Gary Coleman Died

Gary Coleman is dead. He was taken off life support on Friday morning and passed away, both TMZ and Radaronline.com first reported. His wife Shannon Price and her father were at the hospital.

Coleman died Friday at 12:05 PM MDT.

Coleman, 42, was best known for his role as Arnold Jackson on "Diff'rent Strokes." Word got out that he was hospitalized Thursday and in critical condition.

For more Gary reading, here is a 2009 Gary Coleman interview with Huffington Post.


Below is the AP article and obituary:

PROVO, Utah -- Gary Coleman, the child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" whose later career was marred by medical and legal problems, has died after suffering an intercranial hemorrhage. He was 42.

Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank said life support was terminated and Coleman died at 12:05 p.m. MDT.

Coleman, with his sparkling eyes and perfect comic timing, became a star after "Diff'rent Strokes" debuted in 1978. He played the younger brother in a pair of African-American siblings adopted by a wealthy white man.

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Shannon Price

Shannon Price is the wife of Gary Coleman. Gary is a former child actor known all over the world by his role in the 70s and 80s TV series named the “Different Strokes”. He played an amazingly cute and witty child during his childhood in the TV play. The Play remained a huge hit in the US for a very long time even after the 80s. It was watched with interest by people of all ages. Gary was loved to an infinite extent because of his personality in the play.

Due to his role in Different Strokes, he was given many TV and Movie roles which he performed and gained a lot of fame and wealth. His marriage depicts the perfect picture of love because the woman he fell in love with (Shannon Price) is about two feet taller than him, not to mention that she is white and Gary is black. They fell in love during a shooting and never met before their meeting on the set. They instantly fell in love and got married.

Nowadays however, Shannon Price is facing a lot of problems because Gary has been hospitalized. According to Shannon the hospitalization is due to a serious medical condition that Gary is undergoing. She refused to share more information about the matter.

It is also known that Gary was under trial for a case of domestic violence to which he pleaded guilty. The judge wants him in the court but the proceedings o the case are being delayed due to Gary’s medical problems.

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Gary Coleman Hospitalized

Former child television star Gary Coleman is in critical condition near his Utah home with what his family calls a "serious medical problem."

Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank said Coleman, 42, was admitted to the Provo facility on Wednesday but she couldn't release any other details.

Coleman lives in Santaquin, which is 55 miles south of Salt Lake City.

The actor is best known for his stint on TV's "Diff'rent Strokes," which aired from 1978 to 1986.

In February, Coleman suffered a seizure on the set of "The Insider."

Coleman's Utah attorney, Randy Kester, said he had communicated by text message with Coleman's wife, Shannon Price, and that the family did not want to release any additional details at this time.

"Anything they could say would be premature because they don't know the full extent of his condition right now," Kester told The Associated Press.

Price and her father released a statement Thursday to KUTV-TV saying Coleman was taken to the hospital with "a serious medical problem." The statement asks for prayers, adding "we hope those prayers are answered and that Gary will be able to recover and return home soon."

Coleman has lived in Utah since 2005, when he came here to star in the movie "Church Ball," a comedy based on basketball leagues formed by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He met Price on the movie set and married her in 2007.

Coleman has had a string of financial and legal problems, in addition to continuing ill health from the kidney disease he suffered as a child. Coleman has had at least two kidney transplants and has ongoing dialysis.

Last fall, Coleman had heart surgery that was complicated by pneumonia, Kester said.

In February, Coleman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge related to an April 2009 domestic violence incident at his home. Recent health issues have caused several follow-up hearings in Coleman's case to be delayed, Kester said.

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