Web Quotableonline.com Frasescelebres.org Greatbookscollection.org

Gary Coleman (born February 8, 1968 in Zion,
Illinois) is an United States|American actor.

Coleman is most famous for the role of Arnold
Jackson on Diff'rent Strokes, an American sitcom
which ran on NBC from 1978 to 1986. 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 transplant|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
Television movie|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 favour and,
after the cancellation of Diff'rent Strokes, his
acting career declined sharply.

Coleman famously sued his own parents over
misappropriation of his $3.8 million trust fund,
and won a $1,280,000 ruling on February 23, 1993. 
He briefly owned a video game arcade in
Fisherman's Village in Marina del Rey, near Santa
Monica, California.  Despite this, Coleman filed
for bankruptcy in 1999.  In 2001, he was employed
as a shopping mall security guard in the Los
Angeles, California|Los Angeles area (a video of
him trying to stop a vehicle from entering a
compound while the driver ridiculed him was a
popular Internet phenomenon).  He occasionally
appears in cameo roles, most of which refer to his
earlier acting career. As with Knight Rider,
Rubik's Cube, Care Bears 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
2004, a minor cult figure.

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, stemming from an attempt
by Fields to get Coleman's autograph whilst he was
shopping for a bulletproof vest in a California
mall.http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,3385,00
.html  Coleman said he felt "threatened by her
insistence" and punched her in the head.

Coleman was a candidate for Governor of
California|governor in the 2003 California
recall|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 Results of the
2003 California recall|8th in a field of 135
candidates, receiving 14,242 votes.

Coleman is 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.

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.


In June 2005, VH1 named Gary Coleman No. 1 on its
list of the top 100 child stars ever.

== Personal Quote ==
*When asked by Howard Stern if he has had oral
sex, Coleman said: "No! That's not a place for a
young woman's face to be."

== External links ==

*http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/08/06/candida
te.coleman/ CNN's take on Coleman's 2003 candidacy
for the governorship of California
*http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0171041/ Coleman on
the Internet Movie Database
*http://www.february-7.com/warehouse/knightrider&a
rnoldjackson.jpg Another popular internet Meme; a
photograph of Gary Coleman and David Hasselhoff