Hervé Villechaize

 Hervé Villechaize  ( April 23rd, 1943 – September 4 th , 1993 ) was a French - born dwarf actor best known for his portrayal of Tattoo on the TV series Fantasy Island. On Sesame Street, in the 1970 s , Villechaize performed  OSCAR THE GROUCH  as a pair of legs peeping out from OSCAR  ' s  TRASH CAN  , for scenes which required the  GROUCH  to be mobile. These appearances began in season 2 & included the 1978 Hawaii episodes.

Caroll Spinney,  OSCAR  ' s regular  performer  , once re called the  GROUCH  ' s " other half " :

" The 1 st time he  (  OSCAR  ) got to move around was when 1 of the writers had the idea of cutting the bottom of the  can  & making legs out of  OscaR  's green fur . A little per son would be needed to get in this costume, & the man for the job was Hervé Villechaize , who  I  got to know . Later Hervé became famous for the role of Tattoo on Fantasy Island , but  I  had actually 1 st seen him in a very strange play at Manhattan's La Mama Theater , in which he was riding around on a tall , skinny guy who was making chicken sounds . Hervé was an intellectual , very thoughtful , & quite a n art ist. "

Other works
Outside of Fantasy Island & SESAME STREET, Villechaize play ed Nick Nack , the murderous henchman to Scaramanga , in the James Bond film  The Man with the Golden Gun . His other movie credit s included such varied titles as  The Gang Who Couldn ' t Shoot Straight  ( w i th Paul Benedict ),  Seizure  ,  Forbidden Zone  , &  Airplane II : The Sequel . His brother, Patrick , directed episodes of the French co - production of Fraggle Rock.

Death
Hervé, in the early morning hours of September 4 t h , 1993 , shot himself at his home. He was found by his long time girlfriend, Kathy Self , & rushed to the Medical Center at North Hollywood, California. He died later that day as a result of his injuries a t age 50. Villechaize left a suicide note saying he was despondent over longtime ealth problems.

Muppeteer Credits

 * SESAME STREET :  OSCAR THE GROUCH  ( as a pair of legs peeping out from OSCAR  ' s  TRASH CAN , for scenes which required the  GROUCH  to be mobile . )