Melanie Watson Bernhardt, an actor who appeared on the television sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" in the early 1980s and was among the first performers with a disability to portray a disabled character on a major network series, has died. She was 57.
Her brother, Rob Watson, confirmed that she died Friday, Dec. 26, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, according to TMZ.
The outlet reported that she had recently been hospitalized for internal bleeding.
Watson Bernhardt was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a rare genetic disorder that affects the body's production of collagen and causes brittle bones.
The condition can result in frequent fractures, skeletal deformities, short stature, and other medical complications. She used a wheelchair throughout her life.
She was best known for her role as Kathy Gordon, an upbeat classmate and friend of Arnold Jackson, the character played by Gary Coleman on "Diff'rent Strokes."
Watson Bernhardt appeared in four episodes of the NBC sitcom between 1981 and 1984.
According to IndieWire, the role of Kathy Gordon was written specifically for Watson Bernhardt.
Two of the episodes in which she appeared were named after her character. One storyline centered on Kathy's parents and Arnold's parents urging Arnold to encourage Kathy to walk using crutches, despite her reluctance.
Watson Bernhardt later shared she was uncomfortable with that episode, recalling that she was fearful of walking due to a previous fall.
"I did not want to do that," she told the outlet. "I can remember saying, 'This is somebody else's dream.' But they explained to me this was the premise of the episode."
She said her mother encouraged her to do the scene, and she ultimately agreed.
The episode played a role in her decision to leave acting. In later years, she said she came to better understand the significance of the role.
"I didn't realize what a gift it was to be the first one out there," as a disabled person playing a disabled character, she said. "If I had to do it all over again I would have stayed in the business."
Gary Coleman, her co-star on the series, also lived with a serious medical condition.
He suffered from an autoimmune kidney disease that required treatment with medication that affected his growth, resulting in his adult height of 4 feet 8 inches.
Coleman died in 2010 at age 42 after falling down the stairs at his home.
After leaving television, Watson Bernhardt pursued work outside the entertainment industry. She later founded Train Rite, an organization dedicated to training shelter dogs to become service animals for people with disabilities. She served as the group's executive director, according to IMDb.
Watson Bernhardt was previously married to Roger Bernhardt. The couple divorced in 1996.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
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