Todd Bridges says Gary Coleman’s dad tried to get…
Whatchu talkin’ ’bout, Willis?
Todd Bridges not too long ago appeared on “The Patrick LabyorSheaux” podcast and opened up about the problems he had with his late co-star Gary Coleman’s father, Willie Coleman, during “Diff’rent Strokes.”
“The first three years, me and Gary were close,” Bridges, 60, said. “Tight like brothers. Just like brothers.”
Todd Bridges attends the 2023 Power of Influence Awards in LaPlace, Louisiana. Getty Images
“When his father came, everything changed,” the actor added. “It wasn’t a fun set to be on.”
Bridges explained, “Gary’s father tried to have me fired, because at 13 years old, Gary slapped me, and I slapped him back, and [he was] like, ‘We’ve got to fire him. He slapped the star!’”
Todd Bridges, Gary Coleman in “Diff’rent Strokes.” ©Columbia Tristar/Courtesy Everett Collection
Conrad Bain, Charlotte Rae, Todd Bridges , Gary Coleman in “Diff’rent Strokes.” ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
However, the producers of the beloved sitcom refused to axe Bridges.
“They were like, ‘We can’t fire him, Willie. We can’t fire Willis. The show is about Willis and Arnold. We’d be done,’” Bridges recalled.
“Diff’rent Strokes,” which aired from 1978 to 1986, starred Bridges and Gary as two boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich Park Avenue businessman and his daughter.
Todd Bridges, Gary Coleman in “Diff’rent Strokes.” Courtesy Everett Collection
“I knew, for me, I was okay,” Bridges said about his function on the show. “Because Gary was the star, I was okay with that. But I got all the girls, so I didn’t care. The audience was predominantly young girls. When I came out, they would lose it. So yeah, you can be the star.”
Gary Coleman at the eighth Annual Tribeca Film Festival in 2009. WireImage
Todd Bridges at the fifth Annual TV Land Awards in 2007. WireImage
Bridges famous that he and Gary — who died in 2010 — “had a great relationship” until Willie received concerned.
“Willie Coleman separated us for a few years. When the show ended, I didn’t talk to Gary because I was having my own issues. Then he started having issues,” Bridges recalled.
However, the pair ultimately reconnected and “became very close again.”
Todd Bridges, Conrad Bain, Gary Coleman in “Diff’rent Strokes.” ©NBC/Courtesy Everett Collection
“Because now Gary didn’t want anything to do with his parents because he knew what they were doing to him,” Bridges acknowledged. “And so we became very, very close.”
Gary was 42 when he died after struggling a mind hemorrhage on May 28, 2010.
Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges in “Diff’rent Strokes.” Courtesy Everett Collection
The little one star was estranged from both of his dad and mom before his death. They have been accused of misusing Gary’s money when he was a child and tried to gain a conservatorship over Gary when he turned an grownup.
But in the 2024 Peacock documentary “GARY,” his dad and mom claimed that they always protected Gary’s money.
When the doc got here out, Bridges told PEOPLE that Gary’s mother and dad have been “shady” and “did not protect their kid in any way.”
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