Photo: Herb Ball/NBCUniversal via Getty
Todd Bridges, the last surviving star of the 1980s sitcomDiff’rent Strokes,paid a sweet tribute to his late costar Dana Plato, who would have turned 55 on Thursday.
“You were the one person I could always talk to,” Bridges, 54, tweeted about Plato, who died in 1999 at the age of 34. “You were one of my best friends. I will never forget you and love you forever. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dana Plato R.I.P you are free my friend.”
In another tweet, he also remembered costar Gary Coleman, who died in 2010 at the age of 42. “RIP Dana and Gary,” he wrote. “I love you guys forever.”
The show was an instant hit for NBC, running for eight seasons and spawning the equally-successful spinoffThe Facts of Life.
After the show ended in 1985, the three child actors struggled to find their footings. Bridges struggled with substance abuse problems, while Coleman had personal and financial problems.
In atweeton Thursday, Bridges said he encouraged Plato to go to rehab. “I know, what makes me so sad i talk to her two days before she passed i tried to get her into a rehab center.”
But behind the sordid headlines and Hollywood gossip, the three stars ofDiff’rent Strokesremained close — although they sometimes bickered like real-life brothers and sisters.
In his 2010 memoirKilling Willis, Bridges recalled teaming up with Coleman to play pranks on the cast and crew. “I will choose to remember him as the funny, smart little kid who joked around, who had fun, who roller skated with me, club treehouses in our dressing rooms,” he said after Coleman’s 2010 death,according toEssence.“That’s how I’m going to remember Gary.”
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As the last remainingDiff’rent Strokesactor, Bridges said that Thursday would be a day of remembrance for him. “I will wish her a birthday wish and pray,” hetweeted. “It will be a sad day for me. To know I lost a good friend.”
source: people.com
