flags are flying at half mast here at GhettoManga central HQ... I just learned of the death of diminutive 70s TV star Gary Coleman (Diff'rent Strokes,The Gary Coleman Show), who died from an intercranial hemorrhage today. If you were anything like me (a dark-skinned african-american boy with chubby cheeks and a nappy 'fro), it was impossible to avoid comparisons to the most famous child actor of the decade. I grew up loving Diff'rent Strokes, which ran for 8 seasons.
Like many child television stars, Coleman became a victim of his own success, unable to get any other roles after Diff'rent Strokes because he had become such an icon. Even with all the trouble that seemed to follow him since, it's still a shame when someone does at such a young age. He was only 42.
when I was participating in a character design group last February, I actually created the character Raymond Jenkins as a nod to Coleman, imagining that he would fake his death and become a freelance government agent, who traveled the world and made it a better place by carrying out high-risk missions, in exchange for a life of luxurious anonymity. Maybe I'm just being silly, but I'd like to think maybe it's true... what if he finally found a place he could contribute to the society that used to laugh WITH him, not AT him.
, which ran for 8 seasons.
