Hervé Villechaize
| Hervé Villechaize | |
|---|---|
Ricardo Montalbán (left) and Villechaize (right) in 1977
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| Born |
Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize 23 April 1943 Paris, Occupied France |
| Died | 4 September 1993 (aged 50) North Hollywood, California, US |
| Cause of death | Suicide by shooting |
| Resting place | Ashes sprinkled into the Pacific Ocean |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1966–1993 |
| Notable work |
Nick Nack in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) Spider in Seizure (1974) King Fausto in Forbidden Zone (1980) Smiley in Two Moon Junction (1988) |
| Height | 3'10" |
| Television | Fantasy Island |
| Parent(s) | André Villechaize (father) Evelyn Recchionni (mother) |
Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize (French: [ɛʁve vilʃɛz]; 23 April 1943 – 4 September 1993) was a French actor and painter of English and Filipino descent who achieved worldwide recognition for various roles including that of the evil henchman Nick Nack in the James Bond film, The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), as well as Mr. Roarke's assistant, Tattoo, in the television series Fantasy Island (1978–1984). On Fantasy Island, he was well known for delivering the line "Ze plane! Ze plane!"
Villechaize suffered from proportionate dwarfism, likely due to an endocrine disorder, despite his surgeon father's attempts to cure the disease in several institutions. In later years, he insisted on being called a "midget" rather than a "dwarf".
Villechaize was born in Nazi-occupied Paris to English-born Evelyn (Recchionni) and raised there by her and by his father André Villechaize. Villechaize was bullied at school for his condition and found solace in painting. He also had a brief modeling career. A gifted artist, in 1959, at the age of 16, he entered the École des Beaux-Arts to study art. In 1961, he became the youngest artist ever to have his work displayed in the Museum of Paris. In 1964 he left France for the USA. He settled in a Bohemian section in New York, taught himself English by watching television and continued his career as an artist, painter and photographer. He began acting in Off Broadway productions, including The Young Master Dante by Werner Liepolt and a play by Sam Shepard, and also did some photo shoot modeling for National Lampoon, before moving on to film.
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