Danielle W. -
Helpful Score: 3
Wow, it's amazing that Todd lived through all that he did and came out at the other end. He did not hold anything back in this book and I give him credit for being able to admit to all the mistakes he made and learn from them. I actually got emotional at the end of the book, when he finally is getting his life back together again, because I think it speaks to every one of us. No matter how lost we are,or what mistakes we have made, we can always turn our lives around and live the lives we were meant to lead.
I loved Todd when he was on Diff'rent Strokes, but I'm rooting for him even more now!
I loved Todd when he was on Diff'rent Strokes, but I'm rooting for him even more now!
slider728 reviewed Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted on + 44 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Just like almost every kid born in the 70s, I was a fan of Diffrent Strokes. I was young and can barely remember the premise behind the show, but I always remembered the characters of Arnold, Willis, and Kimberly. Then throughout the years, I watched the actors behind my favorite characters fall from grace one by one. When Todd Bridges came out with his book, I could not wait to hear his stories in his own words.
Killing Willis is the autobiography of Todd Bridges, probably best known as the actor behind the character Willis Jackson of Diffrent Strokes. The book covers his life from his childhood to about the year 2000. As a child star, he was on top of the world. As an adult, he has had a well published and followed downward spiral to rock bottom and below.
The author grew up in a middle class hold in an environment mixed with the professional acting successes of his family with turmoil internal to his family. While at the height of his career, he is then betrayed by one of the people closest to him. As it was a different time, he really had no where to turn and had to deal with the embarrassment and anger on his own. The portions on Diffrent Strokes was eye opening. The behind the scenes issues were something I did not expect. Finally, after the show ended, his life began a downward spiral of crime and drugs hat lasted for years. In the end, he pulls himself out of his own personal dungeon and began building what most people would call a normal life.
Overall, the book was a quick and fascinating read. There were two things that I did not especially care for about the book. The first is throughout the book, Mr. Bridges constantly brings up how everyone focuses on the dark part of his life filled with crime, drugs, and incarceration. However, this is one of the main subjects of his book if not the dominant subject. It seemed contradictory that he thought people should forgive him for his past sins, but it is OK for him to exploit them for what I presume is for his personal profit (not that I have any issues with that, it just seemed like a big contradiction in his thinking and story). Second, the book basically ends with the death of Dana Plato, which was right around 2000. There really is not much mention of his life after that point. Perhaps his life after that point was not worthy of putting in a book, but it just seemed odd that an autobiography of a living person ends 10 years before it is published.
Personally, I enjoyed reading the book very much. The story of Todd Bridges is one of a broken man picking himself back up and through determination and hard work, pulled himself back together. The author is blunt about his criminal past and seems to be forthcoming about the crimes he did and did not commit (though I have no idea if he is telling the truth or not) and has owned up to his past mistakes. If you are a fan of Diffrent Strokes, interested in Todd Bridges, or just like to read about celebrities at their worst, this is definitely a book worth reading.
Killing Willis is the autobiography of Todd Bridges, probably best known as the actor behind the character Willis Jackson of Diffrent Strokes. The book covers his life from his childhood to about the year 2000. As a child star, he was on top of the world. As an adult, he has had a well published and followed downward spiral to rock bottom and below.
The author grew up in a middle class hold in an environment mixed with the professional acting successes of his family with turmoil internal to his family. While at the height of his career, he is then betrayed by one of the people closest to him. As it was a different time, he really had no where to turn and had to deal with the embarrassment and anger on his own. The portions on Diffrent Strokes was eye opening. The behind the scenes issues were something I did not expect. Finally, after the show ended, his life began a downward spiral of crime and drugs hat lasted for years. In the end, he pulls himself out of his own personal dungeon and began building what most people would call a normal life.
Overall, the book was a quick and fascinating read. There were two things that I did not especially care for about the book. The first is throughout the book, Mr. Bridges constantly brings up how everyone focuses on the dark part of his life filled with crime, drugs, and incarceration. However, this is one of the main subjects of his book if not the dominant subject. It seemed contradictory that he thought people should forgive him for his past sins, but it is OK for him to exploit them for what I presume is for his personal profit (not that I have any issues with that, it just seemed like a big contradiction in his thinking and story). Second, the book basically ends with the death of Dana Plato, which was right around 2000. There really is not much mention of his life after that point. Perhaps his life after that point was not worthy of putting in a book, but it just seemed odd that an autobiography of a living person ends 10 years before it is published.
Personally, I enjoyed reading the book very much. The story of Todd Bridges is one of a broken man picking himself back up and through determination and hard work, pulled himself back together. The author is blunt about his criminal past and seems to be forthcoming about the crimes he did and did not commit (though I have no idea if he is telling the truth or not) and has owned up to his past mistakes. If you are a fan of Diffrent Strokes, interested in Todd Bridges, or just like to read about celebrities at their worst, this is definitely a book worth reading.
Nadine (23dollars) -
In full disclosure, I was mainly interested in the portions related to his time on Diff'rent Strokes, and I skimmed through much of the rest. Since he's basically shared all of this information in various interviews over the years, you don't really learn anything new here.
What struck me most was how difficult it must've been for an adolescent Todd Bridges to deal with the type of father he had. There's no doubt in my mind his dad's attitude towards himand his many betrayalsaccounted for a great deal of Todd's self-esteem issues throughout his life. It's nice to see he persevered and came through to the life he always wanted.
I really appreciate his writing this book and I wish him all the best!
What struck me most was how difficult it must've been for an adolescent Todd Bridges to deal with the type of father he had. There's no doubt in my mind his dad's attitude towards himand his many betrayalsaccounted for a great deal of Todd's self-esteem issues throughout his life. It's nice to see he persevered and came through to the life he always wanted.
I really appreciate his writing this book and I wish him all the best!
Victoria T. (justicepirate) reviewed Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted on + 350 more book reviews
My first celebrity crush was on Todd Bridges.
It was really great to hear his story and to see how his life was as a child through his acting, and through his downfalls and how God helped him back up. Although this is a great story, the way that Mr. Bridges writes is pretty basic and he is repetitive at times and says, "Like I said" quite often.
In case you are wondering if there is content that is questionable in this book: there is talk about child abuse, molestation, drug use, sex acts, and smoking/alcohol abuse.
It was really great to hear his story and to see how his life was as a child through his acting, and through his downfalls and how God helped him back up. Although this is a great story, the way that Mr. Bridges writes is pretty basic and he is repetitive at times and says, "Like I said" quite often.
In case you are wondering if there is content that is questionable in this book: there is talk about child abuse, molestation, drug use, sex acts, and smoking/alcohol abuse.
Becky W. reviewed Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted on + 41 more book reviews
This book is such an eye opener! kind of hard to read in some parts of his recollections during his drug use, but well worth reading. would highly recommend.
Elizabeth R. (crystaljewelry) reviewed Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted on + 11 more book reviews
Fascinating and somewhat surprising book about the life of someone we all knew as a teenager on TV and the dramatic life of drugs and coming back out of all of his troubles in the years after the show to the present time.
Amber H. reviewed Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted on
Excellent book. Easy read. Great to hear how he turned his life around!
