TV actress Dana Plato who posed for Playboy and appeared in a couple of softporn films towards the end of her career, died Saturday night in Moore, Oklahoma where she was visiting the parents of her fiance. Plato took an apparent overdose of the drugs Valium and Loritab. Plato was in New York City the day before to interview with Howard Stern.
In last Friday's interview, Stern played exerpts from Plato's nude shower scene in Different Strokes: A Story of Jack and Jill...and Jill [reviewed in the September, 1997 issue of AVN]. Plato also appears briefly in another softcore feature called Bikini Beach Race which was profiled by AVN in 1994 in an alternative video supplement.
Stern: "The last time we spoke on the phone to her [Plato's] lesbian lover, the lesbian lover was reporting her missing....now she's here. [Stern announced that Plato was scheduled to appear in Chicago on May 21 and 22nd for the Expo of the Extreme.]
Stern: "You don't look near death...I heard you were nervous to come in."
Plato: "Hell, yeah."
Stern: "So, what happened? Have you become a full blown out lesbian."
Plato: "Heck no. No...no....no. This was a good friend of mine and a total misunderstanding."
Stern: "You guys are not sexual lovers?"
Plato: "No."
Stern: "Oh, really?"
Plato: "I don't know what's going on with this girl. I feel bad for her."
Stern: "You're not into lesbianism?"
Plato: "No."
Stern: "Have you ever tried it?"
Plato: "Well, we've all tried everything. But no. I'm engaged to be married to a man named Mr. Robert Menchaca....a wonderful man."
Stern: "Where did you meet him, here in Manhattan?"
Plato: "I met him in Oklahoma City."
Stern: "He's Hispanic? I see, so you are engaged. Well, this might be the answer to all your problems, actually. Well, she can have a man supporting her. She can sit home and get fat...then you can take half his money. Is it true you made over a $100,000 an episode on Different Strokes?"
Plato: "At one time, yes..."
Stern: "Wow, that's a lot of money. Is that gone?"
Plato: "My mother passed away, and my husband left all in the same week. And I had no clue what to do with myself. Everyone ran everything for me."
Plato tells Stern that her accountant basically cleaned her out.
Stern: "Did you sue him?"
Plato: "He had $11 million of other people's money, also. We looked for him a long time."
Stern: "And the authorities cannot find this man. I don't believe this. How is that possible? The authorities can find anybody. That's a lot of money. And all your money is gone"
Plato: "I had a small stash. I had about $125,000 stashed which I still have."
Stern: "The last time I saw you, you did the Playboy spread...the Different Strokes-thing ended..the thing I remember, you robbed..."
Plato: "I turned myself in. I'm not good at that criminal-thing."
Stern: "That shocked me because you could have gotten away with it."
Plato: "I can't live with that kind of thing. I'm not about that."
Stern: You just got crazed from the drugs, is that it?"
Plato: "No...really what it was, I was very lost. Completely."
Stern: "Did you steal any cash?"
Plato: "Yes..I did it was funny. When I look back on it, it's funny. It really is."
Stern: "You have beautiful breasts, by the way. Did I ever tell you that? They're nice. It's not embarrassing. Women love to hear that. They love to be told they have nice cans. It's a nice thing to say. I remember I saw your cans... you did that movie...it was more than R-rated. It was kind of X-rated.
Plato: "You know what happened there? Here I was going to do a bad B-movie. I had a love scene with a woman- our nipples touched."
Stern: "So you made love to a woman on screen?"
Plato: "It's a movie-type thing...under the sheets and all, our nipples touched. It went X. So now I'm a porn star. They invited me to the foreign convention. I thought that would be a piece of cake. I said why not. I got a kick out of that. That tickled me to death?"
Stern: "Would you ever consider doing porn?"
Plato: "No. I'm not ready to cross that line."
Stern: "When this woman called in who said she was your lover, and she was in the [National] Enquirer as well..."
Plato: "Those pictures...I'll tell you something about that. We never once took a picture together. I don't know where she got those photos. I have no clue. It's a total invasion of privacy."
Stern: "She said she was nervous about you...that you were crazed."
Plato: "She's trying to make herself look real good."
Stern: "...have you've been in psychotherapy, have you been on any medication?"
Plato: "I've been sober for the longest time. I've been sober a decade, now. No joke."
Stern: "You weren't doing any crack or anything with her?"
Plato: "Hell, no."
Robin: "People weren't coming to try to find you and get you into rehab?"
Plato: "They can all bite me."
Stern: "Really? I'll bite you. So you're telling me that this whole story in the Enquirer is complete fabrication?"
Plato: "No joke. Yes it is."
Stern: "But you lived with her?"
Plato: "Yes, I did. She was my roommate for awhile."
Stern: "But you were not lovers?"
Plato: "No."
Stern: "So when she was screaming, 'Where is Dana? I want to find her. I need Dana Plato..'
Plato: "So she can kick my butt, again, maybe..."
Stern: "Did she kick your butt?"
Plato: "She did. That's why I left her."
Stern: "You left her because she kicked your butt?"
Plato: "She sure did."
Stern: "When you say left her, you sound almost like a lover of hers."
Plato: "I left the situation. I left all my things and just left."
Stern: "That's it. And you moved to New York."
Plato: "No, I didn't. I moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma."
Stern: "Everyone thought you were in New York because you were spotted in New York. There's no drug use? Nothing like that?"
Plato: "I've been clean and sober for over a decade."
Robin: "Didn't she [the roommate] say Dana ran off with some of her stuff?"
Plato: "It was really a bad situation. I really have no clue how all of that came about. Maybe it's because she did want me and I didn't know it."
Robin: "The story coming back to me now is that she was clean and sober and that you were threatening her sobriety because of your usage."
Stern: "And you say that's completely false."
Plato: "Yes. I'm not here to say I'm God or I'm a saint. I'm living a life."
Stern: "How are you supporting yourself, now?"
Plato: "I still work. I do films. I've been doing some bad B-movies and also modeling."
Stern: "Nude modeling?"
Plato: "No. I've done two ads for Victoria's Secret...it's more for their catalogue and stuff like that."
Robin: "We were told that you were like a bag lady who was near death's door."
Plato: "I'll always be a bag lady. I'm a bag lady at heart."
Stern: "This is quite a comeback. And you wear a bikini in these lingerie ads? You have a good body, right. You're a skater. I didn't know you were an Olympic skater."
Plato: "I placed in the Nationals, made the Olympic team, then got Different Strokes. My mom made the choice for me."
Stern: "Why wouldn't your mom let you be the lead in The Exorcist.?"
Plato: "I think it was a good choice."
Stern: You do"? It was a great movie. Why wouldn't you want to be a part of that?"
Plato: "She's been typecast."
Stern: "Yes, but, so what. That's her. It doesn't have to be you. You could have still gotten Different Strokes."
Robin: "Pretty Baby didn't hurt Brooke Shields."
Stern: "No, she's doing fine."
Plato: "I was too young, though. I was just too young."
Stern: "I'm crying over this. This is very sad. So then you moved to Texas and met some guy? The guy you're engaged to?"
Plato: "Robert is wonderful. He's just fabulous."
Stern: "A rich guy? Well, he's got a nice diamond ring on you. He must have some dough. What does he do?"
Plato: "He manages my career. He was in traffic control."
Stern: "A cop? You mean he helps school crossings?"
Plato: "He builds bridges and stuff like that...the highway..now he manages my career."
Stern: "So, he's not doing too much. How hard is it to manage your career?"
Plato said she knew the guy about six months.
Plato: "He treats me like a goddess. He's beautiful to me."
Stern: "Did you sign power of attorney?"
Plato: "No. Hell no. Never again."
Stern: "Watch him closer than you watch the accountant. How old a guy is this guy?"
Plato: "28. I still got it, baby."
Stern: "What are you, about 34? And you got a 28 year-old."
Robin: "It's amazing how those Different Strokes kids always wind up in the newspaper."
A discussion ensued about Gary Coleman's recent problems as a security guard.
Plato: "Could he have reached that woman? No. It's not in his nature to do that."
Stern: "Are you in touch with these guys or is it all over between the three of you?"
Plato: "I still speak with everybody. The last time I saw something on television about Todd [Bridges] saying he wanted to get help...I said what help...to get work, maybe. But my life is so good. I've never been happier."
Stern: "Really? There it is."
Tod [on the phone]: "Get this girl out of here. She's a has-been. She needs to admit she's an ex-druggie, a con, a lesbian with mental health problems. She's going to resurrect her career and make some money, again.. There's nothing wrong with that if you're honest."
Plato: "I am. I am a recovering alcoholic. How can you make those [other] accusations. I'm very honest about who I am, who I've been, who I will be who I am now. I'm very sorry to have offended you."
Joe [on the phone]: "You sound a little wired on the radio. I know you say you've been recovering for ten years, but you sound a little speedy."
Plato: "Why don't you ask everyone around here. Do I look high?"
Stern: "You don't look high to me, then, again, Jackie doesn't. He is."
Plato: "I am very nervous."
Stern: "You seem pretty clear. I'm always naive about this sort of thing. I've been accused of being on heroin. Have you ever done heroin? What did you do, coke?"
Plato: "Anything speedy is not my choice of drugs. I'm too hyper."
Stern: "Drinking was nice. Do you miss the drinking?"
Plato: "I think about it. Instead, I'll go to the gym and work out."
Stern: "Would you like a drink? I'm an enabler. I don't know if you knew that or not."
[Another caller accused Plato of doing drugs.]
Plato: "I'll do a U-A [urine analysis] right now."
Stern: "Gary, get me a cup, please. Really. I believe you. She looks great. How are you going to do a urine analysis? Where are you going to send it to? Maybe that would put all these rumors to rest if you took a urine test."
Plato: "I shouldn't have to do that for people, but I will."
Stern: "There's so many rumors floating around about you. I never met anybody so controversial. It seems that everybody's attacking you."
Plato: "That's why I moved out of the city. I'm tired of this. I am who I am. What you see is what you get. I'm about peace. I'm into recycling. I do a lot of community service. When I was in LA I fed the homeless...three times a week. I'm a nice person. I really am. I apologize if I've offended anyone. I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression."
[A female caller-in offering sympathy moved Plato to tears. Stern suggested Plato smoke a little weed.]
Plato: "When I did used to smoke pot, people thought I was normal. Now that I'm straight they think I'm...no joke.
Rich [on the phone]: "Someone that doesn't do drugs doesn't marry someone they've only known for six months. Why don't you get a urine sample from him. You're loaded. You're messed up. It's a masquerade you're putting on. You're lying. I'll put money on it. I'll put $50 bucks on it. You know you're going to fail it. The check is in the mail!"
Stern tells Plato the urine test will shut everybody up.
Rich: "I'll put a $100 bucks on it."
Stern: "I'll give $200 bucks to watch her pee in a cup. Wow, you cause more controversy than me."
Plato: "That's why I moved to a small town out of Tulsa. I live in a population of maybe 600 people."
Stern: "Do they know that you're Dana Plato?"
Plato: "They don't care."
Gary mentions that he remembers reading about a test that examines hair samples for traces of drugs. Plato says she would submit to such a test.
Plato: "This is absurd. This is so absurd."
Stern: "Give us a hair and we'll test you. We'll find out if you're on drugs once and for all."
Plato: "I can't believe I'm having you do that."
Another caller-in mentions a Plato story that linked her to all-night sex orgies with TV star Adam Rich of Eight is Enough. Stern put the question to Plato
Stern: "You did not? Not that there's anything wrong with that."
Plato: "Hey, it's a compliment to me, but, no, I did not."
Plato mentions that she also shared a dressing room with Janet Jackson during tapings of Different Strokes.
Plato: "I don't want to put her down because she's a gorgeous woman and I have great respect for her."
Stern: "You saw her nude?"
Plato: "I don't want to say anything bad about her."
Stern: "Why is that bad to say that...that you saw her naked? Were you physically attracted to her?"
Another caller-in said that Plato was being evasive about things, particularly about the "lesbian-thing."
Stern: "She says she's not a lesbian. She said she's tried. She's done it a few times. What happened to your kid? You were fired from Different Strokes for getting pregnant. Did you lose custody of the kid?"
Plato: "I have him. He's 14....I'm tired of defending my character everywhere I go"
Another caller-in said he used to watch Plato on TV and touch himself with different strokes.
A former roommate of Todd Bridges' called in asking Plato if it were true that Bridges broke her arm on the set.
Plato: "We were fooling around I went WWF on him, and he landed on me. It wasn't a violent thing at all."
Gene Ross had a quickie interview with Plato in 1994 in connection with her Bikini Beach Race film appearance [Ron Jeremy also has a cameo in the picture.]
It reads as follows: "Plato's Republic - Temporarily out of the Hollywood swing-of-things, Dana Plato's current retreat is now Tulsa where she's working on 'developing a solid relationship' with her son, and roller-blading an average 8 to 10 miles a day to keep in shape. Acknowledging her controversial past, Plato, who once posed in the all-together for Playboy, said she opted for the 'safer, good-girl role' in Bikini Beach Race when she talked to the film's producer, Xavier Barquet. By safer-good-girl, Plato obviously meant doing nudity. She said she'll do it when the part is right and tasteful and would like to find an erotic thriller vehicle to work in. 'This girl [J.D. in Bikini Beach Race ],' Plato goes on to say, 'is a tomboy-type that won't take any shit. She's a lot like me.' "
Plato signed autographs at the 1994 VSDA show in Las Vegas on behalf of the film and its releasing company, BRI Video.
