Melanie watson

Phillip Drummond Conrad Bain is a widower for whom their deceased mother previously worked; his daughter, Kimberly, is played by Dana Plato. Edna Garrett, the Drummonds' first housekeeper, who ultimately spun off into her own sitcom, The Facts of Life , as a housemother at the fictional Eastland School. The second housekeeper, Adelaide Brubaker, was played by Nedra Volz.

The third housekeeper, Pearl Gallagher, was played by Mary Jo Catlett , first appearing as a recurring character, later becoming a main cast member. The series made stars of Coleman, Bridges, and Plato and became known for the very special episodes , in which serious issues such as racism , illegal drug use , alcoholism , hitchhiking , kidnapping , and child sexual abuse were dramatically explored.

Bain had recently finished a six-year run co-starring as Dr. Arthur Harmon on the hugely successful Maude. When that series ended production following star Beatrice Arthur 's decision to leave the show in the spring of , Tandem Productions producer Norman Lear was keen to find a suitable sitcom for Bain to star in.

Different strokes cast where are they now

Ten-year-old Coleman, meanwhile, had caught producers' attention after appearing in a number of commercials and TV guest roles, and the previous year had starred in three pilot episodes by Lear that attempted to revive the Little Rascals film series of the s. The pilots did not sell although they were later edited into a television film for some markets.

Lear saw immense potential in Coleman and was determined to find him a suitable sitcom, and it was decided that Bain and Coleman would make a good, if unusual, pairing for the project. With Bain himself having considerable input into the options available and directions they took, producers considered a number of settings and formats, including one in which Bain was a gumshoe , with Coleman as his young associate-come-informant.

Several such concepts were considered before a rough outline for the eventual series—in which Bain plays a wealthy businessman left to take care of his late housekeeper's son, the orphaned Coleman—was settled upon and given the working title 45 Minutes from Harlem even though Harlem is only ten to fifteen minutes away from the Upper East Side by subway or taxi.

Different strokes emily

NBC showed immediate interest and felt the format had potential; at their request the pitch was developed, with Coleman's character, Arnold, gaining an older brother, producers feeling Coleman would benefit from the addition of a second, slightly older child to interact with, and who could add a further dynamic to storylines.

Producers immediately decided child actor Todd Bridges should play the older brother; he had appeared in a number of commercials and guest roles. Bridges was offered the role without needing an audition.