Left to right: Gary Coleman, Dana Plato,
Conrad Bain, Todd Bridges
In the 1st season, Willis usually called Philip "Mr. Drummond," and Arnold called him "Mr. D." By the 2nd season, they felt comfortable calling him "Dad."
The sitcom ran for 8 years, switching to ABC for what turned out to be its last season. It made stars of Coleman, Bridges and Plato. One of the running gags was Arnold being short: A kidney condition limited Coleman's height. Even as an adult, he only got to 4-foot-8. The other major running gag was stuck with the catchphrase the show's writers left him with: "What you talkin' 'bout, (whoever he was talking to)?" Coleman was every bit as frustrated by this as by talk about his height: People were always saying to him, or asking him to say, "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?"
It seemed that Philip couldn't keep a housekeeper. The 1st time, it wasn't the character's fault. Mrs. Jackson was followed by Edna Garrett, played by Charlotte Rae. She proved so popular that, after 2 seasons, she got a spinoff, The Facts of Life. She became the headmistress at Eastland, a girls' prep school in the Hudson Valley.
Occasionally, one of the girls at that school, Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey (Kim Fields), would guest on Diff'rent Strokes, as a potential love interest for Willis. Janet Jackson, who had already been a regular on Good Times, made 10 appearances as potential love interest Charlene DuPrey.
In the 3rd season, Nedra Volz, already 72 years old and looking older, became the next housekeeper, Adelaide Brubaker. In the 5th season, she was replaced by Mary Jo Catlett as Pearl Gallagher, and she lasted to the end of the show, in 1986.
Plato had a drug problem. During the 6th season, in 1984, she became pregnant, and wanted to work it into the story. Instead, she was fired. This left a hole in the show, and it was decided that it was time for the widowed Philip to find love again, as he married aerobics instructor Maggie McKinney (Dixie Carter), who had a son from her previous marriage, Sam (Danny Cooksey). After the 7th season, not only did the show switch networks, but Carter left the show, and was replaced as Maggie by former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley.
Diff'rent Strokes featured the occasional guest star playing themselves: Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali, First Lady Nancy Reagan, and actor Mr. T. And it became known for its "very special episodes," most notably "The Bicycle Man": Gordon Jump, formerly the well-meaning but harmless station manager Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson on WKRP in Cincinnati, played Mr. Horton, who befriended Arnold and his friend Dudley Johnson (Shavar Ross). Arnold, suspecting something was up, got away. Dudley didn't, and was molested.
There seemed to be a curse on the show. Plato and Bridges both fell victim to drug addiction. Plato died of an overdose in 1999. Her son, Tyler Lambert, died in 2010. Both deaths were ruled suicides.
Upon reaching adulthood, Coleman discovered that his parents and his manager had robbed him blind. He turned out to be unable to cope with being a grownup, and ended up working as a mall security guard. In 2010, he suffered a head injury, which, combined with his kidney issues, led to his death at age 42.
Bridges would barely survive a troubled youth, and became a substance abuse counselor. He is the last member of the original cast still alive. The adults on the show lived relatively long lives: Volz lived until 2003, Carter until 2010, Bain until 2013, Mobley until 2014, Rae until 2018, and, as of November 3, 2022, Catlett is still alive. So is Cooksey, who has become a voiceover actor.
Shavar Ross turned out the opposite: His character on the show suffered, but he went on to better things. He had recurring roles on Magnum, P.I. and Family Matters, then became a minister, and founded Tri-Seven Entertainment, Inc., a film, television and online retail company which produces, develops, acquires and distributes inspirational products for a global audience, including TV-movies, some of which he's written and directed.
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November 3, 1978 was a Friday. Baseball was out of season. Football was in midweek. There were 8 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks lost ot the Los Angeles Lakers, 147-124 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California. Adrian Dantley scored 40 points for the Lakers.
* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Seattle SuperSonics, 102-81 at the Rutgers Athletic Center (now the Jersey Mike's Arena) in Piscataway, New Jersey.
* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 118-103 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Boston Celtics, 110-103 at the Boston Garden.
* The Indiana Pacers beat the Kansas City Kings, 115-108 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.
* The Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Bulls, 99-93 at the Chicago Stadium.
* The Denver Nuggets beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 110-93 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.
* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Diego Clippers, 119-98 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
There were 2 games in the NHL. The Atlanta Flames beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 2-0 at The Omni in Atlanta. And the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Vancouver Canucks, 3-1 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver.
And there were 3 games in the World Hockey Association, early in its 7th and last season:
* The New England Whalers beat the Indianapolis Racers, 6-3 at the Springfield Civic Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. The Whalers were playing at that arena, now the MassMutual Center, while the Hartford Civic Center was rebuilt following its 1978 roof collapse.
* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Birmingham Bulls, 3-2 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center in Birmingham, Alabama.
* And the Edmonton Oilers beat the Winnipeg Jets, 4-3 in overtime at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.
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