He steadfastly refuses to blame his troubles on being a former child star, explaining to us, “There are too many of us that have come out great. Simpson attorney Johnnie Cochran and ultimately acquitted of all charges by a jury.īridges finally got clean in 1993 after years of abuse. In 1989, Bridges was arrested and tried for the attempted murder of Kenneth “Tex” Clay, a Los Angeles-based drug dealer. During his 20s, he battled a crack cocaine and methamphetamine addiction and started dealing to support his habit. Two days before the 11th anniversary of Plato’s death, her 26-year-old son, Tyler, died from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head.īridges was not immune from personal dramas either. She died at age 34 in 1999 of a drug overdose that was later ruled a suicide. She struggled with drugs and alcohol throughout much of her life and was once arrested for attempting to hold up a video store with a pellet gun. He died at age 42 in 2010 of an epidural hematoma.ĭana Plato, who played the boys’ adoptive sister, Kimberly, met a tragic end. Coleman had run-ins with the law, a tempestuous marriage that included allegations of abuse and a successful lawsuit against his parents and business adviser over the misappropriation of his earnings.

Janet Jackson played Todd Bridges’ love interest on “Diff’rent Strokes.” ©Columbia Tristar/Courtesy EverĪll three youngsters who starred on the show had a difficult time later on in life. “Not like you have some intelligence or you’re a good kid, not at all.”īridges began working at a young age, appearing in shows like “Little House on the Prairie” and “Fish.” He became a huge star and later a teen idol as Willis Jackson on the NBC sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” which followed two orphaned brothers from Harlem (Bridges’ character and Gary Coleman’s Arnold Jackson) who were welcomed into the family of a wealthy New York businessman their mother once worked for. “Here you are doing something spectacular for people and people are enjoying it, but then you go outside and you’re treated like you’re ignorant, dumb and stupid,” Bridges, 55, told Page Six.

“Diff’rent Strokes” star Todd Bridges said the “extreme racism” he experienced as a child star was the “most difficult” part of growing up.

Former child star Matthew Mindler, 19, found dead after being reported missing

Different strokes season 1 episode 06