Diff'rent Strokes

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Diff'rent Strokes
Image:diffrentstrokes.jpg
Format Sitcom
Run time 30 Minutes
Creator Jeff Harris
Bernie Kukoff
Starring Conrad Bain
Gary Coleman
Todd Bridges
Dana Plato
Country USA
Network NBC/ABC
Original run November 3, 1978March 7, 1986
No. of episodes 189

Diff'rent Strokes was an American sitcom that aired from 1978 to 1985 on NBC and from 1985 to 1986 on ABC.

The sitcom starred Gary Coleman as Arnold Jackson and Todd Bridges as his older brother Willis—two African-American children from a poor Harlem background whose deceased mother previously worked for a rich white widower Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain), who eventually adopted them. They lived in a penthouse with Drummond's daughter Kimberly (Dana Plato) and his maid (they went through three during the show's run: Mrs. Garrett, Adelaide, and Pearl) on Park Avenue in New York City. As Arnold, Coleman popularized the catch phrase, "Wha'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?", which was popular in the late 1970s and early 1980s and is still mentioned in pop culture references today.

The television sitcom The Facts of Life (1979 – 1988) was a spinoff of Diff'rent Strokes, involving former Drummond maid Mrs. Garrett as housemother of a dormitory at an all-girl private school.

All of the child stars ended up having problems after the show ended. Plato died in 1999 due to a drug overdose (following a career in soft-core pornography), while Coleman and Bridges got into legal trouble. Due to these problems, "The Curse of Diff'rent Strokes" became a term associated with the show. Coleman publicly stated that he does not believe there is a curse on the cast members and that these incidents are merely tragic coincidences.

The show is also known (and frequently mocked) for its many "very special episodes", most notably an anti-drug episode in which then-First Lady Nancy Reagan appeared in order to reiterate her "Just Say No" campaign, and an episode guest starring Gordon Jump as a would-be child molester.

The name of the show was derived from a popular catch phrase, "diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks," popularized by rock band Sly & The Family Stone with their 1968 hit "Everyday People."

It became somewhat popular again in the U.K. during 1990s re-runs.

Season 1 (1978-1979) is on Region 1 DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

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