Gary Coleman dead at 42

Gary Coleman, the child star of the hit TV series Diff’rent Strokes, has died of a brain hemorrhage at the age of 42. Coleman was taken to a Utah hospital yesterday in critical condition, went into a coma later that day, and died today. Coleman became an instant star when he was picked to play the youngest of two black children who are adopted by a wealthy white man on NBC’s Diff’rent Strokes. He became so popular that the writers quickly rebuilt the entire show around his character, working his catchphrase “What you talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” into every episode.

People