Gary Coleman's Disorderly Strokes

Wed., Aug. 1, 2007 9:02 AM PDT by Sarah Hall

Gary Coleman is involved in a not so special episode.

The erstwhile Diff'rent Strokes star was cited for disorderly conduct in Provo, Utah, Friday after passersby witnessed him getting into a heated dispute with a woman and called police.

The 39-year-old former child actor and his female companion were sitting in a parked car discussing their relationship, when two onlookers saw Coleman smack the steering wheel with his hands and then summoned the authorities, police said.

"Mr. Coleman was very excited and loud...At one point, he exited his vehicle, waving his arms, yelling and screaming," Cpt. Cliff Argyle told the Salt Lake City Tribune. "Vehicles were unable to exit the parking lot because of Mr. Coleman's actions."

Coleman calmed down and cooperated with police when they arrived on the scene, Argyle said. The woman was not identified.

The disorderly conduct citation is a misdemeanor and punishable by a $750 fine and up to three months in jail.

Coleman moved to the Provo area in 2005, while filming the Mormon-themed movie Church Ball. After Diff'rent Strokes was canceled in 1986, the actor's career declined, while his legal and financial problems mounted.

In 1989, he sued his parents and former manager for misappropriating his $8.3 million trust fund. He won a $1.28 million ruling in 1993 but later filed for bankruptcy in 1999.

In 2000, TV judge Mills Lane ruled against the actor in a civil case filed by bus driver Tracy Fields, who claimed Coleman punched her in the eye when she asked him for an autograph in 1998. Mills ordered Coleman to shell out $1,665 to cover Fields' medical expenses but denied her request for additional punitive damages.

Coleman had pleaded no contest the previous year to a scaled-down charge of disturbing the peace, stemming from his altercation with Fields, and was sentenced to 26 weeks of anger-management classes, one year of probation and fined $400. He was then arrested in July 1999 on an outstanding warrant for failing to make good on the fine associated with the case.

Since leaving the "whatchu talkin' 'bout"-cracking character of Arnold Jackson behind, Coleman has made appearances as himself on such shows as Star Dates, Hollywood Squares and The Weakest Link.

In 2003, he launched an ill-fated bid for governor of California, but in a true Hollywood ending, he lost out to Arnold Schwarzenegger.