Melanie Watson Bernhardt — an actress identified for her position on the hit TV present “Diff’hire Strokes” — has died … TMZ has discovered.
Robert Watson — Melanie’s brother — tells us … Melanie handed away Friday in Colorado Springs.
We’re instructed Melanie — who was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a illness the place an individual’s bones fracture simply — had been within the hospital after struggling some points with bleeding, the place she shortly deteriorated.
Robert says the docs did their finest to assist her … however, in actuality, she was lucky to stay so long as she did together with her situation. he provides he’ll at all times consider his sister an excellent deal.
Followers of basic sitcoms will bear in mind Melanie as Kathy Gordon on “Diff’hire Strokes” … an element she performed in 4 of the present’s 189 episodes.
A 1982 episode was memorably named after her character … wherein she and Gary Coleman‘s character, Arnold, argued when he tried to persuade her to stroll with out crutches.
Bernhardt retired from performing after “Diff’hire Strokes” ended … later marrying a person named Roger Bernhardt from 1994 to 1996. She reportedly helped discovered the charity Prepare Ceremony to assist correctly practice canine to work as service animals.
Melanie was 57.
RIP
