"Avenue Q" Will Keep Gary Coleman Character

The cast of hit puppet musical "Avenue Q" will keep their Gary Coleman character alive despite the namesake actor's death. The character, a city superintendent who laments “Try having people stopping you to ask you, ‘What’choo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?’ It gets old,” is currently played by Danielle K. Thomas. She told the Times the cast had discussed what would happen if Coleman died, and said, “I would joke and say, ‘Oh my God, I’ll be unemployed, I won’t have a job.' But then when it really happened, it was like, wow, this is something really serious. And you really had to think about how to approach this.” Check out the 2:30 mark of this "Avenue Q" Tony performance for a great superintendent Coleman appearance:

Coleman's family and friends are devastated by the troubled star's death, but his wife Shannon Price said he died "knowing how beloved he still is." "Diff'rent Strokes" co-star Janet Jackson said, "He has left a lasting legacy. I know he is finally at peace," but co-star Todd Bridges lamented, "It's unfortunate. It's a sad day. It's sad that I'm the last kid alive from the show." Coleman died yesterday at age 42 after suffering a brain hemorrhage.