David Rappaport

David Rappaport
David Rappaport
Born David Stephen Rappaport
November 23, 1951(1951-11-23)
London, England
Died May 2, 1990(1990-05-02) (aged 38)
Los Angeles, California, USA
Occupation Actor, Musician, Writer, Director, Teacher, Activist
Years active 1975–1990
Website
http://davidrappaport.co.uk

David Stephen Rappaport (November 23, 1951 – May 2, 1990) was an English actor, probably one of the best known dwarf actors in television and film. He was reported standing 3' 11" (1.19 m), although he himself told newspapers different heights, ranging from 3' 6" (1.07 m) up to 4 feet (1.22 m).[1][2]

Contents

Early life

Rappaport was born to a Jewish taxi driver Mark and his wife Diana, née Schneiderman in London, England. As a child, he developed talents in playing the accordion and drums, the latter of which he played professionally during his life.[3] Rappaport studied psychology at the University of Bristol from 1970, graduating with a degree while developing his skills as a semi-professional drummer, and acting skills at the college dramatical society.

After six months in America, he returned to the United Kingdom to marry his college girlfriend, Jane. They had a son Joe, and Rappaport tried to settle down to family life as a teacher. But as his marriage broke down and he decided to follow a career as an actor, he became a resident of the squatter "nation" of Frestonia, acting as Foreign Minister under the name David Rappaport-Bramley - all inhabitants adopted the surname 'Bramley', so that if the Greater London Council were to succeed in an eviction, they would have to rehouse them as one family.

Career

He first came to public notability in children's television, appearing alongside Sylvester McCoy as an O-Man in the 1970s BBC children's series Jigsaw. In the early 1980s he also played the character of "Shades" on the anarchic Saturday morning kids TV shows Tiswas and The Saturday Show. One of his most popular roles was as Randall, the leader of the gang of dwarves in the Terry Gilliam film Time Bandits in 1981. During the mid-80s he played in the HTV production of Robin of Sherwood (released as Robin Hood in the US) with Jason Connery as Robin. The show was filmed in Bristol where David had a home. During this time he also made himself at home aboard Ki Longfellow-Stanshall and Vivian Stanshall's ship moored in the Bristol docks, the Old Profanity Showboat where he appeared on stage as much as allowed. He also made a notable turn starring opposite Clancy Brown and Sting in The Bride in 1985. From 1986-7, he played the lead role of Simon McKay in the CBS television series The Wizard. He also made notable guest appearances on such shows as The Goodies, The Young Ones, and L.A. Law. He was also the voice of Dr. Blight's computer, MAL, on Captain Planet and the Planeteers (replaced by Tim Curry after his death).

In 1989 Rappaport was best man at the wedding of Hazel O'Connor and artist Kurt Bippert, which took place on Venice Beach, California.

Death

Rappaport struggled with depression later in his life. On May 2, 1990, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest in Laurel Canyon Park in the San Fernando Valley, California.[4] His body was returned to the United Kingdom and buried in a Jewish cemetery in Waltham Abbey, Essex.

Just before his death, he had been cast and began filming for the role of Kivas Fajo in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Most Toys". Scenes he had completed were later discarded, when actor Saul Rubinek was hurriedly brought in by producers to replace Rappaport and complete the episode. Rappaport's death and the accident that left Jack Purvis, his co-star, a quadriplegic were the main reasons why Terry Gilliam decided to shelve the intended sequel to Time Bandits, as their characters were two of the most heavily featured in the film.

Baywatch Tribute

Two of the creators of David Rappaport's US television series The Wizard, Michael Berk and Douglas Schwartz, went on to produce Baywatch, the lifeguard-based drama. In this show's fifth season is an episode entitled "Short Sighted" which originally aired on October 31, 1994. Part of this episode concerns a junior lifeguard named Carter McKay (Nicholas Banko), whose father is named Simon McKay (Ed Gale) in namesake tribute to David's character on The Wizard.[5] Carter is ashamed of his father's height and claims his father can't attend an upcoming father/son tournament, but when his father shows up and rescues a little girl from drowning (and is awarded a medal of valor for his heroic actions), Carter realises he should be proud of his dad.[6]

This episode is dedicated "to the loving memory of David Rappaport."[7]

Stageography

  • "Sleep Fast, They've Landed (Everybody Wants a Frozen Donkey for Christmas)" (1971/1972) - Yellow
  • "Stonehenge Follies"
  • "Illuminatus!" (1975–1977) - Markoff Chaney
  • "Portland Bill Street Theatre"
  • "Interplay"
  • "Volpone" (1977) - Nano
  • "The Warp"
  • "Little Brother Is Watching You" - Himself
  • "Dr. Faustus" (1980) - Beelzebub, Dick, Pope Adrian, etc.
  • "Cinderella" (1980)
  • "Exit The King" (1983) - The Doctor
  • "LULU" (1985) - Schigolch

Filmography

See also

References

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • David Rappaport — Données clés Nom de naissance David Stephen Rappaport Naissance 23 novembre 1951 Londres  Royaume Uni Nat …   Wikipédia en Français

  • David Rappaport (designer) — For persons of similar names, see David Rapaport (psychologist) and David Rappaport. David Rappaport Rappaport circa 2007 Born June 19, 1914 …   Wikipedia

  • Rappaport — ist der Name von Alfred Rappaport (* 1932), US amerikanischer Wirtschaftswissenschaftler, prägte den Begriff Shareholder Value Bruno Rappaport (1875–1915), deutscher Althistoriker und Gymnasiallehrer David Rappaport (1951–1990), britischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • David Rapaport — may refer to: David Rapaport (psychologist) David Rapaport (radio program manager) See Also: David Rappaport (designer) David Rappaport This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an …   Wikipedia

  • David Avis — in 1987 Born March 20, 1951 (1951 03 20 …   Wikipedia

  • Rappaport — Rap(p)aport, Rap(p)oport or Rapa Porto (Hebrew: רפפורט) is a family name from an Italian (Jewish) Kohenitic pedigree. It takes its origins in the Rapa family of Porto located in Province of Mantova, Italy. A second hypothesis Another possible… …   Wikipedia

  • David Rapaport (psychologist) — For persons of similar names, see David Rappaport and David Rappaport (designer). David A. Rapaport (September 30, 1911, Budapest, Austria Hungary – December 14, 1960, Stockbridge, Mass.) was a Hungarian Neo Freudian clinical psychologist. Born… …   Wikipedia

  • David Rapaport — Dieser Artikel beschreibt den ungarischen Psychoanalytiker David A. Rapaport, der britische Schauspieler ähnlichen Namens wäre unter David Rappaport (1951 1990) zu suchen. David A. Rapaport (* 30. September 1911 in Budapest; † 14. Dezember 1960… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • David Rabe — Born David William Rabe March 10, 1940 (1940 03 10) (age 71) Dubuque, Iowa, U.S. David William Rabe (born March 10, 1940) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1972 (Sticks and Bones) and also… …   Wikipedia

  • David Bukay — is a Professor of Middle East Studies at the University of Haifa. He is the author of Islamic Fundamentalism and the Arab Political Culture. He specializes in the Arab Israeli conflict; inter Arab relations and the Palestinian question;… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”