Was a cameraman and amateur songwriter. Dana Plato at the Hollywood Collectors Show | Photo: Getty Images. It was a cool moment.". She moved to Las Vegas, hoping to advance her career, but could only find retail and service industry jobs. During an appearance on a recent episode of "The Ex-Man" podcast, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares recounted an encounter he had in 1985 or 1986 with former child actress Dana Plato, who played Kimberly Drummond on the 1980s television show "Diff'rent Strokes", while he was working at a sandwich shop in Los Angeles. They changed their name to Hard Stuff after the song's American release in late 1971. (It also wasn't a bad career move for Jodi Foster, who wasnominated for an Oscar for 1976'sTaxi Driver and has since won two.) Career Difficulties After the birth of her son, Tyler, Plato had a difficult time establishing a career that . There was an error deleting this problem. Tyler was a cameraman and amateur songwriter. She was. According to Grossman, his parents sold two of his infant siblings. Try again later. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Cause of Death: Self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head Plato married guitarist Lanny Lambert in 1984, with whom she had one child, Tyler; the couple divorced in 1990, and she thereafter married actor and producer Scott Atkins in 1996, which lasted one month. By all accounts, River Phoenix was a sensitive soul, a vegan before it was a thing, who lived a clean, close-to-the-earth lifestyle instilled in him by his parents. Stann performs in Edison, NJ with the artist Southside Johnny. Portrait of Dana Plato in 1985 | Photo: Getty Images. There is a problem with your email/password. Sorry! ", River and Joaquin's father, John, was also a drinker and River "worried the disease was in his bloodline," Plimpton said. The suit, which sought over twenty thousand dollars worth of damages, claimed that her fianc could have prevented Plato's death by giving immediate medical assistance or contacting medical personnel or emergency personnel. Another acclaimed actor who never got old, or even middle-aged, was River Phoenix, whose death of an accidental overdose at 23 sent a bolt ofsadness through Hollywood. In 1989, the 24-year-old Bridges. He was a very natural actor. She turned plenty of heads with her scintillating performance in the 1997 straight-to-video epic "Different Strokes." And we made kind of a little connection. "He had all the opportunities in the world and we just can't understand it." the filmmaker told theSeattle Timesafter Renfro died. She was arrested again in 1992 for forging a diazepam prescription. Her inglorious exit from the show put a brake on her career. Phoenix, coincidentally, turned down the lead inThe Basketball Diaries, despite being an admirer of the book,and he was lined up to star inTotal Eclipseboth roles that then went to DiCaprio. "Speculations as to the underlying cause of this tragedy are exactly that: speculations," read a statement at the time from the president of A Minor Consideration, an organization that provides support for current and former child performers. Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried. Tyler was just 14 when his mother overdosed on prescription pills (Vanadom and Vicodin). that benefits the victims. When it was revealed that she was pregnant, she was written out of Diff'rent Strokes. But when Clark stopped by Renfro's home in Knoxville, Tenn., on the way to Florida, where they were going to shoot the movie, the 18-year-old had blood running down his arms and obvious track marks. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer. The sitcom - which also starred Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Charlotte Rae - launched Plato and her cast-mates to instant stardom. Just over a year later, on May 28, 2010, Gary Coleman died, two days after suffering a head injury in a fall down the stairs at his home in Utah. Plato survived as best she could between extreme poverty and occasional odd jobs in Las Vegas. Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories! Plato had a son, Tyler, with her former husband, rock guitarist Lanny Lambert. She started living in a mobile home with her manager and fiance, Robert Menchaca. I had too much beer. "Tyler wanted to. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. news.AmoMama.com speaks out against the above mentioned and news.AmoMama.com advocates for a healthy discussion about the instances of violence, abuse, sexual misconduct, animal cruelty, abuse etc. ", Stern said she looked fine to him, but while some callers offered words of support, a few accused her of lying about her sobriety, including one who called her an "ex-druggie, ex-con lesbian with mental-health problems.". To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. 5 years later they divorced on 15th Mar 1990. [41] Although she allowed a hair to be cut for the test, Stern later claimed she asked for it back after the interview. Dana was helped by Las Vegas singer, Wayne Newton, who posted the $13,000 bail for her. I know her. During the interview, Plato was quite frank about her life and career, even openly admitting to being a recovering addict. Dana Plato and Lanny Lambert - Dating, Gossip, News, Photos. He was so good, you would kind of forgive him for being a f--k-up. The Dana Plato nude Playboy pictorial did nothing to help revive her career, however, and Dana continued to languish on the fringes of the entertainment industry. At the end of the film, where Bridges and Coleman appear, they stand near Plato's grave. Entertainment Television, LLC A Division of NBCUniversal. In 1977, when Dana was 13, she faced an important crossroads: either compete for a spot on the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating team, or star in a new TV sitcom. Make sure that the file is a photo. The otherblond-haired kid was Jonathan Brandis, a star of the original It miniseries at 12, the 16-year-old heartthrob from 1992'sLadybugsandstar of the sci-fi series SeaQuest DSV, which lasted three seasons between 1993 and 1996. She also could've been Regan inThe Exorcist, but Plato's mother didn't think it would've been an appropriate working environment for a child. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends). We raise awareness about these issues to help potential victims seek professional counseling and prevent anyone from getting hurt. He had been out that night with his girlfriend Samantha Mathis, who he had just co-starred with in The Thing Called Love, and his then 19-year-old brother Joaquin Phoenix. Johnny Whitaker, Plato's former manager and a friend of the family, told ABCNews.com he once tried to intervene in Lambert's drug use. And it was Dana Plato from 'Diff'rent Strokes'. Dana Michelle Plato led quite an interesting life, full of dizzying heights and earth-shattering lows. I never saw her again. The same friend told Whitaker that Lambert always said, "he wanted to be with Mom.". Fans of Renfro were understandably outragedwhen he wasn't included in the Oscars' in memoriam tribute that year. She claimed she had been sober for over ten years and had not used drugs, except for painkillers. He died on 6 May 2010 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. Watch: EXTREME's NUNO BETTENCOURT Performs 'Rise' Guitar Solo Live For First Time, METALLICA's KIRK HAMMETT Is Almost Nine Years Sober, Watch: TOM MORELLO Performs At WAYNE KRAMER's 75th-Birthday Party. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. +. She was adopted by Dean and Kay Plato and raised in the San Fernando Valley. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request. The iconic entertainer, who was 17 when she starred inThe Wizard of Oz, died of a barbiturate overdose at 47. Dana Plato holds her 'Youth in Film' award in the early 1980s | Photo: Getty Images. Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request? It's going to help me in all phases of my life.". The record was released on the Big Tree Records label under the name "Bullet" in December 1971. Dana never made an impact on the TV screen until she landed the role of Kimberly Drummond in the TV hit sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978) from 1978 . She made little effort to hide the fact that the project was a step-down compared to her previous career ventures. After agreeing to enter a drug-diversion program following another arrest in 2006, Renfro talked to reporters about being 30 days sober. "I don't know if that was true, but I remember him saying that. [13] Plato was also an accomplished figure skater, and at one point trained for a possible Olympic team spot. Dana Plato died in this RV outside the home of her fiancee's parents in Moore Oklahoma. "River said to me in that last year: 'I just have to make one more movie to put away enough money so my youngest sister can go to college,'" Mathis recalled toThe Guardianin 2018. He'd say things like, 'Nobody can put up with me 'cause I'm too hot to handle.'" He looks horrible. She died on the 8th of May 1999 in Moore, Oklahoma, United States. Dana Plato at the Video Software Dealers Association Convention on July 24, 1994 in Las Vegas | Photo: Getty Images. [10][11], 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. )The Bittersweet Irony of the Hollywood Machine, Dana's fortunes began to turn when she was spotted by a producer during a brief appearance on TV's "The Gong Show." "It was, 'Wow, how lucky are we to not have hung out with that crowd or done those things?' We had a connection. In 1993, she spent a month in a drug and alcohol rehab center in Las Vegas - one of several times she went into rehab. I thought, 'Wow, this kid is insanely talented, if he doesn't have some kind of familial moorings, he's going to fall off the deep end.' He is survived by his father, Lanny Lambert and Grandmother, Joni Richardson. Growing up, she struggled to establish herself and to land new roles. I was to call my father or someone elseNEVER an ambulance because it would get into the press.". [55] 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. Platoposed nude forPlayboy in 1989 and dabbled in soft-core adult entertainment, anything perhaps to reboot her career. He has suffered from a kidney condition that caused his short stature. We would hang out. She fell into drug addiction and died of an overdose in 1999. [7][8][9], On May 8, 1999, Plato was found dead from an overdose of prescription drugs at the age of 34, which was later ruled a suicide. [12][clarification needed], On May 7, 1999, the day before she died, Plato appeared on The Howard Stern Show. ", Remarking on what was said at his memorial, all the people comforting each other with thoughts of Phoenix in heaven, or as energy now all around them, Plimpton cracked, "You would have thought he was 90 and had died in his sleep. Renfro had been an unruly kid from the beginning, when he was an unknown making his acting debut inThe Clientat the age of 12 alongside Susan Sarandon in 1994. in 1984. Read More . May 13, 2010 -- Tyler Lambert once aspired to follow his famous mother, "Diff'rent Strokes" actress Dana Plato, into show business. Plato was reportedly written off "Diff'rent Strokes" in 1984 amid rumors of drug use. He got Plato pregnant in 1984 and the producers felt teen pregnancy did not fit into the show's image. Add to your scrapbook. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. He charted eight times as a songwriter between 1971 and 1980, with "White Lies, Blue Eyes" by Bullet (co-written by Flax) landing at #28 in the U.S. in 1971. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? All content, including text, and images contained on news.AmoMama.com, or available through news.AmoMama.com is for general information purposes only. EU Users: Click here to revoke your choice, California Notice / Do Not Sell My Personal Information. To the tattoo ink, he added her ashes. Nov 1983 - Mar 1990. Well. There's a beauty in thatthe man with the cause, the leaderbut there's also a deep loneliness.". She was born on the 7th of November 1964 in Maywood, California, United States to Linda Strain, Florine Plato and Dean Plato. Tyler was cremated just like his mother, and there was no memorial for him. In a last-ditch attempt to revive her career, Plato hired a new accountant to manage her money and had breast augmentation surgery. "It's helped me greatly. Plimpton, meanwhile, is an example of an actress who's enjoying the fourth decade of her career after getting her start as a kid. All Rights Reserved. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. In 1981, Plato appeared in the television special A Step in Time,[27] which earned her a second Young Artist Award nomination. "Dana passed away because of the disease. Try again. When she was three, her adoptive parents divorced and she lived with her mother. speaks out against the above mentioned and. After taking a few doses of painkillers and muscle relaxants, she lay down to rest. ). Dino told podcast host Doc Coyle of BAD WOLVES (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "The manager who worked [at the shop] was really cool. They dated for 5 months after getting together in Nov 1983 and married on 21st Apr 1984. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option. You are nearing the transfer limit for memorials managed by Find a Grave. Share this memorial using social media sites or email. Dana moved in with rock guitarist Lanny Lambert in December 1983. Explore Lanny Lambert's discography including top tracks, albums, and reviews. This account has been disabled. In desperation, she signed over power of attorney to an accountant who disappeared with the majority of her money, leaving her with less than $150,000. Plato was released. "It serves no purpose to leap to conclusions for none of us will really know what led Jonathan to his decision to take his life. And then she started talking about television; she was talking about a television show. Verify and try again. It was really cool. Her questionable luck kicked in early on -- Dana was chosen for the lead role in "The Exorcist" but her adoptive mother refused to let her appear in such a film. "I think he was the best. [32][33] She also started taking roles in such B-movies as Bikini Beach Race (1989) and Lethal Cowboy (1992). And then I was, like, 'I don't live too far from here. Following is an article detailing the death of Dana Plato: Seems the hunger for drugs runs in the Plato family as we lost Dana Plato's son to what is reportedly drug-related behavior: May 13, 2010 - Tyler Lambert, the son of late Diff'rent Strokes star Dana Plato, has committed suicide, nearly 11 years to the day that his mother took her own life. Dana Plato Net Worth. The couple married on April 24, 1984, and their only child, Tyler Edward Lambert, was born on July 2, 1984. There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery. An influential "teen idol" of the late 1970s and early 1980s,[4][5] Plato was recognized for her television work, for which she was included on VH1's list of "100 Greatest Kid Stars".[6]. The 25-year-old was said to have been experimenting with drugs and alcohol at the time of his death. In June 1965, the seven-month-old Dana was adopted by Dean Plato, who owned a trucking company, and his wife Florine "Kay" Plato. It featured actors who at the time were unknown, as well as Bridges, who made a cameo appearance. "I'm not just saying that nowI said that before he died. In 1991, at the height of her desperation, she held up a local video store with a pellet gun, grabbing less than $200 from the register. In 1999, Dana Michelle Plato was living with her fiance, Robert Menchaca, and had been living in an RV park in Navarre, Florida. Dana Plato with guitarist boyfriend, Lanny Lambert, circa 1983. The song was recorded by lead singer Ernie Sorrentino using studio musicians and released by their label Big Tree Records under the name Bullet. Plato made her film debut at the age of 13, appearing as Sandra Phalor in the horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), for which she was uncredited, and also starred as Evie Joe in the horror film Return to Boggy Creek in the same year;[15] both films were received negatively by critics. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. After he died, the tabloidTheGlobe ran a photo of him taken when he was comatose in thehospital, his ex-wife Shannon Pricelying next to him, on its cover with the headline "IT WAS MURDER!" However, even as a child star, she was said to be insecure. He got Plato pregnant in 1984 and the producers felt teen pregnancy did not fit into the show's image. And there are some who hit the ground running at 9 and never stopped. When the song became a hit, an actual band was needed to . Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code. Hollywood and associated environs are full of actors and singers who started young and, whether you know who they are or not as adults, are doing just fine. She was raised in San Fernando Valley and was an accomplished figure skater before acting, having trained for the Olympic Games. [45][46], In January 1992, Plato was arrested a second time, for forging a prescription for diazepam. Bullet disbanded some time before 1975. So, I didn't learn about reality and life skills." Plato was married to Lanny Lambert, the father of her son Tyler Lambert,for seven years before they divorced in 1991.