The Life of Dana Plato Trivia Quiz

Answer: Michelle

Dana Plato was born in November 1964 to an unwed 16-year old mother who already had an 18-month old baby. Dana was adopted by Kay and Dean Plato who divorced when she was three. Plato was raised in the San Fernando Valley.

Answer: figure skating

At the age of 13, Dana was offered the part of Kimberly Drummond on "Diff'rent Strokes". She had to decide if she wanted to act, or if she would try for a position on the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating team. Her mother wanted her to pursue her acting career, so she took the part.

Answer: Diff'rent Strokes

Plato stayed on the show from its beginning in 1978 until 1984 when she became pregnant. Prior to "Diff'rent Strokes", she had appeared in several dozen commercials.

Answer: Conrad Bain

Conrad Bain was born in Alberta, Canada and has an identical twin brother, Bonar Bain who played the twin brother of Arthur (Conrad Bain) on the TV series "Maude". Conrad Bain studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts.

Answer: she was pregnant

Dana became pregnant by her boyfriend. The producers felt that a teen pregnancy would not fit with the squeaky-clean image of the show, so her character was written out of the program. She did return, however, for guest appearances after the birth of her child.

Answer: fear of typecasting

Actually it was Plato's mother who wanted her to not take the part. Many actresses were considered for the role of Violet including Jodie Foster, Kristy McNichol, Melanie Griffith, and Tatum O'Neal. Brooke Shields ultimately won the part.

Answer: Lanny Lambert

In 1984, Dana married Lanny Lambert, a rock guitarist. The marriage lasted until 1990, with Lambert getting custody of their only child, Tyler.

Answer: drugs and alcohol

By the age of 14, Plato had overdosed on Valium. Later on, she admitted to drinking and using recreational drugs during her time on "Diff'rent Strokes". It was the drugs that eventually led to her demise.

Answer: armed robbery

Plato had become typecast as a result of her squeaky-clean character, Kimberly, on "Diff'rent Strokes". As a result, she found it hard to land credible roles. In addition, Plato had financial trouble due to her alcohol and drug addictions, and in 1991, she held up a video store with a pellet gun. Thankfully, no one was hurt. In total she got less that $200, and was arrested a short time later. Entertainer Wayne Newton posted her $13,000 bond, and Plato was given a 5-year probation term.

Answer: forging Valium perscriptions

Dana was arrested for forging Valium perscriptions and she ended up serving 30 days in jail for probation violation (she was arrested in 1991 for armed robbery and placed on a 5 year probabtion) and made to enter a drug rehab. program.