Date of Birth
8 February 1968, Zion, Illinois, USA
Date of Death
28 May 2010, Provo, Utah, USA (brain hemorrhage)
Birth Name
Gary Wayne Coleman
Nickname
Arnold
Height
4' 8"
Spouse
Shannon Price (28 August 2007 - present) (filed for divorce)
Trade Mark
His height
Trivia
Briefly owned a video game arcade in Fisherman's Village near Santa Monica, California.
May 2000: Announced that he is going to run for the US Senate seat from California against incumbent Dianne Feinstein on the HECK (Homelessness, Education, Crime, and Killers) platform.
Had his first kidney transplant in 1973. His second in 1984.
Discovered by a talent scout for Norman Lear, who signed him for a part in a TV revival of "The Little Rascals," which never got produced.
He sued his parents over misappropriation of his trust fund. At the peak of his career, he made $70K per episode, a total of around $18 million in earnings! Coleman's parents set up a trust fund for his money, yet structured the arrangement to name themselves as paid employees of Coleman's production company. When the court finally dissolved the trust, the parents' share was worth $770,000, while Coleman himself had only $220,000. Coleman then successfully sued his parents and managers for $3.8 million.
Appearing on TV court in front of Mills Lane, Gary was ordered to pay bus driver Tracy Fields $1665 for hospital bills resulting from a fight stemming from an attempt to get an autograph in a Hawthorne, California mall. Gary said he felt threatened by her insistence and punched her in the head. [2 November 2000]
Appeared on "Geraldo" (1987) in early 1993 and announced he had tried to commit suicide by taking sleeping pills twice.
As of August 2003, is a candidate for governor of California in the recall election scheduled for October 2003. Has proposed a universal health insurance system based on a $30 flat monthly fee. The required $3500 filing fee was paid by an alternative newspaper in the San Francisco Bay area.
Finished eighth among the replacement candidates in the election to recall California Governor Gray Davis. He received more votes than fellow celebrity candidates Mary Carey, Gallagher, and Angelyne.
Ranked #1 in VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid Stars"
2005: Ranked #10 in E's cutest child stars all grown-up.
Works as a security guard.
Has been portrayed by Dave Chappelle.
2007: Being portrayed as a character in the new Broadway musical "Avenue Q". The role is being played by on Broadway actress/singer Haneefah Wood and in London's West End by actor/singer Giles Terera.
Hospitalized in a Los Angeles hospital after suffering a seizure on the set of "The Insider" (2004) on February 26, 2010].
Personal Quotes
[When asked by Howard Stern if he has had oral sex] "No! that's not a place for a young woman's face to be."
[On the death of "Diff'rent Strokes" (1978) co-star Dana Plato] "It's very unfortunate that Dana is no longer with us - she was a wonderful woman, but her death was a welcome, though sad piece of closure to "Diff'rent Strokes". The possibility of a reunion no longer exists now, and thank God."
"I got tired of the doing the show. I didn't wanna do it anymore. But there was nothing I could do about that, because the contract was already signed. So I was a little bitter about that because I didn't wanna be there. The character wasn't growing, he wasn't interesting to me anymore."
"My parents were as much under the thumb of everyone else [and the network, and all the people that are part of the Hollywood machine] as I was. I have worked on episodes of "Diff'rent Strokes" (1978) 15 hours straight. And everyone was looking the other way and no one said anything."
"When "Diff'rent Strokes" (1978) got canceled, I was enormously thrilled and was very much looking forward to starting the rest of my life."
(August 2003) Submitted papers to run in California's gubernatorial recall election. Election takes place October 7th, 2003.
(March 2005) Political analyst for All Comedy Radio, currently working as a commentator covering the Michael Jackson trial.
