Dana's mother, Florine 'Kay' Plato, who had guided her career died of a blood disease in January Dana was helped by Las Vegas singer, Wayne Newton, was on a fall 1999 episode of Get Real as well as ER. pursuits as hockey and speed skating when, in his junior year of high school, he suddenly Early episodes mostly address typical family sit-com issues, but as the series progresses, it sometimes focuses on more serious topics, including drug abuse, alcoholism, hitchhiking, child abuse and crime. Tari made his first appearance as Ted Ramsey in the third season episode "Football Father" but would really shine in 1981's "Room For One More" and 1983's "The Bicycle Man," which showed the actor at his affable, empathetic best. dollars. They are expecting their first child on March 22, 2012. [21] On May 26, 2010, Coleman, who had battled health problems since childhood caused by congenital kidney disease, was admitted to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo after falling and hitting his head after suffering a seizure. Shavar Ross played Arnold's best friend Dudley on Diff'rent Strokes and appeared in nearly 50 episodes. magazine "Girlfriends." She starred in the 1975 ABC sitcom Hot l Baltimore, which was produced by Norman Lear. TV credits include her first role as a waitress on The Phil Silvers Show, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Mary Tyler The third housekeeper, Pearl Gallagher, was played by Mary Jo Catlett, first appearing as a recurring character, later becoming a main cast member. who posted the $13,000 bail for her. She has worked in television on the "Just Jordan" and "So Random" kids show. They realize they don't like the effects of cigarettes, but the real persuasion to have them kick the habit comes from someone very close to home from Dudley - his father, whom despite having had a lung operation, is still a chronic smoker. nude pictorial did nothing to help revive her career, though, and Dana continued to languish He also appeared in season 2 of the television show Benson, episode 11 "Big Buddy" and episode 17 "Easy Kid Stuff". Also first appearing in the second season was Arnold's best friend Dudley Johnson (Shavar Ross), first seen in the episode "Teacher's Pet". Internet Movie Database entry for Charlotte Rae, Dana Michele Plato was born in Maywood, California on November 7, 1964. Although billed on the opening credits of each episode, Plato appeared only semi-regularly for much of the first season. The misadventures of a wealthy Manhattan family who adopted the children of their late African American housekeeper from Harlem. different strokes dudley's dad. The opposite Dolly Parton and Lee Majors in the telefilm A Smoky Mountain Christmas, where he played an orphan, and also starred Diff'rent Strokes (1978) - S05E16 The Bicycle Man: Part 1. my dad lets me have a little sip on special occasions. I am stardom. In 1979, while visiting his father in California during his school's Christmas vacation, Shavar was discovered by top children's agent Evelyn Shultz. a dozen theatrical and TV films including 10, Little Miss Marker and Earth Girls Are Easy. The cast reunited at the TV Land Awards in 2007 and 2011, where it won the award for Pop Culture Icon. 's (Roger E. Mosley) son (from 1986 to 1988) in the television series Magnum, P.I. He died April 4th, 1987 at the age of 40 of a heart attack in Los Angeles County, California. Due to a dispute regarding pay,[9][10] Coleman did not appear in the first four filmed episodes of the fourth season ("The Ski Weekend", "First Day Blues", "The Team" and "Hello Daddy? Two years later, Ross became a voice actor for Hanna-Barbera. softcore tale of a guy and a girl and another girl, and Dana shows off her curvaceous The sitcom stars Coleman as Arnold Jackson and Bridges as his older brother, Willis, two children from a poor section of Harlem whose deceased mother previously worked for rich widower Philip Drummond (Bain), and on her deathbed asked him to take care of her sons, their father already being deceased. 28, 1914 in Columbus OH. Factory had acquired the rights to the series; they subsequently released the third season on DVD on July 17, 2012. . "Diff'rent Strokes" debuted on NBC in 1978, an era when television comedies tackled relevant social issues. (she had said in more recent interviews that she was not She resides in Carlsbad, California. Dana's mother, Florine 'Kay' Plato, who had guided her career died of a blood disease in January I do list my acting "career" on my resume, so In the early 1970s, Bain began popping up in such New In 2006 and 2007, Dixie Carter found renewed fame with a new generation of fans as the very disturbed and bad publicity" world of Hollywood. After Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy, Coleman stated that he would be voting for Schwarzenegger. He didn't get the part but "Cold Turkey" director Norman Lear remembered him when he created "Maude. She is the sister of Michael, LaToya, Tito, fame often has its own pitfalls. each cast member that I could find along with what they have done since leader on the TV series 227, but his short stature and ever-diminishing acting range made him She has been married to actor Hal Holbrook since 1984. Hervey appeared in an episode of Hogan Knows Best ("Twilight of a God") alongside Robbie Jason (Steven Mond), another recurring school friend, also makes his first appearance in that episode. He has been married to Angel Hart since 1998 and has 2 children. They met on the set of the 2006 comedy film Church Ball. in March of 1998. Scott Singer of the Moore (Oklahoma) Police Dept., "At this point, is not provided by William Daniels, who voices K.I.T.T. And being on television only added to my negative feelings about my body.". After graduating high school, she attended Northwestern University where she studied drama, dance, and voice. He is known for his recurring television role as Dudley Johnson, Gary Coleman's best friend in the NBC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, Alex "Weasel" Parks in the ABC sitcom Family Matters, and as "Reggie the Reckless" in the fifth installment of the Friday the 13th movie series Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985). in January of 1992, when custody of Tyler. Coleman placed 8th in a field of 135 candidates, receiving 14,242 votes. 1983-1984 season because of her pregnancy, but she did return for the final season on ABC Additionally, stories focusing on Arnold's school life, which had featured occasionally in many previous seasons, were delved into much more. information: Melanie worked in Oceanside, California as the executive director of a nonprofit Arnold is writing a report on athletes at his school who are using anabolic steroids. on TV's "The Gong Show." More recently, he has made guest appearances on television series such as Fresh Though Dana Plato, who played his daughter Kimberly, died in 1999 of a drug overdose. In this final season Jason Hervey joined the semi-regular cast as Charlie, another of Arnold's school friends. have enclosed a couple of recent pictures of myself, my resume with all The Dana Plato Memorial Site He has basically retired from the business since Diff'rent Strokes ended in 1986. "He was always very caring and supportive. refused to let her appear in such a film. Catlett joined the main cast, appeared in almost every episode until the end of the show's run, and was billed on the opening credits from the sixth season onward. 1980, Ross landed his first recurring television role on NBC's Diff'rent Strokes as "Dudley", the best friend of Gary Coleman's character, "Arnold Jackson". He made an appearance on Vibe (a talk show hosted by Sinbad) along with Todd Bridges and Dana Plato on November 6th, 1997. the business and just run the store. The fifth season also introduced a new recurring character in Arnold's class at school, that of Lisa Hayes (Nikki Swasey). in live television before scoring his first real success in the 1956 Broadway revival of Another episode involved a con artist (played by Whitman Mayo) posing as a relative of Arnold and Willis in an attempt to get access to the inheritance they were left by a former neighbor. we having nothing against Robert Menchaca (her fiance at the time of her death). This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. a product of New York City Public Schools. Only Todd Bridges, who played his adopted son Willis Jackson, remains. While not a spin-off, Hello, Larry (19791980) had a connection to Strokes as it was established in a crossover episode that Philip Drummond and Larry Alder (McLean Stevenson) were old Army buddies and Mr. Drummond had bought the company that owned the radio station where Larry worked as a talk show host. layout, the shots were taken in November 1988 in Arizona), showing off the delectable figure that she'd kept hidden for all those years. custody of Tyler. Sharkey and Szysznyk. Sadly, he would outlive two of his young co-stars and see a third descend into a life plagued with drug abuse and brushes with the law. In 1987, he Feel free to use none, any, or all of this on your page. Entertainment Tomorrow, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shavar_Ross&oldid=1142302881, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 17:24. The manager in turn left the business and I never pursued other Janet Jackson who was Willis's girlfriend Charlene DuPrey, was born Janet Dameta Jackson Unfortunately, he also seemed to be in denial at the seriousness of their problems. She appeared on the spin-off Forever According to Sgt. Most of that money was supposed to go into a trust fund set up by Coleman's parents in 1980. Following her jail term, Dana appeared in a string of B-grade features including such Melanie Watson (now Bernhardt) played Arnold's friend Other survivors include her daughter, Linda Deffenderfer of Chandler and Barbara Lee Volz (1939-1992). This section contains the most recent picture of Some of these were important or serious storylines under the "very special episode" heading, which Diff'rent Strokes popularized. Dixie Carter opted not to return to the series. Volz appeared on a semi-regular basis, but was not added to the opening credits, instead always credited with the guest cast on the closing credits. Desperate Housewives York City and as a music consultant for New York City Board of Education degree from UC Davis. Before reaching the age of 5, Coleman The first season dealt with common topics such as various growing-up and adjustment issues experienced by Arnold and Willis, and mild culture clashes. Splash and Splash, Too. At 18, Plato became pregnant and was written off the show. He has since In April 1984, she married Lanny and on July 2nd, 1984 Tri-Seven Entertainment - Film and Television, Production Services, Actor Services, Shavar Ross' Blog: On E! Movies. [24] In 1998, she appeared in a softcore pornographic film entitled Different Strokes: The Story of Jack and Jilland Jill, which was intended to capitalize on her Diff'rent Strokes fame. figure and lust for her fellow femmes in a series of sensual scenes. RIP Gary. I can't bear the thought. He was 89. 15-year-old can retire from anything. All three experienced various legal problems while Bridges and Plato also struggled with drug addictions, all of which were documented in the press. In January 2007, he appeared as a member of the "mob" on the US version of the game show 1 vs. 100. Her parents were in vaudeville and billed He had another recurring role on the hit ABC TV series Family Matters as "Weasel". Dana landed roles on over 100 TV commercials as a In 1994, Coleman appeared in an episode of Married with Children ("How Green Was My Apple"), playing a building code inspector whom Al Bundy (Ed O'Neill) called to report an illegal driveway. Their daughter, Mary Clancy Collins, is a Senior Vice President with MGM Television. In her marraige to Arthur she had two