Child star Gary Coleman died on Friday, May 28, 2010, at 12:05 pm at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah , surrounded by family. He died after suffering a brain hemorrhage, slipping into a coma, and being takenoff life support at the age of 42.
The actor suffered an intracranial hemorrhage at his Utah home on Wednesday night. On Thursday, he was “conscious and lucid,” the hospital says in a statement, “but by early afternoon that same day, Mr. Coleman was slipping in and out of consciousness and his condition worsened.”
Growingup, Coleman suffered from nephritis, a kidney defect that did not allow him to grow past 4’8. He underwent two kidney transplants before the age of 14 and would undergo dialysis four times a day in order to survive.
Coleman is most known for playing Arnold Jackson on Diff’rent Strokes from 1978-1986, where his catchphrase “What’choo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” gained fame. He reportedly earned $100,000 dollars an episode, but three-quarters ended up going to his parents.
At the age of five he began modeling for the pharmaceutical company his father worked for, which led to starring in McDonald’s and Hallmark commercials. Before Diff’rent Strokes, Coleman was cast in a pilot for The Little Rascals that didn’t get picked up.