In the recently released documentary Gary, a surprising revelation about the late actor Gary Coleman‘s health has come to light. 3a1x3z

While most fans Coleman as the lovable and wise-cracking Arnold Jackson on the hit show Diff’rent Strokes (1978 to 1986), few are aware of the enormous health challenges he faced throughout his life. The documentary takes us on a rollercoaster ride through Coleman’s personal struggles, from his money troubles to his rocky relationships, but the most mind-blowing fact is that Coleman survived without any kidneys for nearly 25 years. Let that sink in for a moment.

Coleman suffered from a congenital kidney disease known as nephritis. This disease stunted his growth, and as a result, he had a notably small stature throughout his life, not growing beyond 4 feet 8 inches. His condition required frequent, often intensive, medical treatment including multiple kidney transplants; he received his first transplant at age five, and another at age 16.  The treatments led to other health issues, including problems with his immune system and a condition called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, which directly affects the kidney’s filtering system. As per the latest documentary, when he was just 17 years old, his body astonishingly absorbed the transplanted kidney, leaving him with no functioning kidneys at all.

This is a phenomenon where the body’s immune system mistakenly identifies the transplanted organ as a foreign object and begins to break it down, essentially absorbing it back into the body. In a normal, successful kidney transplant, the body accepts the new kidney and allows it to function alongside the existing kidneys (if present) or in place of the failing kidneys. The immune system is suppressed through medication to prevent it from attacking the transplanted organ.

However, in some cases, the body’s immune system can become overly active and start to treat the transplanted kidney as a threat, despite immunosuppressive medication. When this happens, the immune system sends special cells called “cytotoxic T lymphocytes” to attack the transplanted kidney. Over time, these cells can cause inflammation and damage to the kidney, leading to its gradual destruction and absorption back into the body. This process of transplant organ resorption is not unique to kidneys and can happen with other transplanted organs as well, such as the liver or pancreas.

According to the documentary, Coleman had to undergo dialysis three days per week, four hours per day, for the rest of his life. Dialysis is a treatment that filters waste products from the blood when the kidneys are no longer able to do so effectively but it cannot replace all the functions of healthy kidneys. Individuals on dialysis are at increased risk of complications such as cardiovascular disease, anemia, infections, and bone disorders. Fluid overload and alterations in blood pressure regulation are common in dialysis patients, contributing to high blood pressure. The build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries is accelerated in patients with kidney failure, and the heart may enlarge due to the increased workload caused by chronic kidney disease.

In 2009, Coleman underwent heart surgery. According to a 2010 article, a doctor involved in the open heart surgery Coleman underwent predicted “the man wouldn’t survive the year.” The National Kidney Foundation reports that the average life expectancy of a person on dialysis is 5-10 years, although some may live up to 20-30 year. Coleman’s 25-year survival without kidneys is a testament the advancements in medical technology, and to his resilience.

During this time, Coleman continued to work in the entertainment industry, although his career never quite reached the same heights as it did during his Diff’rent Strokes days. He appeared in various TV shows and movies, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Dirty Work, but none matched the success of his early career. Despite earning up to $100,000 per episode during his peak, he filed for bankruptcy in 1999, citing mismanagement and financial abuse by his adoptive parents and advisors. Coleman died on May 28, 2010, at the age of 42, after a fall at his home in Utah which led to a brain hemorrhage. One must wonder, had this tragic accident not occurred, would Coleman have continued to defy the odds and live even longer? Regardless of his untimely ing, Coleman’s legacy lives on.

Its been nearly a decade and a half since the world lost Gary Coleman, the talented man behind a range of roles, from Arnold Jackson in Diff’rent Strokes to Raymond in The Jeffersons.

Those years have been hard on the star’s fans, largely due to Coleman’s young age when he died. He was no adolescent when he lost his life, but the actor was only 42-year-old when he ed. He had much more life to live, but persistent health issues and an unfortunate accident robbed the world of an icon far too soon.

What happened to Gary Coleman? 5ee3v

Gary Coleman got his start as a child actor, debuting in 1974 with a minor role in Medical Center. That was the start of a flourishing career, one that was massively elevated by the release of Diff’rent Strokes in 1978. Coleman’s role as Arnold in the enduringly popular series launched his career, and ultimately set him up to appear in more than six dozens projects over the course of his life.

Coleman was also unfortunately weighed down by medical issues across his 42 years on this Earth, and it’s still widely accepted that a serious, chronic condition was the cause of his demise. He struggled with kidney disease his entire life, and the medication he took to combat it limited Coleman’s growth. That led to his striking 4 foot 8 inch stature, something that gave his career a major boost. In Hollywood it pays to be unique, and Coleman — perhaps one of Hollywood’s first short kings — leaned on that uniqueness to create a lasting career.

In a new documentary about Coleman streaming on Peacock, one aspect of his medical history has fans amazed; the revelation that for the last 25 years of his life, he functioned without any kidney function whatsoever. Per an interview with a friend of Coleman’s, a kidney transplant he received at age 5 “was absorbed by the body. So from Dec. 1, 1985, until his death [in 2010], Gary lived without a single kidney in his body.” The actor was on dialysis for the rest of his life.

Despite his enormous medical struggles, Coleman’s career stretched from 1974 to 2010, the same year he died, with one project even releasing posthumously. His final role, which saw his voice appear in a season 5 episode of Robot Chicken, released one year after his death, in 2011, and capped a lifelong career from a forever treasured star. It ed dozens of others, both televised and on film, which pay testament to the talent of Coleman.

Unfortunately, his kidney issues weren’t the only health struggles Coleman struggled with. In 2009, just months ahead of his death, the star underwent heart surgery, which then led him to develop postoperative pneumonia. Just a few months later, he began to experience seizures, collapsing several times between January and February of 2010. It is widely believed that it was a seizure that killed him — though only due to where it happened.

There continue to be theories that Coleman’s death came about due to malicious causes, but that’s largely due to tabloid pot-stirring. Accusations of murder followed Coleman’s ex-wife, Shannon Price, for years following his death, despite the fact that it was, in fact, investigated, and ruled an accident. He lost his life after suffering an epidural hematoma, brought on by a tumble down the stairs. The fall is thought to have been caused by another seizure, and it landed Coleman in critical condition. Doctors at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center did everything they could to save him, and the star even seemed like he might bounce back at one point, but Coleman tragically died aged 42 on May 28, 2010. For a deeper dive into Gary Coleman’s life and legacy, check out Gary on Peacock.

Comedic actress Molly Shannon looks back at her life and career in a new memoir, Hello Molly!, which she promoted this week on The Howard Stern Show. During the conversation, the 57-year-old was asked about one of the wilder anecdotes in her book dating back to early in her career, when she got to meet the one and only Gary Coleman at the height of his Diff’rent Strokes fame.

Their shared agent set up the meeting at Coleman’s penthouse hotel room, and Shannon says she was thrilled to meet “one of the biggest stars in the world,” by Stern’s approximation. Unfortunately, things quickly went off the rails when their agent seemed to intentionally disappear, and the young star practically mauled her.

Shannon explained that as a naive virgin at the time, she hadn’t gone into the meeting “thinking about that” and that everything seemed innocent at first.

“He told me I reminded him of Kimberly from Diff’rent Strokes, and I was like, ‘Yes!!'” Shannon recalled. “‘If I could only be on Diff’rent Strokes,’ you know" allowfullscreen>

Shannon said that she finally got him off of her and bolted for the bathroom, but Coleman actually grabbed onto her leg in an attempt to prevent her from getting away from him.

“And I was like, [trying to] kick him off, like that,” Shannon said while making downward kicking motions. “And then, I go lock myself in the bathroom … and then he sticks his hands under the door. And he’s like, ‘I can see you…'”

Though, Stern pointed out that the quote in her book was even creepier: “I can see you, silly billy!”

Shannon thinks that eventually, she sprinted out of the room, and when she ran into her agent and told him something along the lines of, “You’ve got to watch that client of yours” — at the time being oblivious to the fact that the setup was likely intentional. “So, I wish I could have stood up for myself more, but I think I didn’t; that’s all I said,” she lamented.