Mr. Horton

"This sounds like a job for Captain Banana Split."

- Mr. Horton getting Arnold a banana split for passing out fliers.

Mr. Horton is both a bicycle shop owner and pedophile who is the main antagonist in the two-part episode "The Bicycle Man" of the popular sitcom Diff'rent Strokes.

He was portrayed by the late Gordon Jump.

Biography
The Drummond family have been friends with Mr. Horton for over a year and would always rent bikes from him to go for weekly bike rides. Mr. Drummond and Mr. Horton talked about getting Arnold a bike for his birthday coming up and Mr. Horton makes a deal with Arnold that if he passes out fliers at his school advertising a special sale at the shop, he will give Arnold a free radio for his bike. The next day, Arnold and Dudley passed out fliers at school and Mr. Horton told Arnold it's all right to have Dudley get a free radio as well. He treats Arnold with a banana split and tells Arnold not to tell his family he was at the bicycle shop. The following day when Arnold and Dudley came to the bicycle shop, Mr. Horton sneaks a pornographic magazine in his pile of comic books. He then invites Arnold and Dudley to his apartment in the back for pizza and shows them lot at comic books. Arnold and Dudley see the pornography magazine while Mr. Horton was checking out the rest of the store. When Mr. Horton returns he catches them and tells them it's okay to be naked and he gives them wine to drink with their pizza saying that people in France drink wine as children. Mr. Horton then shows them pictures of him skinny dipping with other boys and tells Arnold and Dudley it's okay to be naked. He then has them play Tarzan and has Dudley take off his shirt.

When Mr. Drummond arrives at the bicycle shop to pay for the bike from Mr. Horton, Arnold and Dudley get a glance at Mr. Drummond and then escape through the back door. Arnold comes home chewing a log of gum then Willis and Kimberly smell alcohol on his breath telling him not to do it again and keeping it secret. Arnold keeps the secret from Mr. Horton and says that Mr. Ramsey (Dudley's father) gave them wine. The following day Arnold and Dudley go back to the bicycle shop and Arnold feels funny about sneaking around. Then Mr. Horton says he has Boston Cream Pie and cartoons for them to watch, making them stay. When Arnold and Dudley watched the cartoon "Murphy the Mouse," Arnold decided he's had enough after realizing it's an X-rated cartoon and leaves Dudley behind. Mr. Horton tells Dudley they can play the game "Neptune: King of the Sea" and says it involves a bathtub and lots of water. Later on Mr. Ramsey comes over to the Drummond's house and talks with Mr. Drummond about telling him not to have Dudley drink alcohol and confused Mr. Drummond, since Dudley said Mr. Drummond gave him alcohol. Willis and Kimberly told them that Arnold also had alcohol on his breath and that Mr. Ramsey gave it to him and Mr. Ramsey denied giving them alcohol.

Arrest and Demise
When Arnold comes home Mr. Drummond asks about it and Arnold tells his family the whole story about Mr. Horton and then Mr. Drummond arrives at the bicycle shop with the police. Dudley told Mr. Drummond, the police, and his father that he was having a fun time and Mr. Horton gave him a sedative to relax since Mr. Horton attempted to touch him. Dudley's father had sympathy for him and didn't punish him and the police arrested Mr. Horton. Detective Simpson, the head officer in the case later told the Drummond family that they found more evidence against Mr. Horton in his house, including several incriminating pictures, and have a good case against him to send him to prison for a long time.

Trivia

 * At the beginning of both episodes, Conrad Bain (The actor who played Mr. Drummond) delivers a message about the episode's subject of child molestation being a deep concern for everyone. At the end of the concluding episode, Conrad Bain makes a PSA saying, "If you know of a problem with child sexual abuse, please contact your local law enforcement or social service agency."
 * Due to the sexual abuse he suffered as a child, Todd Bridges, who portrays Willis on the show, stated in the film An Open Secret that this episode made him increasingly uncomfortable.
 * Though intended to be educational, the episodes are considered among the most disturbing of the entire series.