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Troubled ‘80s child star Gary Coleman’s life is cut short at 42

Gary Coleman, the pint-sized child star of the hit 1980s sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes,” whose life was plagued by health, financial and legal woes, died yesterday at age 42.

The diminutive actor — who stood just 4-foot-8 as an adult — was taken off life support at the Utah hospital where he’d been rushed after an accident at his home Wednesday that left him with a brain hemorrhage.

Coleman’s family said he had been conscious until midday Thursday but had slipped into a coma and was placed on life support as his condition worsened.

His wife, Shannon Price, 24, was at his side when he died. She said in a statement that the family was comforted “knowing how beloved he still is.”

PHOTOS: GARY COLEMAN DEAD AT 42

VIDEO: GARY COLEMAN PASSES AWAY

Coleman became a star in 1978, when at the tender age of 10 he was cast as Arnold Jackson, the younger of a pair of black brothers from Harlem who moved to Park Avenue after being adopted by a wealthy white man named Phillip Drummond.

The show focused on issues of race and class, as well as the typical travails of growing up, and ran for eight seasons.

With his chubby cheeks and impeccable comic timing, Coleman was an immediate sensation, and his catchphrase wisecrack, “Watchoo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” becoming a part of the national lexicon.

After the show was canceled in 1986, Coleman had difficulty forging a career and was stricken by the so-called “Diff’rent Strokes” curse, which haunted the show’s young stars.

Coleman’s co-star Dana Plato, who played older adopted sister Kimberly, descended into drug abuse, petty crime and pornography and committed suicide in 1999. Her 25-year-old son committed suicide earlier this month, just two days before the 11th anniversary of her death.

Todd Bridges, who played Coleman’s older brother, Willis, battled cocaine addiction and was acquitted of attempted murder in the late 1980s.

Coleman battled with health woes, financial difficulties and numerous run-ins with the law.

“It’s unfortunate. It’s a sad day,” Bridges said yesterday. “It’s sad that I’m the last kid alive from the show.”

Janet Jackson, who played Willis’ girlfriend on the show, wrote on Twitter: “He has left a lasting legacy. I know he is finally at peace.”

It was clear from the start of “Diff’rent Strokes” that Coleman had stolen the show, which was a hit for NBC.

Newsweek called Coleman “NBC’s Littlest Big Man,” and “possibly the most original vid-kid since Howdy Doody.”

The show became such a cultural tour de force that then-First Lady Nancy Reagan appeared on an episode as part of her “Just Say No” to drugs pitch.

Coleman suffered health troubles from early childhood. He was diagnosed with kidney disease at age 2 and had two transplant operations before he was 14, stunting his growth. His condition required that he undergo regular dialysis treatments for his entire life.

Still, Coleman was able to work hard and raked in up to $64,000 an episode at the show’s peak, reportedly amassing a fortune of $18 million.

“He was absolutely enchanting, adorable, funny and filled with joy which he spread around to millions of people all over the world,” said actress Charlotte Rae, who played the family’s housekeeper, Edna Garrett, and later starred in the spin-off “The Facts of Life.”

But after the show ended Coleman struggled to find work, landing only bit parts in low-budget projects as he toiled in the long shadow of his star role. Increasingly bitter, he bristled at his continued association with the part of Arnold Jackson, but at the same time, continued to capitalize off the role by appearing in minor reality shows and other programs.

In 2003, Coleman tried to showcase another side of himself by running in California’s recall election, won by Arnold Schwarzenegger, to replace Gov. Gray Davis along with a bizarre field of 135 other candidates.

“This is really interesting and cool, and I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it because I get to be intelligent, which is something I don’t get to do very often,” Coleman told The Associated Press at the time.

He finished with 0.2 percent of the vote, just behind pornographer Larry Flynt. Coleman also was dogged by legal and financial disputes. In 1989, when he was 21, Coleman’s mother filed a court petition to take control of his fortune, claiming he was unable to manage his own affairs.

He counter-sued, saying his parents and financial manager had squandered his fortune while he was a minor. A judge later awarded him $1.28 million.

He remained estranged from his parents, Sue and Willie Coleman, until his death.

In 1993, Coleman told a television interviewer that he had twice tried.

In 2000, he was forced to take a job as mall security guard, where he got into a rumble with a 200-pound female fan seeking an autograph.

In 2005, Coleman moved to Utah, where he had run-ins with the law. According to one tally, police were called to his house more than 20 times in five years, including one where he said he had swallowed a handful of OxyContin pills and “wanted to die.”

Several were domestic dispute calls involving Price, whom he met while filming the little-seen 2006 comedy “Church Ball.” They wed the next year and were later on “Divorce Court,” seeking to reconcile after a dust-up.