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 1970s , 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 recalled 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 an artist. "

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 th , 1993 , shot himself at his home. He was found by his longtime girlfriend, Kathy Self , & rushed to the Medical Center at North Hollywood, California. He died later that day as a result of his injuries at 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 . )