Television shows like Diff'rent Strokes, Webster and The Cosby Show used the family sitcom formula to improve race relations in the 80s, picking up where shows like Good Times, The Jeffersons and What's Happening!! left off in the 70s.
But 80s sitcoms learned how to use the power of cute kids to their advantage, and Diff'rent Strokes star Gary Coleman was the cutest of the bunch.
Diff'rent Strokes was built around 10-year-old Gary, who was originally set to star in a reboot of The Little Rascals declined by the network, and starring on the show made Gary the highest paid comedic actor for a moment.
This meteoric pay raise was thanks to his parents/managers, who bulldogged the network into giving Gary unprecedented salary bumps- he went from $1800 an episode in the first season to a staggering $70,000 per episode.
Gary made the show his own, tweaking the catchphrase into the "Wutchoo talkin' 'bout, Willis?" we know and love and working hard for a huge salary he would only see about 25% of, since his parents were "misappropriating" his funds.
He later sued his parents and won $1.3 million for their mishandling of his trust fund.
Read 13 Things You Might Not Know About Diff'rent Strokes at mental_floss