Willis Jackson (character)
Encyclopedia
Willis Jackson is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 on the popular late 1970s-early 1980s television series
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

, Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes
Diff'rent Strokes is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from November 3, 1978 to May 4, 1985, and on ABC from September 27, 1985 to March 7, 1986...

, and he was portrayed by child actor Todd Bridges
Todd Bridges
Todd Anthony Bridges is an American actor. He is best known for his childhood role as Willis Jackson on the NBC/ABC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes, and for his recurring role as Monk on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris...

.

Character background

Willis James Jackson is the older brother of Arnold
Arnold Jackson (character)
Arnold Jackson is a breakout character on the television series Diff'rent Strokes. He was portrayed by Gary Coleman.-Character Theme:Arnold John Jackson is the younger brother of Willis Jackson , and was born in Harlem, New York City on October 19, 1971...

. He was born in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

 on April 27, 1965. The boys' late mother was a housekeeper
Housekeeper (servant)
A housekeeper is an individual responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of the interior of a residence, including direction of subordinate maids...

 named Lucy, for a wealthy White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...

 man, named Phillip Drummond, and her deathbed wish was that he would take care of her two kids, and Philip Drummond officially adopted them in late 1979. Willis's catch phrase
Catch phrase
A catchphrase is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through a variety of mass media , as well as word of mouth...

 is "Say what?"

Willis was portrayed alternately as rebellious and responsible. In one episode, Willis joins a gang named "The Tarantulas". He buys a gang member's jacket, and tries to hide it from Kimberly and Mr. Drummond. When Arnold finds—and tries on—the jacket, Mr. Drummond thinks Arnold has joined "The Tarantulas". This forces Arnold to tell Mr. Drummond the truth, despite his fear that Willis will become furious at him. Arnold and Mr. Drummond find Willis in a holding cell at the police station
Police station
A police station or station house is a building which serves to accommodate police officers and other members of staff. These buildings often contain offices and accommodation for personnel and vehicles, along with locker rooms, temporary holding cells and interview/interrogation rooms.- Facilities...

, but when Willis tries to tell him what happened, Mr. Drummond becomes very angry at Willis. The police officer
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...

 tells Mr. Drummond that Willis was not involved, and that Willis tried to tell the other gang members to stop spraying graffiti on a wall. Willis, nevertheless, does not escape punishment, and Mr. Drummond grounds him.

In another episode, Willis invited his old best friends from Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...

. After a little cheering up from his sister, Kimberly, Willis uses his new wealthy lifestyle to "charm" his friends. When a conflict erupts, they walk out on both Arnold and Willis. However, everyone makes peace later on.

Willis also had a girlfriend, named Charlene DuPrey, portrayed by Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...

 of both the television shows Good Times
Good Times
Good Times is an American sitcom that originally aired from February 8, 1974, until August 1, 1979, on the CBS television network. It was created by Eric Monte and Michael Evans, and developed by Norman Lear, the series' primary executive producer...

and Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...

. Jackson only appeared from the show's third season (1980–81) until early 1984, during the show's sixth season.

Todd Bridges role as Willis Jackson started to fade, because of casting changes in the 1984-1985 season, when Danny Cooksey
Danny Cooksey
Danny Cooksey is an American singer, actor and voice actor. He has been in show business since he was very young and is best remembered for playing the roles of Sam McKinney on the last years of the TV show Diff'rent Strokes and Robert "Bobby" Budnick on the Nickelodeon program, Salute Your...

plays Sam McKinney, Arnold's new younger stepbrother. Bridges did not appear as much in the show's final season.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK