on the television show ''Martin'', in which he played an ex-convict whom Martin helped to imprison. Once released, Mad Dog No Good comes looking for Martin. (Episode 74, "High Noon")
In 1996, Coleman played Arnold Jackson on the final episode of ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air''. He and Conrad Bain (as Mr. Drummond) were looking to buy the mansion from the Banks family.
In 1997, Coleman did voice work for the ''The Curse of Monkey Island'', the third installment in the Monkey Island series of comedy adventure games developed by LucasArts, as Kenny Falmouth, the lemon juice boy.
In 1999, Coleman played himself in an episode of ''The Simpsons'' titled "Grift of the Magi" (Episode 235).
Coleman also played himself in the 2001 ''Scooby-Doo'' parody, ''Night of the Living Doo'', produced by the Cartoon Network.
In 2001, Coleman was employed as a shopping mall security guard in the Los Angeles area. A surveillance video of Coleman trying to stop a vehicle from entering the mall while the driver (obviously a member of the paparazzi) ridiculed him was broadcast on numerous television shows.
Coleman played a supporting role in the controversial 2003 computer game ''Postal²'' by Running With Scissors, Inc. Coleman, who played himself, appeared at a shopping mall, and one of the game's objectives was to secure his autograph. Coleman's role was almost certainly based on a 1998 incident in which Coleman punched a fan who sought his autograph while he was at a shopping mall. Upon the player securing his autograph, police storm the mall to arrest him for an unknown crime, which leads to a violent shootout. Coleman was also featured prominently in the 2005 expansion pack to ''Postal²'', ''Apocalypse Weekend''.
Coleman was featured in the 2004 season of ''The Surreal Life''. He managed the restaurant at which the other cast members worked.

Other media appearances

Coleman occasionally is able to cash in on his camp value to members of Generation X, by appearing in cameo roles in film and TV. As with Day-Glo, Rubik's Cube, Valley girls, Care Bears, Mr. T, the ''Smurfs'' and other artifacts from the early 1980s, Coleman's popularity coincided with the childhood of a particularly productive generation of internet users, and in 2007 he remains a minor cult figure.
Coleman played himself in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) superstar John Cena's music video for "Bad Bad Man". Coleman was also featured in Kid Rock's video for "Cowboy", in which, appropriately garbed, he took on Rock's diminutive sidekick, Joe C.
Coleman made an appearance on E!'s short-lived celebrity dating show ''Star Dates'', in which former celebrities went on blind dates with regular people. Other former celebrities who appeared on the show included Jimmie Walker (''Good Times''), Butch Patrick (''The Munsters''), and Susan Olsen (''The Brady Bunch'').
Coleman also appeared in a Nickelodeon sitcom called ''Drake & Josh''. The two main characters were selling a product called the "Gary Coleman Grill" (a parody of the George Foreman Grill). At the end of the show, Coleman appears as himself.
In June 2005, VH-1 named Coleman No. 1 on its list of the Top 100 Child Stars Ever.
During 2006 and 2007, Coleman appeared in a commercial for a cash-advance loan company called CashCall. He ends the commercial by saying, "Pay your bills on time and everyone will love you."

Avenue Q character

Gary Coleman is a character (''not'' an actor) in the hit 2003 Broadway musical, ''Avenue Q'', which won the 2004 Tony Award for best musical. The character works as the superintendent of the apartment complex where the musical takes place. In the song, "It sucks to be me", he laments his fate.
In the Broadway musical, Coleman states:

I'm Gary Coleman from TV's ''Diff'rent Strokes''

I made a lot of money that got stolen by my folks

Now I'm broke, and I'm the butt of everyone's jokes

But I'm here - The superintendent! - On Avenue Q!

In the London production, Coleman's lyrics are:

I was the cutest little Black kid on TV

I made a zillion dollars that my parents stole from me

My life was over when I hit puberty

But I'm here - Fixing the toilets! - On Avenue Q!

In both versions, Coleman continues:

Try having people stopping you to ask you "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

It gets old!

Legal struggles

In 1989, Coleman sued his parents and former manager over misappropriation of his $8.3 million trust fund.^[1] He won a $1,280,000 ruling on February 23, 1993.^[2] Coleman later filed for bankruptcy in 1999; he attributed his financial problems to mismanagement of his trust.^[3]
Coleman was charged with assault in 1998 after he punched a woman. Coleman was working as a security guard, and bus driver Tracy Fields had asked for his autograph while he was shopping for a bulletproof vest in a California mall. The two argued about the autograph, and Fields mocked Coleman's lackluster career as an adult actor. Coleman testified that "I was getting scared, and she was getting ugly"; he said that he thought Fields was going to hit him, so he punched her. Coleman pleaded no contest and received a suspended sentence. He was also ordered to pay Fields $1,665 for hospital bills resulting from the fight.^[4] The incident was later parodied on ''Chappelle's Show''.
On July 26, 2007, Coleman was cited for misdemeanor disorderly conduct by a Provo, Utah, police officer after he was seen having a "heated discussion" with a woman.^[5]

Candidate for Governor of California

Coleman was a candidate for governor in the 2003 California recall election. This campaign was sponsored by the free newsweekly the ''East Bay Express'' as a satirical comment on the recall. After Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy, Coleman stated that he would be voting for Schwarzenegger. Coleman placed 8th in a field of 135 candidates, receiving 14,242 votes.

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Other notes
1981	''On the Right Track''
1982	''Jimmy the Kid''
1983	''The Kid with the 200 I.Q.''
1994	''Party''	Short subject; Coleman was also associate producer
	''S.F.W.''	Cameo
1996	''Fox Hunt''
1997	''Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's''	Documentary
1998	''Dirty Work''	Cameo
2000	''The Flunky''
	''Shafted!''
2002	''Frank McKlusky, C.I.''	Cameo
2003	''	Cameo
2004	''Chasing the Edge''	Cameo; short subject
	''Save Virgil''	Short subject
2005	''A Christmas Too Many''
2006	''Church Ball''
2007	''Postal''

Television work

★ First appeared in a commercial for Harris Bank. His line, after the announcer says "You should have a Harris banker" was "You should have a Hubert doll". "Hubert" was a stuffed lion representing the Harris bank logo.

★ ''Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' (guest) (as Arnold Jackson, with Conrad Bain as Phillip Drummond)

★ ''Good Times'' (1977 guest)

★ ''Diff'rent Strokes'' (1978–1986)

★ ''The Kid from Left Field'' (1979)

★ ''Scout's Honor'' (1980)

★ ''Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' (episode "The Cosmic Wizz-Kid", also has a cameo in a later episode)

★ ''The Kid with the Broken Halo'' (1982)

★ ''The Gary Coleman Show'' (1982) (canceled after a few months) (voice)

★ ''The Kid with the 200 I.Q.'' (1983)

★ ''The Fantastic World of D.C. Collins'' (1984)

★ ''Playing with Fire'' (1985)

★ ''Like Father, Like Santa'' (1998)

★ ''"The Simpsons", "Grift of the Magi"'' (1999)

★ ''"The Drew Carey Show", "What's Wrong with this Midget? IV" (March 28, 2001)

★ ''Drake and Josh'' (guest)

★ ''A Carol Christmas'' (2003)'

★ ''My Wife and Kids'' (guest)

★ ''The Jamie Foxx Show'' (guest star)Cupid

★ ''Drake and Josh'' (guest star)

References

1. Former Child Star Central
2. "Actor Gary Coleman wins .3 million in suit against his parents and ex-adviser", ''Jet'', March 15, 1993.
3. "Former Child Star Gary Coleman Files For Bankruptcy", ''Jet'', September 6, 1999.
4. "Coleman pleads no contest to disturbing the peace and receives 90-day suspended sentence", Court TV Online, February 4, 1999.
5. Associated Press, "'Diff'rent Strokes' star Coleman cited for disorderly conduct in Utah County", Associated Press, ''The Salt Lake Tribune'', July 31, 2007.

External links

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★ Rotten.com bio

★ CNN's take on Coleman's 2003 candidacy for the governorship of California