Todd Bridges

Bridges (at top right) with the cast of Fish, 1977

Bridges appeared on The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and the landmark miniseries Roots, and was a regular on the Barney Miller spinoff Fish. But it was playing Willis Jackson on the long-running sitcom Diff'rent Strokes that made him a household name, along with those of fellow co-stars Conrad Bain, Charlotte Rae, Dana Plato, and Gary Coleman. With Rae's death in 2018, Bridges became the last surviving original cast member.[2]

Bridges appeared in the 2002 special Celebrity Boxing with friend Vanilla Ice, who he defeated. In 2006, Bridges appeared as a contestant on a celebrity episode of Fear Factor, but was eliminated after the first stunt. Also in 2006, he appeared as a contestant on the Fox reality show Skating with Celebrities but was eliminated on the second episode of the show because he was using roller skates instead of ice skates. In January 2007, he appeared as a member of the "mob" on the US version of the game show 1 vs. 100. He and his wife Dori Bridges appeared in the November 14, 2007 episode of the MyNetworkTV show Decision House titled "Burned Bridges". He also had a recurring role on the UPN/The CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.

In March 2008, Bridges appeared on TruTV Presents: World's Dumbest...; he continues to appear as a frequent commentator. That same year in October, he debuted as one of the contestants on Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling, on the CMT Network. He was a member of Team Beefcake (coached by former wrestler Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake). On the show, Bridges' wrestling persona was the character "Mr. Not So Perfect." In one episode, he put the smackdown on Tonya Harding with a lead pipe. The judges praised him for his athleticism and his cunning at defeating Harding. After reaching the finals along with Butterbean and Dustin Diamond, Bridges was defeated by Dennis Rodman. In 2015, Bridges was the host of a live game show, Lovers or Losers: The Game Show, at the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Bridges has appeared in a few music videos. His first music video appearance was in Penny Ford's single "Change Your Wicked Ways" (1984).[3] Almost 15 years later, he made a cameo in Moby's 2002 music video for "We Are All Made of Stars". In 2011, he appeared in the video for The Black Keys single "Howlin' for You".

Bridges started smoking marijuana as a 15-year-old star of Diff'rent Strokes.[7] During his 20s, Bridges battled a crack cocaine and methamphetamine addiction. He started dealing drugs to support his addiction. Bridges was arrested for felony assault and cocaine possession.[8]

In 1983, Bridges was fined $240 for carrying a concealed firearm.[9] In 1987, he received a suspended sentence after pleading no contest to charges of making a bomb threat.[9]

In 1989, Bridges was arrested and tried for the attempted murder of Kenneth "Tex" Clay, a Los Angeles-area drug dealer who, prosecutors argued, had been shot by Bridges. Bridges pleaded not guilty to the charges and was represented by the high-profile defense attorney Johnnie Cochran. Cochran argued that Bridges was an abused minor who had been driven to drugs by an exploitative entertainment industry and was now being unfairly framed. A witness finally testified that Bridges was not present at the time of the shooting. Bridges was acquitted of all charges by a jury.[10][11]

Bridges was arrested on December 29, 1992 after Burbank police officers discovered methamphetamines and a loaded gun in his car. The arrest was for suspicion of transporting narcotics for sale and possession of a loaded firearm. He was released on $10,000 bail.[9][8] Bridges gave up drugs on February 24, 1993 after years of use.[7][12]