Off screen, the actress made out with her "brother" Willis, overdosed on Valium, showed up to the set drunk, and at 18 "deliberately got pregnant," as screen father Conrad Bain accused her of doing. Unfortunately, that comment reveals a lot in retrospect about where Plato was headed. That character is so candy sweet, it's sickening."
In a 1983 interview, Plato said "I would have her do something bad for a change. It would be nice if the world thought of me as something more." He finished in 8th place, by the way! It's too much trouble because I can't be myself." And when he ran for governor of California in 2003, He told the New York Times, "I want to escape that legacy of Arnold Jackson. As far back as 1979, he wasn't comfortable with his rising star status, admitting that "being famous is no fun. Yet, the role that defined him also became his albatross.
#DIFFERENT STROKES SEASON 1 EPISODE 07 TV#
He next nabbed parts on Lear's shows "The Jeffersons" and "Good Times," before he was given the role of a lifetime - the precocious, endlessly quotable (" Wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?") Arnold Jackson on "Diff'rent Strokes." Coleman (who was adopted himself) became the star of the show, and a kid in high demand for talk shows, movies ("On the Right Track" and "Jimmy the Kid") and other TV shows, even playing Arnold Jackson on "Hello, Larry," "The Facts of Life," "Silver Spoons," "Amazing Stories," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" finale, and his final credited role, "Robot Chicken." His resume hit an apex in the 1970s when he played Bea Arthur's pompous conservative neighbor for 6 seasons on "Maude," which gave him the leverage and freedom to pick his follow-up project with producer Lear. Starting in the mid-1950s, Bain acted in many Broadway shows, while eventually landing small roles on TV (the clerk on "Dark Shadows") and in film (he and Charlotte Rae appeared in Woody Allen's "Bananas"). The former Canadian Army sergeant came to New York to further his acting studies, and a stage career was born. In 1987, Bain reflected, "Best of all was being a part of those kids growing up and learning their craft, being able to put your oar in here and there and give them help - that's what really brought me joy." He also relished his role in helping to normalize mixed race families on TV, receiving fan letters of praise, but also hate from the likes of the Klu Klux Klan. He took great satisfaction in working on a project that audiences thoroughly enjoyed. Sadly, out of the main cast, only Todd Bridges (Willis Jackson) and Danny Cooksey (Sam McKinney) are still with us.ĭrummond was in control within the show, and Bain had control of the show - he had concept, script and cast approval.
While there were continuous subtractions and additions to the cast over 8 seasons, and troubled and tumultuous lifestyles of the young actors during and after the show's run, "Diff'rent Strokes" remains a show as charming today as it was from 1978-1986. The show tackled many topics from sexual abuse to racism, alcoholism, drug abuse, kidnapping, and bullying, landing guest stars ranging from Nancy Reagan to Mr. In November of 1978, "Strokes" replaced the Joe Namath starring " The Waverly Wonders" (Conrad Bain had guest starred twice), and became the hit everyone had hoped for, and so much more. What started as "45 Minutes From Harlem," became "Diff'rent Strokes," with the premise as simple (or not so simple) as " a comedy about a white millionaire who adopts two young, streetwise black brothers." Norman Lear was looking for a sitcom vehicle to pair Conrad Bain with Gary Coleman, and NBC President Fred Silverman was looking for a project to put his stamp on in his new role at the ratings-starved network.