Dana Plato

Dana Michelle Plato (born Dana Michelle Strain; November 7, 1964 – May 8, 1999) was an American actress and model, who was included on a list of VH1’s "100 Greatest Kid Stars" on television. She was best known for portraying Kimberly Drummond on the television sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, which aired from 1978 to 1986.

Plato's other works in television include making appearances on Family, What Really Happened to the Class of '65?, Hello, Larry, The Facts of Life, CHiPs, and Growing Pains. She also worked in films, and appeared in the horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) as Sandra Phalor, for which she was uncredited, the adventure-horror film Return to Boggy Creek (1977) as Evie Joe, the first of the four films in the series, and the comedy film California Suite (1978) as Jenny Warren. Starting from the mid-1980s, Plato worked sporadically in independent films, and also did voice-over work.

Throughout a personal life receiving much media coverage, Plato struggled with substance and alcohol abuse, and dealt with legal issues, such as robbery. In 1999, she died from an overdose (later ruled a suicide) of prescription drugs at the age of 34 after years of struggling with drugs and poverty.

Plato was born Dana Michelle Strain on November 7, 1964, in Maywood, California to Linda Strain, an unwed teenager who already was caring for an 18-month-old child. In June 1965, the seven-month-old Dana was adopted by Dean Plato, who owned a trucking company, and his wife Florine "Kay" Plato. Plato was raised in the San Fernando Valley. When she was three, her adoptive parents divorced and she lived with her mother.

At a very young age, Plato began attending auditions with her mother, and from age seven began appearing in television commercials, reportedly appearing in over 100 commercials. She made her acting debut at the age of 11, making a cameo appearance on the television show The Six Million Dollar Man. Following this, she starred in the television film Beyond the Bermuda Triangle.

Plato made her film debut at the age of 13, starring as Sandra Phalor in the horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), for which she was uncredited. She also starred as Evie Joe in the horror film Return to Boggy Creek (1977), which was received negatively, being panned by critics. The film spawned three sequels, which she took no part in. Plato next starred as Jenny Warren in California Suite (1978). The film was a critical success, becoming Plato's first and only successful feature film. In addition to acting, Plato was an accomplished figure skater, and at one point she trained for a possible Olympic team spot. It was during this time that she made a brief appearance on TV's The Gong Show and was spotted by a producer who helped her secure what became her most famous acting role as Kimberly Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes. According to Plato, her mother decided she should cut back on her skating in order to focus on the TV role.

Diff'rent Strokes debuted on NBC in 1978, becoming an immediate hit. The show features Phillip Drummond (Conrad Bain), a wealthy white widower in New York City who adopts two black boys after their parents' deaths. Plato played Kimberly, Drummond's teenage daughter, who at the start of the show becomes the adoptive sister of the two boys, Willis (Todd Bridges) and Arnold (Gary Coleman). Plato appeared on the show from 1978 until 1984 and again from 1985 to 1986; during her tenure, the show appeared on two different networks. In the season 8 episode that aired on January 17, 1986—Plato's final appearance on the show—Kimberly suffers from the effects of bulimia. She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her work on Diff'rent Strokes, and also was part of two TV Land Award nominations given to the cast of the show

In 1981, Plato appeared in the television special A Step In Time. For her role, Plato received a Young Artist Award nomination, totaling two Young Artist Award nominations. In 1983, she starred in the television film High School U.S.A. alongside Todd Bridges as Cara Ames, while Bridges starred as Otto Lipton. In spite of the film being met with a mixed response from critics and viewers alike, it gained popularity at the time of its premiere, and later attained a DVD release.

After leaving Diff'rent Strokes, Plato attempted to establish herself as a serious actress but found it difficult to achieve success. She had breast implants and modeled for a June 1989 Playboy pictorial, but her career remained in stagnation, and she started taking roles in such B-movies as Bikini Beach Race (1989) and Lethal Cowboy (1992). In 1992, Plato starred in the video game Night Trap, being one of the first celebrities to star in a video game. The game was an average success (the majority of the game's video content was actually filmed in 1987 then shelved), but is considered a pioneering title due to it being the first game to use live actors, along with casting a well-known personality. Though the game received mixed to negative reviews, it is best remembered for the controversy it created over the violence and sexuality, along with that surrounding Mortal Kombat, which had eventually led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

Toward the end of her career, Plato chose roles that could be considered erotic, softcore pornography. She appeared nude in Prime Suspect (1989) and Compelling Evidence (1995), and in the softcore erotic drama Different Strokes: The Story of Jack and Jill...and Jill (1998), whose title was changed after filming in order to tie it to Plato's past. Following her appearance in the film, in the same year, Plato appeared in a cover story of the lesbian lifestyle magazine Girlfriends. Her last works include appearing as herself Desperation Boulevard (1998), of which it seems to be based on Plato's life, appearing as Emma Jones in Silent Scream (1999), and appearing as an attorney in Pacino Is Missing (2002), which was released after her death.

In 1995, during an appearance on The Marilyn Kagen Show along with co-star Todd Bridges, she spoke more of how she was raised, commenting on her mother and how she had not learned "reality and life skills". Plato stated: "My mother made sure that I was normal. The only thing that she did, the mistake she made, was that she kept me in a plastic bubble. So, I didn't learn about reality and life skills." Marilyn Kagen, the host of the show, told Plato that she may have been used for a free meal ticket, which Plato denied, explaining that her mother's ways were so that she would not become a primadonna.

During her years on Diff'rent Strokes, Plato struggled with drug and alcohol problems. She admitted to drinking alcohol, using cannabis and cocaine, and suffered an overdose of Diazepam when she was 14.

In December 1983, Plato moved in with her boyfriend, rock guitarist Lanny Lambert. The couple married on April 24, 1984, and their only child, Tyler Edward Lambert, was born on July 2, 1984. When it was revealed that she was pregnant, she was written off Diff'rent Strokes. Her co-star Conrad Bain had revealed that she was happy about her baby and that she would no longer be alone. Bain stated in an interview with People: "She deliberately got pregnant while doing the series, when I spoke to her about it, she was enthusiastic about having done that. ... When I get the baby, I will never be alone again."

Plato separated from Lambert in January 1988, the same week her mother died of scleroderma. In desperation over these traumatic events, she signed over power of attorney to an accountant who disappeared with the majority of her money, leaving her with no more than $150,000. She claimed the accountant was never found nor prosecuted, despite an exhaustive search, and that he had also stolen more than $11 million of other people's money. During her March 1990 divorce, Plato lost custody of her son to Lambert and was given visitation rights.

Legal issues

On February 28, 1991, she entered a video store, produced a pellet gun, and demanded the money in the cash register. The clerk called 9-1-1 and said, "I've just been robbed by the girl who played Kimberly on Diff'rent Strokes." Approximately 15 minutes after the robbery, Plato returned to the scene and was immediately arrested. Plato had stolen $164. Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton posted her $13,000 bail, and Plato was given five years' probation. Plato made headlines and became a subject of the national debate surrounding troubled child stars, particularly given the difficulties of her Diff'rent Strokes co-stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges.

In January 1992, she was arrested again, this time for forging a prescription for Diazepam. She served 30 days in jail for violating the terms of her probation and immediately entered a drug rehabilitation program.

Later life

Plato later moved to Las Vegas, where she struggled with poverty and unemployment. At one point she worked at a dry-cleaning store, where customers reported being impressed by her lack of airs. She became engaged to Fred Potts, a filmmaker, but the romance ended. Before her death, she was engaged to her manager Robert Menchaca, with whom she lived in a motor home in Navarre, Florida.

On May 7, 1999, the day before she died, Plato appeared on The Howard Stern Show. She spoke about her life, discussing her financial problems and past run-ins with the law. She admitted to being a recovering alcoholic and drug addict, but claimed she had been sober for more than 10 years by that point and was not using any drugs, with the exception of prescribed painkillers due to the recent extraction of her wisdom teeth. Many callers insulted her and questioned her sobriety, which provoked a defiant Plato who offered to take a drug test on the air. Some callers, as well as host Howard Stern, came to Plato's defense. Although she allowed a hair to be cut for the test, Stern later claimed she asked for it back after the interview.

On May 8, 1999, Plato and Menchaca were returning to California and stopped at Menchaca's mother's home in Moore, Oklahoma for a Mother's Day visit. Later on in the visit, Plato revealed that she felt unwell, and took a few doses of painkiller Lortab, along with the muscle-relaxant Soma, and went to lie down inside her Winnebago motor home with Menchaca, which was parked outside the house. Upon waking up, Menchaca and their family discovered that Plato had died, which they later found out was due to an accidental overdose, which was later ruled a suicide based on Plato's long history of drug abuse.

Her body was cremated, and her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean.

In 2000, Fox broadcast a television documentary based on Plato, titled After Diff'rent Strokes: When the Laughter Stopped. The film was focused on her life and work after the show, including her death. It featured actors who at the time were unknown, as well as Todd Bridges, who made a cameo appearance. In 2006, NBC aired the television film Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Diff'rent Strokes, which was based on the lives of the child stars who’d worked on the show. In the end of the film, where Bridges and Gary Coleman appeared, they stand near Plato's grave.

On what would have been Plato's 55th birthday, Todd Bridges commented on Twitter about their friendship, leaving a tribute to Plato. Bridges stated: "You were the one person I could always talk to. You were one of my best friends. I will never forget you and love you forever. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Dana Plato R.I.Pyou are free my friend."