Gary Coleman... gone

I like how fans are giving celebs their flowers while they are still hear. I really love how Betty White is getting hers; kinda dubious about Brett Michaels is getting his, especially if the flowers seem to be ill-gotten (The Apprentice). Nevertheless, people should let others know that their efforts are appreciated while they are coherent and healthy enough to appreciate it. Sadly, Gary Coleman didn't get his until he was in a coma, so who knows if he ever heard or knew about them.

Didn't much care for the press' treatment of his death on Friday, especially the way The Insider handled it. Yes, they were respectful, but they were also deceitful and hypocritical. They should've acknowledged that their stage was the scene of one of Gary's last public humiliations and that it was at the hands of legal expert Lisa Bloom, who preceded to do a victory lap on various 24/7 news outlets like CNN and HLN. I hope our peroxided Ursula relished the amulet containing Coleman's outburst because hopefully, her conduct after the unwarranted confrontation will be remembered, just as Nancy Grace's grilling of Melinda Duckett continues to be a black mark.

At any rate, I hope that at some point, Gary was proud of his work on television. As I said in a previous post, I will never understand this conspiracy of making people/audiences forget. Gary Coleman was more than 'What'cha talkin' 'bout, Willis?' Hell, the first season of Diff'rent Strokes wasn't made by that line. It was the sincerity of the performances. It was the writing. It was the chemistry among the actors. It was the way that the child actors melded with their adult counterparts. It was too bad that Diff'rent Strokes drifted away from those elements and at points, became too preachy and heavy. But then again, the audience was partly to blame, since they had certain expectations on how things should've played out onscreen and off, resulting in limited opportunities for the younger actors.

Nevertheless, Gary Coleman possessed a spark. And while he carried it onto Diff'rent Strokes, he had it long before, as demonstrated on previous guest starring appearances like on Good Times and The Jeffersons. His appearance on The Jeffersons was one of my favorite performances - loud/smart-mouthed Raymond, George's nephew from Chicago. Little Raymond gave Uncle George the blues BIG TIME!







Doing good work, at some point, is better than never doing it at all. And the fact that Gary did it while battling serious health problems deserves additional consideration. Hopefully, NOW, Gary will find some peace and maybe, a resurgent (albeit procrastinated) amount of respect.