Biography
Coleman is most famous for the role of Arnold Jackson on Diff'rent Strokes, an American sitcom which ran on NBC from 1978 to 1985 and then switched to ABC. He was particularly famous for his catch phrase, "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?", delivered to his character's older brother Willis Jackson (Todd Bridges).
Coleman was born with a congenital kidney disease causing nephritis (an autoimmune destruction of the kidney), which halted his growth at an early age, leading to a notably small stature (4' 8") which became his most distinguishing feature. Coleman has had two kidney transplants, one in 1973 and one in 1984, and requires constant dialysis.
During the run of the show Coleman was 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 Kid With the Broken Halo 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. After the cancellation of Diff'rent Strokes, his acting career declined sharply. He has been featured in one of the seasons of the Surreal Life and was the manager of the surreal life characters at the restaurant they worked at. He felt that he was used by the people who made Diff'rent Strokes and that he played a young kid at the age of 17.
In 1997, Gary 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
In 2004, Coleman played a supporting role in the controversial computer game Postal² by Running With Scissors, Inc.
He recently made an appearance in John Cena's video, "Bad, Bad Man".
Legal struggles
Coleman famously sued his parents and manager over misappropriation of his $8.3 million trust fund and won a $1,280,000 ruling on February 23, 1993. The basis for the lawsuit was that using the trust fund, his parents had accumulated $770,000 for themselves, leaving Gary only $220,000. He briefly owned a video game arcade in Fisherman's Village in Marina del Rey, near Santa Monica, California from 1993 to 1994. Despite this, Coleman filed for bankruptcy in 1999.
Coleman appeared in court on November 2, 2000, charged with assault. He was ordered to pay bus driver Tracy Fields $1,665 for hospital bills resulting from a fight. Fields had attempted to get Coleman's autograph while he was shopping for a bulletproof vest in a California mall.[1] Coleman said he felt "threatened by her insistence" and punched her in the head.
Political career
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.
Since the recall elections, Coleman has been starring in television and radio commercials in the Los Angeles market for a short term loan company called "Cash Call".
Miscellaneous
Coleman is a model railroader.
He is sometimes confused with Emmanuel Lewis, star of the 1980s sitcom Webster, considered a knock-off of Coleman's earlier success.
He resides in Utah, relocating from California in 2005.
Avenue Q character
Gary Coleman is also a character (not an actor) in the hit 2003 Broadway musical, Avenue Q, which won the 2004 Tony Award. In the musical, Coleman is portrayed by actress Natalie Venetia Belcon. The character is loosely based on Coleman himself, or more specifically, on the public perception of him as a child star who lost everything. The character works as the superintendent of the apartment complex where the musical takes place. In the introductory song, "It Sucks to be Me", he 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, of Avenue Q!" At various times when the Gary Coleman character speaks, theme music reminiscent of an 80s sitcom interrupts the usual Broadway-style music.
Later media appearances
In June 2005, VH-1 named Gary Coleman No. 1 on its list of the Top 100 Child Stars Ever.
In 2001, he was employed as a shopping mall security guard in the Los Angeles area. A video of him trying to stop a vehicle from entering a compound while the driver (obviously a member of the paparazzi) ridiculed him made the rounds on various late night talk shows. He also cameoed on The Simpsons as himself (in security guard mode).
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 demographic of internet users, and he is, as of 2005, a minor cult figure.
He has also appeared in WWE superstar John Cena's music video for "Bad Bad Man" in which he appeared as himself
In late 2005, Coleman opened an ice cream shop in Cheyenne, Wyoming called Short Stuff's frozen treats. He is already making plans to expand his business and hopes that he will be taken seriously in the business world.
Filmography
On the Right Track (1981)
Jimmy the Kid (1982)
Party (1994) (short subject) (also associate producer)
S.F.W. (1994) (cameo)
Fox Hunt (1996)
Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's (1997) (documentary)
Dirty Work (1998) (cameo)
The Flunky (2000)
Shafted! (2000)
Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002) (cameo)
Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003) (cameo)
Chasing the Edge (2004) (short subject)
Save Virgil (2004) (short subject)
A Christmas Too Many (2005)
Upcoming:
Church Ball (2006)
Postal (2007)
Television work
Diff'rent Strokes (1978–1986)
The Kid from Left Field (1979)
Scout's Honor (1980)
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)
A Carol Christmas (2003)
