Melanie Watson Bernhardt, ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ actress, dies at 57
Melanie Watson Bernhardt, the trailblazing actress who became one of the first disabled performers on screen, died Friday in Colorado. She was 57. Melanie Watson Bernhardt, a pioneering actress who played Kathy Gordon on the 1980s sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes," has died at 57. Bernhardt was born with several broken bones and a collapsed lung due to a rare genetic bone disease, osteogenesis imperfecta, which left her in a wheelchair. Norman Lear, the prolific television producer behind "All in the Family," cast Bernhardt to be a friend of Arnold Jackson, the young star of the show portrayed by Gary Coleman. Despite critics, including scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., calling it "cultural dwarfism" in 1989, audiences were drawn to the lovable Coleman. After her role on "Diff’rent Stroke," Bernhardt never again acted and instead worked at various nonprofits.
Published : 5 months ago by SOPAN DEB in Entertainment
Melanie Watson Bernhardt, the trailblazing actress who played Kathy Gordon for four episodes on the 1980s sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes” and became one of the first disabled performers on screen, died Fri... [2995 symbols]
Topics: In Memoriam