Gary Coleman, the child star of the smash 1970s TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" and who once ran for the Governor of California has bottomed out at 42.
Utah Valley Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Janet Frank said that "he was the same little lovable dwarf we all knew and loved, right up to the very last."
Coleman, with his bright eyes and perfect comic timing, even if the camera hit only the top of his head, became a star after "Diff'rent Strokes" debuted in 1978. He played the younger brother Arnold Jackson a pair of African-American siblings adopted by a wealthy white man.
However his stature as an actor faded when the show ended after six seasons on NBC, two on ABC and 357 Letterman and Leno tributes to his height.
An unofficial report says that Coleman's funeral will be Sunday.
One of the last acts of Coleman was to let a sculptor use him as a model for concrete characters for people's backyards and gardens.
Performing at the funeral will be Randy Newman doing the song, "Short People". None of us here remember the song, but knowing Newman, it's bound to stir the hearts and bring out the hankies.
