Gary Coleman

Gary Coleman called his mother "vindictive" for her appeal this week to have her son's $6 million fortune and his $750,000 annual income put under a court-appointed conservator. "My mother's latest legal action obviously stems from her frustration at not being able to control my life," the 21-year-old star of TV's Diff'rent Strokes said Wednesday. Drugs that her son takes to control a kidney malady, Edmonia Sue Coleman told a Los Angeles court Monday, have had a "debilitating" effect on him and he is at "significant risk of financial exploitation.

GARY COLEMAN told "Inside Edition" that he's been secretly married since August to 22-year-old Shannon Price. The couple tied the knot on a mountaintop in Nevada and "Nobody was around but the minister, preacher, the videographers, the photographer, the helicopter pilot and us," Coleman said. Sounds like the photographer had an easy job, only having to shoot one table. Coleman, who has 18 years on Price, played down their age difference. "I don't have issues with age, I have issues with intelligence," he said.

GARY COLEMAN was rushed by ambulance to a Los Angeles hospital early yesterday after having what appeared to be a seizure in his hotel room. The "Diff'rent Strokes" actor was doing some anti-promotional work for "Midgets vs Mascots," including a phone interview with Preston and Steve on 93.3 WMMR just before becoming ill. Coleman claims to hate the mockumentary, which was screened at last spring's Tribeca film fest. The 41-year-old actor, who has had two kidney transplants, was conscious but undergoing tests, according to his agent, Robert Malcolm.

Who are these creatures? Not Jim Henson's wholesome Muppets, surely, but they certainly look a lot like Bert and Ernie, and, why, that could be Cookie Monster's cousin! But - oh, my goodness, what are those puppets doing to each other?!? Avenue Q, the hit musical now at the long-dark, still-gorgeous Forrest Theatre, is a sweet, funny show with one foot in childhood and the other in adulthood. Which is to say, it's about twenty- and thirtysomethings: plenty of sex, plenty of idealism, plenty of anxiety, no money.

There's been a revolving door of eateries in the Kings Highway storefront now occupied by the British Chip Shop in quaint downtown Haddonfield. But I'm hoping the timeless appeal of great fried fish and crispy chips - seemingly common but so rarely done this well - gives this genuine ode to English comforts a fighting chance. Co-owned by Ed Strojan and his step-father, Gary Coleman, who also has the English Gardener gift shop across the street, virtually everything here is made with an eye to authenticity, from the shortcakey scones with imported clotted cream to pastry-wrapped banger sausages, sides of mushy peas, Madras curry sauce, and, especially, those fish and chips.

Koenigs plan a book of fan tributes Walter and Judith Koenig, the parents of actor Andrew Koenig, who was found dead of an apparent suicide in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Thursday, say they will thank the actor's fans by collecting the letters and e-mails of support they have received in a remembrance book. For his part, Andrew's Growing Pains costar Kirk Cameron says, "It is with great sorrow to hear about the final outcome of the search for my old friend. " And he begs the media to "be sensitive" to the Koenigs.

BRIDGES TAKING STRAIGHT ROAD For eight years, American viewers watched Todd Bridges, one of the stars of Diff'rent Strokes, grow up; after the show ended, the life of the 25-year-old actor seemed to fall into disarray. Bridges suffered a series of arrests that included everything from carrying a concealed weapon to the attempted murder of a crack dealer. He also suffered a drug problem. But things have turned around, and now, after experiencing a drug-free 18 months, Bridges will be in Philadelphia, speaking to children at Barratt Middle School today and participating in a conference tomorrow at Children's Hospital.

CHICAGO - Michigan Avenue is where locals and tourists go to indulge. The drag is lined with high-end retail shops, bars and restaurants. People here refer to it as the Magnificent Mile. It could just as easily be called Busker Boulevard. When I went out for deep dish pizza the other day, I must have run into half a dozen street performers within three or four blocks of each other. There was the a cappella singer with a change cup who belted original tunes - "Treat me as part of your fa, fa, faaaammmmily" - and a guy standing on a milk crate outside the Gap telling jokes through a bullhorn.

'Bangkok' tops slow box-office weekend The critically panned thriller Bangkok Dangerous starring Nicholas Cage needed just $7.8 million to win top spot at the box office last weekend, the slowest movie weekend in five years, according to studio estimates. The total weekend box-office gross was expected to reach $66 million, slightly less than the $66.7 million for the same weekend in September 2003. "We had no strong holdover from Labor Day weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media by Numbers.

The last mini-series battle of the February "sweeps" continues tonight with CBS's Blood & Orchids squaring off against ABC's Crossings. I haven't previewed Crossings, and I wasn't terribly enthralled by Blood & Orchids, so you're sort of on your own. Actually, the best mini-series of the night may well be Part 3 of PBS's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. EVENING HIGHLIGHTS ANNIE (8 p.m., Ch. 3) - Sing along and follow the bouncing ball: "Tomorrow, tomorrow, watch TV tomorrow - but don't watch this show today.

There's been a revolving door of eateries in the Kings Highway storefront now occupied by the British Chip Shop in quaint downtown Haddonfield. But I'm hoping the timeless appeal of great fried fish and crispy chips - seemingly common but so rarely done this well - gives this genuine ode to English comforts a fighting chance. Co-owned by Ed Strojan and his step-father, Gary Coleman, who also has the English Gardener gift shop across the street, virtually everything here is made with an eye to authenticity, from the shortcakey scones with imported clotted cream to pastry-wrapped banger sausages, sides of mushy peas, Madras curry sauce, and, especially, those fish and chips.

Chef Matt Levin is known as a kitchen experimenter. This explains the bar stocked with science-lab equipment and the dining tables made of schoolroom tables at the comfortably old-fashioned Queen Village bistro Adsum (700 S. Fifth St., 267-888-7002). Levin calls his menu progressive - viz. , small plates such as foie gras poutine, salt and vinegar chicharron, and Kool-Aid pickled watermelon and mains such as fried chicken, collards, ham hocks, hot sauce ($18), and wild salmon, beet relish, horseradish whip ($19)

Gary Coleman was a precocious and imaginative child with a singular drive to succeed, the late actor's parents, Sue and W.G. "Willie" Coleman tell People. "We always worried how he could be self-sufficient in life because of his condition," says Sue, 67, referring to the congenital kidney disease that halted Gary's growth. Gary, 42, died Friday after falling and hitting his head at his home. In her 911 call, which has been posted by TMZ, his panicked wife, Shannon Price , helplessly says, "There's blood all over.

CHICAGO - Michigan Avenue is where locals and tourists go to indulge. The drag is lined with high-end retail shops, bars and restaurants. People here refer to it as the Magnificent Mile. It could just as easily be called Busker Boulevard. When I went out for deep dish pizza the other day, I must have run into half a dozen street performers within three or four blocks of each other. There was the a cappella singer with a change cup who belted original tunes - "Treat me as part of your fa, fa, faaaammmmily" - and a guy standing on a milk crate outside the Gap telling jokes through a bullhorn.

DIRECTOR Guillermo del Toro said yesterday that production delays have forced him to quit the planned film version of J.R.R. Tolkien 's "The Hobbit," a two-part prequel to New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson 's blockbuster trilogy "Lord of the Rings. " "In light of ongoing delays in the setting of a start date for filming 'The Hobbit,' I am faced with the hardest decision of my life," del Toro told a "Lord of the Rings" Web site. "After nearly two years of living, breathing and designing a world as rich as Tolkien's Middle Earth, I must, with great regret, take leave from helming these wonderful pictures," he said, noting that the film still hadn't been given the go-ahead by struggling MGM. Del Toro will continue to co-write the scripts with Jackson, his wife, Fran Walsh , and Philippa Boyens . Jackson told TheOneRing.

Koenigs plan a book of fan tributes Walter and Judith Koenig, the parents of actor Andrew Koenig, who was found dead of an apparent suicide in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Thursday, say they will thank the actor's fans by collecting the letters and e-mails of support they have received in a remembrance book. For his part, Andrew's Growing Pains costar Kirk Cameron says, "It is with great sorrow to hear about the final outcome of the search for my old friend. " And he begs the media to "be sensitive" to the Koenigs.

GARY COLEMAN was rushed by ambulance to a Los Angeles hospital early yesterday after having what appeared to be a seizure in his hotel room. The "Diff'rent Strokes" actor was doing some anti-promotional work for "Midgets vs Mascots," including a phone interview with Preston and Steve on 93.3 WMMR just before becoming ill. Coleman claims to hate the mockumentary, which was screened at last spring's Tribeca film fest. The 41-year-old actor, who has had two kidney transplants, was conscious but undergoing tests, according to his agent, Robert Malcolm.

Week 8 and the fantasy is half over. Was it half-good for you? Time for the one-time-only Reali-ty of Fantasy Midseason Awards. Just like all other midseason awards only with more Saved by the Bell references. Ready, Zack Attack? Good. I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so scared. The RoF MVP Presented by the Mazda MPV - Matt Schaub. No. 1 on your scorecard, No. 64 in your hearts. That 63 picks could go before him on draft day is somewhat understandable. That he's being started in only 69.5 percent of all ESPN leagues is not. If someone's giving you 300-and-3 every week, you've got to lock that down, Bro Montana.

USAToday.com says that Kill Bill auteur and avid American Idol fan ( ?! ) Quentin Tarantino will help the seven Idol finalists prepare to sing songs from movies next week. He will then hack them to pieces with a samurai sword. Kanye & his blessed ego Chart-topping musical superhero Kanye West says he has been conducting peace negotiations with His Ego, Blessed May It Be - which, we hear, needs a fully furbished hotel suite of its own whenever Kanye is on tour.

'Bangkok' tops slow box-office weekend The critically panned thriller Bangkok Dangerous starring Nicholas Cage needed just $7.8 million to win top spot at the box office last weekend, the slowest movie weekend in five years, according to studio estimates. The total weekend box-office gross was expected to reach $66 million, slightly less than the $66.7 million for the same weekend in September 2003. "We had no strong holdover from Labor Day weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media by Numbers.