Gary Coleman, star of the 1970s sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" whose later career was marred by medical and legal problems, has died after suffering an intercranial hemorrhage, the AP reports. He was 42.
Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank says life support was terminated and Gary died at 12:05 p.m. MDT.
He suffered the brain hemorrhage Wednesday at his Santaquin home, 55 miles south of Salt Lake City. Yesterday, Gary's family issued statement saying he was conscious and lucid until midday Thursday, when his condition worsened and he slipped into unconsciousness; He was then placed on life support and did not undergo any surgery because of his condition.
Gary shot to fame as a 10-year-old when she starred on the NBC sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" and the catchphrase, "Whatchu talkin' 'bout Willis?", cemented his stardom. And in 2003 he ran for governor of California. (He came in in eighth place with 12,488 votes, or 0.2 percent.)
In 1989, when Coleman was 21, his mother filed a court request trying to gain control of her son's $6 million fortune, saying he was incapable of handling his affairs. He said the move "obviously stems from her frustration at not being able to control my life." In a 1993 television interview, he said he had twice tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills. He moved to Utah in fall 2005, and according to a tally in early 2010, officers were called to assist or intervene with Coleman more than 20 times in the following years. They included a call where Coleman said he had taken dozens of Oxycontin pills and "wanted to die." Some of the disputes involved his wife, Shannon Price, whom he met on the set of the 2006 comedy "Church Ball" and married in 2007. In September 2008, a dustup with a fan at a Utah bowling alley led Coleman to plead no contest to disorderly conduct. The fan also sued him, claiming the actor punched him and ran into him with his truck. Coleman was born Feb. 8, 1968, in Zion, Ill., near Chicago. His mother told Ebony his kidney disease was diagnosed when he was 2. He underwent his first transplant at age 5.Update: Gary's widow, Shannon Price, issued a statement: "We are very grateful for all the wonderful support everyone has been extending to Gary's family. Thousands of emails have poured in to the hospital. This has been so comforting to the family to know how beloved he still is."
Update 2: Oh, snap. Maybe she killed him. Not only was Shannon the one to pull the plug on Gary, she may have been the responsible for the "accident" which led to his hospitalization and subsequent death. Well, that's speculation. Shannon remains mum as to the events which led to Gary's "accident."
Gary's mother, Sue, tells People magazine:
"We're not pointing fingers at anyone, but we need to know exactly what happened" says Sue, a longtime nurse who lives with her husband, Willie, 71, a retired forklift driver, in suburban Illinois. "We're not angry. We're just concerned. Did our son fall down the stairs? Did he fall in the bathtub? We need to have some closure on our son's life.....We respect the relationship our son had with Shannon. When we found out he got married, we thought, 'Well, at least he has someone in his life who he cares about and who cares about him.' We were happy about that. But it's frustrating that we haven't heard from the Price family. But it's possible they didn't even know we existed. Gary may have told her that he didn't have any family."
Gary and his parents became estranged after he sued them (along with his business manager) in 1989 for allegedly stealing $6 million.
BTW: Cops are not currently treating this as a homicide, saying "there was absolutely nothing suspicious about [Coleman's] death. There is no [criminal] investigation going on."
Update 3: Gary divorced Shannon in August of 2008. According to ET, Gary initiated the divorce proceedings and paid for it himself. Shannon was not awarded alimony or anything for that matter
Update 4: The 911 call was released. Shannon told the dispatchers Gary fainted/fell when he got home from dialysis. "I heard this big bang and I went downstairs. There's blood everywhere," she said. She also refused to help him as he laid dying on the floor.
Update 5: Gary's parents have hired an attorney and are heading to Utah. They're also are seeking custody of his body and want it returned to Illinois.
Update 6: Gary's will was discovered and his parents have decided they will drop all legal challenges. The will was drafted in 1999, long before he met Shannon. The will names Dion Mial, a friend and former manager, as executor. The will doesn't list anything for his parents or ex-wife, Shannon.
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