David Stephen Rappaport (November 23, 1951 – May 2, 1990) was an English actor, probably one of the best known dwarf actors in television and film, standing at 3' 11".
Rappaport was born to a Jewish taxi driver Mark and his wife Dinah in London, and soon 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 1969, 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 America, he returned to marry his college girlfriend, Jane, and had a son Joe, and tried to settle down to family life as a teacher. But as his marriage broke down and he wanted to follow a career in the boards, 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 in case the Greater London Council were to succeed in an eviction, they would have to rehouse them as one family.
He first came to public notability in children's television, appearing alongside Sylvester McCoy as an O-Man in the 1970s BBC children's series Jigsaw. In the early 1980s he also played the character of "Shades" on the anarchic Saturday morning kids TV shows Tiswas and The Saturday Show. One of his most popular roles was as Randall, the leader of the thieves in the Terry Gilliam film Time Bandits, and he also starred opposite Clancy Brown and Sting in The Bride. He played the lead role of Simon McKay in the television series The Wizard, and made notable guest appearances on such television shows as The Goodies, The Young Ones, and L.A. Law. He was also the voice of Dr. Blight's computer, MAL on Captain Planet and the Planeteers (replaced by Tim Curry after his death).
In 1989 Rappaport was Best man at the wedding of Hazel O'Connor and artist Kurt Bippert which took place on Venice beach, California, the wedding was covered in Hello! magazine.
Rappaport struggled with depression later in his life. On May 2, 1990, he committed suicide, shooting himself in the chest at a park in the San Fernando Valley, California with a .38 calibre revolver he had bought 15 days earlier. His body was returned to the UK, and he was buried in a Jewish cemetery in Waltham Abbey, Essex.
Just before his death, he had been cast and began filming for the role of Kivas Fajo in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Most Toys". Scenes he had completed were later discarded, when actor Saul Rubinek was hurriedly brought in by producers to replace Rappaport and complete the episode. Rappaport's death and that of Jack Purvis were the main reasons why Terry Gilliam decided to shelve the intended sequel to Time Bandits, as their characters were two of the most heavily featured in the film. In 1994 the Baywatch, episode Short-Sighted is dedicated to Rappaport, and shows his character Simon McKay (but played by a different dwarf actor).
Time Bandits
The Wizard (TV series)
