David Stephen Rappaport was an English actor with dwarfism. He appeared in the films Time Bandits and The Bride, and television series L.A. Law, The Wizard and Captain Planet and the Planeteers. He was 3' 11" in height.
Early life
Rappaport was born to Jewishtaxi driver Mark and his wife Diana, née Schneiderman in London. He was born with achondroplasia, a common form of dwarfism. As a child, he developed talents in playing the accordion and drums, the latter of which he played professionally during his life. Rappaport studied psychology at the University of Bristol from 1970, graduating with a degree while developing his skills as a semi-professional drummer, and acting skills at the college dramatical society. After six months in the United States, he returned to the United Kingdom to marry his college girlfriend, Jane. They had a son Joe, and Rappaport tried to settle down to family life as a teacher. But as his marriage broke down and he decided to follow a career as an actor, he became a resident of the squatter "nation" of Frestonia, acting as Foreign Minister under the name David Rappaport-Bramley – all inhabitants adopted the surname 'Bramley', so that if the Greater London Council were to succeed in an eviction, they would have to rehouse them as one family.
Career
David Rappaport first came to public notice in children's television, appearing alongside Sylvester McCoy as an O-Man in the 1979 BBC children's series Jigsaw. Rappaport and McCoy had previously appeared together in Illuminatus! at the Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool. The two men also appeared in the anarchic Ken Campbell Road Show. Rappaport was with the Road Show in 1979 when it featured in the Secret Policeman's Ball. While McCoy appeared as an escapologist, Campbell introduced Rappaport to the audience as: "Not the smallest man in the world, but fucking close...". In the early 1980s Rappaport played the character of "Shades" on the anarchic Saturday morning kids TV shows Tiswas and The Saturday Show. One of Rappaport's most popular roles was as Randall, the leader of the gang of dwarves in the Terry Gilliam film Time Bandits in 1981. During the mid-80s, Rappaport played in the HTV production of Robin of Sherwood with Jason Connery as Robin. The show was filmed in Bristol, where Rappaport had a home. During this time, he also made himself at home aboard Ki Longfellow-Stanshall and Vivian Stanshall's ship moored in the Bristol docks, the Old Profanity Showboat where he often appeared on stage. Rappaport appeared in 1985's The Bride as a circus dwarf who befriends Frankenstein's monster. In 1986, Rappaport appeared on the 1985-1987 NBCTV SeriesAmazing Stories in an episode called "Gather Ye Acorns". From 1986–87, Rappaport played the lead role of Simon McKay in the CBS television series The Wizard. Rappaport also made guest appearances on such shows as The Goodies, The Young Ones, and L.A. Law. In LA Law, Rappaport played crack trial lawyer Hamilton Schuyler from Texas, in two episodes. Both episodes were significant roles, opposing Jimmy Smits. The second of these, The Mouse that Roared, was filmed only 6 months prior to his death. Rappaport was the voice of Dr. Blight's computer, MAL, on Captain Planet and the Planeteers; he was replaced by Tim Curry after his first four appearances due to his passing 4 months before the series aired. He also played Mr. Belvedere's cousin on an episode of Mr. Belvedere entitled "Duel" Season 5 Episode 6.
Final years, death and legacy
In 1987, Rappaport was best man at the wedding of Hazel O'Connor and artist Kurt Bippert, which took place on Venice Beach, California. Rappaport struggled with depression later in his life. Just before his death, he had been cast and began filming for the role of Kivas Fajo in the episode "The Most Toys". During filming, Rappaport attempted suicide, and the scenes he had completed were later discarded when actor Saul Rubinek was hurriedly brought in by producers to replace him and complete the episode. The scenes of Rappaport as Kivas Fajo were included on the Season 3 Blu-ray Disc release of Star Trek: The Next Generation. On 2 May 1990, he committed suicide by shooting himself in the chest in Laurel Canyon Park in the San Fernando Valley in California. Two of the creators of the US television series The Wizard, Michael Berk and Douglas Schwartz, went on to produce The lifeguard drama, Baywatch. In this show's fifth season is an episode entitled "Short Sighted" which originally aired on 31 October 1994. Part of this episode concerns junior lifeguard Carter McKay, whose father Simon McKay is a namesake tribute to David's character on The Wizard.
