Gary

There are certain performers that are given to us,

to change our lives,

to make us happy.

And I think that Gary Coleman was one of them.

Stand up so Arnie-poo can knock you down.

Name me another child actor that was like him.

The kid was a true star.

Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?

Unfortunately, all of that got snatched from poor Gary.

Why do so many child stars end up broke or broken?

Gary felt completely abandoned by the people who were closest to him.

Whether it was his parents or former business people.

He'd earned over $18 million as an actor...

and most of the money was going to people that weren't Gary.

It really devastated him.

He didn't trust people anymore.

Former child actor Gary Coleman faces assault charges.

It's little wonder that Gary spent so much time escaping reality.

He liked outer space because it was just a way of hoping

and dreaming about that better future that Gar wanted to live in.

My prayer was that he would meet somebody that loved him.

I love you.

Their relationship was tumultuous. Raging, yelling and demeaning.

- I - slapped him a couple of times.

I mean, nothing major, nothing like red flag.

Former child star, Gary Coleman died in a Utah hospital on Friday

after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 42.

I think everybody felt that the death of Gary Coleman was suspicious.

You said, "I've had a lot of people sit there and say,

"'Yeah, she pushed him.'"

I would never hurt my husband. Ever.

I really wanted some answers.

Why did his life have to end this way?

Celebrity's always a burden.

You're stuck with it for life.

You're gonna die a celebrity.

How do you like all the shade and shit I'm throwing at people?

I don't like to be ugly. But like, for this documentary,

this is probably the last that I can actually speak truth.

And you know, because I've had a lot to absorb over the years.

I was in bed.

And Gary was already downstairs.

And to me it sounded like pans that hit the floor.

I got out of bed and I went downstairs and there he was laying down...

on the floor...

with blood around his head.

I did not want to intervene with where all the blood was

because I knew help was coming.

I mean, blood doesn't really freak me out. It was just the amount of it.

I met Gary while he was filming the movie Church Ball,

and It was here behind us.

So I was waiting for, you know, the person in charge

for the extras, the director, whatever, and the door opened,

and it was Gary.

He's like, "You're too cute to be here. You should go home."

And I was like, "Oh. No, I'm just trying to see what's going on here."

I wanted to be an extra possibly.

And he was like, "If anyone says anything, say Gary Coleman sent you,"

and he let me in.

Guys, beers on me!

I just sat up on the bleachers and he worked his way up

and then asked for my number.

I didn't think that he was going to call me at all.

And I was really shocked to hear the voicemail the next day.

What's the worst that could happen?

He actually brought me Olive Garden takeout,

which was really sweet.

I was like, "Okay, is this too good to be true, or is this real?"

I actually went back with him to his hotel that he was staying in Provo.

It was really cool. We just started talking and watched TV

or played a couple of video games.

It was basically just get-to-know-you kind of a thing.

I honestly didn't know who he was at all. I never sawDiff'rent Strokes.

And he started to tell me about his life

and everything that had happened.

And I mean, it's pretty rough.

Are you okay to take the gum out?

Or I can stick it behind my ear.

Gary was born in 1968.

He was always an entertainer.

Even as a youngster.

We were shopping for school clothes

and they were doing like a fashion show,

and they were showing all the children's fashions.

And he was like...

"I can do that?"

I wrote a letter to the coordinator of the program

if she allowed little boys to model clothes.

And that Fall, I was modelling clothes on a little runway.

The manager of the mall saw a lot of the shows

and said, "That kid has talent. He should have an agent.'"

And he gave my parents a card to an agent in Chicago.

Gary's parents brought him into the agency.

He was only about eight years old, seven, actually.

And he wore a three-piece suit...

and had a high-pitched voice.

I collected bears, and he was knocking them off my shelf.

He had a great laugh.

And I knew that he was a tremendous talent.

The thing that really started the wheel rolling really fast

is the Harris Bank commercial.

Well, it's that time of the year when you can get a Hubert doll

at the Harris Bank.

Just open a savings account with $200 or more.

Or add $200 dollars to a savings account you already have.

Huby, the Huby doll...

Oh, my God, where did you get this? This is amazing.

It's not a bear, but it's all right.

You can never have too many Hubert dolls 'cause...

you can never save too much money!

We made the Norman Lear producers aware of that commercial.

My name is Norman Lear.

Norman Lear was a big shot producer back in the 1970s.

And he was sending a scout around

and when Gary got to the audition, he was there for three hours

and he was reading with everybody.

The casting director said to me, "You know, he's a superb talent.

"He's got a tremendous timing."

And insisted that Lear see him.

I was told to come up and meet this young man

who came bouncing out of his office and was

just a ball of energy and funny and adorable.

He was put under contract immediately. And he was doing appearances

because we were beginning to build him.

Hey, look here, Mama.

Let me tell you something.

We're gonna settle this thing right here and now.

It like hit the roof. "Who is this kid?"

Chicago's answer to the neutron bomb.

At your service.

Hello, totem pole.

Everybody wanted to see Gary Coleman.

Gary, I'd like you to meet Miss Florida Evans.

Hey, Flo!

I thought, "Hey, this is a whole new adventure.

"This is cool. This is fun. And wait a minute,

"I get paid for this?" That kind of thing.

Never in my wildest dreams had I ever thought

it could get bigger than that.

I was told they had a script for a show calledDiff'rent Strokes.

And they asked Conrad Bain to be the father of these two young kids

that were orphans that he took in.

Ah-ha! You're here.

Welcome, gentlemen.

How about that, Willis?

Downtown two minutes and already we're gentlemen.

Come in, come in.

Oops, shoot, sorry.

Sorry.

My clumsy feet, get in the way.

All right.

I got clumsy feet, so.

The very first time that I met Gary,

I was like, "This ain't no little kid."

"This is not a little kid."

Because he was so smart.

He was so ingenious and just funny.

Be careful of my goldfish. His name is Abraham

I've never seen a black goldfish before.

That's okay. He never saw a rich white man before either.

He was cute and he played games.

He joked with everybody. He'd always hide stuff from people.

And then he would always come in my room and steal my combs

because he was like, "That hurts. That hurts." I was like, "Well,

"it's going to hurt worse if you don't sit still."

We happened to be in my garage, which is one of the storage spaces

that I I have for a lot of Gary's memorabilia,

that Gary collected throughout his life and career.

I've got photos.

We have awards.

This is Gary's...

venerable...

show jacket from Diff'rent Strokes.

Can you believe how small he was?

It takes me back for sure.

No question.

My mother needed to get to set to audit one of the teachers.

She suggested that I come along because she heard there was this new

sensational kid named Gary Coleman that she was very eager to meet.

And I accompanied her to the set.

He was a mere 10 years old and I was 14 years old.

And we became true childhood friends.

I knew upon the first take, something was different.

I had never, ever seen a kid that was so dynamic.

There was a meteor that had landed unlike anything I had ever seen before

in the constellation of child stars.

Everything's gonna be okay, honey.

Arnold and Willis will come and tell me what it's all about.

Here they come now.

- Hi, guys. - Hi, Dad. Hi Julie.

We are in stage 17 where Diff'rent Strokes was shot.

How do you do? I'm happy Willis.

And I'm delirious Arnold.

It was so much fun working with Gary. We were thick as thieves, man.

Big brother, little brother, we did everything together.

This is Dana Plato. She's the girl in the show.

Me and Gary Coleman and Dana Plato, who played Kimberly in the show,

we hung out together and we had a great time, you know.

I'm only 13 years old and he's only 10, I think.

We used to build the most amazing spaceships.