Todd Bridges shared touching photo with 'Diff'rent Strokes' castmates who passed away
Former child star Todd Bridges expresses how much he misses his cast mates on 'Diffferent Strokes' including Charlotte Rae who recently passed away. He remains to be the only living original star of the show today.
Following the recent passing of actress Charlotte Rae, Todd Bridges is now the only original member of the cast of ‘Different Strokes’ who’s alive.
On August 5, Bridges bid farewell to Rae who has joined the rest of her cast mates who’ve moved on from this world including Conrad Bain, Gary Coleman, and Dana Plato. The actor tweeted his loss by posting an image of the original cast and writing,
“RIP in peace all of my cast mates. I miss you all.”
Rae played Edna Garrett in the series which began in 1978. However, after two seasons, her character moved on to become the housemother at a girls’ boarding school in the ‘Different Strokes’ spinoff, ‘The Facts of Life.’
On Sunday, the sad news of Rae’s passing hit the headlines. She was 92 years old and was reported to have been battling pancreatic and bone cancer for years. In 2017, Rae issued a statement about her sickness and her dilemma of whether to continue seeking treatment or “opt for life.” She said it was a miracle she discovered her pancreatic cancer at an early stage seven years ago considering most of her family died of it. After six months of chemotherapy she was cancer free. But when her cancer came back last year, she had a decision to make.
"so now, at the age of 91, I have to make up my mind. I’m not in any pain right now. I’m feeling so terrific and so glad to be above ground. Now I have to figure out whether I want to go have treatment again or opt for life.”
Meanwhile, following his stint in ‘Different Strokes,’ Bridges led a troubled life. peppered with drug-related activities including selling cocaine and being accused of murdering a drug dealer which he was later acquitted of.
He admitted to being molested by his former publicist which set him off the rails. In 2010, he released a memoir ‘Killing Willis’ and confessed to attempting to commit suicide by surrendering to the cops.
Today, Bridges has been sober for more than 25 years and still remains as an actor and comedian in the industry.