WHATCHU TALKIN BOUT WILLIS??

So I know this show is before my time. I wasn't even born. 

BUT

Man did I find out that I love Gary Coleman. This would have been my favourite show if I were alive. I'm obsessed. It doesn't even matter that this show is so old its still so funny and inappropriate sometimes- better than T.V today. 

I have only watch the first two seasons but I've decided that  

"whatchu talkin bout Willis?" 

will live on forever (even though I only recently discovered it's from this show). The above clip is one of my favourite ways that he says his catch phrase (the last time he says it in the clip). 

I have never known Gary Coleman as a child actor- only as an older washed up celeb from a show I never heard of. So naturally I stalked the crap out him and his costars. This is what I found first:

 

photo credit: www.thesmokinggun.com

 

 He looks cray cray here. He looks haunted.

Then I found:

photo credit: www.thesmokinggun.com

But I didn't find his mugshot (this is close enough):

 

 photo credit: www.washedupcelebrities.blogspot.com

So. All three of the happy chillruns from Diff'rent Strokes have all been arrested at some point in their lives. Gary Coleman for assault, Dana Plato for theft and forgery. And Todd Bridges accused of attempted murder.... I wonder what happened while the show was going on.

When I did all my stalking I found out how sad Gary Coleman's life had been after being on Diff'rent Strokes and how his parents took all his money and he tried to sue them to get his gold back. I learned that he is adopted and he has some sort of kidney disorder and that is why he's so small- thought he was a dwarf. I knew he was a security guard at one point (I never stopped to asked who would hire someone smaller than me to guard anything??). When I "researched" some video clips I found out he married a ginger but then I saw another clip of him on Divorce Court trying to get a divorce on tv....why on tv? I noticed in some interviews that he is not very forthcoming and tries to lead a "normal" life. I can't imagine what it would be like to live in the public for so long. He is very evasive with his answers and he seems not to want people to know much about him. But now he's dead and I'll never know. Wish I watched this show sooner and stalked him in real life and met him!

 

Now the other two aren't nearly as funny to me as Gary Coleman was on the show. I remember watching one of the earlier episodes when Willis is talking to his friend calling him "blood". I had to rewind that, didn't know they talked like that back in the day. I believed that was corrupted black kid talk of today! Makes me wanna call my family blood all the time. I read up about Willis too, or I should call him Todd Bridges- apparently he was big into crack/cocaine and decided it was a good idea to get high and try to pop a cap in someone's arse. He was acquitted and was not charged with murder. I am interested in reading his book called Killing Willis. I kinda like his song too....

 

 

Don't get it twisted folks, this is Will is spittin dope written for those sniffin coke. 

 

HAAAAA. This show is so popular it has a song. A song. A whole song with the chorus that says "Whatchu talkin bout Willis?" I don't like anything else but that line in the song.

 

I was disappointed to learn that Dana Plato is dead after I just started watching the darn show. Apparently, she's another druggie who likes to steal from video stores and forge scripts for Valium. So she's dead and so is her son. I got curious when I read her son died- surprise he committed suicide too!

 

Diff'rent Strokes taught me to hurry up and unshelter myself!

 

 I missed Gary Coleman's life people! This is getting really serious. I could have had a whole new outlook on life had I of watched the show sooner. OK. Maybe not but I would have laughed more. This is a great show and coming from someone who does not watch anything older than 1985 you should believe me. Or not. What's the worse that could happen, Gary Coleman die without you even enjoying his funniness as Arnold Jackson?

 

 photo credit: www.ok3.org

I can only hope I have a son as hilarious and creative in the mouth as this kid!