Gary Coleman dies of brain haemorrhage

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GARY COLEMAN once said he wanted people to think of him as something more than the chubby-cheeked child star from television show Diff’rent Strokes, that he wanted to escape the legacy of character Arnold Jackson, whose “Whatchu talkin’ ‘bout?” became a catch phrase of the 1970s and ’80s.
He spent his later years still keeping a hand in show business, but also moving away from it, marrying and settling in Utah, far away from Hollywood’s sometimes all-too-bright lights. Still, he was dogged by ongoing health problems and struggled with legal woes. After suffering a brain haemorrhage, Coleman was taken off life support on Friday and died, his family and friends at his side, said Utah Valley Regional Medical Centre spokeswoman Janet Frank. He was 42.
“He has left a lasting legacy,” tweeted singer Janet Jackson, who appeared on several episodes of Diff’rent Strokes. I know he is finally at peace.” Coleman chafed at his permanent association with Diff’rent Strokes but also tried to capitalise on it through reality shows and other TV appearances. His former manager, Vic Perillo, called the diminutive star “everybody’s kid” and expressed regret for all the trouble that marked the end of Coleman’s life.
“It’s unfortunate that this young man should go down in history as someone that will be seen as bitter,” said Perillo, who helped launch Coleman’s career from Chicago in about 1977 and worked with him for 15 years. “If everybody knew what a joy he was and the joy he brought me ... that’s kind of lost in all of this.” Coleman suffered the brain haemorrhage on Wednesday at his Santaquin home, 90 km south of Salt Lake City.
—AP