Dana Plato

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Dana Plato
Born
Dana Michelle Strain

(1964-11-07)November 7, 1964
DiedMay 8, 1999(1999-05-08) (aged 34)[1]
OccupationActress
Years active1975–1999
Spouses
Lanny Lambert
(m. 1984; div. 1990)
Scott Atkins
(m. 1996; ann. 1996)
Children1
Signature

Dana Michelle Plato (née Strain; November 7, 1964 – May 8, 1999)

Kimberly Drummond on the NBC/ABC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes
(1978–1986).

Plato was born to a teen mother and was adopted as an infant. She was raised in the San Fernando Valley and was an accomplished figure skater before acting. Her acting career began with numerous commercial appearances, and her television debut came at the age of 10 with a brief appearance on the television series The Six Million Dollar Man (1975). Plato subsequently appeared in the horror films Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977) and Return to Boggy Creek (1977).

Plato's breakthrough feature was the Academy Award–winning film California Suite (1978), in which she played Jenny Warren. She earned widespread recognition and acclaim for playing Kimberly Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes. The role also earned Plato nominations for a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series and two TV Land Awards for Best Quintessential Non-Traditional Family. Following Diff'rent Strokes, she worked sporadically in independent films and B movies. Plato was married twice; she had a child in 1984 during her marriage to guitarist Lanny Lambert.

Plato struggled with substance abuse for most of her life. She was arrested in 1991 for robbing a video store, and again the following year for forging a drug prescription. On May 8, 1999, at age 34, Plato was found dead in her motor home from an overdose of prescription drugs. Her death was initially considered accidental, but later ruled a suicide.[5][6] Her personal life, in retrospect, has been described as a "tragedy".[7][8][9]

Early life

Dana Plato was born Dana Michelle Strain on November 7, 1964, in Maywood, California, to Linda Strain, a teenager who was already 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. She was raised in the San Fernando Valley. When she was three, her adoptive parents divorced and she lived with her mother.[10]

At a very young age, Plato began attending auditions with her mother, and by seven years old had appeared in over 100 television commercials.[11] Plato was also an accomplished figure skater. During her years on Diff'rent Strokes, Plato struggled with drug and alcohol problems; she admitted to drinking alcohol, using cannabis and cocaine, and suffering an overdose of diazepam when she was aged 14.[10]

In 1995, during an appearance on The Marilyn Kagen Show alongside co-star Todd Bridges, she spoke of her childhood with her mother, stating: "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." Kagen suggested that Plato 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 prima donna.[11]

Career

Plato made her television acting debut at the age of 10, making a brief appearance on the ABC television show The Six Million Dollar Man. She then starred in the 1975 made-for-television film Beyond the Bermuda Triangle. Plato made her film debut at the age of 13 in the uncredited role of Sandra Phalor in the horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). She starred as Evie Joe in the horror film Return to Boggy Creek in the same year.[12] both films were received negatively by critics.[13][14][15] Better received was the family-comedy film California Suite (1978), in which Plato played Jenny Warren; the film was also a commercial success,[16] and earned accolades from the Academy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards.[17]

The cast of Diff'rent Strokes with guest star Nancy Reagan on set in 1983.

When Plato made a brief appearance on

bulimia. CBC News described her performance in the episode as a "series highpoint".[24]

Plato on the set of Diff'rent Strokes in 1983

In 1981, Plato appeared in the television special A Step in Time,

Hollywood, California
, but the recordings were shelved and not released.

In 1992, Plato starred in the video game Night Trap, becoming one of the first celebrities to appear in a video game.[30] She was eager to work on the project, and Rob Fulop, one of the designers of Night Trap, said that he and Plato had enjoyed working together. She made little effort to hide the fact that the project was a step-down compared to her previous career ventures.[32][33] The game was a moderate success, and is considered a pioneering title because it was the first to use live actors.[34] Night Trap received mixed to negative reviews upon release, and in retrospective has continued to polarize critics and audiences. It is best remembered for the controversy it created over the violence and sexuality that, along with that surrounding Mortal Kombat, eventually led to the creation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).[35][36]

Toward the end of her career, Plato chose roles that were erotic;

Prime Suspect (1989) and Compelling Evidence (1995), and in the softcore erotic drama Different Strokes: The Story of Jack and Jill...and Jill (1998), the title of which was changed after filming in order to tie it to Plato's past. In the same year, following her appearance in the film, Plato appeared in a cover story of the lesbian lifestyle-magazine Girlfriends
.

Plato's last works include Desperation Boulevard (1998), in which she appears as herself and which appears to be based on her life; Silent Scream (1999), in which she appears as Emma Jones; and Pacino Is Missing (2002), which was released after her death, in which she appears as an attorney.

Personal life

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 out of Diff'rent Strokes.[38] Her co-star Conrad Bain revealed that she was happy about her baby,[10][11] stating in an interview with People magazine: "She deliberately got pregnant while doing the series, when I spoke to her about it, she was enthusiastic about having done that... [saying 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

annulled. Before her death, Plato was engaged to her manager Robert Menchaca, six years her junior, with whom she lived in a motor home in Navarre, Florida.[41]

On February 28, 1991, Plato entered a Las Vegas video store, produced a

9-1-1 and said, "I've just been robbed by the girl who played Kimberly on Diff'rent Strokes." Approximately fifteen minutes after the robbery, Plato returned to the scene and was immediately arrested. She had stolen $164.[42] Entertainer Wayne Newton posted her $13,000 bail,[41] and Plato was given five years' probation. She subsequently became a subject of the national debate surrounding troubled child stars, particularly given the difficulties of her Diff'rent Strokes co-stars Todd Bridges and Gary Coleman.[43][44]

In January 1992 Plato was arrested a second time, for forging a prescription for diazepam.[1] She served thirty days in jail for violating the terms of her probation and immediately entered a drug rehabilitation program. 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.[10]

On May 7, 1999, the day before she died, Plato appeared on

wisdom teeth.[45] Many callers to the show insulted Plato and questioned her sobriety, which angered and provoked her, and she defiantly offered to take a drug test on the air. Some callers, as well as host Howard Stern, came to Plato's defense, though Stern also referred to himself as "an enabler" and sarcastically offered Plato drugs.[39] Although she allowed a hair to be cut for the test, Stern later claimed she asked for it back after the interview.[46]

Death

Plato's official death certificate

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.[10] Later on in the visit, Plato said that she felt unwell and took a few doses of a hydrocodone / acetaminophen painkiller (Lortab), along with the muscle-relaxant carisoprodol (Soma),[47] and went to lie down with Menchaca inside her Winnebago motor home, which was parked outside the house.[10] Upon waking up, Menchaca and the family discovered that Plato had died in her sleep. It was initially assumed to be an accidental overdose but was later ruled a suicide based on Plato's long history of substance abuse.[48][49][50][51] Some of Plato's friends, including her former Diff'rent Strokes costar Todd Bridges, have publicly disagreed with the ruling.[52] Plato's body was cremated and her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.[53]

In 2000, Fox broadcast a television movie 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 Bridges, who made a cameo appearance.[54] 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 had worked on the show. Bridges and Coleman appear at the end of the film standing near Plato's grave.[55]

On May 6, 2010, two days before the eleventh anniversary of Plato's death, her son Tyler committed suicide with a gunshot wound to the head. He was 25 years old.[5][6]

On November 7, 2019, on what would have been Plato's 55th birthday, Bridges commented on Twitter about their friendship,[56] leaving a tribute to Plato:[2]

"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.P you are free my friend."[57]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1977 Exorcist II: The Heretic Sandra Phalor Uncredited role
1977 Return to Boggy Creek Evie Joe
1978 California Suite Jenny Warren
1989
Prime Suspect
Diana Masters
1992 Bikini Beach Race J.D.
1992 The Sounds of Silence Deborah Nichols
1995 Compelling Evidence Dana Fields
1995 Lethal Cowboy Elizabeth
1995 Millennium Day
1997 Tiger Andrea Baker
1997 Blade Boxer Rita Direct-to-video film
1997 Different Strokes: The Story of Jack and Jill...and Jill Jill Martin
1998 Desperation Boulevard Herself
1999 Silent Scream Emma Jones
2002 Pacino Is Missing Prosecuting Attorney Posthumous release

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1975 The Six Million Dollar Man Girl Episode: "The Bionic Woman"
1975 Beyond the Bermuda Triangle Wendy Television film
1976 Family Mary Beth Sanders Episode: "Home Movie"
1978 What Really Happened to the Class of '65? Episode: "The Most Likely to Succeed"
1978 The Gong Show Herself Game show
1978–86 Diff'rent Strokes
Kimberly Drummond
140 episodes
Main cast (seasons 1–6); recurring role (seasons 7–8)
1979 Hello, Larry 3 episodes
Guest star (season 1–2)
1979 The Facts of Life Episode: "Rough Housing"
1979–80 CHiPs Dana Plato 2 episodes
Guest star (season 3)
1980 Family Debbie Episode: "Letting Go"
1980 ABC Afterschool Specials Daisy Dallenger Episode: "Schoolboy Father"
1981 A Step in Time Herself Television film
1982 The Family Life Naomi Episode "The Kids are Moving In"
1982 Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary Daughter Television special
1983 High School U.S.A. Cara Ames Television film
1984 The Love Boat Patty Springer Episode: "Paying the Piper/Baby Sister/Help Wanted"
1985 Growing Pains Lisa Episode: "Mike's Madonna Story"

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
1992 Night Trap Kelli Medd Lead role

Accolades

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
1981
Young Artist Awards
Best Young Actress in a Television Special A Step in Time Nominated [58]
1983
Young Artist Awards
Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series Diff'rent Strokes Nominated [18]
2003
TV Land Awards
Quintessential Non-Traditional Family (shared with cast) Nominated [19]
2004
TV Land Awards
Quintessential Non-Traditional Family Nominated [20]

References

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  35. .
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External links