Todd Anthony Bridges (born May 27, 1965) is an American actor. He portrayed Willis Jackson on the sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and had a recurring role as Monk on the sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. Bridges worked as a commentator on the television series World's Dumbest... from 2008 to 2013.
Early life Bridges was born in 1965, in San Francisco, California, the son of Betty Alice Pryor, an actress, director, and manager, and James Bridges Sr., a talent agent. His brother Jimmy Bridges and sister Verda Bridges are also actors.
Career
Television
Bridges appeared on The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, The Love Boat Season 2 Episode 5, and the landmark miniseries Roots. He was a regular on the Barney Miller spinoff Fish. It was playing Willis Jackson on the NBC/ABC sitcom Diff'rent Strokes that made him a household name, along with those of fellow co-stars Conrad Bain, Charlotte Rae, Dana Plato, and Gary Coleman. With Rae's death in 2018, Bridges became the last surviving original cast member.
Bridges appeared in the 2002 special Celebrity Boxing with friend Vanilla Ice, whom he defeated. In 2006, Bridges appeared as a contestant on a celebrity episode of Fear Factor but was eliminated after the first stunt. Also in 2006, he appeared as a contestant on the Fox reality show Skating with Celebrities but was eliminated in the second episode of the show because he was using roller skates instead of ice skates. In January 2007, he appeared as a member of the "mob" on the American version of the game show 1 vs. 100. He and his wife Dori Bridges appeared in the November 14, 2007 episode of the MyNetworkTV show Decision House titled "Burned Bridges." He also had a recurring role as Monk on the UPN/The CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris.
In March 2008, Bridges appeared on TruTV Presents: World's Dumbest..., on which he appeared throughout the show’s run. That October, he debuted as a contestant on Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling on CMT as a member of Team Beefcake (coached by former wrestler Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake). Bridges' wrestling persona was the character Mr. Not So Perfect. In one episode, he defeated Tonya Harding with a lead pipe. The judges praised him for his athleticism and his cunning in his defeat of Harding. After reaching the finals along with Butterbean and Dustin Diamond, Bridges was defeated by Dennis Rodman. In 2015, Bridges was the host of a live game show titled Lovers or Losers: The Game Show at the Plaza Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. In 2022, Bridges was announced as a HouseGuest competing in the third season of Celebrity Big Brother.
Music videos Bridges has appeared in several music videos. His first appearance was in Penny Ford's single "Change Your Wicked Ways" (1984). He made a cameo in Moby's 2002 music video for "We Are All Made of Stars" and in the video for the Black Keys' 2011 single "Howlin' for You."
Personal life Bridges has a daughter Bo from an early relationship. Bridges' son, Spencir Bridges (born July 15, 1998) from his marriage to former wife Dori Bridges (née Smith), is also a former child actor who appeared in the film Daddy Day Camp and an episode of iCarly.
In 1998, Bridges and his brother James saved the life of Stella Kline, a 51-year-old paraplegic woman who nearly drowned when her wheelchair rolled into a lake while she was fishing. Kline said: "I was thanking God that he was there and you know, everybody's been saying nothing but bad stuff about Todd Bridges on the news and in the papers... He has a heart of gold." Bridges remarked: "We felt God put us there at the right time to save this lady's life, because there was no one else around."
In a 2010 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Bridges said that he was sexually abused at age 11 by a publicist who was also a family friend.
On September 25, 2022, he married designer Bettijo Hirschi. On January 14, 2026, Bridges announced that he and Hirschi had separated.
Legal and criminal problems
In his twenties, Bridges battled a crack cocaine and methamphetamine addiction. He bought and sold drugs to support his habit. Bridges was arrested for felony assault and cocaine possession.
In 1983, Bridges was fined $240 for carrying a concealed firearm. In 1987, he received a suspended sentence after pleading no contest to the charge of making a bomb threat.
In 1989, Bridges was arrested and tried for the attempted murder of Kenneth "Tex" Clay, a Los Angeles-area drug dealer who prosecutors argued had been shot by Bridges. Bridges pleaded not guilty and was represented by the famous defense attorney Johnnie Cochran, who argued that Bridges was an abused minor who had been driven to drugs by an exploitative entertainment industry and was now being framed. A witness further testified that Bridges was not present at the shooting, and Bridges was acquitted of all charges by a jury.
Bridges was arrested on December 29, 1992, on suspicion of transporting narcotics for sale and for the possession of a loaded firearm after Burbank, California police officers discovered methamphetamines and a loaded gun in his car. He was released on $10,000 bail. Bridges stopped using drugs on February 24, 1993, after years of use.
Memoir Bridges wrote a book, Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted (2008), discussing his childhood sexual abuse, drug addiction, criminal charges and efforts to establish a public identity independent of the Willis character. He appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 28, 2010 to discuss the troubled past that he had chronicled in his memoir. In a review on The AV Club, Nathan Rabin described the book as "self-pitying, self-aggrandizing bullshit".
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes1983High School U.S.A.Otto Lipton1989She's Out of ControlWater Man1992The Sounds of SilenceJoe GoodmanIndependent film, co-starring Dana PlatoHomeboyJohnny Davis1996GangstazTyrone1997The Girl Gets MoeDr. Glick1998The Waterfront Gary Franklin1999Flat OutDr. Acosta2000The Thief & the StripperBurn2002The Beach HouseToddThe ClimbEddieWelcome to AmericaEasy TScream at the Sound of the BeepLamarPacino is MissingHarrison DodgeInd. film, co-starring Dana PlatoBaby of the FamilyTed2003Pauly Shore Is DeadHimselfCameoDumb LuckLincoln2004Land of the Free?AlexCurse of the MayaRuben Herardo2005Treasure N'Tha HoodHenry NailsIssuesCarsonI Got Five on ItJimmyDirect-to-video2006San FranpsychoOfficer EckersleyDirect-to-video2007Frankie DFrankie D2008DarkroomCharles the Barkeep2009See Dick RunATMI Got Five on It TooJimmyThe Jerk TheoryWaiterUncredited2010Big Money RustlasScruffy Scrub #3The Apparition of RoxanneOfficer JohnstonDo Me a SolidMauriceShort film2011King of the UndergroundTodd2012That's My BoyHimselfCameoTurning PointMarvin2014Monsters on Main StreetLarry Goleman2016Dependent's DayHank WrightPrecious MettleSamThe White SistasBishop WilkinsDead RingerDetective BillingtonBar ChroniclesThe CustomerInd. filmNightbladeDetective FrancescoRenaissance ManToddHospital ArrestProsecutor Denuyl2017The White SistasBishop Wilkins2019A Psycho's PathHaywood
Television Year Title Role Notes1975Barney MillerTruman JacksonEpisode: "The Hero"The Orphan and the DudeLeonard BrownTV movieKatherineRobert1976Police StoryLittle WalterEpisode: "Oxford Gray"1977Little House on the PrairieSolomon HenryEpisode: "The Wisdom of Solomon"A Circle of ChildrenToddTV movieRootsBud HarveyTV Mini-SeriesA Killing AffairTodd YorkTV movie1977–1978FishLoomisMain role (35 episodes)The WaltonsJosh Foster2 episodes1978The Love BoatMichael Jr.Episode: "Mike and Ike"1978–1986Diff'rent StrokesWillis JacksonMain role (169 episodes)1979The Return of Mod SquadJason HayesTV movieHello, LarryWillis Jackson3 episodes1979–1980CHiPsTodd Bridges2 episodes (uncredited)1979–1981The Facts of LifeWillis Jackson2 episodes1980–1981Here's BoomerTurk/Benny1983High School U.S.A.Otto LiptonTV movie1988Twice DeadPetie1991The New LassieDeputy KirbyEpisode: "Twin Pekes (Aka Justice)"1992The Ben Stiller ShowTodd Bridges2 episodes1997L.A. HeatTrevorEpisode: "Cop Star"2000The DarklingBaronTV movie2001Son of the BeachTodd BridgesEpisode: "It's a Nude, Nude, Nude, Nude World"2002The Rerun ShowT.J. Davis1 episodeThe Young and the RestlessJuice8 episodes2003Cram (Celebrity Edition)Himself1 episode2003Ghost Dog: A Detective TailPower Plant GuardTV movie2004Jane Doe: Now You See It, Now You Don'tThe Man2005Alien ExpressPeter2007–2009Everybody Hates ChrisMonk17 episodes2008–2012World's Dumbest...Himself112 episodes2011Are We There Yet?HimselfEpisode: "The Lindsey Gets High Episode"2013The Ben ShowHimselfRecurring Segment: "Todd Bridges Animated Crack Stories"2014Hotel PBrycePilot2016–2020Sangre NegraDante Lewis3 episodes2021Live in Front of a Studio Audience HimselfEpisode: "The Facts of Life/Diff'rent Strokes"2022Celebrity Big Brother Himself2023Celebrity Beef Himself2024 Christmas in the Friendly Skies Darnell TV MovieEverybody Still Hates ChrisMonk (voice)2 episodes
Video games Year Title Voice role2014Tesla EffectMantus20162064: Read Only MemoriesHayden Webber2019Take a SeatNarrator
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