Fantasy Island - "What's the Matter with Kids?; Island of Horrors"

Hervé Villechaize (Actor)

Born: September 04, 1993
Died: September 04, 1993
Birthplace: Montauban, Tarn-et-Garonne, France

Trivia: Supporting and character actor Herve Villechaize appeared in 13 feature films, but he is best remembered for playing Tattoo, Ricardo Montalban's chirpy sidekick on Fantasy Island (1978-1983). Born to a French father and English mother, Villechaize was a dwarf who stopped growing taller after hitting 3'9". Before becoming an actor, Villechaize studied art in Paris and New York. Deciding acting was the better venue, he studied under drama teacher Julie Bovasso. He made his feature film debut in The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971) and went on to play small "novelty" roles in exploitation and cult movies such as Malatesta's Carnival and Oliver Stone's Seizure (1974). One of his more notable roles was that of an evil dwarf in the James Bond thriller The Man With the Golden Gun (1974). Villechaize was married three times. On September 4, 1993, he fatally shot himself, allegedly to escape his many health problems.

Jared Martin (Actor)

Born: December 21, 1940
Died: May 24, 2017
Birthplace: Queens, New York

Trivia: Lead, onscreen from the '60s. He was best known as Dusty Farlow in the TV series Dallas. Martin died in 2017, at age 75.

Randolph Mantooth (Actor)

Born: September 19, 1945

Jayne Meadows (Actor)

Born: September 27, 1920
Died: April 26, 2015
Birthplace: Wuchang, Heilongjiang

Trivia: The daughter of Episcopal missionaries, Jayne Meadows was born in China; she spoke nothing but Chinese until her parents returned to America in the early 1930s. The sister of Honeymooners co-star Audrey Meadows, Jayne Meadows began her film career in the mid-1940s as a contract player at MGM. Her velvety voice and self-confident bearing ruled out her being cast as simpering ingénues: Meadows excelled as cold-blooded "other women," vitriolic divorcees, and neurotic murderesses. Her best screen role was the double- and triple-crossing Mildred Haveland in Lady in the Lake (1946). For nearly five decades, Jayne was harmoniously married to her second husband, TV personality Steve Allen, with whom she has co-starred on dozens of variety programs and game shows, as well as Steve Allen's memorable PBS miniseries Meeting of Minds. Both she and her husband were nominated for Emmy Awards for their joint guest appearance on the TV series LA Law. Her more regular TV work included the third-billed role of Nurse Chambers on Medical Center (1969-73) and the part of Ken Howard's mother on the 1983 "dramedy" It's Not Easy. Meadows made an indelible impression through the power of her voice alone as Billy Crystal's gushing, unseen mom in the two City Slickers film comedies of the 1990s. She continued acting and appearing on-screen until the late 2000s; she died in 2015, at age 95.

Gayle Hunnicutt (Actor)

Born: February 06, 1943
Birthplace: Fort Worth, Texas

Trivia: From her film debut in 1966's Marlowe until she left Hollywood in 1969, brunette leading lady Gayle Hunnicutt was typecast in sexpot roles. She was often cast as a golddigger on the prowl for wealthy, older men, ranging from Raymond Burr in PJ (1968) to Jed Clampett (Buddy Ebsen) on TV's The Beverly Hillbillies. Upon relocating to England in 1970 with her then-husband David Hemmings, Hunnicutt began to be taken seriously as an actress. Among Gayle Hunnicutt's more prestigious credits are the TV miniseries A Man Called Intrepid (1979), The Martian Chronicles (1980) and A Woman of Substance (1985).

Fantasy Island: What's the Matter with Kids?; Island of Horrors

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm, Wednesday, May 20 on WJLP MeTV+ (33.8)

What's the Matter with Kids?; Island of Horrors

Season 6, Episode 20