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Different shots actress Melanie Watson died. She was 57 years old.
TMZ reported on Sunday, December 28 that Watson died two days before in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His brother, Robert Watsontold the media that Mélanie had been in the hospital after suffering from bleeding problemsadding that his condition has deteriorated.
Mélanie, who used a wheelchair, was born with osteogenesis imperfecta. Cleveland Clinic defines the disorder, known as brittle bone syndrome, as a connective tissue disease that weakens bones, causing them to break with little or no force.
Melanie played the role of Kathy Gordon in Different shotswhere she appeared in four episodes. The sitcom aired for eight seasons from 1978 to 1986.
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Years later, Mélanie reflected on her role in the series with Independent threadadmitting that she wasn’t always the easiest child.
“I was a pill. I was always playing with my yo-yo and listening to my Walkman,” she said. “At that time, I didn’t have a wheelchair. So I was carried everywhere.”
Melanie recalled that the manual wheelchair she used often got stuck in cords throughout filming, but she said the crew was helpful. In her second appearance on the show, Melanie’s character appeared on crutches to prove she could walk – which she wasn’t thrilled about.
“I didn’t want to do that,” she said, explaining that a few years before filming she suffered a fall that made her hesitant to walk again. “I remember saying, ‘This is someone else’s dream.’ But they explained to me that that was the premise of the episode.
Mélanie’s mother encouraged her to go all the way on stage, which she did. In the end, Melanie thanked Norman Lear for taking the opportunity to show viewers another way of life.
“I’m proud of Norman for going against the norm and doing something,” she said. “I didn’t realize what a gift it was to be the first. If I had it to do over again, I would have stayed with the company.”
After leaving Different shotsMélanie has helped other people living with disabilities. She was also the founder and director of Train Rite, an organization that trains dogs to help people with disabilities, according to her IMDb profile.
IMDb also noted that Mélanie was married to Robert Bernhardt from 1994 to 1996.
Melanie then ran for public office in 2020, trying to win a seat in the Colorado State Senate before her campaign had to be “brought to a screeching halt” due to “unpredictable health conditions.”
“My campaign isn’t rich, but I’m not running because I’m trying to get rich. I’m running because I want to make change,” she wrote via Facebook at the time. “A change that will improve and enrich the lives of people in this community, as well as our state. Let’s do it!”
She wanted to run again in 2025. “Hello everyone! she wrote via Facebook in 2024. “I wanted to get to work on my 2025 race! Time is wasting! My platform is set up and I’m ready to hear your thoughts and concerns.”
