My friend Amico Arnold , the famous sitcom, which celebrates 40 years this year, arrived in Italy in 1980, the first episode aired in November 1978 in the US and was called Diff’rent Strokes.
The stories of the Drummond family , made of tenderness and funny moments, have fascinated everyone, both young and old in those long afternoons in front of the TV and for years the reruns have continued.
Many will remember the two black children adopted by a wealthy New York businessman and the various protagonists of the series such as the tough Mrs. Garrett and the housekeeper Adelaide.
But not everyone knows how the actors’ lives went on . In fact, after one tragedy after another, many have died , have had problems with justice and even with drugs and, obviously, have not pursued their careers peacefully.
Let’s find out together the curse that fell on the protagonists of My friend Arnold :
1) Arnold
The child Arnold, an unfortunate little actor, was played by Gary Coleman and even for his death we can speak of a curse. In fact, the former child prodigy died in 2010, aged only 42 , after a fall . Coleman, following a fall, had hit his head violently. Admitted to the intensive care unit of the Provom hospital in Utah, his serious condition was immediately ascertained. Moreover, even in childhood he had not had a good state of health: a congenital disease of the kidneys, in addition to blocking its growth, had forced him to undergo twice a kidney transplant and dialysis. In the past he had had problems with the law, related to problems of family violence.
2) Kimberly
Dana Plato is the actress who played the role of Kimberly Drummond in the series “My Friend Arnold”. Unfortunately, her life was not very simple. In fact, her character was deleted from the series when she the young she became pregnant. From that moment her existence changed radically and she followed a career in erotic and softcore b-movies and had problems with drugs. In addition, she was arrested for armed robbery. She is the actress and she died of an overdose in 1999 at the age of 34 . Her son, Tyler Lambert , took his own life exactly 11 years after his mother’s tragic death on May 6, 2010.
3) Willis
Todd Bridges in the series played Willi, Arnold’s brother. Unlike many of his former colleagues, he is 53 years old. But he has long since moved away from the entertainment world. For many years, he too, had serious drug problems and ended up under arrest several times. Also, in 1988 he was tried for attempted murder of a drug dealer. However, in 2010, Bridges published a book, Killing Willis and in 2012 he appeared in a cameo in the comedy film Guess Why I Hate You, in which he played himself.
4) The adoptive pope Drummond
The pope of the television series, Mr. Drummond, was played by actor Conrad Bain . The actor died in 2013 at the age of 89 of natural causes. Bain began his career in the 1950s in the theater on Broadway, gaining acclaim from critics and audiences. Thanks to one of the theatrical shows comes the proposal to be part of the soap Dark Shadows which started the work on TV. The role of Philip Drummond in My Friend Arnold was played for eight seasons until 1986. He later reappeared, also as Drummond, in a cameo for an episode of Willy, Prince of Bel Air in 1996.
5) Mrs. Garrett
Ms. Garrett, hard-mannered and sharp-witted, was played by Charlotte Rae . She this star of My Friend Arnold , and she passed away in Los Angeles in August, at the age of 92 and had been suffering from cancer for some time . Mrs. Garrett’s character was an iron nanny in the home of millionaire widower Philip Drummond, in which she cared for her adopted children Arnold and Willis as well as Kimberly.
6) Arnold’s mom
American actress Dixie Carter played Arnold’s mom Maggie McKinney. In the series, thanks to a curriculum full of television appearances, Dixie Carter had played the new wife of Philip Drummond. This actress also died in 2010 at the age of 70. Her announcement was made by her husband, actor Hal Holbrook, to whom she had been married since 1984. Hal had specified that his wife had died from complications of cancer .
7) Ruler Adelaide
Nedra Volz Nedra Volz , held the role of housekeeper Adelaide. Despite having passed away in old age, in 2003 at the age of 95, she had been suffering from Alzheimer ‘s for some time . The actress worked extensively on television. In fact, in addition to having starred in this series, she was part of the Bradford and Hazzard family where she played the role of Miss Tisdale.
