Former child star Gary Coleman, who rose to fame as the wisecracking youngster Arnold Jackson on the TV sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes” but grew up to grapple with a troubled adulthood, has died. He was 42.
Coleman died of a brain hemorrhage at a Provo, Utah, hospital, Friday afternoon, according to a hospital spokeswoman. The actor fell ill at his Santaquin, Utah, home Wednesday evening and was rushed by ambulance to a hospital, Coleman’s spokesman had said in a statement earlier Friday.
He was then taken to another hospital — Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo — later Wednesday night.
Brittany Murphy’s husband Simon Monjack reportedly avoided undergoing heart surgery despite suffering from cardiac problems in the months before his death.
According to Roger Neal, a spokesperson for the Murphy family, Monjack was aware of the seriousness of his condition but felt that it could be dealt with at a later date, reports People.
“I was told he needed a bypass, and I said to him, ‘Simon, you have so much going on, let’s keep you healthy’. I said, ‘You want to be healthy. Don’t you?’ He said yes, but he said, ‘The bypass can wait’,” said Neal.
“I don’t know how much of an emergency it was. The doctors would have made him get it immediately if he needed it, but Sharon confirmed with me he did need a bypass. They didn’t make it public because he had so much going on.”
The 40-year-old was found dead early on Monday morning.
Tyler Lambert, son of ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ star Dana Plato, committed suicide on May 6, almost exactly 11 years after his mother ended her life. Lambert was 25.
The Tulsa, Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner told PopEater that Lambert (pictured in 1999) died from a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head. Toxicology tests are pending. Though the office had no more information at this time, the National Enquirer alleges Lambert suffered depression surrounding the anniversary of his mother’s death and descended into a drug binge prior to his suicide.
Legendary jazz singer Lena Horne, who starred in ‘Cabin in the Sky’ in 1943, died Sunday. She was 92. Horne died at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, according to hospital spokeswoman Gloria Chin. Chin would not release any other details. Her death was announced by her son-in-law, Kevin Buckley. Horne is survived by her daughter, Gail Lumet Buckley.
In the 1940s, Horne was one of the first black performers hired to sing with a major white band, the first to play the Copacabana nightclub and among a handful with a Hollywood contract. In 1943, MGM Studios loaned her to 20th Century-Fox to play the role of Selina Rogers in the all-black movie musical ‘Stormy Weather.’ Her rendition of the title song became a major hit and her signature piece.
Lynn Redgrave, a member of the famed Redgrave acting dynasty noted for her roles in “Georgy Girl” and “Gods and Monsters,” has died. She was 67.
Redgrave’s death was announced by her children.
“Our beloved mother Lynn Rachel passed away peacefully after a seven year journey with breast cancer,” the children – Ben, Pema and Annabel – said in a statement. “She lived, loved and worked harder than ever before. The endless memories she created as a mother, grandmother, writer, actor and friend will sustain us for the rest of our lives. Our entire family asks for privacy through this difficult time.”
Redgrave was the daughter of actor Michael Redgrave, sister of Vanessa Redgrave and aunt of Joely Richardson and the late Natasha Richardson. She first gained fame for 1966′s “Georgy Girl,” a comedy about an upbeat woman making the most of Swinging London. The role garnered her an Oscar nomination. She was nominated more than 30 years later for “Gods and Monsters,” in which she played director James Whale’s housekeeper.
Over the decades, Redgrave appeared in several movies and many TV shows, including recent appearances on “Ugly Betty” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”
A funeral is scheduled for later this week.
Posted Monday, May 3rd, 2010 at 9:09am
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Annie Potts remembers her Designing Women costar Dixie Carter, who died Saturday morning at age 70, the same way that fans do, as “beautiful and brainy, smart and funny, prim and sexy, wickedly talented and divinely sweet.”
“Dixie Carter was a Goddess,” Potts said Monday in a statement to People about her friend, who battled endometrial cancer. “The kind of wife and mother that every mother hopes their daughter will become and the kind of friend that is absolutely irreplaceable. She loved fiercely and was adored in return.”
The two women played on the ’80s sitcom together for nearly seven years. “To have known her a little was a delight to all. To have known her well, a treasure beyond reckoning. And now, a loss beyond measure,” says Potts.
