Dana Plato, best known as Kimberly Drummond on the hit sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, died on May 8, 1999, at the age of 34. The former child star passed away in her sleep inside a motor home in Moore, Oklahoma, while visiting her fiancé’s mother for Mother’s Day. Her death marked the end of a public and painful decline that had unfolded for years after her rise to fame as one of television’s most beloved teen idols. Born Dana Michelle Strain on November 7, 1964, in Maywood, California, Plato was adopted at seven months old by Dean and Kay Plato.
Her adoptive father owned a trucking company, and she was raised in the San Fernando Valley. Her parents divorced when she was three, and she lived with her mother. Plato began attending auditions as a small child. By age seven, she had appeared in more than 100 television commercials.
She was also an accomplished figure skater. Her television acting debut came at age ten with a brief appearance on The Six Million Dollar Man, and she made her film debut at 13 in the 1977 horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic. Her breakout role arrived after a producer spotted her on The Gong Show. She was cast as Kimberly Drummond, the older sister of adopted brothers Arnold and Willis Jackson, on the NBC sitcom Diff’rent Strokes.
The series debuted in 1978 and became an immediate hit, turning Plato into a household name. In December 1983, Plato moved in with rock guitarist Lanny Lambert, and the couple married in 1984. Their only child, Tyler Edward Lambert, was born in July of that year. Following the birth of her son, Plato was dismissed from her starring role on Diff’rent Strokes, reportedly due to her pregnancy and struggles with substance abuse.
She did make occasional appearances on the show in 1985 and 1986. Plato’s personal life grew increasingly unstable. In January 1988, she separated from Lambert the same week her mother died of scleroderma. During her March 1990 divorce, Plato lost custody of her son and was granted only visitation rights.
Around the same time, she reported that her accountant had disappeared with most of her money, leaving her with less than $150,000. She attempted to establish herself as a serious actress but struggled to find success. She had breast implants and posed for a pictorial in the June 1989 issue of Playboy. On February 28, 1991, Plato entered a video store, pulled out a pellet weapon, and demanded money from the cash register.
She left with $164. The clerk called 911 and told the dispatcher, “I’ve just been robbed by the girl who played Kimberly on Diff’rent Strokes. ” Approximately 15 minutes later, Plato returned to the scene and was arrested. Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton posted her $13,000 bail.
She was later given five years of probation. In 1992, Plato was arrested a second time for forging a prescription for a controlled substance. She served 30 days in jail for violating her probation and then entered a rehabilitation program. Plato later moved to Las Vegas, where she faced poverty and unemployment.
At one point, she worked at a dry cleaning store. In the later years of her career, she accepted erotic roles, appearing nude in Prime Suspect in 1989 and Compelling Evidence in 1995. She was engaged to her manager, Robert Menchaca, and the couple lived in a motor home. On May 7, 1999, the day before she died, Plato appeared on The Howard Stern Show.
She spoke openly about her life, discussing her financial problems and her past run-ins with the law. Many callers insulted her and questioned her sobriety, which visibly angered and provoked her. Some callers, as well as Stern himself, came to her defense. The next day, Plato and Menchaca were returning to California and stopped at Menchaca’s mother’s home in Moore, Oklahoma, for a Mother’s Day visit.
During the visit, Plato said she felt unwell, took some medication, and lay down with Menchaca inside the Winnebago motor home parked outside the house. When Menchaca woke up, he discovered that Plato had died in her sleep. Plato’s body was cremated, and her ashes were scattered over the Pacific Ocean.
Her son, Tyler, died by suicide on May 6, 2010, two days before the 11th anniversary of his mother’s death.
