DP
Dana Plato
Actor
Born November 7, 1964Died May 8, 1999 (34 years)
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.
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
| 2024 | Gary · as Archive Footage |
| 2002 | Pacino Is Missing · as Prosecuting Attorney |
| 2000 | Insatiable Coeds · as Piano Teacher's Wife (archive Footage) (uncredited) |
| 1998 | Different Strokes · as Jill Martin |
| 1998 | The Hostage · as Leslie |
| 1997 | |
| 1997 | Tiger · as Andrea Baker |
| 1996 | E! True Hollywood Story (TV Series) |
| 1995 | Compelling Evidence · as Dana Fields |
| 1994 | |
| 1992 | Bikini Beach Race · as J.d. |
| 1992 | The Sounds of Silence · as Deborah Nichols |
| 1989 | Prime Suspect · as Diana Masters |
| 1985 | Growing Pains (TV Series) · as Lisa |
| 1983 | High School U.S.A. · as Cara Ames |
| 1979 | The Facts of Life (TV Series) |
| 1979 | Hello, Larry (TV Series) · as Kimberly Drummond |
| 1978 | California Suite · as Jenny |
| 1978 | Diff'rent Strokes (TV Series) · as Kimberly Drummond |
| 1978 | The End · as Dancing Student |
| 1977 | What Really Happened to the Class of '65? (TV Series) · as Cast |
| 1977 | Return to Boggy Creek · as Evie Jo |
| 1977 | Exorcist II: The Heretic · as Sandra Phalor (uncredited) |
| 1977 | The Love Boat (TV Series) · as Patty Springer |
| 1976 | Family (TV Series) · as Debbie |
| 1975 | Beyond the Bermuda Triangle · as Wendy |
| 1974 | The Six Million Dollar Man (TV Series) · as Girl On The Tennis Court |
| 1972 | The ABC Afterschool Special (TV Series) · as Daisy Dallenger |