Talk:Dana Plato

Sexuality

Why is she categorized LGBT? I can't find any evidence of her sexuality, except the 1997 film "Different Strokes: A Story of Jack and Jill ... and Jill," a direct-to-video softcore tale about a sexual threesome. -- which is an acting role, not her personal life. Does anyone have any useful sources on the matter? Cleduc 21:17, 23 July 2005 (UTC)

I have to agree. I could find no evidence that she was a lesbian. Categories removed. Monkeyman 15:24, 24 July 2005 (UTC)

In an interview for Girlfriends magazine (May 1998, Vol. 5, Iss. 5, pg. 28-29+44, "Plato's Republic" by Diane Anderson) Plato said she was a lesbian. Wyss 07:05, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

The overall evidence seems to suggest she was, in effect, bi. Wyss 00:51, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

I can't find any information other than this magazine to suggest she was bisexual/lesbian. Wyss, do you have a link to the actual text of the interview? I'm more inclined to think she said this for publicity reasons rather than anything else. I don't have any intention of changing the article but I just wanted to throw in a different viewpoint. (lol, I can't believe I'm arguing Plato's sexual preference during superbowl halftime.) Monkeyman 01:09, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Ha! I've looked for the actual text but haven't yet found it. There are many, many references to her having "outed" in that issue of Girlfriends magazine, which is a lesbian publication targeted at lesbians. I don't see any evidence she said it for publicity purposes, though I have seen a couple of unsourced claims that months later, Plato said she'd "only experimented." Hence my comment that the evidence seems to sway for her having been more or less bi. Since she did make public statements about her sexuality I think it's appropriate to discuss this and to cat the article. I hesitate to include the Girlfriends cite in the text because we don't have a quote yet. Wyss 02:01, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

According to this site, she recanted the claim. I'm removing the category. If nothing else, it shouldn't be there unless the article supports it explicitly. --Tysto 03:37, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

Plato's sexuality is a matter of question. Although she supposedly came out in Girlfriends, she later recanted and was living with and engaged to Menchaca. Even though NNDB lists her as bisexual, there is no compelling documentation that she was "openly bisexual" (as several people have claimed). In fact, it appears she was merely experimenting and, at the end of her life, turned her back on lesbianism/bisexuality. As such, it is incorrect to list her as "openly bisexual". Doggie Yum Yums 00:57, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

The following quote is from a 1998 interview Plato gave to Owen Keehnen. It was published in a Chicago magazine called Outlines and can be found here:

Did you do any research or have you fantasized about sex with another woman?

I'm open-minded. I don't consider myself gay or hetero, I just am. I've had experiences all over the planet but it always comes down to just me, but I think at this point if I had an ongoing relationship I believe it would be with a man.

In another quote, she talks about the way she would behave toward men if she were a lesbian, implying she is not. Further evidence that calling her "openly lesbian" or "openly bisexual" cannot be truly supported. Doggie Yum Yums 01:19, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Just to clarify, I amd not disputing that Plato ever had a relationship with a woman or a bisexual/homosexual experience. I think the record supports that completely. However, it appears that it was more of a brief experimentation rather than an accepted lifestyle. It is fair to say that she had a same sex relationship, but one cannot make the jump to categorizing her as "openly" bisexual or lesbian. The facts just do not support that. I'll shut up now. :) Doggie Yum Yums 14:52, 20 July 2006 (UTC)

Blackface

Did she paint her face black like a blackface actor? because in the list of performers who had performed in blackface, she is in it I want to know if she really did blackface in different strokes and why ==68.4.66.92

She didn't play in Different Strokes in blackface. The photo in the article shows how she appeared when doing the show. That was the whole background for the series: two black kids adopted by a white family. She may have appeared in blackface in some other shows, but not in DS. — Frecklefoot | Talk 14:50, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

well the the list said it was in an episode of DS

I definitely remember an episode in which Plato wore a tanning agent to make her skin appear fairly dark. This was done as part of the story to reveal the racism a visiting character was exhibiting. I don't believe this should be considered blackface acting Robertbrockway 21:40, 13 October 2005 (UTC)

The episode you all are referring to is in Season 2 (on DVD). Kimberly met a boy skiing and asked him to a school dance. His sister asked Willis, and her racist brother forced her to cancel on Willis because he was black. To teach him a lesson, Kimberly dressed up for the dance and wore blackface, all the while trying to convince her would-be date that she actually tried to "pass for white," but decided to be "black" like her brothers since she felt so comfortable with him. Moral lesson learned, the racist date was put off and left, and yet another moral dilemma was solved in 30 minutes. Mike H. I did "That's hot" first! 04:26, 11 June 2006 (UTC)

Hardcore and softcore pornography

I added that Dana Plato had appeared in hardcore as well as softcore pornography, but someone kept deleting "hardcore." I guess whoever kept deleting this term doesn't suppose that penile-vaginal, anal, and oral sex performed on screen is "hardcore" pornography. In the interests of honesty and integrity, such descriptions should be accurate. I believe that most people would regard on-screen activities of this sort to be examples of "hardcore" rather than "softcore" pornography. Nevertheless, I've decided not to correct the misleading omission of the distinction. When it comes to Wikipedia, let the reader beware.

I have searched the web for any reference to hardcore movies (by the definition given above) and can find none. There are some still photographs floating around, but there are fakes of all kinds of celebrities, so these do not provide proof of this. Plato admits to the softcore stuff in her interview with Stern, but adamantly denies any hardcore and even says she would not consider it. Unless attribution is given (the name of a film or something that credibly documents such activity), hardcore pornography should not be listed. Given this, I am removing the hardcore reference. Doggie Yum Yums 22:19, 28 May 2006 (UTC)

The article mentions Plato had breast implants prior to her Playboy shoot. Is that accurate? She was incredibly flat-chested in that shoot. Was she featured in multiple issues? 1:53, 6 May 2007 (Anonymous) —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 65.96.220.195 (talk) 05:53, 6 May 2007 (UTC).

Birthday

Was Dana Plato born on November 1, 1963 or November 7, 1964? There is a lot of dispute surrounding the dates. Florida license gives 1963, and the death certificate gives 1963. Which is correct? Hotwine8 20:05, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

Actually the official death certificate filed with funeral home shows November 7, 1964. How do I know? I got the original copy.JBrown1045 (talk) 18:09, 30 December 2008 (UTC)

She was born on November 1, 1963. Numerous sources cite this date:

[[1]]

[[2]]

[[3]] —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Agr0223 (talk • contribs).

She was born on November 1, 1963 (driver's license, the only authority that matters). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by George415 (talk • contribs).

All the sites listed by Agr0223 actually show her birthdate as November 7, 1964, not November 1, 1963 as he states. I just wanted to clear that up. That is what the article (for now) states. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 11:48, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Again, DP's birthdate was 1 November 1963. Don't believe me? Go to www.thesmokinggun.com and look up Dana Plato's autopsy report. George415 (talk) 18:02, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Who says they got it right? They probably just took that date from her driver's license, which itself could be wrong. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 20:35, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

Very, very, very unlikely that DL birthdate is wrong. Cops took birthdate from DL and that should be good enough for everyone. Celebs lie about age all the time; was DP any different? 204.239.156.10 (talk) 23:58, 5 May 2008 (UTC)

Could someone more skilled than me please fix the infobox then? As of the time of writing, it shows a birthdate of November 7, 1963, which is neither of the two dates in question, and an age at death of 34. Dumbhick (talk) 12:36, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

Can someone please change Dana's birthday to November 7, 1964 which is the correct day of her birth. Need proof contact me. I have her original death certificate which shows her correct birth date as it was filed by family. Need further proof? Contact her mother which I've already done. The autopsy report was wrong. I asked the guy and he said that they really don't care about the age, height, weight, etc as much as they do about the specifics of someone's death. As I said contact me if you need proof that she was born on Nov. 7, 1964. —Preceding unsigned comment added by JBrown1045 (talk • contribs) 18:04, 30 December 2008 (UTC)

Already did it. JBrown1045 (talk) 04:14, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

Should be a minimum of three years for armed robbery

I'm sorry, and I think the world of Dana, but armed robbery is real serious, perhaps not so much then, when the victim is on automatic pilot and immediately afterward might be on an adrenaline surge and proud that you had such good immediate survival skills. But in the weeks and months later, it can eat at you, it can indeed eat at you, what if it had been a little bit different, what if you had reacted in a little bit different way, what if the robber had been a little bit more hyped up. The world can feel much less safe.

Even with a non-real gun, it's still the threat of violence.

And I'm a person who thinks no one should ever go to jail for tax fraud. That even in the worse cases, attachment of assets, garnishment of wages, and that should be it.

And I agree with the philosopher Jeremy Bentham, "Punishment deters by its likelihood, not its severity."

What Dana really needed was a friend. Now, she may have held it against former cast members, I think I would have. She may have thought they should have done more. But someone, several someones, should have made the effort to remain her friend. And most of all work, help her get good work, meaningful work. When Dustin Hoffman won the Oscar for Kramer vs. Kramer he said in his acceptance speech how incredible fortunate he was, how most actors didn't work . . . and he said it so bluntly, so humanly. And that's the unfortunate truth, all this talent and not near enough opportunity. And that's true for many of us. Not near enough opportunity, not near enough good jobs (not that engage us, not that give us an open field to run with our talent and really develop our talent).

Everyone was telling Dana how great she was and then one day, it was just over.

So, friendship most of all, even and especially when it's hard to remain a friend.

(Most of the time, when a celebrity gets a short sentence and a regular person a long sentence--well, it's obviously unfair--but most of the time it's claimed that the celebrity should have gotten just as long a sentence. I go the other way. I don't think long sentences are good for anyone. A shorter sentence earlier in the game, more consistently applied.)

(And it goes without saying that prisons should be adequately organized and adequately staffed so that no one is abused.)

And it's a light touch remaining her friend. Maybe you have an idea for what she can do, but then graciously pull back if she doesn't agree. We too much believe in confrontation. It's more steadfastness and being there. With drugs, the problem with drugs is that they're so damn dependable. As unsatisfying as they are in the final analysis, when you don't have a lot of other good stuff going on, they can be awfully attractive. A friend can help you get some of that other good stuff going on.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 204.62.68.23 (talk • contribs)

Sorry, but what in the world does this have to do with improving the article? This page is for discussing how to improve the article, it's not meant as a message board. BTW, Plato kind of drove away many of those closest to her by "borrowing" money and then never repaying. She kind of brought on the firing from the show too, by sleeping around. — Frecklefoot | Talk 16:38, 15 January 2007 (UTC)

References

Have spent the last few hours attaching references to the body of the article. There are more references to be made, but it should now be sufficiently sources to remove the tag, which I have done Doggie Yum Yums 17:27, 12 April 2007 (UTC)

Death

Hmm, on IMDb it appears Dana Plato appeared in the movie: Pacino Is Missing, which is a 2002 movie. It says here on Wikipedia she died in 1999. Unless the movie was started in 1999, and finished in 2002, which is unlikely, I don't see any reason for this. --Jomskylark 17:14, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

Many independat films are started one year and released several years later. I don't know what Pacino Is Missing is about or in what context she appeared in it. But given her death date is pretty well documented, it must've just taken some time for them to push this movie out. It does look like an indie. — Frecklefoot | Talk 19:05, 18 May 2007 (UTC)

How'd she die?

On the Diff'rent Strokes page it says she died of drug overdose, here it says suicide -- which is it? Joel s

Both. Suicide by drug overdose. If you read the article, it clears it up. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 15:38, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Try maybe murder? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.48.245.20 (talk) 11:38, 17 October 2007 (UTC)

Whose marriage fell apart?

I'm new to Wikipedia editing, so I'll discuss this first. In the article:

"In 1988, Plato's adoptive mother, Kay, died from a blood disease. Shortly thereafter, her marriage to Lanny Lambert began to fall apart."

This could be worded better, don't you think? It's not clear that it's not (comically) suggesting that Kay's marriage began to fall apart after Kay died.

But, I can see how it's clear that it's Dana's marriage from context. What do others think? I might recommend instead:

"In 1988, Plato's adoptive mother, Kay, died from a blood disease. Shortly thereafter, Dana's marriage to Lanny Lambert began to fall apart."

JordanHenderson 21:03, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Sure, if we can clarify a statement, we must do so! -- ReyBrujo 16:31, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

I fixed it, but changed it to "Shortly thereafter, Plato's marriage to Lanny Lambert began to fall apart." This is in accordance with Wikipedia's style guide. We refer to subjects of articles by their surnames unless in cases where it might cause confusion. I think here it is sufficiently clear we are talking about Dana. If you disagree, go ahead and change it yourself (no need to discuss first, just summarize in the the Edit summary). — Frecklefσσt | Talk 14:23, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

Night Trap

Nowhere on this entire planet is Night Trap considered a "pioneering title." Clips of it are circulated around the internet mainly for their comedic value. It was part of a slough of CD-ROM "Interactive Movie" failures that epitomized that technology and the hype that went with it. This was either added to this article as an inside joke or by people that wanted to have Plato remembered perhaps more seriously than she actually is in popular culture, however unfortunate and sad this may be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.199.65.241 (talk) 22:03, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

I removed the statement, since it needed a ref anyway. If someone does find a reference that asserts it's pioneering status, it can be re-inserted. — Frecklefσσt | Talk 11:23, 25 April 2008 (UTC)

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Suicide or accidental death

Why the article belong to two categories, which are Cause of death disputed and Actors who committed suicide? Was it suicide or not? Besides, who can say that she really wanted to kill herself or she used those medicines in order to end her pain? Who can prove it?200.255.166.197 (talk) 02:41, 20 November 2009 (UTC)