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Hervé Villechaize | |
|---|---|
 Villechaize in 1977 | |
| Born | Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize (1943-04-23)23 April 1943 Montauban, France |
| Died | 4 September 1993(1993-09-04) (aged 50) North Hollywood,California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1966–1993 |
| Notable work | Nick Nack inThe Man with the Golden Gun (1974) Spider inSeizure (1974) King Fausto inForbidden Zone (1980) Smiley inTwo Moon Junction (1988) |
| Television | Fantasy Island |
| Height | 3 ft 11 in (119 cm) |
| Spouses | |
Hervé Jean-Pierre Villechaize (French:[ɛʁvevilʃɛz]; April 23, 1943 – September 4, 1993) was aFrenchactor. He is best known for his roles as theevilhenchman Nick Nack in the 1974James Bond filmThe Man with the Golden Gun and as Mr. Roarke's assistant, Tattoo, on the American television seriesFantasy Island that he played from 1977 to 1983. OnFantasy Island, his shout of "De plane! De plane!" became one of the show's signature phrases.[1] He died by suicide in 1993.
Villechaize was born inNazi-occupied Paris on April 23, 1943,[2] to Evelyn Recchionni, an Anglo-Italian socialite who was an ambulance driver duringWorld War II and André Villechaize, a surgeon inToulon.[3] Villechaize also had German ancestry.[4][5] The youngest of four sons,[5] Villechaize was born withdwarfism, likely due to anendocrine disorder, which his surgeon father tried unsuccessfully to cure in several institutions.[6] In later years, he insisted on being called a "midget" rather than a "dwarf",[5] which annoyed his acting contemporary with a similar condition,Billy Barty, who was an activist who found that term derogatory.[7] Villechaize wasbullied at school for his condition and found solace in painting. In 1959, at age 16, he entered theÉcole des Beaux-Arts to study art. In 1961, he became the youngest artist ever to have his work displayed in the Museum of Paris.[8][9]
In 1964, Villechaize left France for the United States.[10] He settled in a Bohemian section of New York City, and taught himself English by watching television.[9]
Villechaize initially worked as an artist, painter, and photographer. He began acting inoff-Broadway productions, including Werner Liepolt'sThe Young Master Dante and a play bySam Shepard, and he also modelled for photos forNational Lampoon before moving on to film.[citation needed]
His first film appearance was inChappaqua (1966). His second film wasEdward Summer'sItem 72-D: The Adventures of Spa and Fon, filmed in 1969.[11] This was followed by several films, includingThe Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971); Christopher Speeth and Werner Liepolt'sMalatesta's Carnival of Blood (1973);Crazy Joe (1974); and Oliver Stone's first film,Seizure (1974). He was asked to play a role inAlejandro Jodorowsky's filmDune, which had originally begun pre-production in 1971, but was later cancelled.
Villechaize's big break was being cast inThe Man with the Golden Gun (1974), by which time he had become so poor that he was living in his car in Los Angeles. Prior to being signed by Bond producerAlbert R. Broccoli, he made ends meet by working as a rat catcher's assistant near hisSouth Central home. From what his co-starChristopher Lee saw,The Man with the Golden Gun filming was possibly the happiest time of Villechaize's life; Lee likened it to honey in the sandwich between an insecure past and an uncertain future.[12]
In the 1970s, Villechaize performedOscar the Grouch onSesame Street as a pair of legs peeping out from Oscar'strash can, for scenes that required Oscar to be mobile. These appearances began in the third season, and included the 1978Hawaii episodes.
In 1980, Cleveland International Records released a single by the Children of the World, featuring Villechaize as vocalist: "Why", withB-side "When a Child Is Born".[13]
Though popular with the public, Villechaize proved a difficult actor onFantasy Island, where he continually propositioned women and quarreled with the producers. He was eventually fired after demanding a salary on par with that of his co-starRicardo Montalbán.[14] For its final season from '83-'84, Villechaize was replaced byChristopher Hewett, best known for his lead role in the sitcomMr. Belvedere.
Villechaize also starred in the movieForbidden Zone (1982), and appeared inAirplane II: The Sequel (1982), and episodes ofDiff'rent Strokes andTaxi. He later played the title role in the "Rumpelstiltskin" episode ofShelley Duvall'sFaerie Tale Theatre. In the 1980s, he became popular in Spain due to his impersonations of Prime MinisterFelipe González on the television showViaje con nosotros (Travel with Us), with showmanJavier Gurruchaga. His final appearance was acameo as himself in an episode ofThe Ben Stiller Show.
In the mid-1970s, Villechaize met actressSusan Tyrrell. According to Tyrrell, they had a two-year relationship and shared a home inLaurel Canyon, Los Angeles.[15]
Villechaize married twice. He married his first wife, artistAnne Sadowski, in 1970. After Villechaize's serial infidelities, as well as ridicule over their height difference, they divorced in 1978 or 1979 (sources differ).[5][16] He met his second wife, Camille Hagen, an actress and stand-in double, in 1977 on the set of thepilot forFantasy Island.[5] They married in 1980 and Hagen filed for divorce 15 months later. During their marriage, they lived at a 1.5-acre (0.61 ha)San Fernando Valley ranch, which also was home to a menagerie of farm animals and pets.[5]
In the early afternoon of September 4, 1993, at his North Hollywood home, Villechaize, aged 50, is believed to have first fired a shot through the sliding-glass patio door to awaken his longtime girlfriend, Kathy Self, before shooting himself.[17] Self found Villechaize in his backyard, and he was pronounced dead at theMedical Center of North Hollywood. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered into thePacific Ocean offPoint Fermin inSan Pedro, Los Angeles.[18]
Villechaize left a suicide note saying he was despondent over longtime health problems.[1] He was suffering from chronic pain due to having oversized internal organs putting increasing pressure on his body. According to Self, Villechaize often slept in a kneeling position so he could breathe more easily.[18] He also left an audio recording of the suicide that included his last words.[19]
At the time of his death,Cartoon Network was in negotiations for him to co-star inSpace Ghost Coast to Coast, which was then in pre-production. Villechaize would have voicedSpace Ghost's sidekick on the show.[20]
Sacha Gervasi spent several years writing a script about Villechaize. Gervasi conducted a lengthy interview with Villechaize just prior to his death.[21] The filmMy Dinner with Hervé,[22] which is based on the last few days of Villechaize's life, starsPeter Dinklage in the title role,[23] and premiered onHBO on October 20, 2018.[6][24]
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1966 | Chappaqua | Little Person | Uncredited |
| 1970 | Maidstone | ||
| 1971 | The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight | Beppo | |
| 1972 | The Last Stop | Deputy | |
| Greaser's Palace | Mr. Spitunia | ||
| 1973 | Malatesta's Carnival of Blood | Bobo | |
| 1974 | Seizure | The Spider | |
| Crazy Joe | Samson | ||
| The Man with the Golden Gun | Nick Nack | ||
| 1977 | Hot Tomorrows | Alberict | |
| 1978 | The One and Only | Milton Miller | |
| 1980 | Forbidden Zone | King Fausto of the Sixth Dimension | |
| 1982 | Airplane II: The Sequel | Little Breather | |
| 1988 | The Telephone | Freeway | Voice |
| Two Moon Junction | Smiley | ||
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977–1983 | Fantasy Island | Tattoo | 130 episodes; 2 TV films |
| 1980 | Taxi | Himself | season 2, episode 23: "Fantasy Borough" |
| 1982 | The Fall Guy | Himself | season 1, episode 22: "The Scavenger Hunt" |
| 1982 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Rumpelstiltskin | |
| 1992 | Larry Sanders Show | Himself | Season 1, Episode 4: "The Guest Host" |
| Phil Donahue Show | Himself | Famous Past Celebrities | |
| - | The Ben Stiller Show | Himself | |
Chris Distin:James Bond – Golden Gun on Location : behind the scenes with Hervé Villechaize on the sets of The Man with the Golden Gun 1974, Braunschweig : DAMOKLES, 2024, ISBN 978-3-9824063-7-4[1]
