Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted by Todd Bridges with Sarah Tomlinson

When he was younger, Todd Bridges was the “go to” African American child actor of his time.  He was the first African American to have a recurring role on “The Waltons” and he appeared in “Little House on the Prairie” and the epic television mini-series “Roots”.  He starred in “Fish” alongside Abe Vigoda before landing his best known role as Willis Jackson in “Diff’rent Strokes”.  In this candid autobiography, Bridges opens up about his past which includes drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, run-ins with the law and time spent in jail.  He also details how racism affected his life.  Bridges takes full responsibility for his decisions and actions, while acknowledging the pain he felt growing up because of his relationship with his father, a man he perceived as uncaring and who was physically abusive towards him.  Bridges was particularly devastated when his father sided with the man who sexually molested him as a child.  After reading this book, I cannot help but to root for Bridges and hope that he is able to get another break-out acting role.   Todd Bridges fans from back in the day will not be disappointed with this one. 

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