HBOs My Dinner With Herv depicts the wildand tragiclife of TVs most infamous sidekick
IN 1993, SACHA GERVASI WAS IN THE NEWSROOM of Britain’s Daily Mail, surrounded by banks of TV sets. The freelance journalist, 26 at the time, was pitching ideas for stories to the paper’s Sunday magazine, You, when a familiar figure popped up on one of the screens: Hervé Villechaize, star of the kitschy ’70s TV series Fantasy Island. You know, Tattoo, the diminutive, white-suited sidekick to an identically dressed Ricardo Montalban. The one who shouted, “Da plane! Da plane!”
What happened to that fucking guy? Gervasi thought. Is he even alive? Some digging revealed that yes, he was. A cache of articles detailed Villechaize’s rise (beginning with the 1974 James Bond film The Man With the Golden Gun, playing Nick Nack) and spectacular fall: drinking, drugs, self-destructive meltdowns, a messy divorce, and lots and lots of women: “You Haven’t Lived Until You’ve Had a Naked, Chocolate-Covered Dwarf in the Shower With You,” read one National Enquirer headline. On paper, and otherwise, what writer could resist that story?
Villechaize on his own wasn’t worth a trip to Los Angeles, but Gervasi’s You editor agreed to run a short, “jokey” piece if he could find the time between interviewing the stars of Beverly Hills 90210, the biggest TV show at the time, and novelist Elmore Leonard. “The 90210 stars were not particularly memorable,” says Gervasi, and Leonard cancelled at the last minute. But Villechaize? “That interview changed my life.”
This story is from the October 26 - November 2, 2018 edition of Newsweek.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 26 - November 2, 2018 edition of Newsweek.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
An integrated model for water management
Alkhorayef Water and Power Technologies has deep expertise and synergistic capabilities across the full water and wastewater value chain
Investments that are transforming life in Saudi Arabia
Abdullah Al Othaim Investment Company is creating distinctive destinations and experiences that encompass multiple sectors
A Kinder and Gentler Nick Cave
After a period of personal upheaval, the famed Bad Seeds singer returns with the vibrant and optimistic 'Wild God'
Fleeing War and Scams
Newsweek spoke to three Ukrainians who have been targeted by \"sponsors\" trying to profit from applicants seeking refuge in the U.S. via a humanitarian scheme
Is 'The Squad' Splintering?
The progressive group of Democrats lost two members in recent primary defeats and its leader is tilting mainstream. What now?
CASH CRUNCH
Leaders, including President Joe Biden, have hailed the strength of the U.S. economy. But middle-class Americans told Newsweek
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor
The reality is most things that I've done, I rarely talk to women on screen. And it gets a little tired.
Nick Jonas
I have a big imagination. I'm very ambitious and want to do it all. And thankfully, I get to.
Tour de Force
One of the best live acts around, Swedish rock titans The Hives talk to Newsweek ahead of their U.S. headline concert dates about opening for Foo Fighters and nearly collaborating with André 3000
Mummy's Dark Secret
Research into the body of a woman buried 3,500 years ago in Egypt may reveal the painful truth behind her facial expression.
