CONRAD BAIN WAS A TRUE GENTLEMAN IN SHOWBIZ

CONRAD BAIN was a gentleman in the television and stageshow business, the canadian born actor of course become a household name starring as Philip Drummond (or Mr. D) in the hugely popular and long running TV sitcom DIFFRENT STROKES, which ran for eight years between 1978 and 1986 and served up a whopping 189 episodes. Of course the off screen personal troubles that cursed his DIFFRENT STROKES co-stars are well documented, GARY COLEMAN, one of the two african-american orphans taken in by Mr. D in the show's storyline, become a drug junkie following the show's cancellation in 1986, having never picked up another notable acting role. He died in 2010 at the age of 42 from complications arising from a serious head injury. DANA PLATO, who played Mr. Drummond's biological white daughter in DIFFRENT STROKES, also went off the rails big time in the years after the show ended. She was once charged with armed robbery, had a destructive cannabis addiction, posed for Playboy and starred in soft porn films to stave off bankruptcy, and died from a drug overdose in 1999 at the age of 34. TODD BRIDGES, the other african-american orphan who played Arnold Jackson's brother Willis, also got into all kinds of trouble with the law post DIFFRENT STROKES, mainly because of drug addiction, but since the late 90`s has cleaned himself up and has even scored a few acting jobs along the way, as well as presenting anti-drug seminars in schools across the US on regular occasions. CONRAD BAIN certainly chose a diffrent direction in his post DIFFRENT STROKES life, instead of being a deadbeat on drugs he chose to live a distinguised albeit out of the limelight life following retirement from the showbiz business in the mid 90`s, but not before a last gasp cameo apperance starring as PHILLIP DRUMMOND on the PRINCE OF BEL AIR, opposite none other than WILL SMITH. Besides DIFFRENT STROKES, his other big role was starring as DR. ARTHUR HARMON on the mid 70`s sitcom MAUDE, a most underated and strangely uninfluential comedy on modern day comedians. CONRAD BAIN died on the 14th January, 2013 at the age of 89. He had a great innings.