David Rappaport

David Rappaport
David Rappaport
Born	David Stephen Rappaport; 23 November 1951; London, England
Died	2 May 1990 (aged 38); Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Waltham Abbey Jewish Cemetery, Waltham Abbey, Epping Forest District, Essex, England
Occupation(s)	Actor, musician, writer, director, teacher
Years active	1971–1990
Known for	Time Bandits (1981); Robin of Sherwood (1986)
Website	davidrappaport.co.uk

David Stephen Rappaport (23 November 1951 – 2 May 1990) was an English actor with achondroplasia (a genetic disorder where the primary feature is dwarfism). He appeared in the films Time Bandits and The Bride, and television series L.A. Law, The Wizard and Captain Planet and the Planeteers. He was 3 ft 11 in (1.19 m) in height.^[1]

Early life

Rappaport was born to

Jewish taxi driver Mark and his wife Diana (née Schneiderman) in London. He was born with achondroplasia,^{[citation needed]} a common form of dwarfism. As a child, he developed talents in playing the accordion and drums, the latter of which he played professionally during his life.^[2] 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 the United States, 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

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

David Rappaport first came to public notice in children's television, appearing alongside

Jigsaw. Rappaport and McCoy had previously appeared together in Illuminatus! at the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool (founded by Ken Campbell and Chris Langham in 1976). The two men also appeared in the anarchic Ken Campbell Road Show. Rappaport was with the Road Show in 1979 when it featured in The Secret Policeman's Ball. While McCoy appeared as an escapologist, Campbell introduced Rappaport to the audience as: "Not the smallest man in the world, but fucking close...". He appeared in some season one sketches of Not the Nine O'Clock News

.

In the early 1980s Rappaport played the character Shades on the anarchic Saturday-morning kids' TV shows

The Young Ones, and L.A. Law

.

In L.A. Law, Rappaport played crack trial lawyer Hamilton Schuyler in two episodes. Both episodes were significant roles, opposing Jimmy Smits. The second of these, "The Mouse that Roared", was filmed only six months prior to his death. Though the Schuyler character was frequently described as "from Texas", Rappaport made no attempt to hide his

British accent

, which was never explained within the show.

Rappaport was the voice of

Dr. Blight's computer, MAL, on Captain Planet and the Planeteers; he was replaced by Tim Curry after his first four appearances due to his death four months before the series aired. He also played Mr. Belvedere's cousin on an episode of Mr. Belvedere

entitled "Duel" (Season 5 Episode 6).

Final years, death and legacy

Rappaport struggled with

Blu-ray Disc release of Star Trek: The Next Generation.^[3]

Rappaport died by suicide on 2 May 1990. He shot himself in the chest in Laurel Canyon Park in the San Fernando Valley in California.^[4]^[5]

Two of the creators of the US television series The Wizard, Michael Berk and Douglas Schwartz, went on to produce the lifeguard drama Baywatch. In this show's fifth season is an episode entitled "Short Sighted" which originally aired on 31 October 1994. Part of this episode concerns junior lifeguard Carter McKay (Nicholas Banko), whose father Simon McKay (Ed Gale) is a namesake tribute to Rappaport's character on The Wizard.^[6]^[7]

Theatre

Year	Title	Role
1971–1972	Sleep Fast, They've Landed (Everybody Wants a Frozen Donkey for Christmas)	Yellow
	Stonehenge Follies
1975–77	Illuminatus!	Markoff Chaney
	Portland Bill Street Theatre
	The Immortalist	Reporter/Interviewer
	Interplay
1977	Volpone	Nano
	The Warp
1979	Little Brother Is Watching You (Small Is Beautiful)	Himself
1979	The Secret Policeman's Ball	Member of Ken Campbell Road Show
1980	Dr. Faustus	Beelzebub, Dick, Pope Adrian, and other characters
1980	Cinderella
1983	Exit the King	The Doctor
1985	Lulu	Schigolch

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Type
1973	Turkish Delight (aka The Sensualist)	Dwarf	Feature film
1978	Mysteries	Grogard	Feature film
1979	Black Jack	Tom Thumb's Army	Feature film
1979	Cuba	Jesus	Feature film
1979	The Secret Policeman's Ball	Various characters	TV film
1981	Time Bandits	Randall	Feature film
1981	John Diamond	Mr Seed	Feature film
1981	Tales from the Thousand and One Nights		Feature film
1982	The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball	Various characters	TV film
1982	Beauty and the Beast	Bearkeeper	TV film
1984	Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight	Sage	Feature film
1984	The Gourmet	Dr Grosvenor	TV film
1985	The Bride	Rinaldo	Feature film
1986	The Madness Museum	Ghengis	TV film
1989	Luigi's Ladies	Luigi	Feature film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Type
1973	Arthur of the Britons	Wood Person	TV series, 1 episode
1978	Whodunnit?	Coco	TV series, 1 episode
1978	Do You Remember?	Pedro	TV series, 1 episode
1978	The Famous Five	Mr Wooh's Assistant	TV series, 2 episodes
1979	Not the Nine O'Clock News	Various	TV series, 2 episodes
1980	Q5	Various characters	TV series, 4 episodes
1980–1981	Jigsaw	O-Man	TV series, 12 episodes
1981, 1982	The Goodies	Robot / Chief Dwarf	TV series, 5 episodes
1981–1982	Tiswas	Shades	TV series, 7 episodes
1982	The Young Ones	Ftumch & Shirley	TV series, 2 episodes
1982	There’s a Lot of it About	Various characters	1985
1983	Monaco Franze – Der ewige Stenz		TV series, 1 episode
1984	Unfair Exchanges	Arthur	TV series, Season 1 Episode 3
1984	The Saturday Show	Shades	TV series
1984	Dramarama	Luko	TV series, 1 episode
1984	Screen Two	Arthur	TV series, 1 episode
1985	The Kenny Everett Television Show	Various	TV series, 1 episode
1985	Summer Season	Chimp	TV series, 1 episode
1986	Fortune Dane	Augie Briscoe	TV series, 1 episode
1986	Hardcastle and McCormick	Cluracan	TV series, 1 episode
1986	Robin of Sherwood (aka Robin Hood)	Skulley	TV series, 1 episode
1986	Amazing Stories	Ancient Tree Troll	TV series, Season 1 Episode 16: "Gather Ye Acorns"
1986–1987	The Wizard	Simon McKay	TV series, 19 episodes
1987, 1989	L.A. Law	Hamilton Schuyler	TV series, 3 episodes
1988	Hooperman	Nick Derringer	TV series, 2 episodes
1988	Mr. Belvedere	Galen Belvedere	TV series, Season 5 Episode 6: "Duel"
1989	A Fine Romance	Dr Tomas	TV series, 1 episode
1989	Peter Gunn	Speck	TV series
1990	Beyond the Groove	Sir Harold Blandford	TV series, 3 episodes
1990	Captain Planet	MAL (voice)	TV series, 3 episodes
1990	Star Trek: The Next Generation	Kivas Fajo	TV series, Episode: The Most Toys (unreleased version)

References

^ "David Rappaport, Character Actor, 38, Seen on 'L.A. Law'". New York Times. 4 May 1990. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
^ "David Rappaport Pages – biographical". Retrieved 7 February 2009.
^ "TNG S3 Blus: David Rappaport "The Most Toys" Footage Will Be Included". 31 March 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013.
^ "Star Wars to Snow White: The life of a dwarf actor". BBC News. 23 December 1999. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
^ Jocelyn Y. Stewart (4 May 1990). "Actor Rappaport Apparent Suicide Victim". Los Angeles Times.
^ The Wizard Official Fansite & Definitive Cyberhome
^ Summary of Baywatch episode "Short Sighted" at TV.com

External links

[1] "David Rappaport, Character Actor, 38, Seen on 'L.A. Law'". New York Times. 4 May 1990. Retrieved 10 August 2010.

[2] "David Rappaport Pages – biographical". Retrieved 7 February 2009.

[3] "TNG S3 Blus: David Rappaport "The Most Toys" Footage Will Be Included". 31 March 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2013.

[4] "Star Wars to Snow White: The life of a dwarf actor". BBC News. 23 December 1999. Retrieved 6 May 2009.

[5] Jocelyn Y. Stewart (4 May 1990). "Actor Rappaport Apparent Suicide Victim". Los Angeles Times.

[6] The Wizard Official Fansite & Definitive Cyberhome

[7] Summary of Baywatch episode "Short Sighted" at TV.com

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