TLDR: Todd Bridges played Willis Jackson on Diff’rent Strokes from 1978 to 1986 and spent the years immediately after the show in crack cocaine addiction and legal jeopardy.
He was acquitted of attempted murder in 1989 with Johnnie Cochran as his defense attorney.
He achieved sobriety, rebuilt his career, and is the only surviving member of the core cast as of 2026.
Todd Bridges was the one who made it out. That is not a small thing when you consider what happened to the other two child stars of Diff’rent Strokes, and it did not come easily or quickly.
There were years of addiction, a near-fatal brush with the criminal justice system, and a recovery that required him to be honest in public about everything that had gone wrong, including the parts that reflected badly on an industry that had taken little interest in protecting any of them.
Before Willis Jackson
Todd Bridges was born on May 27, 1965, in San Francisco. He was not a newcomer when he was cast in Diff’rent Strokes. He had already appeared in Roots, Little House on the Prairie, and the sitcom Fish before he was thirteen.
By the time the show premiered in November 1978 he was an experienced professional, which made what happened to him after the show ended all the more instructive about how little experience protects a child in that industry.
The Addiction and the Attempted Murder Charge
After Diff’rent Strokes ended in 1986, Bridges fell into crack cocaine addiction and became entangled in the criminal world of South Los Angeles. In 1988, at age 23, he was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of Kenneth Clay, a drug dealer who had been shot at a drug house.
Johnnie Cochran took his case. The defense argued that Bridges had been suffering from severe post-traumatic stress, depression, and the effects of systematic exploitation during his years as a child actor, all of which had driven him into escalating substance dependency.
In 1989 he was acquitted of all charges. He has described the acquittal not as vindication but as the moment he understood he needed to change everything about his life.
Recovery, the Memoir and Getting Back to Work
Bridges committed to sobriety and eventually wrote a candid autobiography called Killing Willis, which detailed the psychological damage of child stardom and the pervasive racism he had experienced within the entertainment industry.
The book did not soften the portrait of the industry or of himself during the worst years.
He rebuilt his acting career methodically. His most notable post-recovery role was Monk in the critically acclaimed Chris Rock sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, which ran from 2005 to 2009.
He has since worked on various reality television projects and public speaking engagements focused on sobriety and the need for stronger protections for child performers.
The 2026 Divorce and the Hollywood Demons Documentary
Bridges was first married to Dori Smith from 1998 until their divorce in 2012. They have two adult children together.
In September 2022 he married Bettijo Hirschi in a small ceremony in Beverly Hills and the couple launched a podcast called DANG! in 2024 focused on mental health and relationships.
In January 2026 he publicly announced their separation. On March 31, 2026, he filed a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in Maricopa County, Arizona, citing the marriage as irretrievably broken.
The proceedings were amicable and settled outside of court. Financial documents filed in a related spousal support dispute revealed that Bridges was earning approximately $700 per month at the time of the filing, supplemented by occasional acting work.
On April 27, 2026, he appeared in the Investigation Discovery and HBO Max documentary series Hollywood Demons, in an episode called “Child Stars Gone Wild.”
He made significant disclosures about the unprotected environment on the Diff’rent Strokes set and what the child actors had been exposed to. Dr. Drew Pinsky appeared in the documentary to contextualize the behaviors Bridges described as clinical indicators of severe childhood trauma rather than willful misconduct.
The episode has contributed to renewed public discussion about regulatory protections for child performers.
Todd Bridges is 60 years old as of 2026 and the only surviving member of the show’s core cast. Gary Coleman died in 2010.
Dana Plato died in 1999.
For the full story of what happened to the cast, see the Diff’rent Strokes cast hub.
Was Todd Bridges really charged with attempted murder?
Yes. In 1988, Todd Bridges was arrested and charged with the attempted murder of a drug dealer in South Los Angeles. He was represented by attorney Johnnie Cochran. His defense argued that Bridges had been suffering from severe post-traumatic stress, depression, and the effects of systematic exploitation during his years as a child actor. In 1989 he was acquitted of all charges.
Where is Todd Bridges now in 2026?
Todd Bridges is alive at age 60 and is the only surviving member of the Diff’rent Strokes core cast. He filed for divorce from his second wife Bettijo Hirschi in March 2026. He appeared in the Investigation Discovery documentary Hollywood Demons in April 2026, making significant disclosures about the environment on the Diff’rent Strokes set. He has worked as an advocate for child actor protections and sobriety.
Did Todd Bridges write a book about Diff’rent Strokes?
Yes. Todd Bridges wrote a memoir called Killing Willis that detailed his experiences as a child star, his crack cocaine addiction following the show, his acquittal on attempted murder charges, and his subsequent recovery. The book was candid about the psychological damage of child stardom and the racism he experienced in the entertainment industry.
What did Todd Bridges say on Hollywood Demons in 2026?
On April 27, 2026, Todd Bridges appeared in the Investigation Discovery and HBO Max documentary series Hollywood Demons in an episode called Child Stars Gone Wild. He made significant disclosures about the unprotected environment the child actors inhabited on the Diff’rent Strokes set. Dr. Drew Pinsky appeared in the documentary to contextualize what Bridges described as indicators of severe childhood trauma experienced during the production.
