Less than a day after suffering a seizure, Diff'rent Strokes star Gary Coleman says he's recovered and ready to talk about his health, his marriage and, yes, his penis.
Sporting a bandaged forehead and walking with a cane, the former child star sat down with E! News today less than 24 hours after being released from a Los Angeles hospital. The actor says he suffered a seizure in his hotel room as he was giving a round of telephone interviews Wednesday morning—and it wasn't his first such scare.
"I had a seizure yesterday, and I'm a little weak on my left side, but I'm perfectly fine." Coleman says the bump on his head and the cane were actually the result of a tumble at his Utah home on New Year's Day and not due to yesterday's episode. "I fell down the stairs—not because of a party—but because I was rushing to open the door for someone. I got a little damaged. And then 20 minutes later I had another seizure. So it looks like my brain's being rattled inside my head for some reason."
In Los Angeles to protest a straight-to-DVD film he costarred in called Midgets vs. Mascots, Coleman alleges the filmmakers used a body double for nude scenes in the movie. He says he plans to sue and prevent the moviemakers from selling any more copies of the film.
"I wanted all my fans and all your fans to protest my penis being in the movie, because I didn't want that. It's a body double, I believe, because I certainly was not gonna do this. And I heard that the body double is ugly, and is unattractive, and does not make me look good."
And what do the film's producers have to say? Read on...
The producers released the following statement.
"With regards to Gary Coleman's displeasure with a scene in the film in which he briefly shows full frontal nudity, the producers of the film have multiple contracts—signed by Gary—which give the filmmakers full rights and permissions to shoot any and all footage, including nudity, during the making of the film. Therefore, we have no plans to remove that particular scene from the film. We met with Gary this morning and he is aware of our decision."
Coleman says he plans to head back to Utah today, where he lives with his wife, Shannon Price. Though the couple has made headlines over the years for their domestic scuffles, he says they've settled into married life and are making it work.
"My wife and I are getting along great. When you live with someone, and it's a life-term, lifelong kind of thing, you learn what makes that person tick. So I think I'm doing OK for a newly married husband. It's a work in progress. I'm not someone that gives up."
The actor also has a message to share with his fans: He's got a lot of life left to live.
"I got 40 years in me yet. I ain't going nowhere. A lot of these heiresses and a lot of these multi-billionaire people, you know, they're dying here lately. I don't understand that. I don't know why that's happening. But it's certainly not happening on my side of the street."
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2009 was a rough year for Gary. Get the scoop on all his troubles here.