Hollywood Lost Another Icon; Conrad Baines Dead at 89

Stage and Television actor Conrad Baines died of natural cause this past Tues at his home in Livermore California. He was 89 years old. Conrad rose to fame in the early 1970s portraying a doctor and the butt of Maude's jokes on the tv show Maude with Bea Arthur. His star continued to rise in 1978 when Maude ended and he took up the lead role in Different Strokes playing opposite his 3 young costars, Todd Bridges , Dana Plato and Gary Coleman. Different Strokes ran for 8 seasons total on 2 different networks. "What you talkin' bout Willis?" was the famous tag line from Gary Coleman's character. Of the 4 actors who starred in the show, Todd Bridges is now the only remaining one alive. Dana Plato died of a drug overdose in 1999, Gary Coleman "died" from a fall down the stairs in his home in Denver Colorado in 2010. I wrote "died" in quotes because I believe his new wife at the time killed him for his estate. Getting back to Conrad, he is survived by his 3 children, Jennifer, Kent and Mark. Rest in peace Conrad.