Gary Coleman Truly Lived on TV

In the last week, two very different celebrities died. Gary Coleman, known to almost everyone as Arnold Jackson on 'Diff'rent Strokes', passed away on May 28th, followed swiftly by Dennis Hopper, of 'Blue Velvet', 'Easy Rider' and 'Rebel Without a Cause' fame, on May 29th.

Both were icons, though for very different reasons. I think I know which one will get the cover of People Magazine, and which one will be relegated to a sidebar. Dennis Hopper may have been nominated for Academy Awards, been taken seriously as an artist and poet (and he discovered Jack Nicholson!), but Gary Coleman was on TV.

Actors stuck in a long-term TV contract may long to be freed to pursue a career on the big screen (despite the fact that it doesn't always work out... ahem Jennifer Aniston), but for audiences, television is home to the stars we really love. We met Gary Coleman in our living rooms, not in a movie theater. We could watch him in our pajamas.

Of course that's not the only reason Coleman's life and death strike closer to home. Hopper was a notorious drug addict working on his fifth divorce when he died after a 9-year battle with cancer. Coleman, on the other hand, was a child star with congenital health problems. He was adopted. His parents stole his money. He died suddenly after a fall.

I wonder if, now that Coleman is dead, he will cease to be figure of fun. For example, how will the musical 'Avenue Q' -- which is about Gary Coleman living as the superintendent of an apartment building -- continue now that Coleman has passed away? Will it still be funny? Now that Coleman is no longer available to guest star as himself for a few LOLs, will he be remembered as a serious actor?

I sort of hope not. I don't mean to say I don't think he was a serious actor, or at least a very hard worker. He worked consistently from the time he was 10 years old, and was notably adept at memorizing his lines, and an 8-season run on TV is nothing to scoff at -- just ask Rena Sofer. But in some ways Coleman and his character, with one of the first real TV catchphrases -- "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Willis?" -- is in the public domain now.

The tragic story of the child star was a well-worn rut long before Coleman was even born, but now he seems to epitomize it. His story has all the tropes were used to: too much fame, too much money, greedy managers and parents, work drying up with age, domestic troubles, minor arrests. But there is one added factor that makes his story that much more poignant -- he never got to grow up. It's like something out of Grimm! Can you imagine? Stuck in a child-sized body forever. Most child stars become unrecognizable once they hit puberty, and if they want to they can fade into obscurity, like Peter Ostrum of 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory', who is now a large animal vet. Or they can reinvent themselves as adult actors, like Drew Barrymore. But Gary Coleman never stopped getting recognized, and he never looked like an adult.

I admired his willingness to let himself be made fun of. Apparently he even considered the possibility of playing himself in 'Avenue Q', though later he was quoted as wishing he could find a lawyer willing to sue them. He often played himself in cameos that made fun of him. One of those cameos, in fact, was the first thing that popped into my head when I read of his death.

It was in 'The Simpsons' episode 'The Gift of the Magi.' You may remember it as the Funzo episode. It was a Christmas episode and the last scene featured Coleman as his animated self, wishing us all a 'Happy Holidays' with the words "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, everyone."

I'm not surprised that my first instinct when calling up my memories of Gary Coleman involved a 'Simpsons' bit. After all, it was on TV.

[For more on Gary's life and career, read our Gary Coleman timeline.]