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“Todd is one of the lucky ones,” says Joan Hamburg on WOR’s The Joan Hamburg Show. “Because he came through the other side of the hell-hole.” After claiming a life as child star Willis Jackson on America’s favorite 1970’s sitcom Diff’rent Strokes and adoring roles in Little House on the Prairie, The Waltons and Roots, Todd Bridges took a bone-chilling tumble down a dark road of drug addiction, jail, and living with an abusive father. In his new book, “Killing Willis: From Diff’rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted,” Todd Bridges intricately portrays his awe-inspiring transformation after being lost in a very long, real-life episode of hell itself.
“The reason for writing the book was to show that there is a way through life,” says Todd Bridges. Faced with fame at a very young age and a network of talented artists including Michael Jackson and Sammy Davis Jr, Bridges became a star overnight, and with that, came an overwhelming reality to the “off-camera” life he dealt with each and every day. He lived with a physically and emotionally abusive father who never showed any real emotion, support, or love. “I wanted my father to love me, but he just didn’t know how,” says Bridges.
After eight successful years, the show ended in the 1980’s and Bridges turned to drugs as a way to cope. For Bridges, the show was his safety net, a comfortable outlet that carried him away from home. In order to escape from his reality, Bridges quickly discovered an alternative route, which lead him into a life of drugs and serious addiction. In doing so, like so many Hollywood actors, Bridges lost complete control and pummeled into an array of devastating situations including jail, family torments, destructive behavior, desperation, and degradation.
“I made a lot of mistakes and a lot of wrong decisions,” says Bridges. Although many actors tend to blame the pressures of Hollywood for their misdoings, Bridges claims his, and takes full responsibility for his life choices. But after a street-life filled with drugs, lies, and self-hate it’s hard to imagine how someone could get over the addiction and pull themselves back up. “I was battling my own demons and it started with forgiving myself,” says Bridges. “Once I learned how to do that, I was able to fix myself.” After over a year of rehabilitation and understanding how to amend his internal core, along with the pain and hate he felt toward his father, Bridges was able to find his way through all that darkness.
“What do you want in your life now?” asks Joan Hamburg. “I want my career back. Acting was exhilarating,” says Bridges. Through all the twists and turns, Bridges has battled his demons, made peace and found a life of love with his wife and two children. He says, “I couldn’t imagine not showing my kids what it is to love someone.”
