Gary Coleman is more than a pop culture icon, he's a certified (some say certifiable) phenomenon. Martin Sargent met the big man face to hip at the offices of Underground Online (UGO) in San Francisco. You can watch the bizarre results on "The Screen Savers."

What we're talkin' 'bout

Standing a mere 4 feet 8 inches, the 34-year-old Coleman has provided amateur comedians like ourselves with an easy short-joke punch line since the day Diff'rent Strokes hit the air in 1978. But America's fascination with Coleman didn't end when the show stopped taping in 1986.
A victim of what some call the Diff'rent Strokes curse, Coleman and his health problems, money problems, and occasional run-ins with the law have fed tabloid headlines and late-night talk show monologues for more than a decade. Don't pretend you haven't noticed.

The littlest geek

As Martin found out, Coleman loves his PS2, and it loves him. Coleman has become a dominating figure at the yearly E3 Gaming Expo in Los Angeles, where he's known to take on all comers and kick some gamer geek butt.

Coleman's favorite PS2 title:

• Grand Theft Auto 3

On Coleman's hard drive:

• Every variation of The Sims
• Every variation of Tropico
• Black and White

Coleman's PS2 gaming tips:

• Keep your system cool.
• Buy a fan.
• Pump up the air conditioner.
• If the system gets hot, it won't run as smoothly.

The outtakes
Portions of Martin's interview with Gary were "too hot for TV," so we slapped them on the site for your gawking pleasure. Click, if you dare!

The links
If you question Gary Coleman's status as an Internet icon, sample just a few of his online incarnations:

• The Gary Coleman Web-a-Thon from UGO.com
• Coleman Confidential, also from UGO.com
• Gary Coleman Has a Posse
• Leave Gary Coleman Alone
• Gary Coleman Explains Priority Queuing
• Find out about UGO's affiliate program