32. He Lashed Out At Him
Hervé had already caused one public incident, but no more than a year later, he found himself embroiled in yet another scandal, this time connected to his previous marriage. In 1986, while in the middle of a civil suit filed against him by his ex-wife, he got into trouble when he kicked and later threatened the man serving him his papers, resulting in another arrest.
As the public could clearly see, he was spiralling downward—but they didn’t know the half of it.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
33. He Wasn’t Doing Well
Due to his problems with the law, his failed marriages, and the loss of his greatest acting job yet, Hervé Villechaize understandably fell into a deep despair, and—like many in Hollywood—he only knew of one way to cope. Turning to the bottle, he soon reached a point where it was impossible to accept any other film or TV opportunities. Even worse, his health rapidly declined, and he almost lost his life completely to pneumonia in 1992.
Although his time hadn’t come yet, he still had to face the pain of his condition every day—especiallly at night.
34. He Was Uncomfortable
The main problem contributing to his worsening condition was the fact that his internal organs hadn’t stopped growing, so they remained enlarged inside his smaller body. This caused a great deal of everyday pain, and even when he tried to go to sleep at night, he often could only do so if he was in a kneeling position—otherwise, he could hardly breathe.
Nevertheless, he never stopped working completely, even if he only did smaller parts.
35. He Continued To Work
While Villechaize couldn’t commit to full-time acting in film or television, he still had to support himself somehow, and luckily, many companies and studios were eager to give him less intensive work. For instance, he was happy to guest star on The Larry Sanders Show in the early 1990s, and he even did an ad for Coors.
Of course, that wasn’t his only commercial—and another one brought him back to a much simpler time.
36. He Said His Line
Even close to a decade after Hervé Villechaize left his iconic role on Fantasy Island, pop culture hadn’t moved on from his most famous quote, which thankfully provided him with some more work at this difficult time. Signing on for another commercial, this time he appeared in an ad for a doughnut shop, in which he walked up to the counter and gave his order, saying, “The plain, the plain!”
Still, he was suffering in silence all the while—at least, until someone came along to tell his story.
Screenshot from Fantasy Island, Spelling-Goldberg Productions / Sony Pictures Television (1977-1984)
37. He Took An Assignment
Up till now, although Hervé Villechaize had been facing his own demons and living through unimaginable pain, neither the public nor the press knew the full extent—until one day in 1993. After arranging an interview with Hervé for a “Where Are They Now?” article, London journalist Sacha Gervasi accepted the assignment with a business-as-usual attitude.
Seeing this as just another job, he didn’t expect much from the ailing actor—at first.
Screenshot from Fantasy Island, Spelling-Goldberg Productions / Sony Pictures Television (1977-1984)
38. He Went Through The Motions
This wasn’t Gervasi’s first time interviewing a celebrity like this, so he knew exactly what questions to ask and wanted to get the interview over with as soon as possible. Meeting with Hervé at a restaurant, Gervasi doubted that the actor’s story would “wow” his readers the way others might, so he focused on getting the bare minimum he needed.
Gervasi thought he had done his job, however unenthusiastically. But Hervé had other plans.
39. He Caught Him Off Guard
Thinking he had gotten what he came for, Gervasi collected his things and was about to leave, but something stopped him in his tracks. There, across the table, Hervé now held a knife to the journalist’s throat. Now a captive audience, Gervasi sat and listened as Hervé asked whether he wanted only the flashy, surface-level tidbits for his article, or the real story.
It was clear that after all this time, Hervé wanted to set the record straight—and Gervasi was all too eager to listen.
Screenshot from Fantasy Island, Spelling-Goldberg Productions / Sony Pictures Television (1977-1984)
40. He Agreed To Talk
As Gervasi would later explain, Hervé Villechaize had only intended to get the journalist’s attention with this impromptu stunt, and he certainly succeeded. Gervasi not only stayed longer, but he met up with Hervé another three times over the next five days, listening patiently as the actor explained every gritty detail of his upbringing, his love life, and his agonizing condition.
Gervasi returned home with renewed enthusiasm to tell this story. And then the phone rang.
41. He Received A Call
Gervasi had listened intently as Hervé relayed his life’s story, and by the end, the journalist had recorded around 12 hours of audio. Racing home to London, Gervasi began putting all this information into a cohesive narrative, but his work halted once again when a call came through a week later, on September 4, 1993. Picking up his phone, Gervasi was surprised to hear the voice of Hervé’s longtime girlfriend, Kathy Self, but he soon understood with grave clarity that Hervé had passed.
Gervasi knew better than most how detrimental Hervé’s condition was—but that wasn’t what took his life.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
42. She Found Him
The call came as an utter shock to Gervasi, who likely felt as if he had just finished speaking with Hervé. However, this was no joke, and as Kathy Self explained, earlier that day, she had gone into Hervé’s backyard and found his body lying there. She called the paramedics, of course, who brought him to the hospital, only for the doctors to confirm his demise shortly after.
She might not have even known until much later—if she hadn’t been there when it happened.
43. He Woke Her Up
As news broke of Hervé’s untimely end, the public became aware of just how tortured a man he had been, and how tragic his final moments were. According to his girlfriend, she had been sleeping inside his house while he sat out in the backyard, but she awoke to a loud bang and the sound of the glass patio door breaking—followed by a second bang. The consensus was that Hervé had intentionally shot the door to wake Kathy up before turning the weapon on himself.
If there were any doubts initially, Hervé’s intentions soon became clear, especially once they found what he left behind.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
44. He Wrote Out A Note
It would have been easy to assume that Hervé had taken his own life due to his depression over his career, but the truth was much more personal to him. As revealed in a note he left behind, the actor’s medical condition had only worsened with his age, and he simply couldn’t bear the pain it brought him any longer.
Hearing all this information, Gervasi came to a startling realization.
45. He Chose Him To Listen
Reliving his interview with Hervé, Gervasi thought back to the actor’s behavior and listened to all his recordings of their time together, only to reach a stunning conclusion. Even as they sat talking across the table from each other, Hervé already knew what he was going to do in a week, which was likely why he was so adamant on Gervasi hearing his story.
In what some may consider a silver lining, the final role he ever took was an oddly fitting sendoff.
Silver Screen Collection, Getty Images
46. He Was Authentic
Whether he was acting for work or hiding how much pain he was in, Hervé had a lot of experience putting on a facade, but this changed with the final role of his career. Accepting an invitation to guest star on The Ben Stiller Show, his role was almost poetic, since he wasn’t playing any fictional character anymore, just making a cameo as himself.
Countless tributes and condolences came forward in the wake of his passing, including from one of his oldest colleagues.
47. He Gave Him Credit
Hervé already had many admirers among his fans and those who worked with him, and after news of his passing broke, one castmate felt compelled to say a few words. His co-star on Fantasy Island, Ricardo Montalbán, not only offered his sympathies but also made it clear that the series likely wouldn’t have been successful without Hervé’s inclusion.
At the same time, many still didn’t see eye to eye with him, even among those who could relate to him most.
Judd Gunderson, Los Angeles Times, Wikimedia Commons
48. They Couldn’t Agree
Hervé was one of the few actors with dwarfism at that time to reach his level of success, but not everyone was happy about this. While some likely saw him as a welcome change to the Hollywood status quo, others like Billy Barty—an actor with a similar condition—disagreed. Specifically, Hervé often told people to refer to him as a “midget,” a term that had already become offensive to many like Barty, who insisted that the correct term was “dwarf”.
Nonetheless, despite how some people saw him, he always tried his best to improve the world in his own way.
49. He Wanted To Help
Although Hervé had his demons and didn’t always spend his money on the smartest or healthiest things, he still had a big heart and was always looking to use the wealth he had gained for good. Beyond singing with the Children of the World, he also helped various children’s charities and even opened a home to care for troubled kids.
Ultimately, Gervasi didn’t let his interview go to waste—but suddenly, an article didn’t seem good enough.
Fotos International, Getty Images
50. He Released His Story
Hervé Villechaize may have become famous around the world, but he dealt with many of his struggles away from the spotlight, so there’s a good chance that much of his story would have vanished into time—if not for Gervasi. Believing Hervé deserved a grander legacy than just an article, Gervasi decided to turn the interview into a film script, eventually releasing the film in 2018, titled My Dinner with Hervé.
Screenshot from My Dinner with Hervé, HBO Films (2018)
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