# Actor Gary Coleman dead at 42 \[edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 28, 2010, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092 "2010-05-28T17:37:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/21 "2010-05-28T19:24:51Z")
> [@HelloNinja](#): > > When I was younger, I loved him in the TV movie “The Kid with the Broken Halo” where he played an angel living in a locker at Grand Central Station. Anyone else remember that? Yeah, though the TV movie I remember even more was _The Kid from Left Field_, where he bacame the manager of the San Diego Padres (which, as a Padres fan around Gary’s age, I found especially exciting). The weird thing was that a year after that film, our local broadcaster **Jerry** Coleman actually did become the manager of the Padres (though with very different resullts)! RIP, Gary. (Jerry, aged 86, is still alive) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/22 "2010-05-28T19:25:24Z")
I remember when “Diff’rent Strokes” first came on TV. Gary Coleman was unquestionably the star (and was promoted as such), and he had the talent, charisma, and comedic chops to pull it off. RIP, Arnold. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/23 "2010-05-28T19:27:42Z")
That sucks. May you now find the peace you never found in life, Gary… ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/24 "2010-05-28T19:28:23Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, of the original three. Danny Cooksey’s still alive. The less spoken of “Sam” the better. Heck, freakin’ Conrad Bain is still alive! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/25 "2010-05-28T19:30:02Z")
Bah. Another piece of us, gone forever. RIP, Gary. ---
**Author:** ![descamisado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@descamisado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/descamisado)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/26 "2010-05-28T19:32:42Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > Heck, freakin’ Conrad Bain is still alive! And Charlotte Rae. R.I.P., Gary. I don’t usually tear up when people I don’t personally know die, but it’s sad when so many things go wrong with his life and then he died so young. Anybody remember him playing George’s nephew (a precocious one, even then) on _The Jeffersons_ even before _Different Strokes_? ---
**Author:** ![pinkyvee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@pinkyvee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkyvee)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/27 "2010-05-28T19:39:19Z")
R.I.P., Gary. My husband would see Gary from time to time in a hobby train store on the “west side” of LA. Husband says Gary was always pleasant. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/28 "2010-05-28T19:44:03Z")
> [@pinkyvee](#): > > My husband would see Gary from time to time in a hobby train store on the “west side” of LA. The one on Sepulveda in Culver City? ---
**Author:** ![pinkyvee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6de8d8/32.png) [@pinkyvee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkyvee)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/29 "2010-05-28T19:45:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The one on Sepulveda in Culver City? Yeppers. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/30 "2010-05-28T19:46:52Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > Well, “Avenue Q” is screwed. I hate to admit it, but after two and a half seconds of, “Oh, what a shame,” this was my next thought too. Surely they can’t continue using Coleman as a character after this? Paging Emmanuel Lewis… ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/31 "2010-05-28T19:52:23Z")
So, ironically, he died of a stroke. Hard life that guy had. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/32 "2010-05-28T19:54:15Z")
Bad taste joke follows. I heard Gary Coleman’s body is going to be cremated. Only instead of an oven, they’re using a Coleman stove. Sorry. KROQ’s Kevin & Bean used to make fun of Coleman quite a bit. Anyone know if they have any comments? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/33 "2010-05-28T20:05:53Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I hate to admit it, but after two and a half seconds of, “Oh, what a shame,” this was my next thought too. Surely they can’t continue using Coleman as a character after this? Me, too. Mind you, I didn’t know who Gary Coleman was before my roommate played “Sucks To Be Me” on YouTube. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/34 "2010-05-28T20:10:56Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > KROQ’s Kevin & Bean used to make fun of Coleman quite a bit. Anyone know if they have any comments? They reported on his injury on the show business news at the top of the hour, I did not hear anything else mentioned. Perhaps on Monday, they will fire up the hot line to heaven and talk to him. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/35 "2010-05-28T20:33:19Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > Me, too. Mind you, I didn’t know who Gary Coleman was before my roommate played “Sucks To Be Me” on YouTube. Whippersnapper! RIP, Gary. And I have to admit that I also thought of the Avenue Q/Vaughn Meader line. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/36 "2010-05-28T20:58:12Z")
So… how long until TVLand tries to capitalize on this by putting Diff’rent Strokes back on their schedule? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/37 "2010-05-28T21:12:46Z")
> [@HelloNinja](#): > > Sad news. > > When I was younger, I loved him in the TV movie “The Kid with the Broken Halo” where he played an angel living in a locker at Grand Central Station. Anyone else remember that? I vividly remember the movie, but not the title. I loved that one! ETA : IMDB seems to think it was “On the Right Track.” Joe ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/38 "2010-05-28T21:30:41Z")
So as not to hijack, I’ve started a "Who should replace him in AVENUE Q thread [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=564937). ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/39 "2010-05-28T21:37:42Z")
[_Avenue Q_ to pay tribute to Gary Coleman tonight.](http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/AVENUE_Q_to_Pay_Tribute_to_Gary_Coleman_Tonight_20100528) ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Nader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Darth\_Nader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Nader)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092/40 "2010-05-28T21:49:10Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I hate to admit it, but after two and a half seconds of, “Oh, what a shame,” this was my next thought too. Surely they can’t continue using Coleman as a character after this? Folks playing their old utlraviolent copy of Postal 2 will always remember him. Here’s a [clip](http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1264374/postal_2_gary_coleman/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actor-gary-coleman-dead-at-42-edited-title/541092.md?page=3)