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Life Goes On Actor Chris Burke on Being the First Primetime Television Star with Down Syndrome

Season 4 Episode 406
Aired on 08/24/2014 | CC tv-14
Life Goes On, which aired from 1989 to 1993, broke ground as the first primetime television show to feature a main character with Down syndrome. The show centered on the Thacher family, with actor Chris Burke playing brother Charles "Corky" Thacher.

Today, Chris is 48 and living in New York City. "It's real great to be known on TV," he says. "I had the opportunity to do something that I always wanted to do, and now I have done it."

In the video above, Chris reveals the important message he hopes people take from his time on television. Plus, his mother, Marian, opens up about her decision not to institutionalize Chris when he was a baby. Find out why, she says, it was the best decision she ever made.

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