My mother has an expression that she always says to me and my siblings: "Give me my flowers while I'm alive." Maybe you've heard it from someone in your life. It means don't wait until a person is dead to show how much you care about them.
That expression came to mind when I heard about Gary Coleman's parents wanting to know more details about how he died. No matter how old a person gets, a parent always sees him or her as their child. Despite the fact that they've been estranged from their son for years, Sue and Willie Coleman felt the same way.
"We're not pointing fingers at anyone, but we need to know exactly what happened," Coleman's mother told People. "We're not angry. We're just concerned. Did our son fall down the stairs? Did he fall in the bathtub? We need to have some closure on our son's life."
As I hear his parents complain about not having details about their son's death, I wonder why Coleman and his parents were unable to repair their broken relationship while he was still alive?
Gary Coleman accused his parents of mismanaging the $18 million he reportedly earned as a child star. He sued his parents and his former manager in 1989.
Coleman's parents denied the charges, but one would have hoped that during the last 21 years, either Coleman or his parents would have made a move to amend their relationship. Money is never more valuable than the relationships we develop during our lifetimes, especially the ones between parents and their children.
I wonder if Coleman would have been distressed had his parents died before he did?
"Gary wanted to live his life the way he wanted to live it, on his own terms," Sue Coleman told People. "And that's what we let him do.
With his media appearances and all the arrests, it seemed like Coleman was tortured by his fame. A hospital spokesman says Coleman died after an accident.
While Coleman had a recent history of seizures, his past run-ins with domestic violence makes his death appear shady. Santaquin Police Chief Dennis Howard told People, "There was absolutely nothing suspicious about [Coleman's] death. There is no [criminal] investigation going on." Still, I hope Coleman's death is thoroughly investigated by authorities.
Coleman's parents, like the rest of us, have been reduced to the role of strangers. They get details about their son's life and death through the media. According to media reports, Coleman's wife, Shannon Price, refuses to return their calls or release information about their son.
"(O)ur address and phone number haven't changed for more than 20 years," Coleman's mom said. "He could've gotten in touch with us any time he wanted to. We were always open to him, and he knew that we loved him."
Given Coleman's tumultuous life, I have to wonder if that's true.
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Tiffany......thank you!!!.....Where's Gary's money????!!!!......Oh now his parents want answers......Had they been there for him, had they not stolen from him....he might still be alive......PARENTS ARE SUPPOSE TO PROTECT THEIR KIDS...THEY COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL....BUT NO....THEY STOLE FROM HIM AND HURT HIM TERRIBLY.....THEY'RE LOOKING FOR MONEY........THEY MAKE ME SICK!!!!! THEY NEED TO GO SOMEWHERE AND SIT DOWN!!!!!!....MATTER FACT.......JUST GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
so sad.. y should any1 have 2 reach out 2 his parents.. they were the parents.. they should always know how there children are doin.. i can only imagine what his life was like.. it hurt to hear that he had low self-esteem and had do work as a midget or mascot to pay the bills.. it's so degrading.. especially w/all his health issues.. i hope there was no fowl play..
I was very saddened by Gary Coleman's death. It is even sadder that his parents wait til he is gone to be concerned about his well being. Gary was on life support for 24hrs and his parents certainly didn't hop on a plane to Utah to see about their son. He was a tortured soul and went through so many trials and tribulations which in some cases were because of his parents. Where were his parents when a complete stranger had to bail him out of jail because he couldn't afford it. They say their numbers haven't changed but Gary was a public figure and I doubt they made many attempts at reconciling their relationship.
This is pathetic. I thought they would have been at his bedside when the news reported that his condition was critical. His wife owes them nothing in terms of explanation or anything else. Did they attempt to contact her or him when they heard he was hospitalized? Newspapers reported that he was lucid the day before he went into a coma. If they attend his funeral and act a fool his wife would be justified in asking them to leave or giving them the boot.
Anger and not being able to forgive is sometimes the reason people are not are to come together even in a time of sickness and death. I dont know anything about the parents of Gary Colemen,since they were not the celebrities, but to listen to Gary he was one angry little man and I think he was consumed by his anger, I,m not sure sure if there was anything his parents could to so subside his anger not only toward them but life as well.
Gary Coleman was a nasty, angry, bitter little man and he was a rude little boy. I remember watching him and his mother on the Dinah Shore show years ago and Dinah asked a question and Gary's mother answered. He basically told his mother to shut up and that Dinah was speaking to him. Gary needed therapy. He let anger and bitterness consume him and when you let life get the best of you... you get what I'm saying...
I am very sorry that Gary Colemann passed away. When I first heard the news about him being in the hospital in critical condition I began to pray for his well being. When I heard that he had passed away it truly saddened me.
This all happened unexpectedly and in my heart I felt that he'd recover with minimal damage to his body. God was ready to call Gary home with him after he had endured a life time of emotional and physical suffering.
I know Gary is in good company with God in heaven and he is finally at peace. I am one who truly believes that there is another life after we leave earth. I know that Gary is in no more physical/emotional pain and he's/his spirit is ok.
I still wonder what happened. How did he fall? Did he have another seizure? The media hasn't mentioned anything about what exactly happened. I find that very strange because when any celebrity gets sick or God forbid passes away they immediatelly tell you what happened, what they think happened and what was the cause.
They have yet to tell us what caused Gary's fall. I'm quite sure there is some type of investigation going on concerning his sudden accident/death. There being very hushed mouth about it. I think his wife may know what happened but she may have been told not to tak about it.
I know Gary can not come back but as a concerned person I would like to know what happened and he did he fall. I pray that it wasn't due to a domestic dispute between his wife and himself.
I do agree that his parents should have looked out for Gary little more. But I do respect the fact that Gary was an adult and maybe he chose to distance himself from his parents because of the differences that they had between them.
Not that it makes a difference but his parents were not his biological parents. Maybe somewhere a long the line the bond between them had been permanently severed.
Not that I condone the way Gary used to act but I do agree he had a rough life. At the hands of his parents he worked very hard as a young sickly child only to grow up retire from the business and not to have any substantial income to fall back on. Yeah I'd say that would make me a bit bitter too. But he also kept himself a float the best way he could and for that I have much respect for him because he didn't give up his fight for life and surviving.
I didn't know Gary Coleman personally but I do miss the fact that he's not here anymore, ut I know he's doing just fine.
We are talking about how this person died, not about his relationship between his parents. Whether they got along or not, we will never get the understanding of that. The concern now is how and why he died. The only people that can get to the bottom of this is his parents. Let's not throw rocks, if we live in a glass house people.
I don't agree when you say, "The only people that can get to the bottom of this is his parents. Let's not throw rocks, if we live in a glass house people."
Being that Gary Coleman was still a married man, he parents no longer has rights to him. They can file a law suit but, you better believe, they wouldn't get anything. Its already documented what they did to him. When they resolved his estate, they got around $750,000 dollars to his $250,000 dollars and they say, "They care?" About what, his money. Todd Bridges even said, "They made him work when he was sick and even vomiting at times." I wish them no harm but, its a little late to be asking questions. Where were they when he was talking about how broke he was and could barely make it? Why didn't they get him to come home and at least he would have had a roof with food without struggling for that too. I believe when they adopted him they loved him. But the money took them in a very different direction once they realized the talent he was and then he became a bank account for them.
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Comments: (13)
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By: Tiffany on 6/01/2010 2:17PM
I want answers on where gary's money went.
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By: Gail on 6/02/2010 7:17AM
Tiffany......thank you!!!.....Where's Gary's money????!!!!......Oh now his parents want answers......Had they been there for him, had they not stolen from him....he might still be alive......PARENTS ARE SUPPOSE TO PROTECT THEIR KIDS...THEY COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL....BUT NO....THEY STOLE FROM HIM AND HURT HIM TERRIBLY.....THEY'RE LOOKING FOR MONEY........THEY MAKE ME SICK!!!!! THEY NEED TO GO SOMEWHERE AND SIT DOWN!!!!!!....MATTER FACT.......JUST GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
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By: dvine on 6/01/2010 3:14PM
so sad.. y should any1 have 2 reach out 2 his parents.. they were the parents.. they should always know how there children are doin.. i can only imagine what his life was like.. it hurt to hear that he had low self-esteem and had do work as a midget or mascot to pay the bills.. it's so degrading.. especially w/all his health issues.. i hope there was no fowl play..
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By: Nicia on 6/01/2010 3:42PM
I was very saddened by Gary Coleman's death. It is even sadder that his parents wait til he is gone to be concerned about his well being. Gary was on life support for 24hrs and his parents certainly didn't hop on a plane to Utah to see about their son. He was a tortured soul and went through so many trials and tribulations which in some cases were because of his parents. Where were his parents when a complete stranger had to bail him out of jail because he couldn't afford it. They say their numbers haven't changed but Gary was a public figure and I doubt they made many attempts at reconciling their relationship.
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By: MS PEGGY on 6/01/2010 4:11PM
This is pathetic. I thought they would have been at his bedside when the news reported that his condition was critical. His wife owes them nothing in terms of explanation or anything else. Did they attempt to contact her or him when they heard he was hospitalized? Newspapers reported that he was lucid the day before he went into a coma. If they attend his funeral and act a fool his wife would be justified in asking them to leave or giving them the boot.
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By: ron on 6/02/2010 9:20AM
Anger and not being able to forgive is sometimes the reason people are not are to come together even in a time of sickness and death. I dont know anything about the parents of Gary Colemen,since they were not the celebrities, but to listen to Gary he was one angry little man and I think he was consumed by his anger, I,m not sure sure if there was anything his parents could to so subside his anger not only toward them but life as well.
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By: Donna on 6/02/2010 11:30AM
Gary Coleman was a nasty, angry, bitter little man and he was a rude little boy. I remember watching him and his mother on the Dinah Shore show years ago and Dinah asked a question and Gary's mother answered. He basically told his mother to shut up and that Dinah was speaking to him. Gary needed therapy. He let anger and bitterness consume him and when you let life get the best of you... you get what I'm saying...
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By: Sue on 6/02/2010 11:00AM
I am very sorry that Gary Colemann passed away. When I first heard the news about him being in the hospital in critical condition I began to pray for his well being. When I heard that he had passed away it truly saddened me.
This all happened unexpectedly and in my heart I felt that he'd recover with minimal damage to his body. God was ready to call Gary home with him after he had endured a life time of emotional and physical suffering.
I know Gary is in good company with God in heaven and he is finally at peace. I am one who truly believes that there is another life after we leave earth. I know that Gary is in no more physical/emotional pain and he's/his spirit is ok.
I still wonder what happened. How did he fall? Did he have another seizure? The media hasn't mentioned anything about what exactly happened. I find that very strange because when any celebrity gets sick or God forbid passes away they immediatelly tell you what happened, what they think happened and what was the cause.
They have yet to tell us what caused Gary's fall. I'm quite sure there is some type of investigation going on concerning his sudden accident/death. There being very hushed mouth about it. I think his wife may know what happened but she may have been told not to tak about it.
I know Gary can not come back but as a concerned person I would like to know what happened and he did he fall. I pray that it wasn't due to a domestic dispute between his wife and himself.
I do agree that his parents should have looked out for Gary little more. But I do respect the fact that Gary was an adult and maybe he chose to distance himself from his parents because of the differences that they had between them.
Not that it makes a difference but his parents were not his biological parents. Maybe somewhere a long the line the bond between them had been permanently severed.
Not that I condone the way Gary used to act but I do agree he had a rough life. At the hands of his parents he worked very hard as a young sickly child only to grow up retire from the business and not to have any substantial income to fall back on. Yeah I'd say that would make me a bit bitter too. But he also kept himself a float the best way he could and for that I have much respect for him because he didn't give up his fight for life and surviving.
I didn't know Gary Coleman personally but I do miss the fact that he's not here anymore, ut I know he's doing just fine.
God Bless You Gary Coleman.
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By: Linda Hamilton on 6/02/2010 5:26PM
We are talking about how this person died, not about his relationship between his parents. Whether they got along or not, we will never get the understanding of that. The concern now is how and why he died. The only people that can get to the bottom of this is his parents. Let's not throw rocks, if we live in a glass house people.
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By: Evelyn on 6/03/2010 2:40AM
I don't agree when you say, "The only people that can get to the bottom of this is his parents. Let's not throw rocks, if we live in a glass house people."
Being that Gary Coleman was still a married man, he parents no longer has rights to him. They can file a law suit but, you better believe, they wouldn't get anything. Its already documented what they did to him. When they resolved his estate, they got around $750,000 dollars to his $250,000 dollars and they say, "They care?" About what, his money. Todd Bridges even said, "They made him work when he was sick and even vomiting at times." I wish them no harm but, its a little late to be asking questions. Where were they when he was talking about how broke he was and could barely make it? Why didn't they get him to come home and at least he would have had a roof with food without struggling for that too. I believe when they adopted him they loved him. But the money took them in a very different direction once they realized the talent he was and then he became a bank account for them.
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