Todd Bridges

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Todd Bridges (October 2009)

Todd Anthony Bridges (born May 27, 1965 in San Francisco , California ) is an American film actor , film producer and film director .

Life

Youth and childhood

Todd Bridges was born the youngest of three children to actress Betty A. Bridges and agent James Bridges, and grew up with his siblings Jimmy and Verda Bridges in San Francisco. In the early 1970s, the family moved to Los Angeles to make the American Dream come true. Both parents quickly found work in Hollywood and, thanks to their good contacts, also helped other, predominantly African-American actors, such as Nia Long , Regina King and Lamont Bentley, to achieve international fame in the years to come .

Career

Since Todd Bridges adored the also black actor Redd Foxx , he wanted to emulate him and also become an actor. In 1971, when he had just turned six, he first appeared in front of the camera in a commercial for Jell-O . Up to 60 more commercials should follow in the coming months and years. In 1975 he was in an episode of the television series Barney Miller for the first time as an actor in front of the camera. Within a very short time, Bridges was next to Michael Jackson as the best known and most popular African-American child star of the time, who appeared in series such as Our Little Farm in 1977 , in The Waltons in the same year or in Love Boat in 1978 . In 1978 he got one of the leading roles in the television series Diff'rent Strokes , in which he was seen in almost 170 episodes alongside Dana Plato and Gary Coleman until 1986 .

Litigation

The year 1986 would mean something like the turning point in his biography. As a young adult, he was only able to build on his successes as a child to a limited extent. In his mid-20s, he also had problems with drugs . In 1988 Bridges was arrested. He was accused of attempting the murder of Kenneth "Tex" Clay, one of the most famous drug dealers in Los Angeles of his time, as a result of a drug deal that had failed. Defended by star attorney Johnnie Cochran , Bridges was able to prove not to have been there at the time in question and was acquitted of all charges.

In 1993 Bridges found himself again in court. In a dispute over unpaid rent, he was charged with seriously injuring his lodger David Joseph Kitchen with a kitchen knife. However, since Kitchen had first attacked Bridges with a sword, the court found that Bridges had resorted to the knife in self-defense and released him again.

Further life

In the 1990s, Bridges was mostly in direct-to-video productions in front of the camera, before he temporarily appeared again in a better-known production in 19 episodes of the television series All Hate Chris between 2007 and 2009 . Bridges has also directed and produced feature films since 2000 . His debut Building Bridges , which he staged with his brother Jimmy, is the biography of his life. With his brother he also founded the film production company Little Bridge Productions .

Todd Bridges has been married to actress Dori Bridges since May 1998 . The couple has two children; her son Spencir Bridges , born in 1998, is also an actor today.

Today, in addition to his career, Todd Bridges also works as a social worker in schools to make children aware of the dangers of drugs.

Filmography (selection)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bridges, Todd
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bridges, Todd Anthony (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American film actor, film producer, and film director
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1965
PLACE OF BIRTH San Francisco , California