» Gary Coleman

People: Inside Gary Coleman’s Tragic Life and Sudden Death

ShavarRoss.com — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:00:22 +0000

Gary Coleman never had an easy road.

Adopted at just one day old and diagnosed with an atrophied kidney as a toddler, the 4’8″ Diff’rent Strokes star – who died at age 42 on May 28 after suffering a brain hemorrhage – constantly struggled to make peace with his faded fame, his failing health and his family pain, friends tell PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.

“I’d been dreading [losing him] for years,” says Shavar Ross, who played Coleman’s best friend Dudley on Diff’rent Strokes, one of many ex-costars whom Coleman cut off in the early ’90s as he sought to distance himself from his child stardom.

“With some former child stars, there’s a real psychological hurdle trying to stay relevant. And that happened to Gary,” adds Ross. “And he had those other things to deal with: his height, his health, being adopted. It caused a lot of frustration for him.”

PHOTOS: Gary Coleman’s Big Life

The actor’s 2007 marriage to Shannon Price, 24, brought its own problems.

“They both had pretty explosive personalities,” says Randy Kester, Coleman’s Utah-based attorney. “There were incidences of domestic violence on both sides. They had plenty of verbal fights, which did escalate to physical confrontations.”

Gary Coleman’s Parents: We’ll Always Be Proud of Him

For more on this story, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday

Guess Who’s Coming to ‘Dancing with the Stars?’

Shavar — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:23:40 +0000

OMG, I’m so excited!!…not.

Lol, but I know some of you are.

Well, here’s the official line-up for the upcoming season of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

Ya boy Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson (with his pretty teeth) and Niecy Nash will be dancing on the train on the show.

Boy did Niecy (and the rest of the team on The Insider) tear poor Gary Coleman to pieces–and knowin’ he was already an angry little man and sick. Shame, shame, shame on them.

Kate Gosselin, Shannen Doherty, Nicole Scherzinger…

If Gary were healthy, I think he’d be a perfect candidate for “Dancing with the Stars.” Who’s his agent?

…actress Pamela Anderson, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, Jake from The Bachelor, and others will be appearing on the show.

Well anyway, I stopped watchin’ when Lil’ Kim lost, lol.

Gary Coleman Assault Charges Dismissed

Shavar — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:09:21 +0000

Whew. Gary Coleman was hit with a small fine today after pleading guilty to one count of domestic violence criminal mischief in Utah — and will avoid jail time if he follows a short list of rules.

As part of the deal, Coleman — who was arrested in April after an alleged altercation with his wife — was sentenced to 31 1/2 days in jail, but will avoid going to the pokey if he pays a $595 fine and completes a domestic violence course.

Coleman — who turned 42 today — had his domestic violence assault charge dismissed.

Hopefully this is the beginning of a fresh start.

Happy B-Day Gary!

TMZ

OMG! Photo: Gary Coleman Wheeled Out of Jail!

Shavar — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:25:00 +0000

OMG! This is so SAD and ridiculous. What thaaaa!!!??

Lawd, my mouth dropped when I saw this photo.

God as my witness, I am seriously thinking about hopping on a plane and looking for this man. I wish I had his address, I would would ring his doorbell all nite till he let me in.

I’m not kiddin’.

I know some of ya’ll are laughin’…stop it!!

Gary Coleman Arrested

Shavar — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 03:28:23 +0000

Oh brother, here we go again.

My old buddy Gary Coleman has been arrested in Santaquin, Utah this afternoon for one count of domestic assault with a warrant for his arrest from a previous legal run-in with the law.

He is currently being held on $1,725 bail in a Utah jail.

His booking photo looks really bad guys, please pray for him.

Terrible.

Video: Gary Coleman: I Had a ‘Little Seizure Activity’

Shavar — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 21:12:43 +0000

WOW, TMZ is fast.

From TMZ – With a bandage over his forehead and a cane in his hand, Gary Coleman made his first appearance on camera since being released from the hospital after suffering a “little seizure activity.”

Man, Gary doesn’t look good. Gary is stressed out man, dag. We should have some fun and do a reality show–for his sake. Gary and his show “Diff’rent Strokes” still has a enormous following—nearly 300,000 global MONTHLY searches on Google.

I’m sure VH-1 or Bravo or TV One of BET or somebody will pick it up. Bring in Todd Bridges, and even Conrad Bain (Mr. Drummond) sometimes, lol. But I would like to see Gary SMILE more. Shame how they do former child actors. Betta hurrrrr up cuz this ain’t lookin’ good. His spirit is cryin’ out, “I need love and attention!!”

C’mon BET? TVONE? ALL THEM YEARS GARY MADE Y’ALL SMILE?

Re: His health, Gary told TMZ there’s “nothing wrong with my head” and added he’s doing “the best I can with what I’ve got.” Gary also vented frustration over his latest film — claiming he’s pissed because producers didn’t remove a scene featuring a full frontal shot of his penis. Gary told us he’d be lawyering up soon.

Penis??? Lawd, Gary no!!!

I did the best I could with that photo (above) y’all, lol.

Gary Coleman Rushed to Hospital

Shavar — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 17:55:27 +0000

Gary Coleman and his health has been “on me (heavy)” as of late. Please keep Gary in prayer for me.

Gary Coleman was taken to the hospital early this morning, TMZ has learned.

We’re told Coleman was transported at 8:03 AM from Custom Hotel in Los Angeles where he was staying.

His rep is still trying to confirm what happened — but people who were with Coleman told the rep there were signs of a seizure.

Coleman was in Los Angeles doing interviews to promote a new movie. He did several interviews before being taken to the hospital.

Update:
Word is that the actor is fine and his condition is not life threatening. His agent released a statement saying:
“Gary’s fine. He wasn’t feeling well, so he was taken to a hospital. They’re going to run some tests.”
Thank God. Stay healthy there GC! Whew.

Absolute Best TV Show Theme Ever- ‘Buck Rogers in the 25th Century’

Shavar — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 09:05:37 +0000

The absolute best TV show theme ever has GOT to be Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

First of all, the theme song in pure genius. Also, I got to spend some time with actress Erin Gray at MonsterMania in Cherry Hill, New Jersey a few months ago. Erin is now a serious talent agent—for personal appearances. I reminded her that we were on the same studio lot at Universal Studios back in the day.

People don’t know this but when the show “Silver Spoons” was in the process of being birthed, producers asked me to do some test scenes on the Silver Spoons set well before an actual show was produced. I’m proud to say I was the first to ride that train on the Silver Spoons set, lol. Producers also asked me to play “Arnold,” Gary Coleman’s role and they did a full (mock-up) Diff’rent Strokes show with a live studio audience just to test out the facilities at Universal.

It was a mock show but when I had to memorize all of Gary’s Coleman’s lines (as Arnold), I realized how incredible Gary was. I mean, that’s a heck of a lot a lines to memorize in just 4 days for a young person–kid was in every scene.

And then you gotta get up and perform (all those lines) in front of a live studio audience of about 300 people? And time was money, you couldn’t be flubbin’ your lines too much.

Now people ridicule and belittle the man. Sad. Gary Coleman was a genius in his day but the younger generation cannot comprehend this. Emmanuel Lewis is my pal, but he had nothin’ on Coleman. Here’s a little secret: sometimes, when we were taping the show, I’d almost forget my own lines during a scene with Gary cuz I was so fascinated with this kid’s gift.

Then he’d always give me “that look” (while cameras were rolling) that said, “Get your butt back here, you have the next line, there’s 300 people waiting!” And that’s when I’d always snap out of it!

But thank God Erin remembered me!

I’m No Watermelon Man: Gary Coleman Fights Racist

Shavar — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 22:36:53 +0000

Okay, so, I have no idea why Gary Coleman continues to allow himself to be exploited. It’s very disheartening for me to see people provoke him like this.

I’m not sure what “role” he was supposed to be playing in this shockumenatry but if I we know Gary, this looks really real, right? Trust me, I don’t think the brotha was fakin’. Well, I hope it was fake.

I’ll admit, the “watermelon” joke was a bit off but it wasn’t all that serious to me. It’s reported that Gary wishes he didn’t agree to be in the video and I have to agree.

The video is from a shockumentary called Midgets vs. Mascots and I’m sure there are a lot of “little people” out there (including myself) who would not be happy with the title. Grrr. : )

On the Set of Diff’rent Strokes

Shavar — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:34:10 +0000

Title: On the Set of Diff’rent Strokes

Product Description

A short memoir of how veteran actor Shavar Ross landed the role of Dudley Ramsey, Gary Coleman’s best friend on the hit television series “Diff’rent Strokes.”

Shavar talks about The First Day On The Set: Meeting Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato. What it was like going to school (on the set) with the cast members.

Shavar also gives details about the fun things he did with Gary such as the sleep overs, bowling, and other fun times they had as real life friends. Shavar mentions what the seasonal wrap parties on the show were like and reminisces about doing the very last episode of the show. Also, learn how a television show like “Diff’rent Strokes” is produced on a weekly basis.

Product Details

* Format: Paperback, Digital Download and Kindle Edition
* File Size: 23 KB
* Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
* Publisher: Tri-Seven Entertainment (July 19, 2007)
* Distributor: Amazon.com
* Language: English
* ASIN: B002UUT3Q0

Buy “On the Set of Diff’rent Strokes” at Amazon.com

More of my books will be available soon through this website, Amazon.com, and other retailers throughout the country. The books will be available in hard and soft copies and digital download formats. If you like my blog, I’m sure you’ll enjoy my books!