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Peacock's upcoming documentary, Gary, is all set to release tomorrow, bringing to light the life of the legendary child actor Gary Coleman who is still remembered for his performance as 8-year-old Arnold Jackson in the show Diff'rent Strokes.
Coleman rose to stardom when he appeared on the NBC sitcom in the late '60s, until 1986 when the show came to a stop. The upcoming Peacock documentary explores a different side of Coleman by revisiting not only his storied career as a child actor but also his struggles with fame and the controversy surrounding his tragic death at the age of 42.
Through exclusive interviews with industry insiders and Coleman's co-stars, the documentary tells a whole new story about the life of the child actor.
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What is Gary on Peacock all about?
The Peacock documentary offers an inside look into Gary Coleman's life, exploring the actor's struggle with fame and the increased attention that his role as Arnold brought him. In an old interview that is featured in the documentary, the actor is seen confessing,
“If someone had of told me my life would’ve been like this, early enough where I could’ve got out, I would’ve got out.”
After Diff'rent Strokes shut down, Coleman moved to Utah. It was there that he met the 19-year-old Shannon Price, whom he went on to marry. However, the couple divorced in 2008 after just one year of marriage, but she lived with him until he died in 2010, after living in Utah for the five years prior to that.
The Peacock documentary studies the controversial circumstances surrounding his untimely death at the age of 42. Coleman had died from a brain hemorrhage after he sustained a head injury from a fall for which many blamed Price.
Shannon Price is one of the persons close to Coleman who appears in the upcoming documentary, alongside Coleman’s estranged parents, who allegedly took $770,000 from his earnings as a child actor, and Coleman’s Diff’rent Strokes co-star Todd Bridges.
Coleman's deteriorating health is explored in the documentary
Another aspect of Coleman's life that is explored in the documentary is his health, which was a source of trouble for the actor throughout his life. He had a kidney disease and had undergone multiple surgeries. He was required to go through routine dialysis for his condition. This impacted his growth, leaving him with an adult height of 4 feet, 8 inches.
His friend Dion Mial is seen remembering him in the trailer for the documentary:
"He said, 'I just wanted to say goodbye. I cannot take this anymore,' and we cried. His life was fraught with disappointments. From 1985 until his death, he lived with not a single kidney."
In an exclusive clip shared by Decider, Coleman’s friend Anna Gray reflected on their friendship:
“Gary often didn’t sleep well so lot of times we’d just drive along here along Mulholland Drive and look out on the city...Gary liked outer space and the idea of space exploration. It was just a way of hoping and dreaming about that better future that [he] wanted to live in.”
Gary Coleman became a household name when he played Arnold Jackson, the plucky Harlem boy adopted into a wealthy white household on Diff’rent Strokes from 1978 to 1986, with his iconic phrase, “Whatchoo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?”
Gary is a Peacock documentary that will premiere on August 29, 2024.
