Conrad Bain dead: 'Diff'rent Strokes' actor was 89

This just in: Conrad Bain, the veteran actor of stage and screen -- and most prominently TV -- has died. He was 89. Bain, best known as Mr. Drummond, the starchy plutocrat of that long-ago hit “Diff'rent Strokes” that turned Gary Coleman into a TV star, was Canadian born, though headed stateside to appear on stage (Broadway, in O'Neill) and later TV. Here's a good overview of this wide and varied career.

Of course, it was television that made him into a household name of the '70s — specifically “Maude” (Dr. Arthur Harmon) and later “Strokes.” In fact, Bain got lead billing on “Strokes,” though Dana Plato and Coleman went on to become bigger TV stars.