Dana Plato

Dana Plato

  • Birthday: 1964-11-07
  • Deathday: 1999-05-08
  • Place of birth: Maywood, California, USA

Biography

Dana Michelle Plato was born in Maywood, California, on Saturday, November 7, 1964. Dana made an impact on the TV screen when she landed the role of Kimberly Drummond in the TV hit sitcom Diff'rent Strokes (1978) from 1978-1986. After the series ended, Dana had difficulty finding more acting work. Sometimes she would act in a made-for-TV movie or a low- budget silver-screen film. She was married for Lanny Lambert for seven years and they had a son. Plato was arrested in 1991 for robbing a Las Vegas video store and placed on probation; the next year she was arrested again, this time for forging a Valium prescription. She had just finished an interview with Howard Stern in the spring of 1999 when she and her fiancé, Robert Menchaca, were headed back to California. She hoped the interview would revive her stalled career. They stopped at his parents' house in Moore, Oklahoma for a Mother's-Day-weekend visit; on Saturday, May 8, 1999, Dana died of what appeared to be an accidental overdose of the painkiller "Loritab". On May 21, a coroner's inquest ruled her death a suicide because of the large amount of drugs in her body and her history of past suicide attempts. She was 34 years old.

Filmography

Bikini Beach Race

1992

As J.D.

Different Strokes

1998

As Jill Martin

Night Trap

2018

As Kelly

Tiger

1997

As Andrea Baker

Return to Boggy Creek

1977

As Evie Jo

Distortions

1992

As Deborah Nichols

The Hostage

1998

As Leslie

Schoolboy Father

1980

As Daisy Dallenger

Blade Boxer

1997

As

Compelling Evidence

1995

As Dana Fields

Lethal Cowboy

1995

As Elizabeth

Millenium Day

1995

As Pacifica

Desperation Boulevard

1998

As Herself

Pacino is Missing

2002

As Prosecuting Attorney

Prime Suspect

1989

As Diana Masters

High School U.S.A.

1983

As Cara Ames

Insatiable Coeds

2000

As Piano Teacher's Wife (archive footage) (uncredited)

Silent Fury

1994

As

Exorcist II: The Heretic

1977

As Sandra Phalor (uncredited)

California Suite

1978

As Jenny

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