Gary Coleman shot to fame as Arnold Jackson, the sharp-talking, adopted son of a wealthy New Yorker in the hit TV sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, which aired from 1978 to 1986.
His character was adopted along with his brother, Willis, played by actor Todd Bridges. The line "Whatchu talkin’ ’bout, Willis?" that he delivered frequently to his brother became a pop-culture catchphrase.
Coleman also made guest appearances on several hit U.S. TV shows, including The Jeffersons, Good Times, Silver Spoons and Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century.
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In 1998, he was charged with assault after hitting a woman who asked for his autograph in one of several instances of disorderly conduct. In January, he was arrested on a charge of domestic violence in Utah.
Coleman married Shannon Price at the age of 40. The actor later admitted that Price was the first romantic relationship he had ever had.
Both Coleman and Price had been detained on separate incidents of domestic violence since they married in 2006. They appeared on the television show Divorce Court in 2008 in an attempt to save their marriage, and remained together until Coleman’s death.
Coleman made an appearance on the television show The Insider in February, and reportedly suffered a seizure after storming off the set.
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