GARY, Peacock’s docuseries about child star Gary Coleman, covers the highs — and many lows — that he experienced over the years before his tragic death at age 42.
Coleman rose to fame playing Arnold Jackson in the sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, which ran from 1978 to 1986. After becoming the highest-paid child star on TV, Coleman started to feel typecast as he continued to reprise the role of Arnold for different projects. He took a break from acting but ultimately returned amid financial struggles.
Although tight-lipped about his health, Coleman was diagnosed with a kidney disease as a toddler, which affected him the rest of his life. Coleman was admitted to the hospital in 2010 after he fell down the stairs at his home in Utah. He was placed on life support due to an epidural hematoma and subsequently died days later at 42.
Coleman’s friends, former coworkers, estranged parents and others sat down to discuss his legacy in the film — revealing just how divided Coleman’s loved ones were over his many challenges. Many who participated in the doc were also very vocal about their dislike for Coleman’s ex-wife, Shannon Price.
While reflecting on Coleman’s complicated life, his friend and former business manager Dion Mial encouraged viewers to honor the actor.
“Gary did live a life fraught with so many disappointments. There were a lot of people that let him down,” Mial noted. “His life is definitely a cautionary tale. But I choose to acknowledge his life in a complete whole perspective for everything that it was. The tragic moments as well as his victory and his triumphs. The proof is in the pudding, and his life and career tasted great. Give him that credit and acknowledge him for that.”
Audio from Coleman’s final interview offered a glimpse into his mindset before his passing. “Celebrity is always a burden. I don’t care who you are, I don’t care how much you claim you like it. You are stuck with it for life,” he said at the time. “You are going to be a celebrity even if you haven’t worked in 20 years.”
Keep scrolling for the biggest revelations about Coleman’s life featured in the Peacock doc:
Battling Serious Health Issues
Born in 1968, Gary was adopted by parents Edmonia Sue and Willie Coleman. Gary was diagnosed with a congenital kidney defect by the time he was two years old and he required a transplant three years later. Gary had to take immunosuppressive drugs after the operation that ultimately stunted his growth and created a fullness in his cheeks that caused him to have a childlike appearance well into adulthood
Gary was not expected to live past 12 without another transplant. He made it until 15 before his kidney was absorbed by his body. Gary underwent more unsuccessful surgeries before being put on dialysis for the remainder of his life.
“From December of 1985 until his death, Gary lived with not a single kidney in his body,” Mial said in the doc before recalling an example of how bad the side effects became. “[I remember being on set and] Gary was in the middle of a scene and when he completed the scene he bent over and threw up.”
Mial revealed that Gary also struggled with his mental health after becoming a huge TV star.
“In 1987, I got a call from Gary. He said, ‘I just wanted to call you to say goodbye. I cannot take this anymore. It is not worth living,’” Mial recalled about the incident, which led to him driving to Gary’s home. “He was sitting along with a keyboard and he was just tapping single notes at a time. We sat and we cried. I held him and comforted him and let him weep.”
Later in the docuseries, Mial read a note he received from Coleman after his death. “He writes, ‘I am a hurt, confused and broken man with no one and nowhere to turn to,’” he read. “I am more sad now than I’ve ever been and I feel suicidal but of course because of fear, frustration and no real means of doing it painlessly, I can’t release my soul from the ongoing madness, betrayal and misery that surrounds my life.”
Gary’s ex-girlfriend Anna Gray opened up about his personal challenges as well, telling the cameras, “He was really very tired of everyone wanting him for all the wrong reasons. I know he felt let down by his parents first and foremost. But it just kept piling on. Business managers, Hollywood, the public and in the end [his ex-wife] Ms. Price.”
Footage from Coleman’s past interview showed him contemplating the direction his life went.
“If someone had told me that my life would be like this early enough where I could have gotten out, I would have gotten out,” he admitted.
The Dark Side of ‘Diff’rent Strokes’
According to Coleman’s loved ones, he grew disheartened by Diff’rent Strokes when the writers wouldn’t allow him to grow alongside his character.
“When Diff’rent Strokes was canceled in 1986, Gary was 18. He was exhausted, he was spent and he retreated. He went into a very deep depression for months. He vowed to never work again in the entertainment industry,” Mial shared. “No one would accept that. Not his parents or his agent or his business manager. There was a very dynamic and concerned effort to put him back to work as soon as possible.”
Gary reprised the role of Arnold in Hello, Larry, The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons and Amazing Stories. Off screen, however, Gary grew frustrated with the way fans only recognized him for a role he had as a kid — and the catchphrase “Whatchu talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” that followed him wherever he went.
“Gary absolutely despised that catchphrase. He called it ‘that line’ because people treated him like a penny arcade,” Gray fired back in the doc. “Like they could stick a penny in him and he would put on a show.”
Gary isn’t the only star from Diff’rent Strokes who struggled in the spotlight. His costar Todd Bridges (he played his brother Willis), who participated in the doc, dealt with legal problems and drug addiction before getting sober in 1993. Meanwhile, Dana Plato, who played his onscreen adoptive sister Kimberly, also faced personal challenges with substance abuse and died from an overdose in 1999 at age 34.
A Complicated Relationship With His Parents
Multiple people interviewed for the doc clarified that issues behind the scenes of Diff’rent Strokes started due to Gary’s management team — his parents.
“The atmosphere changed when [his dad] Mr. Coleman showed up,” Bridges claimed. “I remember the first thing I heard from him was, ‘Look out, the star is here!’ And Gary came in on top of some bodyguard’s shoulders and I looked at [costar, onscreen dad Mr. Drummond] Conrad [Bain] and he looked at me like, ‘OK, this is going to change things.’”
He continued: “When Gary was throwing up, Willie was like, ‘You have to get up and work. You have people who are dependent on you. You gotta do what you gotta do.’”
A hairstylist from the show expressed frustration with Gary’s parents too.
“Nobody wanted Willie on set because he created havoc,” she mentioned. “Gary went from being cute to ugly. He picked up all the ugliness of his dad. He would tell people, ‘Who do you think I am? I run this show’”
Legal Issues After Leaving the Public Eye
Coleman left Hollywood in the ‘90s and took a job as a security guard. In 1998, he was charged with assault when a fan named Tracy Fields approached him in a mall and requested his autograph, which led to an argument. Coleman ultimately punched Fields in the face several times and was arrested after witnesses saw the heated exchange.
“Gary regretted what happened instantly,” his ex-girlfriend shared in the doc. “He was really depressed. He stopped going out as often and he didn’t trust people anymore. This was one of the experiences that changed him.”
Coleman pleaded no contest to one count of assault, received a suspended jail sentence and was ordered to pay Fields’ $1,665 hospital bill and to take anger management classes.
Nearly one decade later, Coleman faced more legal issues after a physical argument with then-girlfriend Price. He was cited for misdemeanor disorderly conduct in 2007 and two years later they were both cited again. Price was also arrested on suspicion of domestic violence after the dispute.
“If we were in an argument, cuss words would obviously come up,” Price mentioned in the doc. “It was only a couple of times as far as anything physical. I slapped him a couple of times but it was nothing major. Nothing red flag. People smack each other, they hit each other. People do it. If you deny it, you are crazy.”
Coleman was arrested again in 2008 after an altercation at a bowling alley in Utah. The actor was photographed without permission and allegedly backed his truck into the person before hitting another car.
Coleman later pleaded no contest to charges of disorderly conduct and reckless driving and was fined $100. He settled a civil suit in 2010 related to the incident for an undisclosed amount. Months before his death, Coleman was arrested on an outstanding domestic assault warrant in Utah and was released the following day.
Addressing His Finances
Gary was managed by a team — which included his parents — since he joined the entertainment industry. But as he got older, Gary started to question where his money was going and ultimately terminated his relationship with his team of handlers and parents in the late ‘80s.
According to Mial, who became Gary’s business manager, the sitcom star hired an attorney who spent two years digging into his finances. The lawyer Drew Rice was interviewed for the doc, where he discussed the concerns over Gary’s fortune.
“He earned over 18 million dollars in fees as an actor and most of the money was going to people who weren’t Gary,” Rice said as an onscreen breakdown showed Gary’s parents getting 20 percent, his agent got 10 percent, his business manager earned 5 percent and his legal team got 7 and a half percent.
Both Gary’s mother and father denied being “aware” of the money being transferred and claimed they never got anything. ”It is a damnation to take and misuse kids. We have been straight up about every detail,” Gary’s dad said.
Gary and his parents never reconciled before his death.
His Loved Ones Divided — Even in the Doc
The most startling part of the docuseries was how at odds those close to Gary were with each other. Gary’s family was not thrilled by his friendship with Mial, while Gary’s costars and friends didn’t speak well of his mother and father.
Gary’s father specifically addressed why he never trusted Mial, saying, “If I see a demon coming, I’m going to watch that demon as closely as I possibly can. And when I get a chance, I’m going to put that demon’s lights out. And I told Dion that. I said, ‘If I ever find out that you have tried to do anything with Gary or to Gary, that will be the last breath you take on this Earth.’”
The only thing everyone seemed to agree on was their dislike of Gary’s ex-wife.
Gary’s Relationship With Ex-Girlfriend Anna Gray
Before Gary started dating Price, he was linked to Gray for over six years. Gray took part in the doc as she reflected on the highlights from their romance.
“Gary and I were a couple for six and a half years. But he had no interest in the physical act of sex,” she revealed. “But he was very romantic. He loved to hold hands and kiss and snuggle. He showed a lot of affection.”
In 2005, Gary went to Utah to film the movie Church Ball, which is where he crossed paths with Price. Gray moved to Utah to be with Gary but subsequently ended their relationship when he introduced her to Price.
“Eventually I told Gary that I think it would be best if I go away for a little bit and he can explore this,” Gray concluded. “We always had the freedom to explore other relationships if we wanted to.”
Gary’s Tumultuous Marriage to Shannon Price
Price had fond memories of her early days with Gary, sharing, “He brought me Olive Garden takeout [on our first date] and I was like, ‘Is this too good to be true? He tried me like a queen. He made my life change in so many awesome and drastic ways.”
Gary’s mother was asked about his marriage in a separate confessional.
“My prayer would be that he would meet someone that loved him and somebody who he loved who could encourage him mentally, physically, spiritually and in any other way,” she said. “But that wasn’t the case.”
According to Gary’s Utah attorney, the duo dealt with major ups and downs throughout their “toxic” relationship. Gary even considered a restraining order, which he walked back before it was official.
Gary and Price got married in 2007 but one year later were filing for divorce. Gary was granted an ex parte restraining order against Price to prevent her from living in his home yet they eventually started to cohabit again after their split.
Price claimed she and Gary continued to be in a common law marriage while those in his inner circle said he called it a roommate situation.
Questions About His Death
“I was in bed and Gary was already downstairs. To me it sounded like pants that hit the floor. I got out of bed and I went downstairs and there he was on the floor with blood around his head,” Price recalled about Gary’s 2010 fall in their home. “I did not want to intervene with where all the blood was because I knew help was coming.”
The documentary featured audio from Price’s 911 call, where she was heard saying, “I just can’t be here with the blood. I am sorry I can’t do it, I just can’t. I’m gagging. I got blood on myself, I can’t deal. I don’t want to be traumatized right now.”
Gary’s loved ones questioned why Price sent him down the stairs immediately after a dialysis appointment, which would have him out of it. They were also “appalled” by Price’s behavior on the 911 call and her decision not to go to the hospital with Gary.
“I was not in the right frame of mind to have gone with him,” Price fired back to the cameras. “I was frantic, stressed, anxious and sad.”
Price did visit Gary once she found out he had an intracranial hemorrhage. She recalled being advised by several doctors to take Gary off life support.
“I went in there and said everything I needed to say,” she added. “The decision to say yes to taking him off life support was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.”
Mial, however, raised more questions about what actually happened that led to Gary’s fall and subsequent death. (The authorities later concluded no foul play in Gary’s death.)
“We were absolutely stumped because there were way too many questions with no answers,” Mial said about the “suspicious” incident. ”He was four feet and 10 inches tall, he didn’t have that far to fall in order to create such a significant injury.”
Price shut the accusations down, adding, “How can people be so evil and think that I did this. Why? Because I’m the ex-wife? I’m the evil person, right? I didn’t do anything. I didn’t touch him, I was nowhere near him. Nothing happened.”
There was also backlash from Gary’s family about Price taking him off life support within two days — and taking a photo of him unconscious before his death — when his advanced healthcare directive had a two-week wait period listed.
“Legally Ms. Price is covered in terms of turning off Gary’s life support. But not morally,” Gray told the cameras before referring to Price’s behavior with the hospital photo as “depraved.” which Gary’s ex-wife waved off, saying, “I think people needed to honestly see it to see what he went through health wise. To show people that he was human.”
