Herve Villechaize (
1943-
1993) is a famous
French actor who was born in
Paris and reached to world-wide attention by his role as
Tattoo in the
TV series "
Fantasy Island[?]" (
1973-
1984). He suffered from
dwarfism due to a
thyroid dysfunction throughout his life despite his sergeant father's attempts to cure the disease in several institutions. After having his initial art training in France, he left for the
USA, where he continued his career as an artist and photographer. His first movie appearance was in
Chappaqua[?] in
1966, which was followed by several films including
Man with the Golden Gun[?],
Crazy Joe[?],
Seizure (film)[?], and
The Forbidden Zone[?]. Influenced by his health problems and troubles in his professional career, Villechaize became
alcoholic and
depressive in the last few years of his life. He shot himself at his home, his body was found by his wife Kathy Self and died at the hospital due to self-inflicted injuries in 1993.