Emmanuel Lewis (born March 9, 1971) is an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the 1980s television sitcom Webster. He is 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m) tall. Lewis graduated from Midwood High School in 1989 and then Clark Atlanta University in 1997. He is often compared to the late Gary Coleman, star of Diff'rent Strokes. Lewis was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York. His mother, Margaret Lewis, was a computer programmer. When Diff'rent Strokes became a hit on NBC with Gary Coleman in the starring role, ABC tried, with some success, to duplicate that show's formula of depicting a small African-American boy being raised in a white family. The resulting show, Webster, made Lewis a star. In Japan, he is well known as a singer. He released 2 singles and his debut single "City Connection" reached No.2 at Oricon chart. Lewis was nominated for four Young Artist Awards. In 1984, he was nominated for Best Young Actor in a Comedy Series for Webster and lost to Rick Schroder of Silver Spoons. In 1985, he was nominated for the same award but it went to Billy Jayne of It's Not Easy.