Gary Coleman Dies at 42

By James Sheldon on May 28th, 2010

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Gary Coleman, beloved star of TV’s Diff’rent Strokes, has passed away at the age of 42.

As was initially reported this morning, Coleman was admitted to a Utah hospital near his home. Spending yesterday with an undisclosed illness and undergoing tests, Coleman remained conscious and in clear communication with caretakers and loved ones. Today, we learned that Coleman was suffering from a brain hemorrhage, and he slipped into an unconscious state, when his body ceased to function on its own.

Coleman was put on life support, in an attempt to return him to a conscious state through treatment, but preliminary reports have stated the the damage was so severe, Coleman’s condition was grave and irreversible. This morning, Coleman was taken off life support, and died shortly thereafter.

The 4′8″ actor had a personality that was larger than life. Something we all became fond of with his stint as Arnold Jackson on the hit show, Diff’rent Strokes, as well as appearances as the same character on the show The Facts of Life. Recently, Coleman had capitalized on his popularity, displaying a wonderful sense of humor about his rise to fame, and never taking himself too seriously to set up or even be the butt of a joke.

Coleman didn’t always work in the public eye, yet continued to enjoy a rewarding career in entertainment, guest-starring on many popular sit-coms in the 80s and 90s. The 21st century saw the rebirth of Gary Coleman via the reality TV craze, where pop-media was reintroduced to the small-statured actor with a great smile and bold personality.

R.I.P. Gary Coleman

(Image via: IMDB)