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VICTOR PERILLO:
There are certain performers
that are given to us,

to change our lives,

to make us happy.

And I think that Gary Coleman
was one of them.

Stand up so Arnie-poo
can knock you down.

(BOTH SNARLING)

TODD BRIDGES:
Name me another child actor
that was like him.

The kid was a true star.

Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?

BRIDGES: Unfortunately,
all of that got snatched
from poor Gary.

MAN: Why do so many child stars
end up broke or broken?

Gary felt completely abandoned
by the people who
were closest to him.

Whether it was his parents
or former business people.

DREW RYCE: He'd earned
over $18 million
as an actor...

and most of the money
was going to people
that weren't Gary.

ANNA GRAY:
It really devastated him.

He didn't trust people anymore.

FEMALE REPORTER:
Former child actor Gary Coleman
faces assault charges.

It's little wonder
that Gary spent
so much time escaping reality.

He liked outer space
because it was just
a way of hoping

and dreaming
about that better future
that Gar wanted to live in.

My prayer was that he would
meet somebody that loved him.

I love you.

Their relationship
was tumultuous.
Raging, yelling and demeaning.

SHANNON PRICE:
I slapped him
a couple of times.

I mean, nothing major,
nothing like red flag.

Former child star,
Gary Coleman died
in a Utah hospital on Friday

after suffering
a brain hemorrhage.
He was 42.

I think everybody
felt that the death of
Gary Coleman was suspicious.

INTERVIEWER:
You said, "I've had a lot of
people sit there and say,

"'Yeah, she pushed him.'"

I would never hurt
my husband. Ever.

DION MIAL:
I really wanted
some answers.

Why did his life have to end
this way?

GARY COLEMAN:
Celebrity's always a burden.

You're stuck with it for life.

You're gonna die a celebrity.

How do you like all the shade
and shit I'm throwing at people?

(CHUCKLES)

I don't like to be ugly.
But like, for this documentary,

this is probably the last
that I can actually speak truth.

And you know,
because I've had a lot
to absorb over the years.

I was in bed.

And Gary was already downstairs.

And to me it sounded like pans
that hit the floor.

I got out of bed and I went
downstairs and there he was
laying down...

on the floor...

with blood around his head.

I did not want to intervene
with where all the blood was

because I knew help was coming.

I mean, blood doesn't really
freak me out. It was just
the amount of it.

I met Gary while he was filming
the movie Church Ball,

and It was here behind us.

So I was waiting for, you know,
the person in charge

for the extras, the director,
whatever, and the door opened,

and it was Gary.

He's like,
"You're too cute to be here.
You should go home."

And I was like,
"Oh. No, I'm just trying to
see what's going on here."

I wanted to be an extra
possibly.

And he was like,
"If anyone says anything,
say Gary Coleman sent you,"

and he let me in.

Guys, beers on me!

PRICE: I just
sat up on the bleachers
and he worked his way up

and then asked for my number.

I didn't think
that he was going to
call me at all.

And I was really shocked to hear
the voicemail the next day.

What's the worst
that could happen?

He actually brought me
Olive Garden takeout,

which was really sweet.

I was like, "Okay,
is this too good to be true,
or is this real?"

I actually went back with him
to his hotel that he was
staying in Provo.

It was really cool.
We just started talking
and watched TV

or played a couple
of video games.

It was basically just
get-to-know-you
kind of a thing.

I honestly didn't know
who he was at all.
I never sawDiff'rent Strokes.

And he started to tell me
about his life

and everything
that had happened.

And I mean, it's pretty rough.

INTERVIEWER: Are you okay
to take the gum out?

-Or I can stick it
behind my ear.
-(INTERVIEWER LAUGHS)

(CHUCKLES)

SUE: Gary was born in 1968.

He was always an entertainer.

Even as a youngster.

We were shopping
for school clothes

and they were doing like a
fashion show,

and they were showing
all the children's fashions.

And he was like...

"I can do that?"

I wrote a letter
to the coordinator
of the program

if she allowed little boys
to model clothes.

And that Fall,
I was modelling clothes
on a little runway.

The manager of the mall
saw a lot of the shows

and said, "That kid has talent.
He should have an agent.'"

And he gave my parents a card
to an agent in Chicago.

PERILLO: Gary's parents
brought him into the agency.

He was only about
eight years old,
seven, actually.

And he wore
a three-piece suit...

and had a high-pitched voice.

I collected bears,
and he was knocking
them off my shelf.

He had a great laugh.

And I knew that he was
a tremendous talent.

GARY: The thing that
really started the wheel
rolling really fast

is the Harris Bank commercial.

Well, it's that time of the year
when you can get a Hubert doll

at the Harris Bank.

Just open a savings account
with $200 or more.

Or add $200 dollars
to a savings account
you already have.

Huby, the Huby doll...

Oh, my God,
where did you get this?
This is amazing.

It's not a bear,
but it's all right.

You can never have
too many Hubert dolls 'cause...

(CHUCKLES)
you can never save
too much money!

PERILLO: We made
the Norman Lear producers
aware of that commercial.

My name is Norman Lear.

Norman Lear was a big shot
producer back in the 1970s.

And he was sending
a scout around

and when Gary
got to the audition,
he was there for three hours

and he was reading
with everybody.

The casting director said to me,
"You know, he's a superb talent.

"He's got a tremendous timing."

And insisted that Lear see him.

(WILLIE SPEAKING)

EVE BRANDSTEIN:
I was told to come up
and meet this young man

who came bouncing
out of his office
and was

just a ball of energy
and funny and adorable.

(GOOD TIMESTHEME MUSIC PLAYING)

He was put under contract
immediately. And he was
doing appearances

because we were
beginning to build him.

Hey, look here, Mama.

Let me tell you something.

We're gonna settle this thing
right here and now.

It like hit the roof.
"Who is this kid?"

Chicago's answer to
the neutron bomb.

At your service.

Hello, totem pole.

Everybody wanted
to see Gary Coleman.

Gary, I'd like you to meet
Miss Florida Evans.

Hey, Flo!

GARY: I thought, "Hey, this is
a whole new adventure.

"This is cool.
This is fun.
And wait a minute,

"I get paid for this?"
That kind of thing.

Never in my wildest dreams
had I ever thought

it could get bigger than that.

(DIFF'RENT STROKES
THEME MUSIC PLAYING)

BRANDSTEIN: I was told
they had a script for a show
calledDiff'rent Strokes.

And they asked Conrad
Bain to be the father of
these two young kids

that were orphans
that he took in.

Ah-ha! You're here.

Welcome, gentlemen.

How about that, Willis?

Downtown two minutes
and already we're gentlemen.

Come in, come in.

BRIDGES: Oops, shoot, sorry.

Sorry.

My clumsy feet,
get in the way.

All right.

I got clumsy feet, so.

The very first time
that I met Gary,

I was like,
"This ain't no little kid."

(CHUCKLES)
"This is not a little kid."

Because he was so smart.

He was so ingenious
and just funny.

Be careful of my goldfish.
His name is Abraham

I've never seen
a black goldfish before.

That's okay.
He never saw a rich
white man before either.

He was cute and he played games.

He joked with everybody.
He'd always hide stuff
from people.

And then he would always
come in my room
and steal my combs

because he was like,
"That hurts. That hurts."
I was like, "Well,

"it's going to hurt worse
if you don't sit still."

We happened to be
in my garage, which is
one of the storage spaces

that I I have for a lot
of Gary's memorabilia,

that Gary collected
throughout his life and career.

I've got photos.

We have awards.

This is Gary's...

venerable...

show jacket from
Diff'rent Strokes.

Can you believe
how small he was?

It takes me back for sure.

No question.

My mother needed
to get to set to audit
one of the teachers.

She suggested that
I come along because
she heard there was this new

sensational kid named
Gary Coleman that she was
very eager to meet.

And I accompanied her
to the set.

He was a mere 10 years old
and I was 14 years old.

And we became
true childhood friends.

I knew upon the first take,
something was different.

I had never, ever seen
a kid that was so dynamic.

There was a meteor that had
landed unlike anything
I had ever seen before

in the constellation
of child stars.

PHILIP: Everything's gonna
be okay, honey.

Arnold and Willis
will come and tell me
what it's all about.

Here they come now.

-Hi, guys.
-ARNOLD: Hi, Dad.
Hi Julie.

We are in stage 17
where Diff'rent Strokes
was shot.

How do you do? I'm happy Willis.

And I'm delirious Arnold.

It was so much fun
working with Gary.
We were thick as thieves, man.

Big brother, little brother,
we did everything together.

This is Dana Plato.
She's the girl in the show.

Me and Gary Coleman
and Dana Plato, who played
Kimberly in the show,

we hung out together
and we had a great time,
you know.

I'm only 13 years old
and he's only 10,
I think.

We used to build
the most amazing spaceships.

-I'm fixing his lasers.
-He put lasers on,
that's the problem.

I got two lasers
in the front already.
He needs some lasers.

Kids, we're gonna
shoot the second show.
We need you on stage, please.

ALL: Okay.

All through here was
the audience and
over here was the set.

And we had, let's see,
the living room was right here.

-(MUSIC PLAYING)
-This is dancing.

And this was our bedroom.

-Arnold, are you in there?
-No, I'm not in there.

And this was the kitchen.

-Well, if it isn't
sleeping beauty.
-You mean sleeping ugly.

Diff'rent Strokes
was a groundbreaking show.

It was a new thing to see
blended families on TV.

I never had
a white grandma before.

BRIDGES: It was the first time
we've seen a white man
adopt two Black kids.

BRANDSTEIN:
For some white people,
the show was unfavorable.

They didn't like it
and they were angry
with what it was showing.

I don't understand.

Why is a person's color
such a big deal to some people?

Sometimes I think
if the whole world
was the same color,

some people
would still find something
to hate each other for.

There were some complaints
from Black people, too.

They thought that
Conrad Bain was being
the white savior of Black kids.

I am going to open up
a whole new world for you.

It wasn't that there was
a white savior there.

It was just a man...

trying to save two kids from
ending up being on the streets.

I am going to see that
you have the same advantages
that I had growing up.

No matter the hate mail from
both sides, we knew what
we were doing were right,

and the thing that our show
proved was love conquers all.

* Ebony and Ivory*

* Live together
in perfect harmony*

It was a celebration.

You could feel it.
The audience loved Gary.

He stole the show.

-You think we'll hit it big?
-Yeah, but don't worry, Willis.

If you get rich and famous,
you'll always be
a nobody to me.

He was a big man
in this little kid's body.

Some of the things that
he would say and the way
he would say things,

that's how grown men
would say it.

And it was very comical.
And the audience loved him.

They loved him.

Suddenly Gary
is on the cover of everything.

Black magazines,

white magazines, teen magazines.
I mean, he's everywhere.

MAN: How about
a picture of your kid
for the paper?

I think I can force myself
to be on the front page.

Gary's catchphrase was,
"Whatchu talkin' about?"

Whatchu talkin' about,
Kimberley?

I think it came accidentally.

Whatchu talkin' about, Mr. D?

But they had him saying it
three times a show.

Whatchu talkin' about, Willis?

Gary attracted star names...

Mrs. Reagan, I didn't know
that you knew Mr. Drummond?

I don't.

...like Nancy Reagan.

I'm really here to see Arnold.

Whatchu talkin' about,
Mrs. Reagan?

Mr. T, who was very popular
at the time.

Well, what do we have here?

And Muhammad Ali.

Could I ask a favor
while I've still got breath
in my little lungs?

Yeah, what is it?

Could you autograph
a picture for me?

-Be glad to.
-Here's a pen.

PERILLO: He appeared
in six movies for NBC
and two feature films.

Satellites are launched
and we are ready to button up
and get some rest

You are a real genius.

Actually, they call it
severely gifted.

But it's no big deal.

I remember asking him,
"How do you act?
How do you know this?"

And he says,
"When the director
tells me to laugh, I laugh.

"And when the director
tells me to cry, I cry."

And yet he'd be home
at night, watching his
episode ofDiff'rent Strokes

taking notes

on his performance.

Arnold, you look very handsome.

Yes, I do.

PERILLO: Along with being
a genius comedic actor,

Gary had a really vivid,
creative imagination.

And you would often find him
writing fictional stories,

and doodling the characters
in a notebook.

He loved outer space.

He would write the lines
and he would draw
these characters.

He would tell me,
he says someday
the people were going to be

just like the people
in Outer Space.

He had this affinity
towards that...

to the point that I called
the showBuck Rogers that
was on TV here for years,

I said,
"Gary loves your show
and he wants to be on it."

And they put him on
in two minutes.

ANNOUNCER:
Gary Coleman rockets
into the 25th century...

as the president of
a distant planet,
trapped on a world

where only Buck Rogers
can save him.

MIAL: I did have
a front row seat
in the rise of Gary's success.

I was Gary's best friend,
like his brother,

but little did we all know
that there was a much
more challenging story

that we would all soon
come to learn.

SUE: At about...

two years old,
Gary started to run
a temperature.

And that's when
they found out

that he had this
congenital kidney defect.

One kidney was
pretty much atrophied,

and the other kidney
was functioning,

but not really...

properly.

(WILLIE SPEAKING)

SUE: It was really,
really tough.

But when he was five and a half,

we got the news that
they had a kidney for him.

(WILLIE SPEAKING)

SUE: Two weeks after he had
his surgery, he was standing
on his head and I said,

"Oh my God, don't do that."
And he said, "I'm okay."
(CHUCKLES)

So, he had a spirit
about him that,
"I'm going to master this.

"I'm going to do
what I want to do, regardless."

Even when I was five

I was the "do or die,"

'"never say die," the tenacious,
"I'll be back'," you know,
kind of person.

That was the kind of kid I was.

This is the Gary that

the world came to know and love.

And if you look very
specifically...

at his size, this was brought on
by the immunosuppressant drugs

from his first kidney transplant
when he was five.

The drugs stunted his growth.

How tall am I going to be? 6'3"?

Six two?

Six one?

It looks like you're going
to grow to be about
five feet tall.

Whatchu talkin' about, Doctor?

MIAL: The immunosuppressant
drugs brought about
the fullness in his face.

You've got the cutest,
fattest little cheeks
I've ever seen.

Ironically, it was his
diminutive size.

and the fullness in his cheeks
that created Gary Coleman
as we know him.

You're just a sweetie pie.

I was told...

that the prognosis was,
if Gary were lucky,

he would live to the age of 12,

and at that point would require
another kidney transplant.

So, it's an amazing
psychological dynamic

to consider about someone
who was so successful...

and so full of life,

who fundamentally never

knew what it was
to be fully healthy.

Yeah, he told me, he's like,
"Yeah, I had a kidney transplant
when I was five."

It was a whole new ballpark
for me that, something
I just was very unfamiliar with.

I just wanted him
happy, healthy,

and just with me.

The thing that
I liked about Gary the most

was he treated me like a queen.

He made my life change
in so many awesome,
drastic ways.

Go to Disneyland,
all the things that
you think of as a kid

that you want to do,

you never think that that
those things are going to
happen or be fulfilled.

And he made all that happen
and then some.

You know,
that meant a lot to me

because I never
felt important...

as a child.

I never felt like
I got that love

that every human deserves,
growing up.

I feel like I got my childhood
stripped from me
at an early age

because I lost my mom.

And I was always just somebody
that needed someone.

All I know is that I love you.

And nobody can put
a price on true love.

You can't.

Watch the mic!

I'm now aware of you!
(CHUCKLES)

I'm a Utah agent.

When do I get somebody
as big as Gary Coleman
come in?

It doesn't happen.

But it was a joy to me
to be able to help them both.

The only thing
that mattered to
Gary was Shannon.

That's all he wanted...

was to find somebody
who he could love.

And Shannon just needed love.

PRICE: Our wedding was amazing.

We went on a helicopter ride,
and we went up to the
Valley of Fire

and we got married
on the most beautiful mountain.

OFFICIANT: I, Gary,
take you Shannon.

I, Gary, take you Shannon.

-OFFICIANT: To be my wife.
-To be my wife.

I was like,
"This is the most
beautiful place

"that anybody could have
a wedding ceremony."

It was great.

OFFICIANT: I will be
faithful to you.

I will, and have been
faithful to you.

OFFICIANT: I will be
honest with you.

I will be honest with you,
and I have been.

OFFICIANT: I will stand
by your side.

I will stand by your side
through whatever it takes.

My prayer was
that he would meet
somebody that loved him...

Gary, place this
on your lady's finger.

...and somebody that he loved,
who could encourage him

mentally, physically,
spiritually, and in
any other way, you know.

I love you.

But that wasn't the case.

GARY: Dion, turn around,
so I can get your open eyes.

You're shooting it
against the window.

By 1983,
Gary was 15 and really
at the height of his success.

-(ALL CHEERING)
-GARY: Alright, enough that.
Let me eat my bread.

He had a team around him

that became more like
a family after a while.

He had myself as his agent.

And my responsibility was
his theatrical representation

in negotiating his contracts.

MAN: Do you remember
the name of your card?

Ace of Hearts.

-Are you sure?
-Yeah.

PERILLO:
He had a lawyer,
he had a publicist.

And then he had
Anita de Thomas, which
was the business manager...

-GARY: Anita?
-What?

-Where are you?
-I'm right here.

...whose job it was
to manage their money.

GARY: Yeah, perfect!

PERILLO: The Colemans
became his managers.

Most children are not
the employers of their parents.

BRIDGES: The atmosphere
changed on the set when
Mr. Coleman showed up

and I remember the first thing
I heard from him was,

"Look out! Look out!
The star is here."

And Gary came in on top
of some bodyguard's shoulders.

And I looked at Conrad
and he looked at me

and he was like, "Okay,
this is gonna change things."

CHANEY: Nobody wanted
Willie on the set.

Because he created havoc.

He'd be standing there.

So, everybody knew that
Willie was there.

MIAL: He was very vocal

about the fact that his son
was the star of the show.

CHANEY: Gary went from
being cute to ugly.

He picked up all the ugliness
of his dad,

telling people,
"Who do you think I am?

"I run this show."

One day, he said,
"Come here, JoAnn,
let me slap you."

I was like, "Slap me?"

I said, "Boy, if you slap me,

"it'll be the end of
Diff'rent Strokesbecause
I will beat your ass."

MIAL: And then
he became sick again.

The kidney that had
been transplanted

was absorbed by the body.

And so, from December 31st
of 1985

until his death, Gary lived

with not a single kidney
in his body.

He then started on dialysis,

which is going to the hospital

three times a week
and sitting at the machine

three to four hours at a time,

while every drop of your blood

is cycled through a machine,
cleansing the blood.

And it is very oppressive
for most people.

I can recall
showing up to set one day,

and Gary was in the middle
of a scene,

completed the scene,
bent over and threw up.

CHANEY: He spent
a lot of time with me.

So the producers
were like, "Well, JoAnn,
how is Gary doing?"

I said, "Gary is sick."

The studio said, "Okay,

"let's go down for two days
until Gary is feeling better."

Willie was huffing and puffing,

and he said,
"Who the hell do
you think you are?

"Why did you have them
cancel the show?"

I said, "Because they asked me
how Gary was feeling,

"and I told them
he didn't feel good.

"So, sorry if I pissed you off."

BRIDGES: I remember the time
when Gary was throwing up.

I overheard Willie,
you know, saying,

"You got to get out there
and you got to work.
You know?

"You got people that
depending on you.

"You gotta get out there
and do what you gotta do."

I never saw it.
As a matter of fact,
I saw the opposite.

There was one occasion
when Gary was invited
to Australia,

for tons of money to do
television shows.

And Willie Coleman says,
"No, he's not going

"because we don't think
he's feeling well these days."

And we turned down a fortune.

(WILLIE SPEAKING)

MIAL: When Gary was 17,

as well as his poor health,

he was not comfortable

with the fact that the character
of Arnold Jackson

was not aging
at the same pace
that Gary Coleman was aging.

Don't worry.
You get ready,
I'll drop you off at school.

Okay, Dad. Thanks.

BRANDSTEIN:
They didn't want
to change him.

I mean, he was, you know,
"We have a golden goose!"

He's the golden goose.
He was.

And then that caused
him pain, emotionally,
I'm sure.

-Are they maturing you
in the show?
-Not much.

Are you complaining?
Like you know?

-Of course.
-Yeah.

Not much I can do about it yet.

He was just a meal ticket.

That's how he felt.

"I'm just making money,
but I'm not happy."

He wasn't happy.

PERILLO: They didn't think
that Gary was happy
in the character anymore.

And I think it ran its course.

I bet you're all wondering
what I'm doing here.

Yeah. Now beat it.

BRANDSTEIN:
The ratings were declining.

I mean, how many times
can you deal with
the same kind of jokes

or the same kind of energy?

Well, I've had it. I'm quitting.

I'm out of here.

When Diff'rent Strokes
was canceled in 1986

Gary was 18
and he was exhausted.

He was spent.

He retreated.

He went into a very deep
depression for months.

In fact, he vowed never
to work again in the
entertainment business.

And no one would accept that.

Not his parents, not an agent,
not a business manager,
not a lawyer.

And, in fact,
there was a very dynamic,

concerted effort to put him
back to work

as soon as possible.

Which was primarily spearheaded
by his agent, Vic Perillo.

The agent that I had all
during Diff'rent Strokes

didn't pressure me until later
when I wanted to quit.

When Strokeswent off the air,
there were projects,

three of them that
I developed for them,
you know.

NARRATOR:
With Gary on the scene,
a crook shouldn't be

PERILLO:
He played a little detective,

and they shot the pilot
up in Canada.

MIAL: Gary resented that
they were still

pursuing opportunities for him
when he was clearly expressive

about not wanting to do anything
in the entertainment business.

He would say to me,
"Why are they doing this?

"Why isn't anybody
listening to me?"

About a year later,
I was at home and about
10:30 my phone rang.

And it was Gary.

He said, "Well,
I just wanted to call you

"to say goodbye.

"I cannot take this anymore.

"It's not worth living.

"I'm gonna kill myself."

I raced over in the deepest fear
that anybody could imagine

not knowing what
I was going to find.

But he was sitting alone
with a keyboard.

And he was just tapping
single notes at a time.

We sat and we cried.

And I held him
and comforted him.

And just let him weep.

And I concluded, you know,
"You don't deserve this.

"You don't deserve
to go through this.

"And you do deserve
to take a break.
To get away,

"to unfamiliar people,
unfamiliar places."

And that was
when the discussion
came up about Hawaii.

GARY: You're getting everything
I already got.

We jumped on a plane
and off to Hawaii we went.

He began to ask
very specific questions
about his money.

What did I know?

I very clearly expressed to him

that I felt that some
of his businesspeople
in his life.

were completely insincere,

that they were duplicitous
with him.

Because I heard very frequently,

"Gary's a little jerk.

"Thank God he pays us
a great salary."

Just horrible things
that left nothing

to the imagination
about how they really felt.

GARY: I wasn't getting it.

I just wasn't getting it,
until I finally just said,

You know,
"Enough of all you people.

"I'm sick of all you people.

"I don't want to hear
from any more of you people.

"I want an accounting.
I want it now."

Eventually, it came
to a point where

Gary terminated
his business relationship

with his entire team of handlers

and his parents.

I kind of expected
the call to come in,

because he was letting
everybody go.

He let Anita de Thomas go.

He let his publicists go.

And then I was the last.

I said, "Gary, this isn't
going to be good for you

"and it's not going to be good
for me."

There was a silence
at the end of the phone,
you know.

I'm sure he was
influenced by people

to get Mrs. de Thomas away
from the finances

and get us away from him.

Dion will always be
my lifelong mentor,

a lifesaver more than twice.

And he's the one
that opened my eyes
to the rest of my life.

STERN: Right.

I think that Dion had
a wonderful relationship
with Gary at the beginning.

But I think that he convinced
himself that Gary needed
people around him

that would take care of him
and that we were all beasts.

And it couldn't be
the farthest from the truth.

-To Dion.
-To Gary.

-Best friends.
-Best friends.

-Best luck. Best Money.
-Ha. Scary.

MIAL: I became Gary's
business manager

in late 1987.

I think even Dion
was inspired to say,

"Hey, listen,
you're hanging out
with a big child star.

"Why don't you move in
and become his manager."

I did not have
any intention of riding

the coattails of Gary Coleman,
and I didn't need to.

I came from a family
that was successful.

I didn't need Gary for money.

I received the job
based upon the trust

that was well established
in my relationship with him.

That was not part of
a long term plan,
and it scared me out of my mind.

I'm glad we pulled it off.

I hope you're happy.

Maybe we should
do this again next year.

And I'll pay for it.

Maybe. Bye.

For two years,

there were deep investigations
into Gary's finances.

When I first met Gary,
it was at an invitation,

to become part of the legal
team that was investigating
his finances

and his business relationships
with his entire management team.

What we found out almost
immediately was that he'd
earned over $18,000,000

in fees as an actor,
and most of the money was going
to people that weren't Gary.

REPORTER: His parents became
his personal managers

and took the biggest cut, 20%.

His agent, Vic Perillo, 10%.

His business manager,
Anita de Thomas,
was taking 5%.

His two lawyers
were taking 7.5%.

So even before taxes,
almost half of Gary Coleman's
earnings were gone.

RYCE: These were professional
fees, which were industry
standard and legal.

REPORTER: One piece was
supposed to be set aside for
Gary Coleman alone.

California law required
that 25% of his income go
into a blocked account.

The blocked account
is administered by the court.

And it's supposed
to just go into
a standard savings account

and just sits there
until he turns 18.

But what our
investigation showed

was that, again and again,
Anita de Thomas
and the Colemans

would go into court
and petition to have
large sums of Gary's money

taken out of the safe,
blocked accounts and placed
into investments.

REPORTER:
Millions were put into
complex real estate deals.

An office building in
Denver, this strip mall
in Colorado Springs,

and this building
in Salt Lake City.

All of the investments failed.

Every investment
was 100% loss.
All gone.

PERILLO: Sue Coleman
put her trust in people

that were representing Gary,
like Anita de Thomas.

So if they said,
"This is a good
investment for him

"and this is
a good investment for him,"
she took their word for it.

And then we discovered
something even worse.

RYCE: There was
a series of loans
and overpayments

from the blocked account
that went to the parents

and Anita de Thomas,
who said, "Oh, no,

"that was a gift.

"Gary never meant us
to pay that back.

"It was always a gift."

It's even worse than that.

They took money
out of the blocked account

and placed it into
a pension fund
in Gary's name.

And then dissolved
the pension fund,

and took $770,000
of what had been
Gary's money

and gave it to
themselves as recipients
of the pension fund.

INTERVIEWER: Is that legal?

No, it's not legal.

I mean,
none of this is legal.

I mean,
certainly none of it is moral.

It's a direct lift of money
from Gary

to themselves.

I was not aware that money
was going to be taken

out of his blocked account
to be put into a pension plan
for us.

Did you get paid
the three quarters of a million?

Not that we know of.

MIAL: We went over to
his parents' house together,

and began to explain
the findings.

It rolled right off of them
like water off of a duck's back.

At one point, Willie said,
"We are your parents.

"Absolutely nothing is wrong
with your business affairs.

"Nothing at all."

Gary felt not only betrayed
but completely abandoned

by the people
who were closest to him,

his parents.

Gary was left with no choice

but to file a lawsuit
against his then
business manager,

Anita De Thomas,
and his parents, Willie and Sue.

As the litigation progressed,

Willie and Sue felt
that it was necessary

to file a petition
to have him conserved.

Gary was 22.

The Colemans made
representations to the court
that Gary could not handle

his own business affairs,
that the court should intervene.

And that's a very ugly thing
to do to your child in public.

My concern was that
with his medical condition

and all the things
that goes on with him

that can affect
the way he thinks.

And then to have people
zeroing in on him
and confusing him,

I'm just concerned that
he'd... do things irrationally.

RYCE: The conservatorship case
is a very concerted

and expensive attempt
to hide the truth

because the public
is told that Gary
can't handle himself.

Okay. And If he can't
handle himself,

then the lawsuits
and investigations

against them end.

MIAL: Gary was absolutely livid.

He was embarrassed
that someone would make

such a claim before the world.

There was the first hearing

with Judge Martha Goldin.

The parents remained

on one side of the
courtroom, and Gary
was on the opposite side.

And this judge
was savvy enough

to call Gary back
into her chambers

and have
a private meeting with him.

And she emerged
to scold his parents.

Mr. Coleman does not come close

to requiring a conservator.

Thank you, Your Honor.

REPORTER: Where do you
think things went wrong
between you and Gary?

I don't think anything has gone
wrong between me and Gary.

Do you feel
he's just receiving poor advice?
Is that what you're saying?

That's my opinion.

After nearly three full years

of litigation,
Gary went back into court.

RYCE: When we finally
got to the trial,

the judge did everything
the judge could do,

which was find that
$1.3 million had been taken
out of the accounts falsely

and was therefore owed.

And that was his judgement.

A California judge
bought Coleman's argument

that the 25-year-old
actor's parents
and business advisers

skimmed some of his earnings.

The court said the money

that had been appropriated
for our pension,

for our savings should be
returned to him.

And I said, "Rather than
go through this...

"take it."

RYCE: During the courts
and in interviews afterwards,

the parents would say...

"I'm not a bookkeeper,

"I was not an accountant.

"I didn't handle any finances
or anything.

"All we did was sign documents
and gave our approval."

(INTERVIEWER SPEAKING)

RYCE: At the beginning,
it's a couple of befuddled
people from Chicago

who didn't know how to handle

the sharp business managers
that you run across in LA,

but at the end,
I just cannot imagine

how you cannot notice
all the money being drained

out of the accounts
and gone, especially when
you're getting it.

I do believe that they became
aware that, "Yes, some things
were really wrong.

"But we didn't deliberately
engage in this behavior

"to consciously
and deliberately harm our son."

I would never represent that
that was their intention.

However, once being educated
about what had happened,

they continued
to refuse to admit it.

Over the years, I would try
and talk to them about
certain suspicions

and things in my professional
career, and they just they
either turned

a deaf ear or they didn't
want to hear it.

Or they just didn't support me.

And I have taken that
very deeply to heart

and I resent it,
and it still bothers me today.

And there's nothing
I can do about that feeling
because it's the truth.

It's honest.

(WILLIE SPEAKING)

It separated Gary
from his parents,

to the point where even
if he wanted to talk to them,
he couldn't.

It's very sad.
It's very sad.

That was a tough time for us.

It was really tough.

But we let him know
that we were always,
that we were home.

And, "Your room is still here.

"Anytime you want to come home,
come home."

Gary always, you know,
would tell me,

"Don't give my parents
my phone number.

"Do not give it to them."

And I remember one time,
Willie called me,

He says, (MIMICS WILLIE)
"Todd, can you have
Gary call me?"

I went, "No,"
click and I hung up.

Gary told me that he started
having financial issues
when he was 18,

and that's why I never really
had any interest to meet
his parents.

Because you don't
just take advantage
of someone like that.

-INTERVIEWER: Who's on your lap?
-This is Autumn.

She's my fun little
rescue puppy.

She's very lovable.

I was friends with Gary
in Santaquin,

and the first thing
he said to me was,
"All she wants is money."

But then there wasn't any.

Shannon took me out to a closet

and there was a stack
of photos of him.

She was grabbing them,
so that he could autograph
and sell them.

And that's the very first time
I'd seen her explode on him

because she couldn't
find these pictures.

I think the best word to
describe their relationship,
in my view, was tumultuous.

It was all over the place.

Sometimes they'd be happy
and joking.

And on the flip of a dime,
it would become raging,

yelling, demeaning,
and disparaging.

I would say that they fought
mainly about money,

because Gary constantly
needed money and work.

And there was not a lot of work

in Utah for him.

She constantly wanted him
to go make the money.

"Call this person,
call that person.

"Do this."

He just always felt like
he was a paycheck.

PRICE: He put a $17,000
down payment on my car,
almost paid my car off.

But, you know,
a lot of people
just stick their hand out.

They want your money.
They want your fame.

And I wasn't like that at all.

All you care about is the money.

That's all you want.

The love for Gary
keeps fading away

because you believe that Gary

doesn't want to support you.

But how are the bills
going to get paid?

You don't pay the bills without
me making some kind of money.

If we were in an argument,
you know, cuss words
obviously get brought up.

And a couple of times
we were both like, "F you."

And he's like,
"You're a bitch."

And I'm like,
"You're an asshole."

So, you know.

Just stuff like that.

It was just constant.

It was just every day,
her doing something,

her creating some situation,
her creating drama,

demeaning his manhood,

demeaning his size,
sometimes calling him a failure.

I mean, sometimes she'd
just come right out and say,
"I hate you, Gary."

And it was disturbing.

We had a talk about their
relationship on a few occasions,

and we talked about
how he said that,
"She's my soul mate."

And I said,
"Gary, love is not enough.

"And the way she respects you
is not the kind of respect

"that you would want to have
in a relationship."

I was always optimistic that he
was going to one day come to me
and say, "I'm done.

"I just, I need her gone.

"I need her out of my life."

So I was sad for him
that he didn't get
to that point.

Yeah, that switch right there.

Oh, it's cushy. (CHUCKLES)

Back in October 1997,
I was working at this location

for a chain
of video rental shops.

I was filing movies
back in the main library

and I heard this voice say,

"Excuse me, miss.
Could you help me
find a movie, please?"

And I turned and I looked.

And it was
Gary (BLEEP) Coleman. Wow!

This is where I had
my car parked that night,

and I came out at 1:00
in the morning

and I found Gary Coleman
sitting on the hood of my car
like a giant hood ornament.

And then I said,
"What are you doing here?"

"It's four hours later.
What are you doing here?"

And he said,
"I was waiting for you."
(CHUCKLES)

We exchanged numbers
and talked a little,
and then I drove back home.

As soon as I got there,
I rang the number he'd
given me and it really was him.

And we spent
the next six hours
on the phone.

So, yeah, the friendship
really just blew up.
It was instant.

It was like a big bang
of friendship. (CHUCKLES)

After a few weeks,
I pretty much just moved in.

He was living on the fourth
floor of these apartments
in Culver City.

Eventually we were an item.

Gary and I were a couple
for six and a half years,

but he had no interest
in the physical act of sex.

I'm reading your bio.
It says you are a virgin.

Yes, still to this day,
because I was not
endowed with that,

"Go! Go! Conquer every woman"
libido that every man has.

-Right.
-I don't have that.

But he was very romantic.

So, yeah,
he loved to hold hands
and kiss and snuggle.

And he really showed
a lot of affection.

MIAL: One of the most
challenging things

that I had to deal with
as Gary's manager
at that time

was, you know, getting the work.

Gary did feel
a renewal in spirit.

He had this desire to be
part of the entertainment
industry once again,

but he was still 4'8"

and Gary loved action
adventure movies.

Rambo.

You know, he wanted
to play a superhero.

And there were no roles
for Gary Coleman as a superhero.

He wanted to play a cop.

He wanted to play
a larger-than-life villain.

I'm 31 years old.
"Wholesome" must die.

Otherwise, I'll never be able
to do any cool bad guys.

I'll never be able to do
any cool characters
of any depth ever

because people are still
thinking of me as Arnold
on Diff'rent Strokes.

We're not having that.

-This looks like
a great place, Arnold.
-Yeah. Willis would love it.

Yeah, that is, if he wouldn't
mind living over a haunted
Indian burial ground.

GRAY: He was just getting
piecemeal work,
tidbits here and there,

and people still wanted him
to do Strokes-related stuff.

You hear the wailing
of the dead.

(WAILING)

Whatchu' talkin' bout, Will?

People didn't want Gary.
They wanted Arnold Jackson.

That was common.

They might not let you in
because the only black person
they respect is Ted Danson.

Whatchu' talkin' about, Bundy?

Gary absolutely despised
that catchphrase.

He called it "the line."

I'm not saying "that line."

Whatchu talking about, Gary?

I mean, just walking
down the street, he would
have people run up on him.

"Yo, yo yo, he's got to say it!
He's got to say it!"

They would just,
people treated him like
he was a penny arcade,

like they could just stick
a penny in him and get
a good show.

I was wondering if you'd say
your famous line for us.

I knew that was coming.

I'm sorry.

-You know...
-You don't have to do it.

You don't have to do it.
I already did it.

No, it's not that
I wouldn't do it,

it's that,
I don't have it in me.

I can't, it sounds ridiculous
when I do it.

I'm sorry.

Quite often, child actors
don't go forward
in their careers.

Some of them
aren't talented enough.

Some of them are
labeled too strongly with
the character they played.

-Please welcome Todd Bridges,
Dana Plato and Gary Coleman!
-(AUDIENCE APPLAUDS)

Gary and Todd and Dana
after Diff'rent Strokes

struggled with where
their career was going.

(ALL LAUGHING)

Todd and Dana became involved in
drugs and alcohol.

Former child star
Todd Bridges is in trouble
with the law once again.

Bridges was arrested yesterday
in California for having drugs

and a loaded handgun in his car.

They had bets on us in Vegas,
who would die first.

People lost a lot of money
on me, you know,
because I'm still here.

After a troubled career,
child actress Dana Plato
has died.

Known for her role on
Diff'rent Strokes,

Plato died Saturday of an
overdose just days after
denying she used drugs.

Dana Plato was 34 years old.

It's a tough thing to be famous
and be so young.

So much fame,
so much opportunity.

Kids have power
when they are in that position,
and it's unreal.

So you leave behind your power
and suddenly you feel terrible,

because now you have
to really struggle to be like
a regular kid.

If someone had've told me
that my life would have
been like this

early enough where
I could have got out,
I would have got out.

I'd say, "No, you know,
I want to go and have
a normal life

"and have friends."

Twenty years ago,
I made millions
and millions on TV.

The sad part is
the people who took care
of the money spent it.

Recently, I needed
some cash, fast.

GRAY: Gary needed work.
He wasn't getting enough
TV work to live on,

so times were
very tough for him.

CashCall was there
when I needed them.

I work because I like to work.

If I'm working
as a security guard

or I'm flipping burgers
or bagging groceries,

-it's because I enjoy working.
-(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)

One of his dream jobs
as a little boy had been
to be a cop.

So Gar was so ecstatic
when he had finally become
a security guard.

Becoming a security guard
was Gary's way of fulfilling
that fantasy,

of being an action hero,
playing a cop, being a cop.

GRAY: He was so proud.
He was just crowing.

And then being a security guard
went wrong for him.

Former child actor Gary Coleman
faces assault charges.

The 4'7" Coleman
now works as a security guard.

He surrendered to police
in Hawthorne, California,

after allegedly punching
an autograph-seeker.

GRAY: He was going to
the security store to get
a bulletproof vest

and out of nowhere...

"Gary Coleman! Gary Coleman!
Can I get an autograph?"

And he walked over
and gave it to her
and she was like,

"Well, can you write down
something nice?"

She says, "Well, can you
put a little more?"

You know, just add a little
something, like "good luck"
or something.

He took it and ripped it up
and was like, "Well, for what?

"You know,
this doesn't mean anything."

She had this hurt look
in her face. She says,
"No, I want it for my son."

And she was like,
"Well, I can see why

"you didn't make it
as an adult actor,
just a child actor,"

and that must have set him off
because he walked up to her

and literally punched her
in the eye.

REPORTER: Former child actor
Gary Coleman pleaded no contest

to assault and battery charges
on Thursday.

He wept as he was given
a 90-day suspended sentence,

a $400 fine,
and an order to attend
anger management classes.

Gary regretted
what happened instantly.

Instantly.

He felt that really,
in that moment, the bottom
had fallen out once again,

and it was horrible.

Yet another opportunity
for the public

to make fun of him,
to cast aspersions upon him.

And to belittle him.

Oh, m God,
it's Gary Coleman!
Can I have your autograph?

Miss, please,
I'm busy at work
right now,

and I really don't like
doing that anymore.

Thank you. I'm so sorry.

You's an asshole.

That's why your broke ass
ain't famous now.
(BLEEP)

Bitch, what?

GRAY:
He was really depressed.

He stopped going out as often,
he didn't trust people anymore.

This was one of those
experiences that changed him.

He constantly
referred to himself
as "God's punching bag."

He felt like one of life's jokes

and that he was never meant
to be a person of good fortune.

In one note that
he left behind for me,
he writes,

"I am a hurt, confused,
broken man with no one
and nowhere to turn to.

"I am more sad now than I have
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."

It's horrible.

This kind of loneliness,
this kind of hopelessness.

GRAY: Gary often
didn't sleep well,
so a lot of times we'd just

drive out here along
Mulholland Drive
and look out over the city.

If we could catch a few stars
once in a while, it was nice.

Gary liked outer space,
and the idea
of space exploration

was just a way of hoping
and dreaming

about that better future
that Gar wanted to live in.

It wouldn't be about Black
or white or male or female,

tall, short, rich,
or any of that.

He thought that in the future
like that, he could have
been treated

with all the respect
that he deserved and not
as the butt of a joke.

Nor as a penny arcade.

So this was a way
to just look up

and hope for that better-ness
that was coming someday.

In 2005, he got approached
to do Church Ball,

which was filming out
in the state of Utah.

I'm gonna wipe the floor
with your face, little man.

He called me on the last day
of the shoot,

and he said,
"I've decided something.

"I want to move
out here to Utah."

"The people here in Utah
are awesome.

"They're so friendly
and wonderful

"and they're not treating me
like Gary Coleman.

"They're treating me
like just Gar."
And I was like "Oh!"

He said,
"Is that okay with you?"

And I said,
"Yeah, I'll be there.
Not a problem."

So I packed up
the Los Angeles apartment

and we drove
straight to Santaquin.

It took me about four days
to get out there,
and I was exhausted.

So I hopped out of the truck
and Gary came running out.

And Shannon Price was walking
out of the house behind him.

She just struck me as very,
very young.

I was 19 years old
when I met him.

And I was worried whether or not
she would be immature.

I was like,
"Hey, my name is Shannon.
Nice to meet you."

And I could just tell
immediately.

Cold shoulder.
Very standoffish.
Not friendly at all.

Within the first day,

I was already picking up on
her wanting things.

Not wanting Gar, wanting things.

I remember one night
she had been drinking.

And she spit beer on me.

Believe it or not, she did.

After an admittedly
ugly night, eventually,
I told Gar

that I think it'd be best
if I go away for a little bit

and let you explore this
and see what it is.

We always had the freedom
to explore other relationships
if we wanted to.

I was really hoping that
it would be another person
in his life that, you know,

would lift him up and bring him
joy and that's not what
happened at the end.

MIAL: I had left his employ
as his manager.

And when Gary moved to Utah,
I was not aware at all

of what was happening with him
on a day-to-day basis.

I learned that there was
someone that he met.

This "Shannon,"
and I wasn't terribly concerned

until I learned that
she was living with him.

Then I had grave concerns.

PRICE: There were a couple times
where we had arguments
that I'm like,

"Hey, you should
go do this film
because, you know,

"we do need to pay the bills
at some point."

Some of the movies
that he did the last few years
of his life, he didn't like.

Shannon said,
"You gotta do it.
We need money. We got to live."

I remember he would call me
every single day

and he's like,
he would blame me for it.

And I was like, "You know what?
I'm done," and I decided
to divorce him.

They were divorced in 2008.

And I know they got back
together socially after that.

I know that she continued to

live at his house
and eat his food
and have him buy her things

even after they were divorced.

We still lived together.
We still stayed together.

We were still together.

He had told me himself,
"She's just my roommate."

In the public and out and about,
it was, "we're married."

But behind closed doors,
it was, "You're just
my roommate."

There were multiple times
when Gary and I

discussed a restraining order.

He just couldn't deal
with it anymore.

It was never served to me,
so it was just a document

that Randy had made up
and had printed out.

KESTER: We'd prepared
the paperwork,

and the next day
he'd call me and say...

Randy, it's Gary Coleman.
I need to rescind that order.

Everything's cool,
everything's fine so far,
so maybe the fourth time around

things will work out.

It was just toxic.

I know the police had
been there quite a few times
to domestic issues.

They both laid
their hands on each other.

Neither one of them
was the innocent party.

Strokesstar
Gary Coleman sits in
the Utah County Jail tonight.

Coleman was booked into jail
around 1:00 this afternoon

after being arrested
by Santaquin police.

REPORTER: Gary.
What happened today?

Nothing, nothing
you'd be interested in.

No jail time,

not leaving my house,
not paying any heavy fines.

And now I'm just gonna
go to lunch.

It was only a couple of times
as far as anything physical.

Yeah, there was
a couple of times.

I mean, I slapped him
a couple of times.

I mean, nothing major,
nothing like, "red flag."

Like, people smack each other.
They hit each other.

People do it.

You know, if you deny it,
you're crazy.

I have this on my head
because I fell down the stairs.

I don't want people thinking
that my wife is abusing.

Why don't you want to answer
the question about whether
you beat your wife?

-(BLEEP)
-Everything out. Pardon me?

-You can go (BLEEP) yourself,
and quit asking me.
-Really?

Is that the way you talk
to your wife?

Yes, I have to.
If I need to.
But I don't.

-I don't know you.
-Hold on. Hold on.

If I get hit by a bus tonight,

I'm not gonna care
because she's pushing my buttons

and I don't like her now
and the next thing
I'm going to do

is leave,
so (BLEEP) all of you.

-Gary, come back.
-No (BLEEP) you.

He had dialysis that morning,
and he came home,

and he immediately
came upstairs
and I could tell

he wasn't really
feeling that well.

But also I was really sick.

I have an inner ear
problem, so I was just
basically bedridden.

And I asked him, I was like,
"Hey, would you mind
going downstairs

"and just putting
some pizza rolls
in the microwave for me?"

Then he went downstairs.

I have a lot of questions and
concerns about what happened
in the house that day.

BUYS: I was shocked when
I found out he was fixing
her dinner after dialysis

because I've seen
how he felt after,
he was weak.

He was sick,

and honestly,
he just wanted to go take a nap.

When I heard the big,
loud boom,

I was like,
"Gary? Gary? Gary?"
and I heard nothing.

I got out of bed
and I went downstairs
and there he was laying down

on the floor with blood
around his head.

And I didn't know what to do.
I didn't know what to think.

So, yeah, of course
that's when I called 911.

I heard the 911 call.
I was appalled.

"I can't help him because
there's blood"?

If you care about somebody,
you don't care about that.

She was more worried about
herself than the person
she was calling 911 for.

(SIGHS) I think her actions
speak volumes,

and I don't have
to say much more than that.

My 911 call was frantic,
but, I mean, it was

a decent amount of blood,
and it just freaked me out.

I did not want to intervene
with where all the blood was,

because I knew help was coming.

She didn't help him.

She wanted somebody to hurry
and get there and help him.

PRICE: It's not that
I didn't help him.

I helped him.
Clearly I helped him.

The paramedics came.
They made sure that
he was being assisted.

I just thought he was
going to go to the hospital,
get stitched up, come back.

All is good.

MIAL: She watched them load him
into the back of the ambulance,

waved goodbye and went back
into the house and put
the garage door down.

And Gary was alone.

I was not in
the right frame of mind
to have gone with him.

I was frantic. I was stressed.

Anxiety, sad.

You know, just stuff like that

that any normal person
would feel.

And I called him
at the hospital
and I was like,

"Do you know anything, like,
what's going on?"

I was like,
"When are you
coming home?"

And he's like,
"I have a really bad headache.

"Okay. I think
I'm just gonna go to sleep."

And I was like,
"I'll talk to you later.
I love you."

And he's like,
"I love you, too."

And that was the last thing
he said to me.

The next day, I get a phone call
and they say he has an
intracranial hemorrhage.

So he has, you know,
certain bleeding in the brain.

And they were
taking him to dialysis,

and he immediately
went into cardiac arrest.

NORD: A friend sent me
a text and said,

"Hey, Gary's in the hospital
and it's critical.

"It's really bad."
So I immediately sent some text
messages to Shannon.

And I was encouraging her
to go to the hospital.

And I said,
"It's really important
that you be there."

PRICE: So then my dad and I,
we went together Thursday
to go see him.

He was on a ventilator.
I mean, he wasn't breathing
on his own.

But he was still alive
using a machine.

It was really heartbreaking
to see him that way.

And the doctors
and the nurses told me,
they're like,

"Hey, he's not gonna make it."

And I didn't know what to do.
I didn't know what to think.

And they were like,
"Shannon, what do you
want to do?"

Actor Gary Coleman
is in critical condition

this morning at
a hospital in Utah.
His family described...

SUE: Willie heard it
on television.

All I could do was
take my cell phone,
call the sheriff's office

in Salt Lake City and say,

"I hear my son
is in the hospital
and he's critical."

"Would you send somebody over
to speak with Shannon
and have her call me?"

She did not call me.

MIAL: I pulled up
Shannon's number and called

and she was very distant,
very short.

"The doctor says
it doesn't look good at all.

"He's probably going to die.
He's a goner.

"He's done. He's done."

I get a call from
Shannon and she said,
"You better run up here.

"He's not gonna make it."

I headed
straight to the hospital.

I told her to start
writing down these questions

of what you need to ask
the physician.

And she asked several times,

"Is there anything we can do?"

"Is there any way
you could get the fluid out?"

"Did you ever perform an EEG?"

But the doctors suggested that
she take him off life support.

There's nothing there.

His brain is gone.

His head was full of blood.

I went in there and I said
everything I needed to say.

"I love you. I'm gonna miss you.

"You're the most amazing thing
that happened in my life.

"And you really were loved.
And you were cared about.

"I want you to know that
if I failed you, I'm sorry.

"I'm sorry that you had to
live with these health
issues in this life."

And the decision,

to say, "Yes, take him off
life support,"

was the hardest thing
I had ever had to do.

REPORTER: Gary Coleman
died yesterday after being
taken off life support.

SUE: Stunned, you know?

You couldn't find
the words to speak...

or describe how it felt
at that time.

It broke me.
It broke me mentally.

I spent the next three weeks
bawling my guts out.

Every day from sunup to sundown.

We were absolutely stumped
because there were
way too many questions

with no answers.

PRICE: The fact that people
come out and say
that she murdered Gary,

she pushed him down the stairs.

That really, really,
really hurt me.

HORD: I think everybody felt
that the death of Gary Coleman
was suspicious,

and whatever happened
in the kitchen when he fell,
and have that much blood,

you know,
it raises a question,
"What really happened there?"

MIAL: He was 4'8" tall.

He didn't have that far to fall.

In order to create
such a significant injury,

it just begs question
after question after question.

I personally, in my opinion,
do not think that he fell.

I want to say so much,
but I don't...

I don't know what...

What I can say
without being sued.

PRICE: I broke down, I cried.
I'm not going to lie.

Like, how can people be so evil
and just think that I did this?

Why? Because I'm the ex-wife.
I'm the evil person, right?

You said, I've had a lot of
people sit there and say,
"Yeah, she pushed him."

I would never hurt my
husband. Ever.

People felt like she had been
the one that caused his death

and either pushed him
down the stairs or knocked him
down or something.

But the police concluded
that there was no foul play.

There was no criminal element
to it, that it was just an
unfortunate accident,

that he had just simply fallen
and hit his head.

I mean, I'm here for a reason
talking to you right now

because I didn't do anything.

I didn't touch him.
I didn't hurt him.
I was nowhere near him.

Nothing happened.

MIAL: The spotlight turned
to the decision...

to pull the plug
and end Gary's life.

GRAY: Gary had an advanced
healthcare directive

where he stated he wanted
at least two weeks of care

before any plugs were pulled.

So, I just...
I can't understand...

why anyone would pull the plug

two days later,
not two weeks later?

Did you not want to give him
some time?

Why did you feel the need...

to do that so quickly?

I mean,
you never gave him a chance.

PRICE: On the medical directive,
he said if there was two
or more doctors

that stated that
he's not going to
come out of it,

then to take him off
life support.

And there were enough doctors...

and medical staff that told me
his condition

and that he just wasn't
going to get better.

I think that legally...

Miss Price is covered
in terms of turning off
Gary's life support...

but not morally.

MIAL: The cover photo of Gary
in his final moments...

was the ultimate betrayal.

PRICE: I actually
took that photo.
It was a selfie.

And I was also crying
and I had a tear.

That's how everybody is now
going to remember Gary.

I mean, nobody looks good
when they're dying.

But not everybody gets their...

Their final moment sold.

It's my understanding
that she sold them.

It was...

one of the most depraved acts
I've ever seen perpetrated...

on another human being
in my life.

I think that people needed
to honestly see it,

to see what he went through
health wise.

To show people like,
"Hey, look, he's human."

I couldn't believe
anything worse

than Gary being dead
could possibly happen.

Damned if she didn't
find a way to do it.
(CHUCKLES SADLY)

Funeral plans are expected
to be announced soon

for the former child star
Gary Coleman.

He specifically said,
"No funeral, no headstone.

"I want to be
left alone in the end.

"I want to fade away."

He was really very tired
of everyone wanting him
for all the wrong reasons.

Gary did live a life fraught
with so many disappointments.

There were a lot of people
that let him down.

GRAY: I know Gar felt
let down by his parents
first and foremost.

But it just kept piling on.

Business managers, Hollywood,
the public,

and, in the end, Miss Price.

GARY: Celebrity's
always a burden.
I don't care who you are.

I don't care how much
you claim you like it.

You're stuck with it for life.

You're gonna die a celebrity.
Even if you haven't worked
in 20 years.

MIAL: The entertainment
industry...

is not designed...

to protect anyone's life.

It will chew you up...

and spit you out.

Gary said this several times.
He said, "I feel as if
I never existed."

How could someone
feel like that?

How could Gary Coleman
feel like he feels as if
he's never existed?

He is the greatest child actor.

In my book, he is the greatest
child actor of all time.

But he honestly felt like
he never existed.

Because he was always Arnold.

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.

Super-Arnold is ready
for action.

There are certain performers
that are given to us,

to change our lives,
to make us happy.

And I think he was one of them.

Monsters spotted
on the Empire State Building.

The proof of the pudding
is in the tasting.

And his life and career
tasted great.

So long, wood monster,

I'm turning you into toothpicks
with my zowie zap gun.

Zap, zap, zap.

Give him that credit.

And acknowledge him for that.

Super-Arnold saves
New York again!

(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)