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Conrad Bain

An affable and professional performer on both stage and screen, actor Conrad Bain permanently entered the cultural lexicon as the rich, but caring father Phillip Drummond who takes in two orphaned African-American boys on the iconic sitcom, "Diff'rent Strokes" (NBC, 1978-1986). While his career may have been viewed by some as limited to that one particular show, Bain actually enjoyed a lengthy career that spanned four decades and included notable success on Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" and Anton Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya." Throughout the 1960s, Bain amassed a résumé filled with small parts and uncredited appearances, but he was finally given the chance to shine with a supporting turn opposite Gene Hackman in "I Never Sang for My Father" (1970). The following year, he appeared with Sean Connery in "The Anderson Tapes" (1971) and Woody Allen in "Bananas" (1971), while starring alongside Red Buttons in the comedy "Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name?" (1971). On television, Bain put his comic skills on fine display as the conservative foil to Bea Arthur on the classic sitcom, "Maude" (CBS, 1972-78), a role he played for the series' entire six-year run. He immediately followed with "Diff'rent Strokes," only to see his career stall as part of the show's so-called curse that greatly affected his onscreen children Todd Bridges, Dana Plato and Gary Coleman. Regardless, Bain achieved immortality thanks to endless reruns that perpetually introduced him to new generations of audiences as the quintessential TV dad.