Diff'rent Strokes

1978 · 8 seasons · Comedy
7.1 Niche

Series finished

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Comedy Family Drama

The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two African American boys from Harlem who are taken in by a rich white Park Avenue businessman named Phillip Drummond and his daughter Kimberly, for whom their deceased mother previously worked. During the first season and first half of the second season, Charlotte Rae also starred as the Drummonds' housekeeper, Mrs. Garrett.

Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Year
1978
Created by
Bernie Kukoff, Jeff Harris
Channel
ABC · NBC
Studio
Norman Lear/Tandem Productions · Embassy Television · Embassy Pictures Corporation · Tandem Productions

Trivia & behind the scenes

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Origins

The show was originally devised as a vehicle for Conrad Bain and Gary Coleman after Bain finished his run on Maude and Coleman had starred in unsold Lear pilots attempting to revive the Little Rascals franchise.

Origins

Early concepts for the show included Bain playing a private detective inspired by the fictional character Bulldog Drummond, with Coleman as his young informant; though this idea was scrapped, the surname 'Drummond' was kept for Bain's character.

Origins

The series was originally given the working title '45 Minutes from Harlem,' and an alternate pitch had Bain as a hard-nosed real estate developer forced to take custody of an orphan to redevelop a Harlem housing block.

Origins

The show's title was inspired by the phrase 'Different strokes for different folks,' popularized by boxer Muhammad Ali, who made a guest appearance in the show's second season.

Casting

Todd Bridges was offered the role of Willis without an audition, partly due to producers being impressed by his work on the recently canceled sitcom Fish.

Casting

Dana Plato was discovered by producer Al Burton while she was part of a cheerleading team auditioning on The Gong Show.

Casting

Charlotte Rae was offered the role of Mrs. Garrett without an audition, but producer Norman Lear had to use his influence to get CBS to release her from an existing contract so she could join the show.

Casting

Mary Ann Mobley, who took over as Maggie in the final season, had earlier played an unrelated one-off love interest of Drummond's in a season 2 episode, and had actually been considered for the original Maggie role before being passed over due to an age gap with Conrad Bain.

Filming

A real-life pay dispute between Gary Coleman's parents and Tandem Productions over his salary caused Coleman to be absent from the first four filmed episodes of season 4, resulting in a separately filmed cameo explaining his character's absence.

Filming

Behind the scenes, Dixie Carter left the show after clashing with Gary Coleman, though it was publicly reported she departed to star in her own series, Designing Women.

References

The season 6 episode 'Mr. T' featured Mr. T guest starring as the apartment block was used to film a fictional episode of The A-Team, while the two-part episode 'Hooray for Hollywood' saw the boys sneak onto a fictional Knight Rider set to meet David Hasselhoff, though K.I.T.T.'s voice was provided by an uncredited actor rather than William Daniels.

Reception

The series became known for tackling 'very special episodes' on serious topics, most notably the two-part 'The Bicycle Man,' in which a pedophilic bicycle shop owner played by Gordon Jump attempts to molest Arnold and Dudley.

Reception

First Lady Nancy Reagan made a guest appearance in the anti-drug episode 'The Reporter' to promote her 'Just Say No' campaign.

Trivia

The recurring bully character 'The Gooch,' frequently mentioned as tormenting Arnold throughout the series, was never actually shown on screen.

Memorable quotes

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Arnold: (frowns at Aunt Sophia) You mean to tell me that I happen to be a 49-pound Twinkie?!

Arnold Reacting to being called a junk food junkie.

Arnold: A spanking? There ain't enough of me to spank.

Arnold Talking back before a spanking.

Arnold: How come I had a donut, that thing was 10% donut and 90% hole.

Arnold Complaining about the size of his donut.

Willis: (confused, looking behind them) You talking to US?

Willis First meeting Mr. Drummond.

Philip: (meeting the boys for the first time) Welcome, Gentlemen!

Philip Welcoming the boys for the first time.

Arnold: No, but I gotta, without me, Willis is nothin'!

Arnold Explaining why he must stay with Willis.

Arnold: You never have time for me anymore! Soul brother and sister!

Arnold Feeling left out by Willis.

Arnold: Aw, that ain't hot dude, watch some grooves, by the man with moves! Oooooeee! I'm gettin' the Saturday Night Fever!

Arnold Showing off his dance moves.

Arnold: Just ground us, don't end our lives!

Arnold Begging not to be punished too harshly.

Arnold: So, she'd jump off the chair and through the ceilin'!

Arnold Explaining the prank on Cousin Myrtle.

Arnold: I tried, but I got a short reacher.

Arnold Explaining why he missed the basketball.

Arnold: No, we're fine, but it ain't the clock's finest hour.

Arnold Joking about the broken clock.

Willis: OK, we unapologize.

Willis Sarcastically taking back an apology.

Willis: Before I tell you, can I call my attorney?

Willis Joking about needing a lawyer.

Willis: Come on, blood. You know I know how to swim good now!

Willis Bragging about his swimming skills.

Arnold: Where is the rest of it?

Arnold Reacting to Kimberly's tiny bikini.

Philip: I'm glad you took both pieces!

Philip Commenting on Kimberly's bikini.

Arnold: Whatchoo talkin' bout Mr. D?

Arnold Confused about flying for the first time.

Arnold: How 'bout that, Willis? Downtown 2 minutes and already we're gentlemen.

Arnold Joking about being called gentlemen.

Arnold: Dancin'? All you're doing are wigglin' your behinds!

Arnold Mocking Willis and Kimberly's dancing.

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