Todd Bridges was known for his role on the popular sitcom, "Diff'rent Strokes.”
But did you know that Bridges struggled with addiction?
Or that he was once charged with attempted murder?
What led this promising child actor down such a grim path?
Keep watching to find out.
Todd Anthony Bridges was born on May 27, 1965, in San Francisco, California.
Growing up in the state that is home to Hollywood, naturally, Bridges had Tinseltown dreams.
Per his 2010 autobiography, "Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets
to the Life I Always Wanted," Bridges knew he wanted to become an actor at age 5.
He found luck in 1975, making his very first television debut on an episode of the show,
"Barney Miller."
For most of the mid-to-late '70s, Bridges snagged roles on several series.
His young career was on the move, and he had small roles in "Roots" and "Little House on
the Prairie."
The latter show, along with "The Waltons," helped Bridges earn his first recurring regular
acting roles.
By 1977, he was cast to play a character named Loomis on the ABC sitcom "Fish."
His big break came the following year, when he made his debut as Willis Jackson on "Diff'rent
Strokes."
He spent most of his critical teen years on the show, but that's when his personal issues
began.
It all started when he was 15 years old—just a few years into his role as Willis.
Around that time, he reportedly started using drugs, per Oprah.
His coping with drugs was the result of being a victim of alleged abuse.
When Bridges was about 11 years old, he claimed an older man, who was a family friend, repeatedly
abused him.
One day Bridges physically defended himself during an attack and his mother threatened
the purported predator.
While his mother was immediately reactionary to learning of Bridges' assault, his dad wasn't
and it reportedly fractured any security he felt with his father.
The ordeal would affect him later on in life.
During "Diff'rent Strokes" run, Bridges had a run-in with the law.
He would get arrested and fined in 1983 for having a concealed weapon.
When the show ended, his earlier drug addiction reportedly persisted and increased.
He also supposedly added dealing to his roster, and at that point, Bridges was purportedly
using and selling both cocaine and meth.
Then in 1987, he was charged with robbery and for making a threat.
Todd Bridges' troubles wouldn't stop there.
He ended up facing more law issues related to his reported addiction.
“I wasn’t guilty of nothing.”
In 1989, he was charged with attempted murder.
In 1990, Bridges was jailed on suspicion of drug possession, per Los Angeles Times, and
a few months later, he'd get acquitted for his murder charge.
His purported addiction and arrests tired the actor, and in 1992 when he was 26 years
old, Bridges had reached a breaking point and hit rock bottom.
In his autobiography, the actor said he considered suicide by cop after being pulled over.
He admitted that he'd grown tired of the life he was living and considered the disturbing
method to end it.
Bridges wrote: "I was worn out.
It'd been a long time coming.
I'd been using and dealing on and off for six years, and even though I'd been trying
to get my act cleaned up, it clearly wasn't working."
A judge ordered him to undergo a 90-day psychological study—a sentence that would likely save
him.
The actor got clean afterward and has been sober for well over two decades now.
For Todd Bridges, being off drugs was life-changing.
The judge's decision not to penalize him for his illness turned out to be a good opportunity
for the actor to get back on track.
Because it wasn't just the addiction he was suffering from—being a victim of alleged
abuse complicated his turn to drugs.
But the quick fix only gave him short-term relief.
Bridges said in an interview: "What made me stop was I got sick and tired
of going through that pain and suffering.
All drugs did was compound it and make it even worse.
The drugs helped it temporarily, but it wasn't a long-lasting fix.”
One of the factors that helped him get to a place of sobriety was his faith.
He turned to religion to find answers, which led him to realize he needed to reset where
things were going in his life.
Bridges said: "Listening to that inner voice that God is
speaking through and realizing that I had choices to make.
Most of them were about straightening out my life and getting my life together."
Todd Bridges was able to get back into acting, taking on small roles in various TV shows
after his stint in prison and getting clean.
He made appearances on a reality TV shows, had recurring roles in series such as "The
Young and the Restless" and "Everybody Hates Chris."
While things were going well, the actor dealt with other tragedies, such as the deaths of
his former "Diff'rent Strokes" cast members.
Currently, Bridges is the only living original cast member.
The first tragic death was the actress who played his adoptive sister on the show.
In 1999, actress Dana Plato died at 34 of an apparent suicide.
In March 2010, his close friend and actor Corey Haim died at 38 years old.
However, loss would continue in just a few months.
In May 2010, his television brother Gary Coleman died at the age of 42.
A few years would pass by but in 2013, actor Conrad Bain, who played Bridge's adoptive
father on the show, died.
By then most of the former cast was dead with just Bridges and actress Charlotte Rae as
the last living cast members of the show.
Sadly, in 2018 Rae died at the age of 92, leaving Bridges to be the only living actor
from the original cast of the show.
He spoke about his emotional response to the sad fact to The Hollywood Reporter in 2018.
Bridges said: "I had a hard time last night when I learned
about Charlotte.
When I hung up the phone, I just broke down.
I'm the only one left.
That's hard to deal with.
It's really sad and emotional.
I had one piece left from that show."
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact
SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357)