Whatever Happened To: The Cast Of "Webster”

ABC's rip off of  NBC's “Diff’rent Strokes,” Webster was about a young African-American orphan who gets adopted by a white, newlywed couple George and Katherine Papadopoulos (real-life couple Alex Karras and Susan Clark) The series was set in Chicago, where retired-from-the-gridiron George worked as a sportscaster, while Katherine was a socialite from a rich family working as a psychologist.

Thanks to his obvious similarities to “Diff’rent Strokes” star Gary Coleman, Emmanuel Lewis was plucked from obscurity (after appearing in a Burger King commercial) to star in a sitcom that had pretty much the same premise as Coleman’s hit show. Lewis was given the role of the title character, Webster Long—an adorable and extremely lovable 6-year-old (although Lewis was 12 years old at the time) who became orphaned after his parents died in a car accident.

Other regulars were Henry Polic II (as Katherine's male secretary and Webster's confidant, Jerry Silver) and Eugene Roche and Cathryn Damon (as Bill and Cassie Parker, who lease the Victorian house the Papadopoulous family lives in; George and Katherine buy the house outright in a 1986 episode, after which the Parkers move offscreen to Florida) and Chad Allen as Rob Whitaker.

Chad Allen had already starred in a number of TV shows—including the sitcom “Punky Brewster”—before appearing on the third season of “Webster” as Rob Whitaker (one of Webster’s friends) for four episodes. Since being outed as a gay man 1996, Chad Allen has been an activist for the LGBT community. After his stint on “Webster,” he has continued to do guest roles on TV shows, most recently in the serial killer drama “Dexter.”

The series ran from 1983-1987 on ABC before spending its final two first-run years in syndication. By the time the final first-run episode aired in 1989, Webster was 12 years old and getting ready to enter junior high school; in real life, Lewis had just turned 18.

So whatever happened to the cast?

We miss Webster...and we ❤️you!!!