Todd Bridges
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| Todd Bridges | |
|---|---|
 Bridges at the Big Apple Convention in Manhattan, October 17, 2009 | |
| Born | Todd Anthony Bridges May 27, 1965 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Spouse | Dori A. Bridges (m. 1998–present) |
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Personal life
Bridges was born May 27, 1965, in San Francisco, California. Bridges has a brother and sister who are both actors, Jimmy Bridges and Verda Bridges. His mother, Betty A. Bridges, was also an actress. Todd is married to Dori Bridges and has one son, Spencir Bridges (born July 16, 1998) who is also a child actor and appeared in the film Daddy Day Camp and one episode on iCarly.[edit] Career
Bridges became the first African-American child actor to have a recurring role on a successful TV series, The Waltons. He also appeared on Little House on the Prairie, and in the landmark miniseries Roots. He was a regular on the Barney Miller spinoff Fish. But it was as young Willis Jackson on the long-running sitcom Diff'rent Strokes that he made his name, along with fellow child co-stars Dana Plato and Gary Coleman. Bridges survives both Plato and Coleman, who died in May 1999 and May 2010, respectively.Bridges appeared as a contestant on a 2006 celebrity episode of Fear Factor, but was eliminated after the first stunt. In January 2007, he appeared as a member of the "mob" on the US version of the game show 1 vs. 100. He appeared on MyNetworkTV's new show, Decision House with his wife, Dori Bridges on the episode titled, "Burned Bridges" aired on November 14, 2007.
In March 2008 Bridges appeared on truTV's The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest... as a frequent commentator. That same year in October, he debuted as one of the contestants on Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling on the CMT Network. He was a member of Team Beefcake (coached by former wrestler Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake). On the show, Bridges' wrestling persona was the character "Mr. Not So Perfect." The judges praised him for his athleticism. After reaching the finals along with Butterbean and Dustin Diamond, Bridges was defeated by Dennis Rodman.
[edit] Other work
Bridges wrote a book, "Killing Willis", discussing his drug addiction, criminal charges, and efforts to establish a public identity independent of the character, "Willis", he portrayed.[1] He appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 28, 2010 to discuss his life as a child star and legal troubles that followed.He appeared as a contestant on the Fox reality show Skating with Celebrities, but was eliminated on the second episode of the show. Todd Bridges defeated Vanilla Ice on a 2002 episode of Celebrity Boxing.
In 1998, Todd Bridges and his brother James Bridges were credited with saving the life of a 51 year old paraplegic woman, Stella Kline. The woman nearly drowned when her wheelchair rolled into a lake while she was fishing. Quoting Kline, "I was thanking God that he was there, and you know, everybody's been saying nothing but bad stuff about Todd Bridges on the news and in the papers . . . He has a heart of gold." Todd Bridges remarked on the rescue, "We felt God put us there at the right time to save this lady's life, because there was no one else around."[2]
[edit] Legal problems
In his 20s, Bridges battled a crack cocaine addiction for several years. In 1988, he was arrested and tried for the attempted murder of Kenneth "Tex" Clay, a Los Angeles area drug dealer, whom prosecutors argued had been shot by Bridges while on a binge. Bridges pleaded not guilty to the charges and was represented by the high-profile defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Cochran successfully portrayed Bridges as an abused minor who had been driven to drugs by an exploitative entertainment industry, and was now being unfairly framed. A witness finally testified that Bridges was not present at the time of the shooting. Bridges was acquitted of all charges by a jury.[3]In 1993, Bridges was involved in an altercation with a tenant, David Joseph Kitchen, in his house after Bridges found Kitchen in his room with a fifteen year old girl. Kitchen attacked Bridges with a sword, then Bridges retaliated by stabbing him in the chest with a kitchen knife. The prosecutors dropped the charges, concluding Bridges had acted in self-defense.[4][5]
[edit] Filmography
- Big Money Rustlas (2010)
- I Got Five On It Too (2009)
- See Dick Run (2009)
- The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest... (2008) (TV) (commentator)
- Decision House (2007) (TV)
- Everybody Hates Chris (2007) (TV)
- Big Ball'n (2007) (Film)
- Death Row (2006)
- Punk'd (2005) (TV)
- Issues (2004)
- Land of the Free? (2004)
- Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003)
- May Day (2003) (V)
- Pauly Shore Is Dead (2003)
- Black Ball (2003)
- The Young and the Restless (2002) TV Series
- The Climb (2002)
- Welcome to America (2002)
- Inhumanity (2001) (V)
- Dumb Luck (2001)
- The Darkling (2000) (TV)
- After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped (2000) (TV)
- Flat Out (1998)
- The Waterfront (1998)
- Busted (1996)
- She's Out of Control (1989)
- High School U.S.A. (1983)
- Diff'rent Strokes (1978) TV Series
- The Facts of Life (1979 & 1981) (TV)
- Fish (1977–1978) TV Series
- Little House on the Prairie (1977) (TV)
- The Waltons (1977 & 1978) (TV)
- A Killing Affair (1977) (TV)
- Roots (1977) (mini) TV Series
- Barney Miller (1975) (TV)
- Katherine (1975) (TV)
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Killing-Willis-Diffrent-Strokes-Streets/dp/1439148988/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1
- ^ Bridges's Latest Strokes
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_/ai_13558222
- ^ Killing Willis by Todd Bridges with Susan Tomlinson
