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| Conrad Bain obituary | Conrad Bain obituary |
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| The actor Conrad Bain, who has died aged 89, found fame in middle age in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978-86). As Phillip Drummond, a white millionaire who fosters, then adopts, two orphaned black brothers, Bain was the straight man to the diminutive, wisecracking Gary Coleman, who played Arnold, the younger of the two boys. When his one-time housekeeper dies, the kindly widower Drummond takes Arnold and his brother, Willis (Todd Bridges), from their Harlem ghetto to his luxury Manhattan penthouse and brings them up with his daughter, Kimberly (Dana Plato). | The actor Conrad Bain, who has died aged 89, found fame in middle age in the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978-86). As Phillip Drummond, a white millionaire who fosters, then adopts, two orphaned black brothers, Bain was the straight man to the diminutive, wisecracking Gary Coleman, who played Arnold, the younger of the two boys. When his one-time housekeeper dies, the kindly widower Drummond takes Arnold and his brother, Willis (Todd Bridges), from their Harlem ghetto to his luxury Manhattan penthouse and brings them up with his daughter, Kimberly (Dana Plato). |
| Diff'rent Strokes tackled racial issues with humour and was courageous in confronting taboo subjects such as drugs, bulimia, sexual assault and paedophilia. The sitcom was devised as a vehicle for both Coleman, who had been spotted in television commercials, and Bain, following his co-starring role in the series Maude (1972-78) as Dr Arthur Harmon, the stuffy, conservative neighbour of the much-married title character, played by Bea Arthur. | Diff'rent Strokes tackled racial issues with humour and was courageous in confronting taboo subjects such as drugs, bulimia, sexual assault and paedophilia. The sitcom was devised as a vehicle for both Coleman, who had been spotted in television commercials, and Bain, following his co-starring role in the series Maude (1972-78) as Dr Arthur Harmon, the stuffy, conservative neighbour of the much-married title character, played by Bea Arthur. |
| Bain outlived two of his three screen children from Diff'rent Strokes. Coleman, who faced charges of assault and disorderly conduct, died of a brain haemorrhage aged 42; Plato died of a drug overdose aged 34. Bridges underwent treatment for drug addiction. Bain told interviewers that he found it difficult to talk about the trio's troubles because of his love for them. | Bain outlived two of his three screen children from Diff'rent Strokes. Coleman, who faced charges of assault and disorderly conduct, died of a brain haemorrhage aged 42; Plato died of a drug overdose aged 34. Bridges underwent treatment for drug addiction. Bain told interviewers that he found it difficult to talk about the trio's troubles because of his love for them. |
| Bain and his twin brother, Bonar, were born in Lethbridge, Alberta, in Canada. He attended Western Canada high school, Calgary, where he was a founding member of the Workshop 14 amateur theatre group, which later evolved into Theatre Calgary. After studying at the Banff School of Fine Arts (now the Banff Centre) in Alberta, he served in the Canadian army during the second world war. Moving to the US in 1946, he became a naturalised American citizen and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York (1946-48). | Bain and his twin brother, Bonar, were born in Lethbridge, Alberta, in Canada. He attended Western Canada high school, Calgary, where he was a founding member of the Workshop 14 amateur theatre group, which later evolved into Theatre Calgary. After studying at the Banff School of Fine Arts (now the Banff Centre) in Alberta, he served in the Canadian army during the second world war. Moving to the US in 1946, he became a naturalised American citizen and trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York (1946-48). |
| After years with repertory companies, Bain played Larry Slade in the off-Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh (Circle in the Square, 1956) and made his Broadway debut in the shortlived comedy Sixth Finger in a Five Finger Glove (Longacre theatre, 1956). He also took several roles in the original, disastrous Broadway production of the Leonard Bernstein operetta Candide (Martin Beck theatre, 1956-57). He returned to Canada for a 1958 season with the Stratford Shakespeare festival in which he played the Earl of Northumberland in Henry IV, Part I, Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing and Antigonus in The Winter's Tale. | After years with repertory companies, Bain played Larry Slade in the off-Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh (Circle in the Square, 1956) and made his Broadway debut in the shortlived comedy Sixth Finger in a Five Finger Glove (Longacre theatre, 1956). He also took several roles in the original, disastrous Broadway production of the Leonard Bernstein operetta Candide (Martin Beck theatre, 1956-57). He returned to Canada for a 1958 season with the Stratford Shakespeare festival in which he played the Earl of Northumberland in Henry IV, Part I, Antonio in Much Ado About Nothing and Antigonus in The Winter's Tale. |
| Although he first appeared on TV in 1952, Bain did not find regular screen work until the second half of the 1960s. From 1966 he played Mr Wells, the clerk at the Collinsport Inn, in the series Dark Shadows until the character was killed by a werewolf in 1968. There were various one-off character roles before wider recognition came with Maude, in which he was cast by the sitcom's creator, Norman Lear, who remembered him unsuccessfully auditioning for a role in Lear's 1971 film Cold Turkey. | Although he first appeared on TV in 1952, Bain did not find regular screen work until the second half of the 1960s. From 1966 he played Mr Wells, the clerk at the Collinsport Inn, in the series Dark Shadows until the character was killed by a werewolf in 1968. There were various one-off character roles before wider recognition came with Maude, in which he was cast by the sitcom's creator, Norman Lear, who remembered him unsuccessfully auditioning for a role in Lear's 1971 film Cold Turkey. |
| Bain reprised his Diff'rent Strokes role in the first episode of the spin-off The Facts of Life (1979) – which transferred Drummond's housekeeper, Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), to a girls' school – and in the final episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1996). When Diff'rent Strokes ended, he played the presidential aide Charlie Ross, alongside George C Scott, in the sitcom Mr President (1987-88). His last television appearance was as a priest in the detective drama Unforgettable (2011). | Bain reprised his Diff'rent Strokes role in the first episode of the spin-off The Facts of Life (1979) – which transferred Drummond's housekeeper, Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), to a girls' school – and in the final episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1996). When Diff'rent Strokes ended, he played the presidential aide Charlie Ross, alongside George C Scott, in the sitcom Mr President (1987-88). His last television appearance was as a priest in the detective drama Unforgettable (2011). |
| Bain's films included Coogan's Bluff (1968), starring Clint Eastwood; Woody Allen's Bananas (1971); The Anderson Tapes (1971); and Postcards from the Edge (1990). | Bain's films included Coogan's Bluff (1968), starring Clint Eastwood; Woody Allen's Bananas (1971); The Anderson Tapes (1971); and Postcards from the Edge (1990). |
| He was an organiser and the first president of the Actors Federal Credit Union, a co-operative set up in 1962 to help those in his profession secure credit. | He was an organiser and the first president of the Actors Federal Credit Union, a co-operative set up in 1962 to help those in his profession secure credit. |
| In 1945, Bain married the artist Monica Sloan. She died in 2009. He is survived by their daughter and three sons. | In 1945, Bain married the artist Monica Sloan. She died in 2009. He is survived by their daughter and three sons. |
| • Conrad Stafford Bain, actor, born 4 February 1923; died 14 January 2013 | • Conrad Stafford Bain, actor, born 4 February 1923; died 14 January 2013 |
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