Actress Melanie Watson of Diff'rent Strokes' dies at age 57

"Actress Melanie Watson, who made a mark as Kathy Gordon in the 1970s-'80s sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, has died. She was 57. Watson was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bone disease, a genetic condition in which the body does not make enough collagen to keep bones strong. She had recently been hospitalized for bleeding, but her condition deteriorated despite doctors' best efforts, her brother, Robert Watson, told TMZ. She died Friday in Colorado Springs, Colorado, he said."

"Back then it was uncommon for a person with a disability to be depicted on television, and Watson's authentic portrayal of a young person with a disability was widely noted, according to Forbes. Her character Kathy was an upbeat, wheelchair-using child who helped Arnold, played by Coleman, accept his five-foot-tall status over the course of four episodes from seasons three through 6."

"Her character Kathy was an upbeat, wheelchair-using child who helped Arnold, played by Coleman, accept his five-foot-tall status over the course of four episodes from seasons three through 6. After her Diff'rent Strokes run, she founded and directed Train Rite, a nonprofit organization that trains shelter dogs as service animals, according to IMDb. From 1994 to 96 she was married to Robert Bernhardt. Starting in 2019, Watson was CEO of Couiffie's Ranch, which supports people with disabilities in living as independently as possible."

Melanie Watson was a wheelchair-using actress born with osteogenesis imperfecta who died at 57 in Colorado Springs after recent hospitalization for bleeding. She appeared alongside Gary Coleman in four Diff'rent Strokes episodes across seasons three through six, earning particular acclaim for the 1982 episode "Kathy" and the 1984 episode "Kathy's Olympics." Her authentic portrayal of a young person with a disability was uncommon on television at the time and helped address attitudes about disability. After acting, she founded and directed Train Rite to train shelter dogs as service animals and served as CEO of Couiffie's Ranch from 2019, supporting independent living for people with disabilities.

Read at www.mercurynews.com