Gary Coleman

Former child star Gary Coleman, who rose to fame as the wisecracking youngster Arnold Jackson on the TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" but grew up to grapple with a troubled adulthood, has died. He was 42.

"We are very sad to have to report Mr. Gary Coleman has passed away," his spokesman, John Alcantar, said in a statement Friday afternoon. "He was removed from life support; soon thereafter, he passed quickly and peacefully. By Gary's bedside were his wife and other close family members."

Coleman died after being stricken with a brain hemorrhage following an accident at his home in Santaquin, Utah, on Wednesday, a hospital spokeswoman said. He was rushed by ambulance to a Provo hospital, Coleman's spokesman had said earlier Friday.

He was then taken to another hospital -- Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo -- later Wednesday night.

In the late '70s and early '80s, Coleman was one of television's brightest stars, the personality around which NBC's "Strokes" -- the story of two inner-city children who are taken in by a wealthy businessman, his daughter and their housekeeper -- was built.

"There was a touch of magic and a different stroke in Gary Coleman. He was the inspiration behind his show's title," said producer Norman Lear, whose company oversaw the show.

Coleman's natural charm and way with a line -- the frequently uttered "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?", directed at his older brother (played by Todd Bridges), became a catchphrase -- helped make the show a breakout hit, a mainstay of the NBC schedule from 1978 to 1985 (and on ABC for a year afterward).