Remembering Gary Coleman (1968-2010)

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Remembering Gary Coleman

In 1978, he landed his big break, playing Arnold Jackson, the younger brother in a pair of Harlem sibs adopted by a wealthy white man, in Diff'rent Strokes.

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Remembering Gary Coleman

During his eight season stint on Strokes, Coleman became famous for the phrase: "What'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

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Remembering Gary Coleman

Like Coleman, his Strokes costars' personal lives were fraught with drama: Dana Plato, 34, died of a drug overdose in 1999; Todd Bridges, now 45, also has admitted struggling with drugs.

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Remembering Gary Coleman

He ranked  No. 1 in VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid Stars."

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Remembering Gary Coleman

He faced off against Mr. T in a 1983 episode of Strokes.

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Remembering Gary Coleman

"When Diff`rent Strokes got canceled [in 1986], I was enormously thrilled and was very much looking forward to starting the rest of my life," he has said.

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Remembering Gary Coleman

In 1989, he met 90210 star Brian Austin Green.

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Remembering Gary Coleman

"I want to escape that legacy of Arnold Jackson," he once told The New York Times. "I'm someone more. It would be nice if the world thought of me as something more."

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Remembering Gary Coleman

"I parody myself every chance I get," he once said.

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Remembering Gary Coleman

To help him out of bankruptcy, he held an Internet auction of some of his personal belongings in 2000.

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Remembering Gary Coleman

In 1997, he reunited with Strokes costars Bridges and Plato (who died two years later of a drug overdose).

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Remembering Gary Coleman

He ran in Calif.'s 2003 recall election to replace then-Gov. Gray Davis."This is really interesting and cool, and I've been enjoying the heck out of it because I get to be intelligent, which is something I don't get to do very often," he said at the time.

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Remembering Gary Coleman

At age 40, Coleman got married for the first time to Shannon Price, then 22, whom he met on a movie set.

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Remembering Gary Coleman

He pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal mischief related to an April 2009 domestic violence incident at his home.

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Remembering Gary Coleman

"His memory will be kept in the hearts of those who were entertained by him throughout the years," his rep tells Us.