'Diff'rent Strokes' star Gary Coleman dies at Provo hospital

PROVO — His infectious smile spread laughs across a generation and the day after his death that smile remains in the memories of Gary Coleman's family, friends and fans.

The child star of the 1970s TV show "Diff'rent Strokes" who became a Utah transplant died of a brain hemorrhage Friday afternoon. He was 42.

Coleman was hospitalized Wednesday after suffering a brain hemorrhage from a fall in his Santaquin home. He was taken to the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. According to a press release from the medical center, Coleman was conscious and lucid at midmorning Thursday, but by early afternoon the same day he was slipping in and out of consciousness and his condition worsened. He died Friday at about 12:05 p.m. after being removed from life support.

Best remembered as the "Diff'rent Strokes" character Arnold Jackson and his "Whatchu talkin' 'bout?" catchphrase, Coleman chafed at his permanent association with the show but also tried to capitalize on it through reality shows and other TV appearances.

Coleman was born Feb. 8, 1968, in Zion, Ill., near Chicago.

His short stature added to his child-star charm but stemmed from a serious health problem: kidney failure. He had the first of at least two transplants at age 5 and required dialysis. Even as an adult, his height reached only 4 feet 8 inches.

Coleman's health problems went beyond kidney failure. Last fall, he had heart surgery complicated by pneumonia, said his Utah attorney, Randy Kester. In February, he suffered a seizure on the set of "The Insider."

His adult life was marked with legal, financial and health troubles, suicide attempts and even a 2003 run for California governor.

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

Seeking to escape the public eye, Coleman was drawn to Utah while filming the LDS comedy "Church Ball."

While Coleman was in Utah filming the movie, he was asked during a radio interview whether he liked the state.

Coleman jokingly bashed Utah as being way too different and very quiet. But after spending a few more days in Utah, he decided he really liked the area and consulted with a real-estate agent. He later moved to the small rural town of Santaquin in Utah County.