Gary Coleman deathbed photo published in the Globe

Ex-wife Shannon Price is accused of selling the picture

Published June 9, 2010 10:12PM (EDT)

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2008 file photo, actor Gary Coleman, best known from the television series "Diff'rent Strokes" and his wife Shannon Price, appear on the the NBC "Today" television program in New York.  New details surrounding TV actor Gary Coleman's death have emerged with his attorney saying the child star of "Diff'rent Strokes" and his wife divorced in 2008, and Utah authorities releasing a tape of her frantic 911 call after he struck his head in a fall. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) (AP)
FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2008 file photo, actor Gary Coleman, best known from the television series "Diff'rent Strokes" and his wife Shannon Price, appear on the the NBC "Today" television program in New York. New details surrounding TV actor Gary Coleman's death have emerged with his attorney saying the child star of "Diff'rent Strokes" and his wife divorced in 2008, and Utah authorities releasing a tape of her frantic 911 call after he struck his head in a fall. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File) (AP)

CNN, E!, and CBS News report that Wednesday's issue of the Globe features a creepy cover photo of an intubated Gary Coleman on his deathbed.  The photo, also posted on Globe's website, shows the actor with his eyes closed, his ex-wife Shannon Price posing above him for the camera.  The article inside the tabloid claims that Coleman was murdered.

This isn't new ground for the Globe, which once published JonBenet Ramsey's autopsy photos and leaked the identity of the woman who accused Kobe Bryant of sexual assault.  Instead, buzz about the photo is focusing on the identity of the person who released it.

Dion Mial, Coleman's friend and executor of his will, is accusing Price of selling the photo to the Globe, although the magazine hasn't named its source.  Price's rep has released a statement saying, "Dion, who claims to be a good friend of Gary, would know that Gary's only wishes were to make sure that Shannon would be OK after he was gone."  The statement also says that Price needs money, but it doesn't confirm or deny Mial's allegation.  If it's true, it sure is icky.

 


By Jamie Kapalko

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Gary Coleman