Dana Plato and that video store robbery (Part 2 of 2)

Dana Plato grabbed a fake gun, a pellet gun, and entered the video store.  Back in the day, video stores were everywhere.  She entered the video store without any manner of concealment of her face.  She went inside raw.  Furthermore, she pointed the pellet gun at the clerk.  Kimberly, uh Dana, demanded money from the counter.  Of course, the clerk recognized her and couldn’t believe it. Dana was a bit more forceful with her demand.  The clerk complied.  Dana, like a ninja, jumped over a small wall and disappeared into the void.  

After the robbery, the video store clerk told 911, “I think Kimberly just robbed me from Different Strokes.”  Yep, 

Being on one of the most popular TV shows in every city, Dana didn’t even bother to cover her face.  The kicker is that she only got away with less than 200 bucks with her criminal mastermind.  

Why would she not bother covering her face?  Why did she return to the crime scene?  Was it because she was trying to return the money?  Or was she trying to get her name back out there?  After watching the news stories about her robbery, it appears she was trying to cash on her negative fame.  

What were her true intentions with the robbery?  Did she have a pellet gun on her at all times?  After her arrest, she did try to soak in the negative fame.  I am torn about this because she was a drug user.  People wanting drugs means that they will do anything to get a hit.  I believe she hit rock bottom and needed more cash.  The 6 dollars an hour wasn’t cutting it for her habits.  

After the arrest, Wayne Newton, yes that one, paid her bail.  He felt she needed a second chance due to her not having a proper childhood.  Todd Bridges, her costar, went to court for her as a character witness.  The prosecutor ripped him apart and Todd went back to using drugs.  

This is bad

• I used to be a fan of Nick’s early work.  He was a lawyer who knew his business and was a bit edgy.  Now, he is an actual shadow of himself.  Clearly, he’s stopped eating and just consumed alcohol.  He can’t even get through a sentence without struggling.  Why hasn’t his family stepped in or at least left him?  

• Does he not see the mess he's become?

• This is really sad.  

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Dana Plato and that video store robbery (Part 1 of 2)

Growing up, I didn’t have a crush on Kimberly Drummond.  She was pretty, but I guess I wasn’t into girls just yet.  If it wasn't for the acting, Dana would have been a figure skater.  While doing research, it appears she was doing drugs at around 13-14 and surviving an overdose.  

One of my favorite stories to tell about a TV star is the Dana Plato robbery story.  Dana was on one of the biggest shows on network TV.  Everyone remembered Kimberly from Diff'rent Strokes.  The producers fired her from the show and her life turned downward.  This was due to her being knocked up and the network not wanting to deal with teenage pregnancies. After getting written out, she would show up from time to time.  Her last episode was that very special Bulimia episode.  

Side note:  There is an actress named Kimberly Drummond.  Did her parents name her that on purpose to pay tribute?  How many Gen X people ask her about her name?  

Due to drugs, she moved away from Hollywood.  She got work at a dry cleaner.  Could you imagine having Kimberly take your clothes?  She was the girl every young girl wanted to be like and every boy had a crush.  Now, having a normal job is fine, but for someone like Dana to work in a shop instead of sitting on a big production has to be humbling.  

Flash forward to 1992, and she is starring in the terrible “video game” FMV CD adventure Night Trap.  It was a shit game with shit acting.  VG work wasn’t considered great or steady work at the time.  Today, actors are proud of being in VG stuff.  I could go on about Night Trap, but that is for another post.  

By the way, make sure to watch some of the old episodes of Diff'rent Strokes.  In certain episodes, you can see Dana completely high as hell, and she can barely get through her lines.  

Anyway, she was working at the dry cleaners and decided she needed some extra cash.  She looked across the street at a local video rental store.  

“Hmm, that seems like the perfect place…”

End part one  

MARVEL'S DEADPOOL 3 AND WOLVERINE Official Trailer (2024)

Man, it is good to see Deadpool again.  It is time to see the edgier characters take over the Marvel universe.  The current phase of the MCU is a bit lame and tame for my taste.  It is about time to see a bunch of mutants appear as well. 

Anyway, I love the trailer and that it will be an R-rated movie.  Marvel needs a kick and I hope Deadpool can be that kick.  I no longer go to the theater but I will for Deadpool 3.  I mean Deadpool and Wolverine.

Daniel Larson's Arrest video

Watching the Goblin King get arrested is one of the best moments ever.  The cops put on the kid gloves with this arrest.  The cops are fully aware of his Internet fame.  Daniel ordered a full plate of food and didn’t get to touch his food.  Did someone eat it?  Jail won't be good for him due to his mental problems.  Plus, Daniel will be considered a child predator.  If the other jail mates found out, they would beat the living shit out of him.  Daniel needs to be in a mental hospital, just like Chris Chan.  

Meeting Admiral McCoy | Star Trek: The Next Generation - Encounter at Fa...

"Treat her like a lady, and she'll always bring you home"

When I watched this scene, some 37 years ago, I was surprised to see McCoy show up in the series.  It was a scene to pass the torch to the new crew and to calm the nerves of hardcore fans.  This sort of thing isn't done today. I love that the one TOS crew member, who retired numerous times, came back to Star Fleet and became a flag officer.  In the 78 years between the movies, McCoy is 137 years old.  It should be noted that Spock is still alive in the TNG era, too.  

I love that Data reminds McCoy of his friend Spock.  The “almost as bad” is an inside joke about how many encounters the TOS crew had with androids.   Data would later meet Spock and have another heart-to-heart talk about life five years later.  Another thing to note is that McCoy’s speech ties directly to the final episode of Star Trek Picard.  “She’s always taken care of us.”  That is a nice bookend to the McCoy scene.  Simply brilliant.  

With all the rewrites to the pilot, McCoy’s cameo was added much later.  Gene wanted to keep it a secret and did not write the name “McCoy” anywhere in the script.  

The interesting thing about this scene is that Dr. McCoy is wearing his TOS movie-style pants and boots with a cheap silver admiral top.  The studio originally had McCoy in a different uniform.  He was to wear a modified TOS movie uniform with less old-age makeup.  I have the test photo below.  I think Gene didn’t want that much of a connection to the movies because it still left a bad taste in his mouth.  Remember that the studio forced him out of his film producer position after TMP.  

So, they threw out the TOS shirt and threw him in that cheap shirt you see on screen.  They just kept him in his movie-style pants and boots.  

Carl Weathers RIP

Carl Weathers was the man.  I remember loving his character in Predator and his horrific end.  Yeah, he lost his arm.  I also loved his starring role in the movie Action Jackson.  I talked about it years ago in this blog.  Weathers was in every genre.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind: depending on which cut of the movie you watch, Carl shows up as an MP officer who threatens the main character. The Rocky movies:  I could go on about his iconic Apollo character.  He goes from rival to Rocky to close friend.  It's a real shame his character dies in Rocky IV.  During his time in the 2000s, he showed up in one of my favorite shows, The Shield.  Plus, he played a recurring role in Arrested Development as himself.  

The Derick "Chubbs" Peterson character from Happy Gilmore shows up in Little Nicky in the heave scene.  It is a funny little cameo. 

Anyway, Carl was a true pop-cultural legend.  He died at the age of 76, and most of my pop-cultural heroes are passing away.  

Daniel Larson was arrested

Daniel Larson is finally sitting in jail.  Remember that, Daniel has been walking around dining and dashing and harassing waiting staff.  He had this entitlement that was beyond anyone else.  He’s been arrested for “evasion of justice”, meaning he hasn’t shown up for his court dates.  Larson’s jail photo is amusing because his eyes are pointed in different directions.  Larson needs to be kept in jail or prison for the sake of everyone.  I am sure they will just release him back into the public.