Conrad Bain, known best as TV dad Phillip Drummond on
"Diff'rent Strokes," has died, family sources tell TMZ. He
was 89 years old.

Bain passed away Monday night in Livermore, CA, the cause of
death has not yet been released. Bain's daughter Jennifer tells
TMZ, "He was a lot like Mr. Drummond, but much more interesting
in real life. He was an amazing father.”

Born in Alberta, Canada (yes, Mr. Drummond was Canadian),
Bain served in the Canadian army during World War II and
studied acting in New York City alongside Charles Durning and
Don Rickles. He found success as a stage actor and played
innkeeper Mr. Wells on the '60s vampire soap "Dark Shadows"
before finding his niche in TV sitcoms.

Bain played Bea Arthur's sparring partner Dr. Arthur Harmon on
"Maude" for 6 seasons, which led to his best-remembered role:
kindly millionaire Phillip Drummond, who took 2 orphaned
African-American boys from Harlem into his Park Avenue home
on NBC's "Diff'rent Strokes." Debuting in 1978, "Strokes" ran for
8 seasons and made a star out of precocious tyke Gary Coleman.
But Bain was the moral center of the show, always there to help
Arnold and Willis learn their lesson with some words of wisdom.

When "Strokes" ended in 1986, Bain returned to theater -- although
he did reprise his role as Mr. Drummond in the series finale of
"The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" in 1996. Since then, Bain has turned
his energies toward screenwriting and enjoying his retirement. He
is survived by 3 sons and 1 daughter.

RIP Mr. Bain