Best known as the loveable Arnold Jackson on the hit series “Diff’rent Strokes” (1978-86), child star Gary Coleman has struggled to redefine his life and career ever since he played the gregarious TV moppet. As with costars Todd Bridges and Dana Plato, Coleman descended into a life of career mediocrity and seemingly non-stop trouble once the show was canceled. Though he never succumbed to drugs like Bridges and Plato, Coleman nonetheless suffered the aftereffects of being a former child celebrity, even twice attempting suicide. But through it all, Coleman managed to pull himself up by the bootstraps and restore some dignity to his life.

Coleman grew up in Zion, Illinois, a small city on the shores of Lake Michigan 40 miles south of Chicago. His adoptive parents both worked in the medical field: his father for a pharmaceutical company and his mother was a nurse. By age 5, Coleman had three kidney operations, the result of nephritis, a congenital defect. The condition would stunt his growth, eventually leaving him 4’8” for life. However, his size worked to his advantage when he began appearing in Chicago-area commercials, because at nine years old he could pass for five.

In 1978, Coleman auditioned for a television revival of “The Little Rascals”. The project never made it off the ground, but network executives were impressed with Coleman’s talent and cast him as Arnold in “Diff’rent Strokes”. With Coleman’s pudgy cheeks and ability to pout on cue, the show was an immediate hit. The series first aired on NBC in November, 1978 and ran for six seasons, making its final appearance in August, 1986.

Coleman spent his “Diff’rent Stokes” years capitalizing on his saccharine image with several TV movies, three of which co-starred distinguished actor Robert Guillaume. First was “The Kid from Left Field” (1979), a remake of the 1953 movie with Dan Dailey and Anne Bancroft. Coleman played the son of a former baseball player-turned-refreshments vendor who leads the San Diego Padres from worst in the league to the World Series. The two actors teamed up again in “The Kid with the Broken Halo” (1982), about a child angel who returns to earth to save three souls. Rounding out their creative partnership was “The Kid with the 200 I.Q.” (1983), a sappy melodrama about a precocious kid who learns that a large IQ cannot make up for a lack of confidence or maturity. All three films helped solidify the wholesome, chipmunk-cheeked kiddie image that would dog Coleman for the rest of his life.

Coleman’s life jumped the shark once “Diff’rent Stokes” went off the air in 1986. The aging actor was no longer an adorable child and found difficulty being cast due to his size. To make matters worse, Coleman entered a bitter court battle against his adoptive parents, who swindled most of the money he made from the series. The parents set up a trust fund for Coleman, but structured the deal so that they could be paid employees of his production company. The result was years of embezzlement, followed by the actor getting the shaft when a court dissolved the trust: after earning $18 million from the show, Coleman received $220,000 to his parents’ $770,000. Coleman sued, forcing his parents and managers to cough up an additional $3.8 million.

However, Coleman’s troubles didn’t end there. While broke, he was forced to take odd jobs, including one as a security guard, much to the relish of the national media. If that weren’t embarrassing enough, Coleman got into trouble with the law while shopping for a bulletproof vest for his security job. A female autograph seeker asked Coleman to sign one for her. He obliged, but the woman felt it wasn’t enough. After pestering him for more than his signature, Coleman lost his cool and punched the woman several times. Though the charge of assault and battery was reduced to disturbing the peace, Coleman nevertheless endured his own figurative beating at the hands of the media.

Coleman soldiered on, all the while managing to retain his trademark humor and charm. He made appearances here and there, mostly cameos and small roles parodying himself. In an effort to open some doors, Coleman interned at KRQ Radio in Tucson, Arizona, which later turned into a paying gig. He also began writing Coleman Confidential for UGO.com, a weekly column where readers submit questions about any topic under the sun and he responded with advice.

In a bizarre twist at age 35, Coleman entered the California recall election in 2003 (agreeing to run after his name was put into the race by East Bay Express, a Oakland newspaper hoping to satirize and protest the recall election). Though action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger went on to win, Coleman finished a respectable eighth place among 135 candidates with more than 12,500 votes, ahead of comedian Gallagher, porn star Mary Carey and LA-based billboard fixture Angelyne. Immediately after the election, Coleman's "campaign" resulted in a new job as the political analyst for the fledgling Hollywood-based All Comedy Radio network.