11 years after struggling to come to terms with his mother's suicide, Tyler Lambert took his own life by putting a shotgun in his mouth and pulling the trigger.
- May 13, 2010
AceShowbiz - The son of late "Diff'rent Strokes" star Dana Plato has taken his own life in a tragic repeat of history after failing to come to terms with his mother's suicide almost 11 years to the day. Tyler Lambert, who had a history of substance abuse and depression, died last Friday, May 7 after embarking on a drugs binge before putting a shotgun in his mouth and pulling the trigger.
He had spiraled into a bout of depression as the anniversary of his mum's death loomed on the same weekend as Americans prepared to celebrate Mother's Day on Sunday, May 9, and detailed his heartache in a suicide note. Lambert lost his actress mum to a drug overdose almost 11 years to the day, on May 8, 1999.
Officials at the medical examiner's office in his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma confirmed his death was a "Suicide by a gunshot to the head", reports the National Enquirer. His grandmother Joni Richardson tells the publication, "Tyler wanted to be with his mother. His father Lanny (Lambert, Plato's ex-husband) is devastated."
Plato starred as Kimberly Drummond in the hit 1980s TV sitcom, which catapulted her co-star Gary Coleman to fame.
