Shavar Ross. On The Set Of Diff'rent Strokes. On The Set Of Diff'rent Strokes. Los Angeles, California, USA

Transcription

1 Shavar Ross Los Angeles, California, USA 2007 Tri-Seven Entertainment All rights reserved. SHAVARROSS.COM Printed in the United States of America.

2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I d like to first thank you, the reader for having an interest in my life and the show we ve all loved for so long. Unlike a lot of former child actors, I have no regrets about my past, my acting career, and working on the set of Diff'rent Strokes. You are getting only a small glimpse of my exciting and adventurous life. I have so much I want to share but this is my first leap of faith in book authorship. Thank you for taking a short ride with me through my memory lane. Hey, God bless and enjoy!

3 INTRODUCTION Well, here it is, the book you purchased, On The Set of Diff'rent Strokes. Hi I m Shavar Ross and I want to thank you for purchasing this book. First I want to explain to you why I wrote this book. There are basically two reasons. First, simply because I m constantly asked by fans from all over the world about what it was like growing up on the set of Diff'rent Strokes or what was it like playing Gary Coleman s friend on the show. To my surprise, the show is played not only across the nation here in the U.S., but also in different parts of the world such as Israel, India, South Africa and London, England to name a few. Throughout the years, I ve received many s from fans young and old about the show. Many of the letters are really touching, especially the ones from the younger kids. I recently received a letter from a young girl in Israel who watches the show in her native homeland. She s only 12 years old, and sadly is not allowed to go outside of her home out of fear of getting killed as a

4 result of the recent suicide bombings in her area. In her , she expressed her enjoyment of watching reruns of Diff'rent Strokes and has even created a website dedicated to my character, Dudley, from the show. So this book is for people like her and all those who enjoy watching the show. I also wrote this book in response to the negative hype from the media surrounding the show's main characters, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges and the late Dana Plato. Over the years and even to this day, I find it interesting that every time someone does something wrong, whether it be an actor or politician, the media is generally quick to publicize and play off of their mistakes or weaknesses. I suppose they re just doing their job, however my goal for writing this book is not to expose or dish out any untold dirt, but to simply shed a little insight of some of my experiences with Gary, Todd and Dana. Many of my times with the cast members are positive experiences. I created this book so you would understand that these actors, although not perfect, had regular lives and did regular things.

5 During the much publicized height of Gary s situation with his parents, and of Todd s run-ins with the law, I was a student in ministry school and eventually became a pastor of a small church in Los Angeles. At that time I wanted to speak out to the media about my feelings regarding their situations. I recall watching an interview on television of other guest cast members and there was this discussion about The Curse of Diff'rent Strokes. I often wondered why I was never contacted for an interview. I figured that it was probably because either they couldn't find me or the media simply had no interest in hearing anything positive about the cast. Either way, I thought it would be a good idea to shed some light on the fun I had with the cast during my years on the set of Diff'rent Strokes. So here we go. But just so you know where I m headed in this book, I d like to tell you about the format of this book in order for you to understand how I landed the role of Dudley on Diff'rent Strokes, eventually completing 40 episodes or so, to having the opportunity of doing the very last show. This book is sectioned into five super easy-to-read parts. The first tells a little about

6 myself, and how I desired to become an actor. Part 2 goes into a bit more detail as I tell how I literally got discovered while attending a play that starred actress Kim Fields. You may remember Kim Fields as Tootie from the show the Facts of Life which was actually a spin-off of Diff'rent Strokes. In part 3 of this book I discuss in detail how I landed the role of Dudley on Strokes out of more than 250 other kids who auditioned for the part. I also talk about my first day on the set. In part 4, I share with you what it was like going to school on the set with the cast and also of what it was like hanging out with Gary Coleman. Finally in part 5, I tell you a little bit about what the Diff'rent Strokes seasonal wrap parties were like and also of what the very last taping of Strokes was like as well. So let s get started.

7 Part 1: A little About Me Let me say that before I begin I would like for you to feel as if I am talking to you personally. It s more my style so forgive me if I don t use perfect grammar. So how did I get on Diff'rent Strokes in the first place? It all started in my birth town of the South Bronx, New York; home of a few other celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs. Anyway, that s my hometown. I don't really recall my parents being together that much but I do remember that they must have separated some time around when I was six or seven. My father wanted to be an actor. He studied acting, performed in numerous off-broadway plays, and worked with Denzel Washington as part of the Negro Ensemble Company, a theatrical group. My dad was the actor in the family. In fact, now that I think about it, he probably separated from my mom to further pursue his acting career. He left New York permanently, packed his bags and headed for California to pursue Hollywood stardom. Meanwhile, my mother, half-sister Tameka and I struggled a lot in New York until we finally moved to Macon, Georgia to be near other family. I liked living in Georgia, the weather was nice and

8 back then Jimmy Carter was president. I recall being very independent there as a 7 year-old child. My mom was always in school trying to better herself by pursuing a college degree. As a result, I was often left alone to take care of my younger sister and food was often scarce. It was tough for my mom not having financial support and it was a constant struggle to make ends meet. She had to do what she had to do in order to survive and I totally understand that now. In a way, having to seemingly take care of myself helped prepare me for a career in television. Every young person on TV has to have a certain maturity on the set that most kids their age don t usually have. For me, that maturity developed from being independent at an early age. Anyway, after living in Georgia for about a year, I started wondering about my father and his whereabouts. My mother later told me that he was in an actor living in Hollywood. It s really funny because from the time she told me where my father lived and what he did, I remember taking a great interest in television and began watching a lot of television shows. One show in particular that was very popular at that time and in its first season was you guessed it---diff'rent Strokes. Now that I think about it, that was the only show besides The New Zoo Review, Sesame Street and The Electric Company I remember watching then. I was

9 fascinated with watching Strokes because I had never seen any African-Americans so young on television before. I remember watching one episode in particular of Strokes in which Arnold lied to this girl and she ended up taking a liking to Willis after he did a back flip for her. I remember being really fascinated by that back flip. I thought I could probably do a back flip too if I tried. I was very inspired. In fact, I started expanding my imagination and even thought I too could actually become an actor on television as well! Yeah, like Arnold and Willis! It must be noted that there were very few African-American actors on television at that time (late 1970's) let alone young adolescent African-American actors. Back then, I dreaming of something BIG and didn t realize it could come true. But I do remember spending most of my time in second grade daydreaming about what it would be like to live in California and be an actor like my dad. I just couldn't take my mind off of California. Interestingly enough, around that time there was a hit movie out called California Suite starring Walter Matthau, Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine. That was the first movie I ever seen. I began to get really excited about California after that and decided that I just had to meet my father somehow. I even wrote a school paper and titled it How the Wind Blew Me to California. After much

10 persuasion, I convinced my mom to somehow get in contact with my dad because I wanted to see him. As I recall, I thought my dad was in the land of milk and honey. The time had come when she finally arranged for me to visit him in California during my school s Christmas break. It was Super Bowl Sunday, January my favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys, was playing on the day I finally arrived in California. I remember my dad meeting me at the airport and I was so excited to see him. I was amazed how young he looked. He seemed very energetic and genuinely excited about seeing me again too. I knew right away that I was going to have a great time on this vacation. I found myself right smack in the heart of Hollywood as I arrived at my dad s place. I precisely remember there was a park right next door to us and of course I, being a 7-year-old kid, immediately wanted to play and make new friends. My dad later told me that the park next door to him was nicknamed the park of the stars because many famous African-American actors played tennis and basketball there a lot. The park was called Poinsettia Park in West Hollywood, California.

11 Throughout the years I remember meeting celebrities like Muhammad Ali, Jim Kelly, Les McCann, Denzel Washington, Arsenio Hall, John Witherspoon, Johnny Brown, Ron O'Neil, Norman Whitfield, and Sidney Poitier at the park. And that's just to name a few! To this day, I still have original snapshots of me with Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier and the great Muhammad Ali at the park. I remember my father being excited about his acting career. He d been in Hollywood for only two years and had signed with the prestigious William Morris agency. He landed a few good parts too. He already had a small part in the movie Youngblood (with Lawrence Hilton Jacobs), Death Wish, guest-starred in an episode of MASH and was seen nationally on an episode of Police Woman. All of this acting work was unheard of at that time for an African- American trying to make it in Hollywood unless you were Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby or Sidney Poitier, of course. He didn't know it then but he was already considered successful actor. However successful he was, acting jobs still didn t pay all of the bills so as a side job my father worked as a production assistant on different film projects. There he met Jim Mendenhall, another struggling actor and production assistant or P.A. as they say in Hollywood.

12 Jim's son David Mendenhall, was actually the bread winner of the family. At that time he was starring on General Hospital, and we later became good friends. I remember David encouraging me to become an actor. He invited me to go with him to his acting class one day, so I went. I watched, as kids my age pretended they were really hot or pretended they were really cold. I found out that these were exercises that actors go through to help them act better. I found it amusing to see all the kids shivering as if they were freezing to death. They were all very believable even though it was 90 degrees outside! I was in sunny California! Anyway, I started pretending I was cold too even though I was just an observer in the class. Well I must have had a great pretending to be cold technique because the teacher noticed me and wanted me to do my version in front of the class. That was fun for me. Unfortunately neither David nor I ever went back to the class because, strangely enough, the school closed down the following week. My friend David must have been really impressed that day in class because I remember David's father and my dad talking about having me meet David's agent. So that was the beginning of my

13 career. Once I secured the agent, I knew I was destined for stardom or so I thought. To be quite frank: nothing ever happened during the next several weeks. I vaguely remember going out on one audition and guess what? I had only about 2 weeks left of my vacation before heading back to Georgia. Needless to say, I wasn't exactly looking forward to going back home after having a taste of California. Part 2: Discovered Well, God must've been watching over me because that week, my father and his friend Lawrence Hilton Jacobs---from the hit TV show Welcome Back Kotter (he was Freddy Boom-Boom Washington) decided to go check out this play and let me go with them! Well here s where it really gets good. I don t remember the name of the play, but I do remember being fascinated by a

14 beautiful 9-year-old girl starring in the play. Her name was Kim Fields and I remember her stealing the show on that stage. She was a terrific actress. Kim played Tootie on the Facts of Life, which was a spin-off of Diff'rent Strokes, as you may already know. Anyway, after the play, as my father, Larry and I were exiting, a woman approached Larry and my dad. She began to ask questions about me. I remember seeing her speak to my father in a very excited and persuasive way. Her name was Evelyn, and she was a talent agent from a top major children s talent agency. She told my father that I would be great in commercials and gave my father her business card and told him to call her the following Monday! My father called her back and that became the official beginning of my professional acting career. A few days later, my father took me to the agency and I was introduced to all of the agents there. I just remember everyone telling me how cute I was. My dad was referred by the agency to take me to see another photographer so you guessed it, I had to take new pictures again which I didn't mind at all. To me it was like taking class pictures. Just say cheese and show as many of your teeth as you can. If you guys ever see any photos of my class pictures before I came to Hollywood, I

15 always had the biggest smile in the whole class. My new pictures must have really worked for me because I was immediately called in to audition for commercials. I remember my father being more excited than me. Since he was really the actor, he knew how to coach me and help prepare me for my auditions. I will always give my father credit for teaching me how to act and bringing out the talent that God has blessed me with. Anyway, he taught me everything, from how to project my voice, to how to literally walk into the audition room, to meeting the casting director for the first time. It must have been meant for me to stay in California because that very first week after meeting Evelyn, my new agent, I booked my very first commercial. It was an Amtrak commercial and all I had to do was run to meet my grandmother as she came off the train. It was just like real life to me. I showed great emotion as I ran to meet my grandmother coming off the train. In actuality, I really

16 did miss my real-life grandma who was back in my hometown of New York. I would not go back to Georgia or New York for many years after that. Hollywood, California instantly became my new home. Part 3: A Growing Career At Age 8 I had been in California for just about a year. I was eight years-old and had already landed many roles. By the next year in 1980, I had already booked a Nestle's crunch commercial, a Kodak commercial, and had done two episodes of the show Alice, starring Linda Lavin and Vic Tayback. I especially enjoyed meeting the actress who played Flo, I remember asking her to say her famous words from the show-- Kiss My Grits! I also did an episode of Benson that year. It must be stated that I was not pressured by either of my parents to get into acting. It just happened and I wanted to act. Well, the call came from Evelyn that there was a role posted out in Hollywood to play one of Arnold's friends, played by Gary Coleman on the already very popular hit television show Diff'rent Strokes. I remember my mouth dropped when I got the call to audition for the role of Dudley. This

17 was the show I watched faithfully in Georgia. The actors on the show---gary Coleman and Todd bridges---were the very people who first inspired me to want to be on television in the first place and I desperately had to meet my idol Gary Coleman. I had to book the role of Dudley. This was the only time I remember getting nervous about an audition, especially after finding out that over 250 kids were going out for the one-time episodic role of Dudley. I remember my father working on the lines with me. He was a bit more serious this time. He always taught me just to have fun on my auditions but this was the first time I really saw him taking an audition very seriously. Perhaps he knew, like I, that if you were young and Black this was the show to be on. Not only that, it represented another income stream for us. Anyway, I aced the audition! It was just a few classroom scenes with Arnold but I knew I could handle the job; I was already experienced for this. I was convinced I had the role but quickly remembered that just because you do good the first time on an audition, doesn t mean you booked the job! I would have to audition for the role again (for producers) after that in order to get this part. It wouldn t be easy. Yeah, I remember having to come back again to audition for the role of Dudley Johnson, named after

18 one of the writers on the show. There were so many kids there, I thought I was in school. I remember some kids and parents going home, seemingly going away sad almost as if their child was out of the running for the part. I noticed that the whole time I was there, the crowd of children began to dwindle down to just a few. This was a good sign for me. I had a chance of getting the role! Just as I was thinking that the role was mine, a whole new set of kids seemed to trickle into the room eager to audition for the role! A whole new set of kids came in! Just what I needed. Oh boy, I didn t have a shot. There was just too much competition for me this time. It was over! The only thing I figured I could do was to just have fun with the role and do my best as my father taught me. I read the lines exactly like my father coached me in front of the producers. There must have been about nine people in that room! Kind of scary for your average nine year old. Well, after my audition, my father and I were told that we could go home. I thought I had failed. BUT...as we were about to leave, we were told to come back to the casting office the next day. Did I get the part? Anyway when we came back to the casting office, I was surprised to see that there were no kids around. Not one kid! What's was going? on I thought. Then, out of nowhere comes the

19 producers and the writers, the very same people I had auditioned for the day before. They wanted to meet again. Not only that, they wanted to measure my height! Huh? That s right, measure me. Apparently they wanted to see how tall I was and if I were to play Dudley, one of Arnold's classroom friends, I certainly couldn t be taller than the show s main star. Little did I know that they were going to offer me the role! Later that same day, I got a call back (well, my dad got the call, actually) from my agent informing me that I had booked the role! Part 4: First Day On The Set I remember my first day on the set of Diff'rent Strokes very clearly. There were tons of people in this gigantic room. They called it the rehearsal hall. They were all kinds of people such as writers, producers, wardrobe and hair people and some set technicians such as the propmaster. My father and I arrived there early and I remember I couldn t wait to meet all of the cast members. At first it seemed like everybody was around but the cast members. I didn't see any of the stars from the show. But then, out of the blue, I first saw Dana Plato coming into the rehearsal room and she was very cheerful. She had a very happy energetic

20 attitude. I could tell that she was enjoying her popularity and the success of the show. Somewhere around that time Todd entered the rehearsal hall where everyone was gathering. Then Gary Coleman appeared. For those that don t know, all minors must attend school on the set for at least 3 hours a day if they are to do a television show. I realize now that everyone was waiting for them to get out of their tutoring session before the weekly script reading began. The script read or table read is where all of the actors get together around this big table---also called a table reading before they start shooting or rehearsing the show. This is where we all read through the whole script once--aloud, semi-acting out our character roles. I was trying to maintain my composure as the main cast members appeared right before my eyes. I remember the adult actors like Charlotte Rae who played Mrs. Garrett and Conrad Bain who played Mr. Drummond were there also. I know this may sound silly, but what really stood out for me that day, what really impressed me more than anything else was the enormous amount of food that was displayed in that rehearsal room and it was free! Yummy. They feed you real good on television sets. After about an hour of so of eating and chatting, it was time for the

21 producers to introduce me to the stars of the show. I was really nervous. I remember everything Gary had on that day. It was an Osh Kosh Begosh blue and white outfit. The kind a train conductor would wear. He even had the matching hat to top it off. I tried not to even dare think about what I had on. I looked my best but I must admit I was still wearing clothes that my mom had bought me a year earlier in Georgia. For those of you who may remember my first show of Strokes Teacher's Pet, you ll see me in that same outfit from Georgia. You ll also see my father in the background in one of the classroom scenes. He s the one with the navy blue sports coat on for all you technical people out there. Anyway, I was first introduced to Gary and I also met Todd and Dana right before the table reading. I didn t have a large part so I arrived that day with my lines already memorized. Now for those of you who may not know how your typical sitcom television show works, I ll be happy to break it down for you. I ll give a quick rundown of the 'Strokes' weekly schedule. This is a common schedule even in the shows of today. Normally a television show starts their first day with a read-through or a table reading. Diff'rent Strokes would start its work week on a Wednesday. Wednesday was the first day of the table reading. This is where all of the actors got together and would read through the

22 whole script seated around this huge conference table. The basic purpose of the table reading was to allow for the writers to get a live feel of the show as the actors read the script out loud. Once this was done, the writers would go back and write newer versions of the script re-writes. After the early morning table reading, all the minors had to return back to school again until it was time for rehearsals to start. So on Wednesdays, all we basically did was have a read-through of the script and then begin to rehearse our scenes in the show. This was called blocking. Blocking is basically when the director begins to tell the actors where to move on the set, and what props to pick up and things like that. Wednesday was always a light blocking day. The next day, Thursday, got a bit more serious. By Thursday, only one day after receiving the script, all of the actors should have been pretty much been familiar with all their lines or at least had a good idea of what they were going to say. All day on Thursday, we would rehearse or block the scenes again, and again and again, over and over and over. As we became familiar as to where we would go in a scene, we became more and more familiar with what we were going to say.

23 Blocking the scenes helped us to memorize our lines. So by Friday the following day, everyone expected the cast members to have their lines memorized, expected them to know how to position themselves in a scene, and basically expected them to do a complete run through in front of the producers, writers and director of the show. The run-through gave the writers and producers a tangible idea of what the final show would be like. Saturday and Sunday we were off, free to become more familiar with our lines and prepare for camera blocking day, that following Monday. Can you guess what camera blocking day was for? You guessed it, since the actors were already familiar with their lines and knew where they were to go in a scene; it was time for the cameramen and the technical to learn what they were gonna do to help produce the final show. So Monday was really a technical day for the crew members. Mondays were also the days where we would try on new wardrobe and work with the extras or atmosphere. The atmosphere are the actors that you see in the background of a scene in any film or television production. They generally don t have any speaking lines. By the end of Monday, we rehearsed the final show straight

24 through from beginning to end, in wardrobe and with camera crew for all the producers and writers once again. Tuesday was the big day, tape day, as they call it. We would have to be on the set bright and early to do a complete run through a couple times before the live studio audience would arrive. There were usually about 350 people filling the studio audience seats. You ve heard it before on some of the older TV shows this show has been recorded in front of a live studio audience. After having a massive dinner for the evening, we would tape the show two times and with two separate audiences. It was always a long but productive day. And the next day, you'd start the whole process over again. But I wasn't on every show. I eventually did roughly about 13 out of 22 shows. Also, the show used to have a Monday-Friday schedule a lot more vigorous but you had the weekend to look forward to. So that s basically a quick run down of a typical TV production schedule. Like I said before, I had my lines memorized from day one. Even though I had previously appeared on other shows, I really wanted to make a good impression on Strokes and so did my father. The whole week went by so quickly. My first episode, Teachers Pet was taped and in the can before I knew it. Because my character was only supposed to be on the show one time, I was

25 to start the whole audition process again looking for my next job. I never really got a chance to get to know Gary and the rest of the cast like I wanted to, but I had a great first impression of the cast. here it is: they all seemed nice and down to earth. As the following weeks went by, I tried to focus on other things. For those of you who don t know, I must say that actors, and when I say actors, I m speaking of actresses included; they experience more rejection than any other field of employment. They are the most rejected people I know. I started getting used to mentally preparing myself for my next audition or my next job. Whenever I wasn t working on a show or anything like that, I was basically a regular kid. I went to a regular school and had regular friends. I was even on a little league baseball team. The following weeks I remember auditioning for tons of stuff---commercial auditions galore! I believe I booked a Weber's Bread commercial a few weeks after Diff'rent Strokes. It was really strange, even though I thought that I wasn t coming back on Diff'rent Strokes anymore, I felt that I had accomplished my dreams. To meet my dad and be on TV...what else could an eight year-old kid want?

26 However, a pleasant surprise came shortly after I finished my first episode of Diff'rent Strokes. I was quickly called to return to do another show! That s right, I was called back to do another episode. My career was officially on its way up when I was offered a contract that year in 1980, recurring as Gary Coleman's best friend, Dudley on the show. Episode two for me was called Football Father. It was the show where Arnold tried out for the local little league football team and was cut because he was too short. Mr. Drummond bribes the coach and buys the team new uniforms in order to get Arnold on the roster. I was excited to come back, but wondered if the cast would accept me since I was the only one with a recurring role on the show at that time. Fortunately for me, I was well-received by the cast with open arms. I can even remember my first day of school on the set with Gary, Todd and Dana. I remember our set teacher, Louis Smallwood. He was a very intelligent, and well-educated African- American man that was hired by Tandem Productions to personally tutor Gary, Todd and Dana. Gary, Todd and Dana seemed bright and intelligent and being around them gave me added self-esteem. But I realized now that I must've been bright and intelligent too. How many 8-year-old kids

27 do you know that can act out a character s role, memorize their lines, know where they re to stand and what to say in a scene, in front of 350 people and a technical crew, all in five days time? Not only was I offered a contract; I was accepted as someone who had talent. So the cast inspired me. Not bad for a kid from the South Bronx, eh? Patterson Projects, baby. All of this happened within a year after first arriving in this strange place called Hollywood. As you know, I ve done many episodes of Diff'rent Strokes. Over 40 or 50 something episodes, I believe, I have never counted. The show ran for 8 full seasons and I got to know the cast members during the last 6 years of the show. I was honored to be in the very last episode of Diff'rent Strokes. Gary and I started becoming good friends. I felt that he took me under his wing but it was all in an indirect fashion, I must say. Even though I was about an inch taller than him at the time, he was still older than me by three years, so I looked up to him. Other than my father s coaching, I credit some of my acting techniques and comedic timing to Gary. Let me tell you something about Gary. He is and was at that time one of the most gifted actors I have ever known. Never have I

28 seen such incredible comedic timing. I ve had the opportunity to spend a great deal of time with him when I was younger and I can honestly say that he had great charm and strength. I say strength because Gary, for as long as I ve known him, has always struggled with kidney problems. If you were around him, you would never know it. Even on days when he wasn t feeling great he would cover it well with his charm and wit. He loved trains and there were nights when I would sleep over and got to play with them. He even gave me my very own train set for Christmas. I don t think I liked trains as much as him though because in his room he had the biggest train set--- landscape, figurines, and tracks all around his whole room. I ve never seen a train set that big before in my life. He really loved trains. Other times we d go bowling, hang out at video arcades and play laser tag. It was really weird because when the show was on at that time, whenever we were in public, the fans would go crazy when they saw us together. I m sure it was even worse when he and Todd Bridges, who played Willis, were seen out together. Speaking of Todd, I remember a school field trip we had once. Yep, now that I think about it, it was me, Todd, Gary and Dana going to the beach; the Santa Monica pier in California to be exact.

29 I remember Todd drove all of us, along with our set teacher Louis, in Todd s brand new black BMW. Todd had bought his first car and was taking us all out for a spin in it. It was really cool, it had a sunroof and a loud stereo. I was in awe. Here I was, an 8 year-old kid hanging out with the stars of Diff'rent Strokes, cruising to the beach! Mind you, only 12 months before, I was in Macon, Georgia watching them on a black and white portable TV. After doing only several shows, I felt as if I were really part of the Strokes family. I was finally able to enjoy some of life s luxuries such as the latest fashions in kid clothing---izod Lacoste, Rugby and Members Only were the thing to wear back then. I was excited to know that I was guaranteed to do 13 out of 22 shows a year. It was a great feeling! There was even a time in which I thought I would be on the show permanently. As Todd began to spring up in height, surpassing Gary s stature, the producers became concerned that this would affect the shows ratings. As I mentioned before, height was an important issue when I was first cast for the role of Dudley. The producers felt that creating a friend compatible in size to Gary would offset the growing Arnold and Willis difference in height. My favorite Diff'rent Strokes episode on Strokes was called Room For One

30 More. That was the show where the Drummond family almost adopts Dudley. Because of family problems, my character, Dudley, convinces Arnold to talk his father about adopting me. I remember thinking to myself that I could be on not only 13 out of 22 shows, but possibly all 22 shows each year. That meant more Izod shirts for me! But it didn t pan out as I had hoped. I guess it just wasn t meant to be and maybe it was all for the best. Dudley would still remain Arnold's best friend though. Somewhere around the early 80's, I remember the producers moving the show to the Universal Studios' lot. This is where I had the most fun, because all of the other TV sitcom shows that were produced by Tandem, the production company that produced Diff'rent Strokes, also relocated to Universal Studios. This meant that we would rehearse next door to actors who were on shows like Silverspoons, Facts of Life, The Jeffersons, and Who's the Boss. and One Day At A Time. At Universal Studios, I also got to hang out with and come to know celebrities like Ricky Schroder, Alfonso Ribeiro, Alyssa Milano, Kim fields, and Nancy McKeon. Oh yeah, and then there was Janet Jackson too. She later had a recurring role on the show as Charlene, Willis

31 girlfriend. I remember Janet as being sweet, innocent and very shy. I also found a new friend, Danny Cooksey, who played Sam, a little country boy from Oklahoma, who eventually became part of the Strokes family too. Shooting at Universal Studios was fun. We even got to take free tours and there s even an episode where the Strokes cast, Dudley included, take a trip to Universal Studios. Part 5: It s A Wrap As I begin to close, I must admit that I had some of the greatest times of my life being on the set of Diff'rent Strokes. At the end of every 22 episodes was a seasonal wrap party. This is where all the cast and crew got together for a great big party as the season ended. Since most of my family lived out of state, the Strokes cast and crew was kind of like a family to me. I remember that during those wrap parties, the cast members got to be themselves and not have to worry about performing in front of the camera. There was always music, dancing and lots of food. I remember Todd dancing

32 really well too and Gary got his groove on too sometimes. I remember one year the wrap party was held at a big beautiful gigantic house in Bel Air. And because the production company knew that Gary liked to play video games, they filled the house with tons of arcade games. The food was always fabulous with caterers waiting on you hand and foot bringing you hors d'oeuvres left and right. I had the time of my life. The adult actors, Conrad Bain, Nedra Voltz and Mary Jo Catlett seemed the most mellow. They were all so pleasant to be around. I guess it was because they were adults. In 1986, after 8 seasons and nearly 200 episodes, Diff'rent Strokes finally came to a close. It was a great ride. I was very honored that Dudley s character was written to play opposite Arnold Jackson in the final episode. I vaguely recall, but the final show was about Arnold and Dudley trying to infiltrate a high school football team's locker room to obtain information about steroid use among athletes. Indeed, the final episode came to a close and one of America s most popular and highly rated shows of all time ended. The cast members of Diff'rent Strokes went their separate ways. Two years after the show, in 1988, my father died of a sudden heart attack at

33 only 38 years-old, thus leaving another void in my life. I had no one to teach me or guide me in my career anymore. No father. However, I am happy to say that I credit my new father, God Almighty through his son, the Lord Jesus Christ for saving my soul and keeping me out of a whole heap of trouble during my adolescent years after Diff'rent Strokes. Throughout the years, each time I run into Gary and Todd and I always think of how blessed I was to have been a part of something really special. Not bad for a little kid who once wished for the wind to blow him to California Tri-Seven Entertainment All rights reserved. SHAVARROSS.COM