
About this work
This original 12‑field production cel features Andy LeBeau, the animated angel‑in‑training character voiced by Gary Coleman in The Gary Coleman Show, a 1982 Hanna‑Barbera Saturday‑morning spin‑off of the live‑action TV movie The Kid with the Broken Halo. In the film and series, Coleman plays a wise‑cracking young angel tasked with earning his wings by helping people on Earth, and this cel captures Andy in a characteristic moment of crossed‑arm contemplation or frustration, his halo absent and his posture signaling both attitude and uncertainty. The hand‑painted figure measures approximately 3" x 5.5" on acetate and is displayed over a printed fence background added for presentation, emphasizing the character’s silhouette against a neutral, urban‑feeling setting. As a single‑season, 13‑episode series tied directly to Coleman’s star power from Diff’rent Strokes, the show occupies a distinct place in 1980s television history, reflecting both the era’s fascination with angelic helpers and the visibility of Black child actors in family programming. Within The Askia Jones Collection, this cel stands as a rare artifact of that crossover moment between live‑action sitcom fame and animated spin‑off storytelling, contributing to the archive’s broader focus on Black representation and celebrity in animation.