Kimberly/Dana had perfect, all-American good looks

[julietx]

She looked as American as apple pie. Fair-haired, blue-eyed, and cute as a button. She looked so wholesome and innocent. She sparkled like the high noon sun. When you picture the all-American girl next door, you picture someone who looks like Kimberly/Dana. She was the quintessential image of what a true blue American girl should be. I love how Kimberly was a daddy's girl but was spoiled sweet. She wasn't a brat. She was a kind, caring person. I want to think that Dana was the same way and could have lived a good life if she could have ever gotten clean from drugs. I think that Dana was a good girl who simply fell into problems, desperately needed help, but never got it.

[RetroGuy2000]

All-American?

Unlike Felice Schachter, maybe?

[julietx]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

All-American?

Unlike Felice Schachter, maybe?

Dana Plato was one of the most wholesome-looking girls ever on television.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

All-American?

Unlike Felice Schachter, maybe?

Maybe you should do the Felice "All American" Air Quotes meme here?

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Maybe you should do the Felice "All American" Air Quotes meme here?

Hmmm, good point!

Alright, here she is complaining that the network suits thought Dana was more...

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by julietx

Dana Plato was one of the most wholesome-looking girls ever on television.

Looks can be deceiving.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Looks can be deceiving.

...And they definitely were, in Dana's case, whether she was holding up a video store, doing soft-core porn, or snorting her entire Diff'rent Strokes salary in one sitting. Dana clearly didn't feel wholesome and all-American, to herself, at least.

[julietx]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Looks can be deceiving.

Exactly. That was the whole point of my post. Dana probably got by with a lot because of the way she looked. Even when she committed armed robbery, she got off easy. We have to admit that Dana looked as wholesome and innocent as a lamb. When you watch her on "Diff'rent Strokes", her holding up a cashier at a store seems totally inconceivable. The cashier was probably more confused than afraid. I would have been like, "What the hell?". I would have thought that it could be a Candid Camera joke. It's mind-boggling. So yes, looks are very deceiving. Just like her character Kimberly Drummond who could get by with murder, so too could Dana.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by julietx

Exactly. That was the whole point of my post. Dana probably got by with a lot because of the way she looked. Even when she committed armed robbery, she got off easy. We have to admit that Dana looked as wholesome and innocent as a lamb. When you watch her on "Diff'rent Strokes", her holding up a cashier at a store seems totally inconceivable. The cashier was probably more confused than afraid. I would have been like, "What the hell?". I would have thought that it could be a Candid Camera joke. It's mind-boggling. So yes, looks are very deceiving. Just like her character Kimberly Drummond who could get by with murder, so too could Dana.

Didn't the cashier after Dana left, call the police and say something along the lines of "I just got robbed by the girl who played Kimberly on Diff'rent Strokes!"?