Herv Villechaize

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Personal

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Family

French American actor best remembered for his roles as the evil henchman, Nick Nack, in the 1974 James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun, and for playing Mr. Roarke's assistant, Tattoo, on the 1977–1984 American television series Fantasy Island, where his catch phrase was "Ze plane! Ze plane!" Villechaize was the son of English-born Evelyn (nee Recchionni) and André Villechaize, a surgeon in Toulon. The youngest of four sons, Villechaize was born with dwarfism, likely due to an endocrine disorder, which his surgeon father tried unsuccessfully to cure in several institutions. In later years, he insisted on being called a "midget" rather than a "dwarf". Villechaize was bullied at school for his condition and found solace in painting. He also had a brief modelling career. In 1959, at age 16, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts to study art. In 1961, he became the shortest artist ever to have his work displayed in the Museum of Paris. In 1964, Villechaize left France for the United States. He settled in a Bohemian section of New York City and taught himself English by watching television. He began acting in Off-Broadway productions, including The Young Master Dante by Werner Liepolt and a play by Sam Shepard, and he also modelled for photos for National Lampoon before moving on to film. His first film appearance was in Chappaqua (1966). His big break was getting cast in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), by which time he had become so poor he was living out of his car in Los Angeles. In the 1970s, on educational children's television series Sesame Street, Villechaize performed Oscar the Grouch as a pair of legs peeping out from a trash can, for scenes which required the Grouch to be mobile. These appearances began in the second season and included the 1978 Hawaii episodes. Though popular with the public, Villechaize proved a difficult actor on Fantasy Island, where he continually propositioned women and quarrelled with the producers. He was eventually fired after demanding a salary on par with that of his co-star Ricardo Montalbán. Villechaize was replaced with Christopher Hewett, of Mr. Belvedere and The Producers fame. In the 1980s, he became popular in Spain due to his impersonations of Prime Minister Felipe González on the television show Viaje con nosotros (Travel with us), with showman Javier Gurruchaga. In the early morning hours of 4 September 1993, Villechaize is believed to have first fired a shot through the sliding glass patio door to awaken his longtime girlfriend, Kathy Self, before shooting himself at his North Hollywood home. Self found Villechaize in his backyard, and he was pronounced dead at a North Hollywood facility. Villechaize left a suicide note saying he was despondent over longtime health problems. Villechaize was suffering from chronic pain due to having oversized internal organs putting increasing pressure on his small body. Link to Wikipedia biography