Gary Coleman had a hard life, one marked by great success but also heartbreaking struggles.
Yet it was a life that the Diff’rent Strokes alum planned to keep living.
In an interview with TopMob News in January 2010, Coleman said, “I haven’t experienced the greatest heights and the deepest valleys just yet. I’m still working towards that. I’ve got forty years left, and I have no plans to disappear.
Instead, the former child star and pop culture icon, who later became a subject of curiosity, met an untimely death due to a fatal head injury from a fall at his Utah residence. He was 42 years old when he passed away on May 28, 2010. His ex-wife, Shannon Price, granted the hospital permission to remove him from life support.
The fact that Price remained active in Coleman’s life following their divorce in 2008, coupled with his untimely demise, the publication of their hospital bed photo on a tabloid cover, and her significant decision regarding his end-of-life care, has left many unanswered questions about his final period.
Price explained on the July 10th episode of A&E’s Lie Detector: Truth or Deception, she was left with no alternative when she decided to stop life support for Coleman. He suffered a cardiac arrest, which tragically ended his life in the end.
Before her voluntary polygraph test began, she told the series host, “I’m speaking with you now because I didn’t harm him in any way. I didn’t cause him injury, I didn’t shove him. I didn’t do any of those actions.
Since 2010, Price, currently aged 39, has consistently maintained that the incident involving Coleman is not fully explained by the simple statement “Coleman fell, the end.” However, some people persist in thinking there might be additional aspects to the story.
The 4-foot-8 actor “didn’t have much distance to drop,” as friend and former manager Dion Mial stated in the 2024 Peacock documentary named Gary. “We were completely bewildered since there were far too many unanswered questions.
However, how did this situation become so puzzling? Here are some insights regarding the intricate circumstances surrounding Coleman’s demise and its perplexing aftermath:
On the 26th of May, 2010, Gary Coleman sustained an injury to his head following a fall at his residence in Santaquin, Utah. Later that day, he was shifted to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo.
Later on, Shannon Price shared with Entertainment Tonight that she was bedridden, and Coleman went downstairs to prepare her some food. Suddenly, she heard a sound. “I was in a state of frenzied anxiety because I didn’t know how to react,” she explained. “I didn’t know the severity of the situation.
On the morning of May 28th, Coleman’s manager, John Alcantar, announced that although Coleman had been alert and clear-minded the day before, he had since fallen into a coma and was being kept alive on life support due to an intracranial hemorrhage. He remained conscious and aware.
Coleman died on May 28 at 12:05 p.m. after being taken off life support. He was 42.
On May 29, 2010, Santaquin Police Chief Dennis Howard assured People magazine that there was “completely no cause for suspicion” regarding the circumstances surrounding Coleman’s demise.
According to the results of an autopsy released in October 2010, it was concluded by the medical examiner that Coleman’s death was due to natural causes stemming from a tragic fall.
The death certificate indicated that “chronic kidney disease and associated complications” were substantial health issues.
According to a recording from a 911 call, which TMZ acquired following Coleman’s demise, Price described the scene as being covered in blood and stated that she was struggling to breathe due to the overwhelming smell.
During the call, Price mentioned that she was unable to return downstairs where Coleman was or take him to the hospital due to her aversion to blood and fear of having a seizure.
Price exclaimed, as heard on the recording, “Everywhere is just covered in blood, and I’m unable to help.” She continued, explaining that she had been unwell, expressing her wish not to experience further distress.
She acknowledged to Entertainment Tonight in a June 2010 interview that she didn’t come off great.
She explained, “Only someone experiencing that specific situation can truly understand it. Many doubted my presence with him, so I would certainly have corrected any misunderstandings from our conversation.
In August 2007, exactly two years following their initial encounter on the film set of “Church Ball” in Utah, Coleman, aged 40, tied the knot with Price who was then 22 years old.
Although Coleman’s death certificate indicated he was married, according to TMZ, and Price referred to him even after his death as her husband, they actually divorced in 2008.
In June of 2010, I shared with ET that my divorce proceedings with Coleman were underway and finalized, but we found our way back together. We’ve been eagerly preparing to reaffirm our union through a vow renewal ceremony, which we plan to do very soon.
Regarding queries on if Price had legal rights to remove Coleman from life support since they were former spouses, the answer affirms that indeed he does possess such authority.
According to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, it was stated in Coleman’s Advanced Healthcare Decision Document that she had given her consent.
In a 2010 statement, the hospital clarified that the Accident and Health Care Document (AHCD) was a personal medical record. However, they were granted approval to disclose that the document was active during Mr. Coleman’s passing.
Price shared with ET in 2010 that the doctors informed him that Gary wasn’t likely to survive. His heart was failing, it was on the verge of stopping. Making this decision was the hardest one I’ve ever had to make, Price said. Witnessing Gary in such a state… It was for his best interest not to endure any more suffering.
After the decision was finalized, Price stated that “he left right away.” He explained that as soon as they removed him, his heartbeat dropped to 60 beats per minute. And when they shut down the machinery, it happened so swiftly that he passed away almost instantly.
The last thing Coleman told her, Price said, was “‘I love you and my head hurts.’”
According to CNN, the actor had a living will specifying that he wished to remain alive, except in cases where he had been unconscious and unresponsive for at least two weeks without signs of improvement.
In an appearance on A&E’s “Lie Detector: Truth or Deception” in 2025, Shannon stated that she had instructed doctors to attempt resuscitation when Coleman suffered a cardiac arrest. However, they responded, “Shannon, we don’t believe he will survive.
Originally hailing from Zion, Illinois, this individual was born with a birth defect affecting his kidneys, necessitating regular dialysis. At the tender age of 5, he underwent his initial kidney transplant, followed by another at 14. The side effects of immunosuppressant medications hindered his growth, preventing him from surpassing a height of 4 feet 8 inches.
He took “so many pills a day,” Coleman told People, “you’d think I’d rattle.”
It’s been reported that Coleman experienced at least two seizures a few months prior to his passing. One took place in January 2010, and another occurred on February 26th during an interview with Dr. Drew Pinsky on The Insider.
Price told ET in June 2010 that Coleman’s “body was failing him” before his fall.
In the autumn of 2009, he underwent heart surgery to replace his aortic valve, as stated by Price. The doctors at that time anticipated that he would not survive for another year.
For quite some time before his passing, Coleman hadn’t had any conversations with his parents, Sue Coleman and Willie Coleman. (In 1989, he filed a lawsuit against them, claiming they mismanaged the funds he earned as a child actor. However, they denied these allegations. In 1993, they reached an agreement without disclosing its terms. )
Sue expressed her regret to People the day after her son’s passing, saying they wished they could have been with him at the hospital to show their love before he passed away. She stated that this sudden event has left them shocked and saddened as they held Gary dear. They will deeply miss him.
Sue added that they were eager to understand “the precise details of the events,” she explained, “We’re not upset. We’re merely anxious…What we yearn for is a resolution concerning our son’s life.
On June 11, 2010, Willie clarified to Meredith Vieira from TODAY that neither they nor anyone else had ever accused Shannon of anything.
A picture showing Price alongside Coleman, connected to a ventilator in a hospital bed, graced the front page of the tabloid Globe on June 9, 2010.
At the given time, the magazine’s main company told CNN they had indeed bought the photograph, though they didn’t reveal the price or the seller’s identity.
Dion Mal, who used to manage Coleman and is now his friend, claimed to the media outlet that Price’s act of selling the photograph was a persistent, desperate effort aimed at making money from Coleman’s passing.
In response to CNN’s query, Price’s representative neither admitted nor refuted allegations about her acquiring or selling the photograph. Instead, they mentioned that Coleman’s former spouse was in financial need due to helping Mal secure legal representation.
The representative stated, “Since Dion supposedly considers himself one of Gary’s close friends, he should be aware that Gary wanted nothing more than for Shannon to be alright after he passed on.” Given this, it seems only natural for a true friend like Dion to help out Shannon.
In 1999, a Utah judge selected Mal as the temporary administrator of Coleman’s estate following the submission of a will to the court, where he was named as Coleman’s executor. Later on, he prevented Price from entering the home she cohabited with the actor.
He stated to ET, “Miss Price is asked to promptly return any personal belongings or documents of Gary Coleman’s that she admittedly took from the premises after his sudden and enigmatic passing, without proper authorization.
A while afterward, it was discovered that Mal was no longer in contention for managing Coleman’s estate due to the resurfacing of a 2005 will, as reported by CNN. This document named his ex-girlfriend and assistant, Anna Gray, as the executor and inheritor.
The legal dispute between Price and Gray concerning Coleman’s inheritance persisted until May 2012, when a judge in Utah decided that Price held no valid legal rights to Coleman’s possessions due to their previous divorce.
Price has maintained that she had nothing to do with Coleman’s fatal fall.
“I did not hurt him,” she told Inside Edition in February. “I have nothing to hide.”
The rumor that she shoved him down the stairs is “completely false,” Price stated on Lie Detector. “I discovered him in the kitchen. When the police arrived and the EMTs arrived, he was still in the kitchen. I believe what actually happened was, we had a kitchen island, and I think he tripped and fell.
Implying that someone must often play the “villain” role, she remarked, and it seemed to befall her specifically due to her legal status as the former spouse.
Price emphasized, “On that very day when he took a fall, it was I who was present. At that moment, I was the only significant figure in his life. There was no one else around…That’s what distinguishes me from everyone else. I had concern for him. I cared about him deeply.
In my role as a lifestyle expert, I’d rephrase it like this: On the lie detector test, the ex-FBI agent who conducted the examination shared with me that I didn’t pass when it came to Gary’s fall. He clarified that when I responded “no” to whether I physically triggered Coleman’s tumble, the findings suggested “deception detected.
Price was unfazed.
She stated on the program, ‘I fully understand my current situation. I feel tranquil.’ She was referring to her freedom from imprisonment, explaining, ‘There is a valid explanation why I am not behind bars. This is due to a comprehensive investigation they conducted.’
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2025-07-13 17:17