SECTION D
Reflections Bridges:
Celebrity feuds
Todd
By Steve Holsey
Not that “Reflections” believes in pro-
moting negativity, but in this age of reality TV, there could be a show called “Celebrity Feuds.” There have certainly been a lot of them (some, fortunately, resolved).
For example, Will Smith vs. Wendy Wil-
liams. Eminem vs. Mariah Carey. LL Cool J vs. Kool Moe Dee. Mary Wilson vs. Diana Ross. David Letterman vs. Jay Leno. Spike Lee vs. Tyler Perry. Faith Evans vs. Lil’ Kim.
Former child star gone bad tells his story
Omarosa and Wendy Williams.
March 31 - April 6, 2010
Tyler Perry
Spike Lee
Star Jones vs. Barbara Walters. Omarosa
vs. Wendy Williams. 50 Cent vs. Ja Rule. Rosie O’Donnell vs. Donald Trump. Otis Williams vs. Dennis Edwards. Kid Rock vs. Tommy Lee. Holland-Dozier-Holland vs. Berry Gordy.
LaToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson of
Destiny’s Child vs. Beyoncé Knowles and the group’s manager, Mathew Knowles. Larry Graham vs. Sly Stone. Prince vs. Rick James. Whitney Houston vs. Wendy Williams. Jen- nifer Hudson vs. Whitney Houston.
That’s just some of them. And then there’s Aretha Franklin who
can sometimes be as oversensitive as she is talented and accomplished. She has had plenty of verbal skirmishes with fellow art- ists over the years, including Mavis Staples, Tina Turner, Luther Vandross, Gladys Knight and Beyoncé, plus Beyoncé’s father, Mathew Knowles, and record producer Jerry Wexler.
YOU HAVE to give Otis Williams credit: One way or another, the only remaining original member of the Temptations keeps the group going — and this despite the presence of groups led by later members Dennis Ed- wards, Richard Street, Glenn Leonard and maybe others.
Williams, who now
Otis Williams
works with Terry Weeks, Joe Herndon, Bruce Williamson and longtime member Ron
Tyson, reports that the Temptations will have a new album next month on their own label, appropriately titled “Still Here.”
Williams also men-
tioned that a stage pro- duction on the Temp- tations story is in the works that he hopes will make its way to Broad- way.
Edwards and some
other people had issues with the popular “Temp- tations” miniseries, but Williams says it was accurate, adding, “It is what it is.”
Gerald W. Smith
Congratulations to Gerald W. Smith, Gov-
ernment Affairs manager, Comcast Michi- gan Region. He was chosen to be one of the 2010 Silver Circle inductees by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (the Michigan Emmys).
The actual ceremony takes place June 5 at
the Royal Oak Music Theatre. Smith first became
familiar to many Detroi- ters years ago as cohost of the “Back-To-Back” talk show that aired on WQBH Radio. His accomplishments have been many since then.
HAD TO SMILE
Serena Williams
recently when tennis megastar Serena Wil- liams said that her favorite feature is her smile, which she said
she believes is “captivating.”
See Reflections Page D-2
By Steve Holsey
T
he road of kids who achieved stardom but
Lindsay Lohan, etc. — and as hard as it is to believe, three of them are from one television program.
The show is “Diff’rent Strokes”
that aired from 1978 to 1986. The once adorable and innocent, but later wayward and legally entangled stars, were Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and Dana Plato.
Bridges, who may have as many
police mug shots on file as he has publicity photos in his home, decid- ed that it was time to tell his story. Hence, the provocatively titled “Kill- ing Willis,” subtitled “From ‘Diff’rent Strokes’ to the Life I Always Wanted.” (Touchstone, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.)
Bridges, who will be 45 in May, later went
astray is paved with big names — Danny Bonaduce,
portrayed Willis Jackson, along- side Coleman as younger brother Arnold and Plato as Kimberly Drum- mond, daughter of Philip Drummond (Conrad Bain), the man who adopted the boys.
“FROM THE time that I was five
years old, I thought I knew how my story was going to go,” says Bridges. “All I ever wanted was to be a famous TV star. My dream came true.”
So far, so good. Once cast on “Diff’rent Strokes,”
Bridges recalls, “I thought I had it made, and for a little while I did.” But later came “drug addiction, devastat- ing personal loss and more than one trip to jail.”
He blames it all on the bad deci-
sions he made. Much has been written about
child stars, and why so many end up on the wrong side of the law. The general belief is that it is a matter of
having and experiencing too much too soon.
Suddenly a kid — with
a kid’s mind — is famous, making more money than they ever imaged, receiving stacks of fan mail from adoring fans, receiving celebrity treatment, etc. Despite their tender years they are thrust into the adult world, and the fact that it’s Hollywood adds several more dimensions.
The young stars are faced
with an array of temptations, some involving drugs, others involving sex, and on it goes.
Then all too soon, the TV
show comes to an end, or the movie roles come to an abrupt halt. It’s all over, and because this reality switch is such a “head trip,” many of the child prodigies are unable to adjust and cope. Some have plans to continue in show business, but interest in them is limited or nonexistent.
“I HAD MADE friends with
most of the other child stars working in Hollywood,” re- members Bridges. “We knew
See Todd Bridges Page D-2
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