An 11-year-old Gary Coleman poses in a Padres baseball uniform during the making of a movie in San Diego on June 27, 1979. Coleman died Friday at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, days after suffering a brain hemorrhage. He was 42. (Lenny Ignelzi / Associated Press)
Lucille Ball, second from left, Gary Coleman, President Gerald Ford, Sammy Davis, Jr., Bob Hope and an unidentified woman ham it up for photographers at the Children’s Diabetes Foundation’s annual Carousel Ball in Denver in 1980. Born with failed kidneys, Coleman had undergone two transplants by age 14 and his growth was permanently stunted by the side effects of dialysis medications. (Ed Andrieski / Associated Press)
In this undated file photo, a young Gary Coleman is perched atop former Major League Baseball star Reggie Jackson. (Lennox McLendon / Associated Press)
Gary Coleman arrives at the 42nd Grammy Awards on Feb. 23, 2000. Coleman’s acting career as an adult fell far short of his “Diff’rent Strokes” glory days; he made only occasional guest appearances and had mostly small roles in films and TV movies. (Online USA / Getty Images)
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Gary Coleman, who eventually endorsed fellow actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, received 12,683 votes and placed eighth in the gubernatorial recall race that saw Schwarzenegger elected. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Gary Coleman, standing next to show host Kennedy, was one of six underdog candidates who competed in the Game Show Network’s “Who Wants to be Governor of California? The Debating Game” at Cal State Los Angeles in September 2003. “I am the least-qualified man that might do the best job, if I were really running,” Coleman once said. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)
Gary Coleman in 2007. At the height of his TV series success, Coleman reportedly earned $64,000 per week and is said to have made $18 million during his TV heyday. He filed for bankruptcy in 1999. (Frazer Harrison / Getty Images)