Michael Dunn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To meet Wikipedia's quality standards and conform with our NPOV policy, this article or section may require cleanup.
The current version of the article or section is written like a magazine article instead of the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page. Editing help is available.

Michael Dunn (born Gary Neil Miller, reportedly on October 20, 1934 in Shattuck, Oklahoma; died August 30, 1973 in London) was an American actor and singer. If the 1934 birthdate is accurate, he was one to two years younger than his classmates at Redford High School in Detroit, Michigan. Although not known for a distinctive program in drama, the same high school, located in what was then a largely WASP area in northwest Detroit, also graduated such actors and television figures as Wally Cox ("Mr. Peepers"), George C. Scott, and Dick Martin of Rowan and Martin's "Laugh-In."

In high school, Miller was a students' pet, a class officer, and manager of various sports teams. Like many dwarfs, he was not entirely pleased by the mascot status well-meaning students assigned him, and he occasionally showed it. The later stories he told of extremely macho exploits had no basis in his high-school career. After graduating from Redford, Miller went on to college, to New York, and to Hollywood, adopting the stage name of "Michael Dunn."

Dunn was probably best known for his recurring role as mad scientist Dr. Miguelito Loveless, perpetually pursued by Secret Service agents James West and Artemus Gordon in the 1960s TV series The Wild Wild West. In this role, he rejoined his former nightclub singing partner, Phoebe Dorin, who played Dr. Loveless's devoted assistant, Antoinette. In each episode, the villainous couple tenderly sang a Victorian duet or two, heedless of the mayhem they had created around themselves. Dunn also gained wide exposure in his role as Alexander, a courageous court jester, in the Star Trek episode Plato's Stepchildren.

He was a dwarf as a result of spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (SED), a genetic defect that caused abnormal development of his limbs and spine and led to early, widespread osteoarthritis. He stood 3' 10" and weighed about 78 pounds (117 cm, 35 kg). Spinal deformities caused a distorted ribcage that restricted his lung growth and function. The resulting respiratory insufficiency caused overload of the heart's right chambers, a chronic condition called cor pulmonale, which eventually led to his death at age 38. It is believed a prescription of two narcotics and a barbiturate for Dunn's severe arthritic pain, despite the extreme risk of inducing respiratory depression in a patient with decreased respiratory reserve, might have hastened Dunn's demise.[1]

Dunn's mobility and physical stamina were poor and deteriorated throughout his short life. However, he scampishly disguised his limitations by telling tall tales that a gullible press eagerly reported as the truth. Various accounts describe him as an aviator, skydiver, judo master, football player, and concert pianist, despite clear evidence on film of a severe, waddling limp, permanently flexed limbs, and gnarled fingers. During Dunn's college days at the University of Miami, fellow students took up a collection and gave him a 1951 Austin outfitted with hand controls. Later, working in New York, Dunn also received human transport from friend and stuntman Dean Selmier, who often carried Dunn on his shoulders through the streets of Manhattan.

Dunn eschewed the usual "cute" typecasting of dwarf actors and pursued serious roles. He is said to have inspired a generation of dedicated dwarf actors, including Zelda Rubinstein, Mark Povinelli, and Ricardo Gil. In 1963, he was nominated for a Tony Award for his role as Cousin Lymon in the Edward Albee stage play, Ballad of the Sad Cafe. He also received an Oscar nomination for his role as the cynical Karl Glocken in Ship of Fools (Columbia Pictures, 1965, directed by Stanley Kramer). At the time of his death, he was in London filming The Abdication with Peter Finch and Liv Ullman (Warner Brothers, 1974, directed by Anthony Harvey). He had already been approached by author Günter Grass to play in a film adaptation of his novel, The Tin Drum, a role that ultimately went to the young David Bennent, after Dunn's death.