But she was written off the series in 1984 amid rumors of drug use, and she struggled to find other roles. His family assumed she had died in her sleep, and her death was initially ruled as an accidental overdose. Her death was a tragic coda to what was unarguably a hard life, fleeting perks of fame aside. Dana's parents divorced when she was 3, and was raised primarily by her adoptive mother, who began taking her to casting calls when she was still a baby. Plato made her film debut at the age of 13, appearing as Sandra Phalor in the horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), for which she was uncredited, and also starred as Evie Joe in the horror film Return to Boggy Creek in the same year;[15] both films were received negatively by critics. Learn more about merges. There are people that take advantage of other peoplein this case, young, young children.". Bullet disbanded some time before 1975. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. Dana Michelle Plato was born in Maywood, California on November 7, 1964. "River said to me in that last year: 'I just have to make one more movie to put away enough money so my youngest sister can go to college,'" Mathis recalled toThe Guardianin 2018. By the age of 7, Dana was appearing in television commercials and films, as well as training to be a figure skater. Grandson of Linda Strain. speaks out against the above mentioned and. The information in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. A system error has occurred. She revealed her new, mature image in a 1989 Playboy photo shoot, but no big Hollywood offers came as a result of the magazine spread. But his financial troubles, including a bankruptcy filing in 1999, continued to be notorious, and he worked as much as he couldand shows were usually happy to have him, such as when he was on The Hughleys in an episode called "Whatchoo Stalkin' About, Willis?" based on information from your browser. Best known as Kimberly Drummond, the older sister on TV's "Diff'rent Strokes," Dana went through a lot while never quite escaping the scrutiny of the media and fans. [13] Plato stated: "My mother made sure that I was normal. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends). Dana Plato. 6 years, 4 months. She was arrested again in 1992 for forging a diazepam prescription. For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Copyright 2003, Reel Reviews. The story unthinkably got even worse when, on May 6, 2009, Tylerdied of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Plato married the father of her child, rocker Lanny Lambert, in April of that year. Plato married the father of her child, rocker Lanny Lambert, in April of that year. We have set your language to To the tattoo ink, he added her ashes. She came to fame as a child star but found out soon enough that early fame often has its own pitfalls. So he had that secure foundation.". Plato went to lie down inside her recreational vehicle parked outside the house and subsequently took a large dose of Lortab and Valium. He died in 2017. He was casting a new sitcom for NBC which was to become "Diff'rent Strokes," and Dana landed the part of Kimberly. Actress: Diff'rent Strokes. She first went into drug rehab on January 20, 1992.Sapphic Pride? She fell into drug addiction and died of an overdose in 1999. In 1990 she made a brief attempt at a musical career, sponsored by producer Howie Rice. She subsequently became a subject of the national debate surrounding troubled child stars, particularly given the difficulties of her Diff'rent Strokes co-stars Todd Bridges and Gary Coleman. In 1993, she spent a month in a drug and alcohol rehab center in Las Vegas - one of several times she went into rehab. Her acting career began with numerous commercial appearances, and her television debut came at the age of 10 with a brief appearance on the television series The Six Million Dollar Man (1975). Lambert, a cameraman and amateur songwriter, had been experimenting with drugs and alcohol, Richardson said, which she thinks contributed to his death. [50][51][52][53] Plato's body was cremated and her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean. "It's helped me greatly. After their divorce in 1990, Lambert took custody of their son, who later suffered from depression and shot himself in the head. We shot the promotional photos for Bullet in Central Park the day after we met Ernie. "Speculations as to the underlying cause of this tragedy are exactly that: speculations," read a statement at the time from the president of A Minor Consideration, an organization that provides support for current and former child performers. This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. "You just wanted to take care of this boy," talent manager J.J. Harris remembered to the Seattle Times in 2008. Born Dana Michelle Strain on the 7th November 1964 in Maywood, California USA, she was an actress best known to the world for playing Kimberly Drummond in the sitcom "Different. Lambert was just 14 when his mother took her own life, overdosing on prescription pills on May 8, 1999. All rights reserved. She was also featured in more than a dozen movies, including some soft pornography roles. 5 years later they divorced on 15th Mar 1990. This memorial has been copied to your clipboard. All rights reserved. (April 21, 1984 - March 15, 1990) (divorced) (1 child) In December 1983, Plato moved in with her boyfriend, rock guitarist Lanny Lambert. Dana Michelle Plato led quite an interesting life, full of dizzying heights and earth-shattering lows. He was born in Brooklyn on Sept. 1, 1951 to a brutal ex-Marine and his wife. In June 1965, the seven-month-old Dana was adopted by Dean Plato, who owned a trucking company, and his wife Florine "Kay" Plato. She died of an overdose on May 8, 1999, at age 34. . "He's all dehydrated and feels terrible," Clark recalled shooting the next day. Plato's drug addiction eventually took her life -- she died after overdosing on Vanadom and Vicodin. Nov 1983 - Mar 1990. On May 7, 1999, Plato made an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, where she announced that she was engaged to 28-year-old Robert Menchaca, and that he was managing her career. There was an error deleting this problem. The suit, which sought over twenty thousand dollars worth of damages, claimed that her fianc could have prevented Plato's death by giving immediate medical assistance or contacting medical personnel or emergency personnel. In 1992, Plato starred in the video game Night Trap, becoming one of the first celebrities to appear in a video game. They took a trip to visit his mother for Mother's Day in Moore, Oklahoma. The couple divorced in 1990, and Lanny Lambert was given custody of Tyler. Life took a turn for the worse in 1988, when her mother died the same week that she and her husband split up. On May 6, 2010, two days before the eleventh anniversary of Plato's death, her 25-year-old son Tyler died by suicide. After the birth of her son, Tyler, Plato had a difficult time establishing a career that separated her from her Diff'rent Strokes image. And I was just talking to her, trying to figure out who she was. [10][11], On November 7, 2019, on what would have been Plato's 55th birthday, Bridges commented on Twitter about their friendship,[57] leaving a tribute to Plato:[2] "You were the one person I could always talk to. With her pregnancy, they eventually wrote her character out of the "Diff'rent Strokes" series. "Dana passed away because of the disease. Stann performs in Edison, NJ with the artist Southside Johnny. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her work on the program, and also was part of two TV Land Award nominations given to its cast. According to CBS News, a rep for Price didn't refute that claim, only saying that she was indeed in need of money. Platoposed nude forPlayboy in 1989 and dabbled in soft-core adult entertainment, anything perhaps to reboot her career. Read More . She was found dead in her RV, which she shared with fiancee Robert Menchaca, during a visit with family in Oklahoma. Tyler Lambert. I will never forget you and love you forever. Physically and actually, they didn't.". Before her death, Plato was engaged to her manager Robert Menchaca, with whom she lived in a motor home in Navarre, Florida. "Tyler wanted to. "I don't know if it's reflective of child actors exactly, but more about whether child actors have enough of a familial foundation to withstand the difficulties," Rob Reiner, who directed Phoenix in Stand by Me, toldThe Guardianin 2018. ", "My life is so good now," she added. Instead, like her, he took a detour into drugs and eventual suicide. But he also said Lambert thought he had a closer relatonship with his mother than he really did. The sitcom - which also starred Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Charlotte Rae - launched Plato and her cast-mates to instant stardom. And I was, like, 'Who is that girl? Former Child Stars Nominated for Emmy Awards, Reality TV Curse: 23 Divorces That Came After Cameras Invaded, The Sad, Public Struggles of Etika and More Shocking YouTube Star Tragedies, Inside the Endlessly Bizarre Aftermath of Brittany Murphy's Sudden Death, Lynn Goldsmith/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images, Silver Screen Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images, speaking out on behalf of those who didn't. In 1983, she starred in the television film High School U.S.A. as Cara Ames, alongside Diff'rent Strokes co-star Todd Bridges, who played Otto Lipton. She got arrested in 1991 after she stole $160 for a video store in Las Vegas and got caught after she forged a prescription for 1000 valium tablets the following year. In 1983, she moved in with her rock guitarist boyfriend Lambert, the pair were married by April 24, 1984, and their son, Tyler, was born on July 2, 1984. Resend Activation Email, Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox, If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map. He recalled being raped at 3 by the brother of his father's not-so-secret girlfriend. Plato's former manager and family friend, Johnny Whitaker, tried to intervene in Tyler's life and drug use to no avail. Please try again later. Even after the interview, Plato would never seem to get over the negativity and seemed depressed about how things were unfolding for her.The next day, while returning to California, Plato and Menchaca would stop at Menchaca's mother's home in Moore, Oklahoma for a Mother's Day visit. [I was] 18 [or] 19 years old drinking beer. I didn't see her after that. "I like long vacations. Plimpton, meanwhile, is an example of an actress who's enjoying the fourth decade of her career after getting her start as a kid. We also encourage everyone to report any crime incident they witness as soon as possible. Nonetheless, Lambert struggled every Mother's Day. But he never was. "I said, 'What the[bleep] are you doing?'" Like his mother, Tyler, a cameraman and aspiring songwriter, had battled drug and alcohol abuse. The 25-year-old Tyler was Plato's son with Lanny Lambert. Tyler also went into show business working behind the camera and was an aspiring rapper and singer. Another acclaimed actor who never got old, or even middle-aged, was River Phoenix, whose death of an accidental overdose at 23 sent a bolt ofsadness through Hollywood. Your Scrapbook is currently empty. Try again. She was let off easy, facing no jail time and only five years of probation. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. English After his death from what turned out to be acute multiple drug toxicity, including cocaine and heroin, the image of him changed toanother former child actor whose life went recklessly off the railsbut those close to himsaw a young man in pain, anatural at acting who wasn't dealing healthily with the ramifications of fame. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. At the end of the film, where Bridges and Coleman appear, they stand near Plato's grave. She also dabbled in softcore pornography, including a 1997 feature based on her "Diff'rent Strokes" past. Menu. (Price and Coleman had continued to live together after divorcing in 2008 and she had the power to make medical decisions for him.). As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. The only thing that she did, the mistake she made, was that she kept me in a plastic bubble. According to Grossman, his parents sold two of his infant siblings. Cited for parole violation, she served 30 days in jail. "Mother's Day was always a difficult time, not only because it was Mother's Day but the anniversary of Dana's death," Whitaker said. She was adopted by Dean and Kay Plato and raised in the San Fernando Valley. So when we made The Wolf of Wall Street, I told him I'd been worried about him. The couple married on April 24, 1984, and their only child, Tyler Edward Lambert, was born on July 2, 1984. "He wasn't ready to work on it.". Ironically, she had been offered the role of a teen prostitute that eventually went to a 13-year-oldBrooke Shields in 1978'sPretty Baby, but turned it down because she didn't want to be typecast. And probably because of the outpouring of shock over Ledger's death at 28 from an accidental prescription drug overdose and the hype surrounding his posthumous accolades for The Dark Knight, those twin blows to young Hollywood don't feel as if they occurred anywhere in the vicinity of each other. The people who were saying this felt tremendous guilt that they had contributed to his death.". And when the toxicology reports come in, I'm sure they will show something.". In 1991 she was arrested attempting to rob a video store at gunpoint, and the following year she was arrested for forging a Valium prescription. "Dana did absolutely adore her son," Whitaker said. Plato was married to Lanny Lambert, the father of her son Tyler Lambert,for seven years before they divorced in 1991. "But he could just do stuff like that, and he was young. He made the complaint in Clark County, Nevada, three days before the seventh anniversary of her death. Include gps location with grave photos where possible. Recent News:Dana Plato's Diff'rent Strokes co-star, Gary Coleman has died. She fell into drug addiction and died of an overdose in 1999. Later that month, the deputy state medical examiner ruled Plato's death a suicide; she didn't leave a note, but he factored in her history of drug abuse and depression as well as the amount of medication found in her system. Lanny's romantic association with actress Dana Plato is over but Lanny is still remembered as Dana Plato's husband. "Emotionally they did. She also started her career very early. He died on 6 May 2010 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. We were sitting out in her truck; she had a truck. Dana Plato holds her 'Youth in Film' award in the early 1980s | Photo: Getty Images. After taking a few doses of painkillers and muscle relaxants, she lay down to rest. Instead, like her, he took a detour into drugs and eventual suicide. [32][33] She also started taking roles in such B-movies as Bikini Beach Race (1989) and Lethal Cowboy (1992). Her death at the age of 34 was eventually ruled a suicide and her body was cremated. We were sitting out in her truck, and then we started making out. Approximately fifteen minutes after the robbery, Plato returned to the scene and was immediately arrested. [41] Although she allowed a hair to be cut for the test, Stern later claimed she asked for it back after the interview. We also encourage everyone to report any crime incident they witness as soon as possible. Well. Tyler was just 14 when his mother overdosed on prescription pills (Vanadom and Vicodin). At 15, he started to go down the path his mother did as he had issues with drugs, alcohol, was acting out, and even had rehab stints. So she gave me a ride to my pad. Production was delayed a day while they got Renfro out of jail. But Renfro would still manage todrinkat night. When he wasn't a movie star, he was a missionary. "Dana Plato, 34, Star of 'Diff'rent Strokes', "Diff'rent Strokes' Todd Bridges Remembers Dana Plato on What Would've Been Her 55th Birthday: 'You're Free My friend', "The Most Heartbreaking Teen Star Tragedies", "AmIAnnoying.com - VH-1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars", "Inside the Most Heartbreaking Teen Star Tragedies", "Tragic Story behind 'Diff'rent Strokes' Star Dana Plato's Death That Greatly Affected Her Son", "Dana Plato's son, Tyler Lambert, commits suicide 11 years after 'Diff'rent Strokes' star overdosed", "Growing Pains: The Trials and Tribulations of 1980s TV Child Stars", "Late 'Diff'Rent Strokes' Star Dana Plato Once Revealed That Mom Kept Her in a 'Plastic Bubble', "Exorcist director says sequel is 'one of the worst films I've ever seen', "California Suite (1978) - Financial Information", "Dana Plato About This Person Movies & TV", "Stars of yesterday team with those of today", "Stars who struggled to find success after being on a hit TV show", "The Making Of Night Trap, The World's Most Famous Video Game Nasty", "Corey Haim and 10 Other Troubled 1980s Child Stars", "Controversial '90s Game 'Night Trap' Coming to Nintendo Switch", "Different Strokes: The Story of Jack & Jill and Jill (1998)", "20 Actor Mamas Who Were Written Out Due To Their Pregnancies", "Dana Plato's final interview with Howard Stern", "VIDEO VAULT: Child actress Dana Plato robs a Vegas video store in 1991", "Stern: Dana Tried Desperately To Dodge Drug Test", "Death of 'Diff'rent Strokes' Actress Ruled A Suicide", "Death of Actress Dana Plato in Oklahoma Ruled a Suicide", "Doctor rules Dana Plato's death suicide", "Long Island News From the Long Island Press", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dana_Plato&oldid=1152510895, Actresses from Los Angeles County, California, American people convicted of drug offenses, Articles with dead external links from October 2022, Articles with permanently dead external links, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from February 2023, Turner Classic Movies person ID same as Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Best Young Actress in a Television Special, This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 17:39. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. He has suffered from a kidney condition that caused his short stature. Plato was born to teen mother Linda Strain in 1964 and was adopted by Dean and Florine "Kay" Plato in 1965. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. "It wasn't as bad as I had feared it would be," he said of the detox program. [48], On May 8, 1999, Plato and Menchaca were returning to California and stopped at Menchaca's mother's home in Moore, Oklahoma, for a Mother's Day visit. The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional. They changed their name to Hard Stuff after the song's American release in late 1971. The next day, May 8, 1999, Plato died of a toxic combination of the painkiller Lortab (hydrocodone) and the muscle relaxant Somaboth of which she had been prescribed for back pain, lingering complications from injuries suffered in a car crashat her fianc's parents' home in Oklahoma. Dana Plato Age + Biography + Death. After we were done cleaning the floors and cleaning up all the sandwich stuff, she would close up shop and we would fucking drink beer. On May 8, 1999, the troubled 34-year-old actress overdosed on prescription pain killers after her character, Kimberly Drummond, was written off the hit show in 1984 amid rumors of a drug problem.. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. The documentary focused on what happened to her after the show, including her death. He didn't study his lines. What you see is what you get. Instead, according to Plato, her accountant embezzled the majority of her savings and fled the state, leaving the star with little money and no job leads. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. He was 27 when he hanged himself in the hallway of his L.A. apartment in 2003. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. He has tracks running down both arms. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. +. "He was a gorgeous little boy. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. It was while they were filmingBully in Fort Lauderdale that Renfro was arrested after hot-wiring a yacht but forgetting to untie it from the dock before he tried to steer off. By the time the program was cancelled, Dana had blossomed into a striking young woman, but her acting career could never escape the long shadows cast by her sitcom stardom.Dana Plato's mother, Florine 'Kay' Plato, who had guided her career died of a blood disease in January of 1988 and her husband reportedly left her the same week. He didn't leave a note but friendssaid he had been depressed aboutthe state of his careerthough the work kept trickling in, they weren't the starring parts that landed him in endless teen-magazine spreads in the first half of the '90s. All Rights Reserved. After Steven, the couple sired eight more children, and lived with them on welfare in an apartment above a shop. And by the time she was 18, she got pregnant by her then 21-year-old boyfriend, Lanny Lambert, and was written off the show. ", But friends said Brandis had been drinking heavily and, one pal toldPeopleafter he died, "told people that he was going to kill himself.". They had a son named Tyler age 37. Congenital kidney disease and the intense treatments he underwent as a child to fight it stunted Coleman's growth at 4'8", a circumstance that in the 1980s and 1990s madehim an object of both sympathy and parody. He was in and out of court and rehab before dying of a heroin overdose at 25. [7][8][9], On May 8, 1999, Plato was found dead from an overdose of prescription drugs at the age of 34, which was later ruled a suicide. You may not upload any more photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 20 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 5 photos to this memorial, This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has 30 photos, This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded 15 photos to this memorial. Oops, something didn't work. We raise awareness about these issues to help potential victims seek professional counseling and prevent anyone from getting hurt. nina rolle alexa net worth,

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