Gary Coleman was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s thanks to his lead role on the popular sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, and his subsequent career and life marked him as a preeminent cautionary tale about child actors in the entertainment industry.
Peacock’s Gary, premiering August 29, is a thorough non-fiction recap of the rise and fall of the pint-sized phenom, whose mega-watt charm and expert comedic timing made him a sensation, and whose later years were marred by lawsuits, scandals, misery, and premature death at age 42. As it turns out, his demise is ultimately the main reason to check out this bio-documentary, since more than one participant suggests that Coleman didn’t pass away due to bad luck but, rather, to foul play—and that his wife was responsible.
Those accusations come at the conclusion of Gary, courtesy of Coleman’s long-time BFF (and one-time business manager) Dion Mial, as well as his friends Darren Nord and Brandi Buys. Nord and Buys knew him during his final years in Santaquin, Utah, where he moved following production on his 2006 movie Church Ball, and where he met his bride-to-be Shannon Price.
