British actor David Rappaport earned more roles and respect than most guys his size (or any size for that matter) who attempted a professional acting career. Afflicted with dwarfism (he was 3' 11"), he was often typecast in bizarre, sometimes silly and demeaning roles; but, like others before him, including well-known actor 'Michael Dunn' , he rose above it all and proved himself a talent to be reckoned with. He was born David Stephen Rappaport on November 23, 1951, in London and showed musical prowess at an early age. He learned how to play both the drums and the accordion, which helped him out financially during the lean years. He studied psychology at the University of Bristol in 1969 and graduated with a degree while developing a side interest in theatre, performing in plays and revues. Following graduation he married his college girlfriend, Jane, and had a son, Joe, the following year. He gave school teaching a try but left in 1977 to focus on his first love - acting. Returning to England, he built up his reputation on TV and developed celebrity status. He acted in and wrote for the program "Beyond the Groove" and performed in a couple of children's series to boot. Film showcases for David came unexpectedly with the scene-stealing role of "Randall", the ringleader of a motley group of time-traveling thieves, in Time Bandits, and in The Bride as "Rinaldo", a little man who befriends a giant. American audiences got a good taste of David's charm and razor-sharp wit with the popular but short-lived series The Wizard as "Simon McKay", the inventor of odd and exciting toys who derived great pleasure out of being a good Samaritan. He followed this with the attention-getting role of slick attorney "Hamilton Skylar" in a few episodes of L.A. Law. However, personal unhappiness and acute depression set in during this time. On May 2, 1990, he took his own life, shooting himself in the chest with a .38 caliber revolver he had bought 15 days earlier. The 38-year-old actor was buried at the Waltham Abbey cemetery in England.


Nearly died whilst filming The Bride (1985), when the circus tent caught fire and David was left suspended by a rope in the 'Big Top'. The Special Effects man, who was outside the tent, couldn't hear all the shouting and kept David high in the air as the tent was burning around him. Finally he was let down. The large tent only took four minutes to be completely destroyed. Was "Minister for Foreign Affairs" of the "People's Republic of Frestonia", a collection of squats in West London that declared independence from the UK in 1977 in order to gain publicity for their (successful) fight against eviction & demolition. [See Passport to Pimlico (1949)] His death and that of Jack Purvis were the main reasons why Terry Gilliam decided to the shelve the intended sequel to Time Bandits (1981) as their characters were two of the most heavily featured in the film.