Todd Bridges doesn't believe there will ever be another Gary Coleman

CNN
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Actor Gary Coleman was 42 when he died in 2010 from complications of a brain hemorrhage. Most people, however, remember him as a child star who became famous through the hit comedy “Diff'rent Strokes.”

His co-star Todd Bridges told CNN that Coleman is unique and he hopes viewers of the new Peacock documentary “Gary” will notice that.

“I hope they take away that Gary was probably the best child star of all time,” Bridges said. “They have to see that.”

The documentary examines the sometimes problematic life and eventual death of the actor, who suffered throughout his life from a kidney disease that limited his growth to a height of 1.42 m.

Coleman's chubby cheeks and small stature caught the eye of television star Norman Lear, who cast him alongside his brother, played by Bridges, as an orphan adopted by a wealthy white man.

“They hired us to make sure they had talented people around him so we could help him get better,” Bridges recalls.

The cast was aware back in the 1980s how groundbreaking it was to have a show with a racially mixed family, Bridges said. It led to both positive and hateful reactions.

“We received a lot of mail from both sides at the beginning,” he said. “Then the mail became more and more positive.”

Bridges said he doesn't see young artists like himself and Coleman being famous at the height of their popularity. That's probably for the best, he said, because life as a child star hasn't historically been easy.

Bridges and actress Dana Plato, who played her adopted sister in the series, fell into substance abuse throughout their childhood, while Coleman ran into financial difficulties and eventually sued his parents, claiming they mismanaged his money.

Plato died of a drug overdose in 1999. She was 34.

Bridges, who has now been sober for over 30 years, said he struggled with legal problems for a decade before quitting drugs in 1983, while Coleman's problems were different.

“I was a grown man, so I could go out with girls and stuff and have fun,” Bridges said. “He couldn't do any of that.”

As an adult, Coleman was known for his anger issues – for example, he stormed out of an interview and was accused of attacking a fan. The documentary explores these issues.

In 2022, actress Molly Shannon recalled an incident from her early days in the industry in which she said Coleman sexually harassed her.

Bridges said the bitter Coleman the public saw in negative headlines or through his appearance on the reality series “The Surreal Life” was not the man he called his friend.

“This is not the Gary Coleman I knew, even when we chatted just before he died,” Bridges said. “I think he just had a grudge against what he went through.”

Coleman's doctor's orders and the accident at his Utah home that preceded his brain hemorrhage are also examined in “Gary.”

“We all have questions about what happened,” Bridges said.

He is the only surviving member of the original cast of “Diff'rent Strokes” (Conrad Bain, who played father Phillip Drummond, died in 2013 at the age of 89 from the effects of a stroke).

Bridges and his wife Bettijo will launch a podcast in November, and he will reprise his role as Monk in Everybody Still Hates Chris in the animated reboot of the series, which is set to premiere on Comedy Central in September.

“Everybody Hates Chris” is based on the adventures of actor and comedian Chris Rock as a teenager.

“I think people are going to really enjoy it,” Bridges said. “Because this time Chris Rock is playing himself.”

Bridges would like to do more acting and his choice of this dream role actually fits with Coleman's love of science fiction and space.

“I think I want to be there at the end [a] “Star Wars” [movie],” said Bridges. “I think something like that.”

“Gary” premieres on Peacock on Thursday.