Throughout Hollywood history, there have been many actors that have stood out thanks to the unique
medical conditions that they were born with. Many of these stars were able to use their
unique appearances to their advantage by securing roles in fantasy features and television series.
Join Facts Verse as we explore actors made famous by their unusual medical conditions.
Robert Z’Dar Robert Z’Dar was
an actor that suffered from a rare congenital condition that goes by the name of cherubism.
This unique condition resulted in the actor having an exceptionally defined
jawline. Robert Z’Dar’s jawline was so prominent that he made costar Bruce Campbell’s jawline look
small by comparison in the 1988 film Maniac Cop. Given that Bruce Campbell
is a man that has come to be defined by his chin, this stands as an incredible feat!
Robert began acting during the 1980s, and it didn’t take long for his unique appearance to
make him stand out in the eyes of producers. Robert’s strong features made him perfect for
playing the role of the intimidating villain, including his turn as the titular antagonist in
the aforementioned Maniac Cop and its two sequels. Throughout Robert's life, he appeared in over 100
features. Besides his iconic role in Maniac Cop, some of the actor’s other notable roles included
his turn as a henchman named Face in the Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell film Tango & Cash.
Although Robert never became a superstar, he achieved cult stardom over the course of his life
thanks to his roles in B pictures. The most high-profile gig of the actor’s career was
arguably in the 1991 feature Mobsters, alongside stars Christian Slater and Patrick Dempsey.
Sadly, the film was a box-office flop and didn’t yield any more blockbuster roles
for Robert in the future. Still, he worked so consistently in the years leading up to his 2015
death that films starring Robert are still being released posthumously.
Ted Cassidy Ted Cassidy was an immensely tall actor whose
most notable role was arguably that of the butler character Lurch on The Addams Family. The actor’s
skinny frame and immense height of 6’ 9” made him the perfect choice for characters that were meant
to look particularly lanky. As it turns out, Ted’s extreme height was caused by a condition known as
acromegaly, which also caused the actor to have an exceptionally defined face and deep voice.
At a young age, Ted’s extreme height made him a perfect choice for sports such as basketball.
He played the sport throughout high school and college while pursuing a degree
in speech and drama. It was Ted’s desire to be an actor, and his stature proved an
advantage when it came time for him to start seeking out roles in Hollywood.
The character of Lurch on The Addams Family was originally supposed to be mute,
but Ted brought such charisma to the character that the writers started giving him lines.
The character became a hit, and more appearances in the media followed for the actor.
Besides The Addams Family, Ted also leaned his talents to such series as Star, Trek,
The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Lost in Space, and The Beverly Hillbillies.
Besides his live-action roles, Ted Cassidy also became a notable voiceover artist throughout his
career thanks to his uniquely deep voice. Around the same time that Ted took his iconic role on The
Addams Family, he also began voicing characters in various series for Hanna-Barbera Productions.
Ted Cassidy performed the sound effects for the character of Godzilla
on the 1970s animated series of the same name and performed the voices for Ben
Grimm on The New Fantastic Four and Braniac on Super Friends.
Besides all of Ted Cassidy’s work on television, he could also be seen on film sporadically
throughout his career. His most notable film appearance was arguably in 1969’s Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid. Sadly, the condition that brought Ted fame ended up killing him.
His acromegaly caused a fatal tumor to form in his heart, and he died after having surgery to get it
removed. Ted Cassidy died in 1979. At the time of his death, the actor was only 46 years old.
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Felix Silla Felix Silla is another actor
from The Addams Family that rose to prominence thanks to a unique medical condition. For Felix,
this condition was dwarfism. The actor’s small size made him the perfect choice to play the
character of Cousin Itt on the show, though the elaborate costume made it impossible for
audiences to recognize the actor. Cousin Itt’s voice was also dubbed over by another performer,
but no other actor could’ve brought the character to physical life quite the way that Felix did.
He performed in the role of the character for 17 episodes over the course of the show’s run.
The role of Cousin Itt certainly wasn’t the only role that Felix Silla performed in
during his time in Hollywood. The actor was also the performer responsible for bringing
the robot character of Twiki to life on the 1979 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.
Although Felix was the one in the suit, the character’s voice was dubbed over by Mel Blanc.
Felix also performed as an Ewok in Star Wars: Episode VI – The Return of the Jedi, which was
released in 1983. Several years later, Mel Brooks swept him up to play a similar role in the parody
film Spaceballs. Felix also used his talent to his advantage performing stunt work for child actors,
having done so for Steven Spielberg on numerous occasions. Before becoming an actor,
Felix worked at various circuses. Sadly, Felix passed away in 2021 at the age of 84.
Andre The Giant Besides Ted Cassidy,
Andre the Giant is another notable performer that rose to prominence as a result of acromegaly,
and eventually succumbed to it. Andre’s acromegaly was arguably worse than Ted’s,
and it made Andre even larger. Andre’s iconic immense size was a result of his condition.
Although his immense size is what allowed the star to become famous, he ended up dying much
too young as a result of his condition. Near the beginning of his career, the doctors even offered
Andre the chance to have the tumor that ended up killing him removed. The doctors claimed
that doing so would eventually save his life, but it would also put an end to his athletic career.
When faced with the decision between extending his life and abandoning his wrestling career,
Andre the Giant chose to keep the tumor. Andre's acromegaly may have given him his career,
but it also made it difficult for him to perform as a wrestler.
Throughout Andre's wrestling career, other wrestlers had to be told to take it easy
on the hulking figure because otherwise they might hurt him. On one instance, Andre claimed
to have broken his ankle during a match when he had actually broken it getting out of bed.
Besides the fame that Andre the Giant garnered as a professional wrestler,
he also achieved fame as an actor thanks to his appearance in the cult classic 1980s fantasy
The Princess Bride. Sadly, Andre’s life was cut short as a result of his condition,
passing away at the age of 46. Coincidentally, this is the same age Ted Cassidy passed.
Billy Barty Billy Barty is another actor that
suffered from dwarfism. Billy was born in 1924 and began his career in the entertainment industry
at a time when dwarf actors were not treated with the same amount of respect that they are nowadays.
Billy is one of the people that can be credited with helping get better treatment for dwarf
actors, as the actor was actually an advocate for dwarf rights during his Hollywood career.
Billy Barty had begun his career as a child star before eventually venturing into acting as an
adult. As a child, Billy had appeared alongside Mickey Rooney. As an adult, the actor found most
of his work in fantasy films and series, including notable roles in the films Willow and UHF. During
the 1970s, Billy Barty worked with Sid and Marty Krofft. Billy’s most notable collaboration with
the duo was portraying the character Sigmund on Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, but he also appeared
in The Bugaloos and Dr. Shrinker. He ended up passing away in the year 2000, at the age of 76.
Paul Benedict Finally,
we’ll close this video out by looking at one last actor that suffered from acromegaly.
Of the three actors in this video who suffered from acromegaly, actor Paul Benedict arguably
suffered from it the least. As compared to the hulking Ted Cassidy and Andre the Giant, Paul was
a comparatively meager 6’ 4”. The actor wasn’t diagnosed with the condition until adulthood.
It wasn’t until an audience member at a stage performance contacted Paul
that he finally realized what caused his unique facial structure.
Paul Benedict's most iconic role throughout his lifetime was that of Harry Bentley on The
Jeffersons. Harry was one of the neighbors of the titular family, and the role didn't draw
much attention to Paul's unique appearance. Unlike the aforementioned stars, Paul was
largely able to play normal roles throughout his career. Besides Paul's acromegaly having a
reduced effect on his life compared to the previously mentioned two figures, it also
had a reduced effect on his heath. As compared to Ted Cassidy and Andre the Giant, Paul lived
until he was the comparatively old age of 70. He passed away in 2008.
All of the above actors' Hollywood careers were aided by their unusual medical conditions. Now
it's time to hear from you:
did you know that Andre the Giant suffered from a rare condition known as acromegaly and
that many other Hollywood stars have suffered from the same condition? As always, like this
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