Shannon Price, who claims Gary would've died anyway, is fighting with the late actor's estranged parents over custody of his body.
- Jun 4, 2010
AceShowbiz - Funeral for Gary Coleman which was expected to be held on either Friday, June 4 or Saturday, June 6 has been postponed as confirmed by Blake Yates, the Memorial Estates funeral director handling the services. According to reports, the delay is caused by a dispute between Gary's ex-wife and estranged parents.
"The family [his parents] has different plans than what is in Gary's will," Gary's agent Shielia Erickson explains. The Associated Press reports that his parents want the actor's body to be delivered to his birthplace of Zion, Ill., where the Colemans live, while he was originally scheduled to be laid to rest in Utah.
But latest news suggests that Gary's parents, Sue and Willie Coleman, may not have rights over the custody of his body. His "Diff'rent Strokes" co-star Todd Bridges has announced that he is in possession of a document purporting to contain the final wishes of the 42-year-old late actor to exclude his parents.
"[A friend of mine and I] have paperwork, and we'll bring it out soon, that will show what his wishes were and what he wanted," Todd states in an interview with ET Online. "There's a big fight going on with his parents and some other people involved, and after we bring this paperwork out, everybody's going to shut up." He adds, "Gary had certain wishes [to exclude his parents]. I'm not going to go against a dying man's wishes. There's a reason why he didn't speak to them for 23 years."
In related news, Gary's ex-wife Shannon Price has opened up about why she took him off life support. "The doctors told us that even if they had done surgery on him, he would've died. He would've bled to death during the surgery," she says in a video posted on TMZ. She adds, "Even if they did take a chunk out of his brain, he would not be the same. He'd basically be like Muhammad Ali ... I mean, Gary was gone."
On the controversy that Shannon's status as Gary's ex-wife should not give her the rights to make decision over his life, it has been explained that Gary had given her written permission to make medical decisions on his behalf. A hospital has confirmed the matter on Wednesday, June 2, but wouldn't further comment on specifics of his case.
Gary Coleman was pronounced dead on May 28 after he suffered a brain hemorrhage. He was rushed to hospital two days before, but his condition worsened on May 27 afternoon, leaving him unconscious and on life support.
