Attendees at the upcoming Cauliflower Alley Club reunion will have one really good reason to be asking, “What’choo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?”
Todd Bridges will be receiving the CAC’s REEL Award.
Bridges was, of course, Willis Drummond on the long-running sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, where his little brother, Arnold Drummond (played by Gary Coleman) always asked, “What’choo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?” The show ran from 1978 to 1985. After it went off the air, Bridges had trouble finding work, and fell into drug addiction and trouble with the law.
He was on more than a few reality shows as he fought to regain control of his life, including Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling.
Bridges has many ties to pro wrestling and was at this past weekend’s The Big Event fan fest in Brentwood, NY.
His first singles bout was in 2009, which SlamWrestling covered: Actor Todd Bridges makes a good showing in pro debut.
The REEL Award award has a rich history at the CAC, and recent recipients include “Mr. Outrageous” Al Burke, Howard “Pepper” Martin, Terry Funk, “Grizzly Adams” Dan Haggerty, and Magic Schwarz.
Though even before its creation, the Club featured Hollywood stars by the boatful, as its founder, Mike Mazurki, was a wrestler turned actor and always invited his friends out to the banquets.
The Cauliflower Alley Club reunion takes place at the Plaza Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Aug. 19-21, 2004.
TOP PHOTO: Left photo: The main cast of Different Strokes was Gary Coleman, Dana Plato, Conrad Bain and Todd Bridges; right photo: Todd Bridges at The Big Event fan fest on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at the Suffolk Credit Union Arena in Brentwood, NY. Photo by George Tahinos, https://georgetahinos.smugmug.com
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