Herv Villechaize As Tattoo On Fantasy Island
Hervé Villechaize was born April 23, 1943, in Paris, France, but it was in Hollywood that he would make his mark. For seven seasons from 1977 to 1984, Villechaize played Tattoo, sidekick to Ricardo Montalbans Mr. Roarke on hit Aaron Spelling television show Fantasy Island.
Seventy years ago today, a TV icon was born one we knew best as Tattoo.
Hervé Villechaize was born April 23, 1943, in Paris, France, but it was in Hollywood that he would make his mark. For seven seasons from 1977 to 1984, Villechaize played Tattoo, sidekick to Ricardo Montalbans Mr. Roarke on hit Aaron Spelling television show Fantasy Island.
If you were in America and anywhere near a television in the late 1970s or early 80s, youre probably familiar with Tattoos catchphrase, Ze plane! Ze plane! Indeed, for many viewers, Villechaize was Fantasy Island, more so even than his top-billed costar, Montalban, who played ze boss. With his energy and enthusiasm not to mention his exotic French accent and gravelly voice Tattoo charmed his way into the hearts of fans who tuned in each week to be transported to an island where anything could happen.
What Happened To Tattoo In Fantasy Island
Villechaize, who was 3 feet 11 inches tall, played Tattoo, the comical sidekick to Ricardo Montalbans Mr. Rourke on Fantasy Island, which ran on ABC from 1978 through 1984. Mr. Villechaize, a native of Paris, appeared on Fantasy Island from 1978 to 1983, leaving the series a year early after a salary dispute.
Horror Prequel Film Adaptation
A horror-themed prequel film adaptation of the television series was released. Sony Pictures released the film and produced by Blumhouse Productions. Director and screenwriter Jeff Wadlow directed the adaptation from a script by Wadlow, Chris Roach, and Jillian Jacobs. The film was released on February 14, 2020, to overwhelmingly negative reviews.
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Who Was Mr Roarke Fantasy Islands Mysterious Caretaker
Guest stars came and went on Fantasy Island, but its one constant was Mr. Roarke, the well spoken and impeccably dressed caretaker of the island. Played by Ricardo Montalban of Chryslers soft, Corinthian leather campaign, Roarke was never a malevolent presence but he always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
Even though the series was essentially escapism, questions abound about Mr. Roarkes abilities. How was he able to create a realistic fantasy for his guests? And why was he obsessed with making sure that people learned a lesson? Its never stated on the show, but its heavily implied that he has some magical abilities bestowed on him by a higher power. In a few different episodes he goes tit for tat with the Devil, and hes able to transport people back in time to prove a point, but hes not just a simple wizard.
Throughout the series, Roarkes age fluctuates in such a way that hes at least hundreds of years old, if not thousands. While he dishes out moralistic fantasies hes never mean about them, he just wants people to learn something from their time on the island. The series was never interested in plumbing the depths of Roarkes abilities or lineage, but Montalban said that from the early days of the first made-for-TV movie he believed that Roarke was a fallen angel who was cast out of Heaven for being prideful, and that Fantasy Island was a kind of Purgatory where he could teach lessons to everyone who booked a stay with him.
Many Never Knew Tattoo Sadly Died A Tragic Sudden Death
Reminiscing about Tattoo from Fantasy Island, sure does bring back some old school memories. His real name was Herve Villechaize and he was the Paris born Filipino actor who stood at just 310, but made a huge name for himself after branding his catchphrase, De Plane, de plane! on the show. Anyone aged 40 and up should be familiar with Fantasy Island and the way Mr. Roarke and his sidekick, Tattoo, used to greet guests who came to the island to live out their fantasies. But unfortunately, there was some darkness lurking behind the fantasies for Tattoo
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Herv Villechaize Was Fired From Fantasy Island
The breakout star of Fantasy Island was Hervé Villechaize, who portrayed Mr. Roarkes assistant Tattoo. Villechaize became forever associated with The plane! The plane! which he shouted in the shows opening sequences when wealthy guests arrived for their dubious adventure. Its highly likely that as many people watched the show each week for Villechaize as they did for Ricardo Montalbán.
Villechaize had a hefty appetite for physical romance. His The Man with the Golden Gun co-star Roger Moore told The Daily Mail that Villechaize claimed to have coupled with 35 women during the filming of the movie. According to People, Villachaizes on-set dressing room door was adorned with a sign that read Sex Instructor First Lesson Free. That was just one source of tension Villechaize brought to the show, according to Fantasy Island producer Aaron Spelling in A Prime-Time Life. The actors dwarfism led to health problems, such as a serious case of asthma, and he had a hard time handling his fame and at one point began carrying a gun at all times.
But on the record, the reason that Villechaize was dismissed from Fantasy Island was a contract dispute. He was upset that Montalbán made more money than he did, so he sought to at least even things out. In 1983, Villechaize was fired and replaced by Christopher Hewett as Mr. Roarkes new assistant, Lawrence. Fantasy Island lasted just one season without Tattoo and was cancelled in 1984.
What Was The Point Of Fantasy Island
The premise is very much the same. Its about wish fulfillment its about growing as a human being its about making dreams come true. Guests come to the island they have a desire, they have a dream, whatever it is then the island helps them navigate through a journey that has magic and can fulfill them.
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The Tragic Beautiful True Story Behind Peter Dinklages My Dinner With Herv
Fantasy Island
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In 1993, Sacha Gervasi was working as a journalist in London when he received what would become the strangestand most meaningfulassignment of his life: an interview with Hervé Villechaize. Gervasi was supposed to crank out a 500-word Where Are They Now?style blurb about the French actor, perhaps best known for playing evil henchman Nick Nack in 1974s The Man with the Golden Gun. But it had been about a decade since Villechaize was fired from his last high-profile jobthe TV series Fantasy Island, where he played sidekick Tattooafter demanding equal pay to his co-star, Ricardo Montalbán. And aside from the occasional Geraldo appearance or odd Dunkin Donuts commercial, Villechaizes career had dried up.
Gervasi did not expect much from the interview.
The reporter dutifully flew to Los Angeles, and met Villechaize for what was supposed to be a quick conversation at a West Hollywood restaurant. Gervasi ran through his questions and collected a few quotes, before packing up his recorder and notebookeager to get to a more exciting interview on his itinerary. But Villechaize was not finished talking.
Gervasi returned to London with 12 hours worth of cassette tapes from his time with Villechaize. About a week lateron Sunday, September 4, 1993, at around 5:36 P.M.the phone in Gervasis Clapham flat rang.
The Idea For The Show Was A Joke
Spelling was in a pitch meeting with the network and his big ideas were not going well. That lead to an exasperated joke from the producer. “Aaron was in his office, trying to sell a show to ABC,” his wife Candy recalled in an oral history for The Hollywood Reporter, “and I heard him say, ‘What would you like me to do? Put some guy on an island and have him grant wishes to people?’ He was being sarcastic.” He was kidding. Of course, the network loved the idea.
Image: AP Photo / Reed Saxon
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Did Ricardo Montalban Get Along With Herve
Herve Villechaize, the diminuitive Tattoo who quit the Fantasy Island TV series in a bitter contract dispute, is making the rounds criticizing both the show and his former co-star, Ricardo Montalban. Montalban denied there was animosity, and said, For six years, I have felt sincere affection and love for Herve.
Where Do They Film Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island filmed in beautiful Puerto Rico
According to Republic World, the crew went all over the island to get the shots they needed. Seeing how the show takes place on beaches and bungalows alike, the team traveled to San Juan, Old San Juan, and Río Grande, all of which are known for their beautiful beaches.
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Abc Wanted A Tattoo Removed
Initially, Fantasy Island’s regular cast consisted of just two people who appeared in every episode: Ricardo Montalbán as twisted paradise operator Mr. Roarke, and French actor Hervé Villechaize as Mr. Roarke’s assistant and constant companion, Tattoo. Already an accomplished artist, Villechaize, who, due to a medical condition, stood less than four feet tall, threw himself into acting in the 1970s and found his breakout role as henchman Nick Nack in the 1974 James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. It was in that film that Fantasy Island producers Aaron Spelling and Leonard Goldberg saw him and thought he’d be great on their show as Tattoo, an assistant for and physical opposite to Ricardo Montalbán’s Mr. Roarke. “We both thought he was perfect,” Spelling wrote in A Prime-Time Life. “We wanted a different look and the idea of a three-foot-ten sidekick for Roarke was too irresistible to pass up.”
Spelling and Goldberg cast Villechaize in the Fantasy Island made-for-TV movies, but when ABC decided to make the show a regular series, it had one big request: Get rid of Tattoo and fire Villechaize. Spelling refused: “We liked the chemistry the way it was, and suggested they do the series without us .” ABC backed off, and Villechaize remained on Fantasy Island.
Fantasy Island Started As A Joke
The premise of Fantasy Island is clear, intriguing, and almost infinitely repeatable: People pay $50,000 for a three-day stay on an island where their wildest fantasy comes true. Such a concise and definable idea is the goal and envy of TV writers everywhere, and one would think that producer Aaron Spelling would have spent a long time coming up with the concept for Fantasy Island. He didn’t.
In the late 1970s, ABC executive Brandon Stoddard came to the office of Spelling and his production partner, Leonard Goldberg, wanting to hear pitches for made-for-TV movies. Stoddard didn’t like any of Spelling’s ideas. “We must have pitched six ideas,” Spelling told the Television Academy Foundation, recalling that he was unable to come up with anything “exciting and intriguing” enough for Stoddard. “And I said as a joke, I said, ‘Oh, so what do you want, this great island that people can go to and all their sexual fantasies will be realized?'” Now that Stoddard liked. “It was just a joke,” Spelling said. “I was just kidding!”
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Abc Had Some Interesting Casting Ideas
Higher-ups at ABC didn’t just have a problem with including Hervé Villechaize in the cast of Fantasy Island. Executives had issues with producer Aaron Spelling’s choice of actor in the show’s only other continuing role, that of mysterious island proprietor Mr. Roarke. Older actor and showbiz veteran Ricardo Montalbán ultimately got the part, but only after Spelling resisted ABC’s suggestion to cast a better-known and more acclaimed performer, such as actor and director John Huston, who won an Oscar in 1949 for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, or Orson Welles, who wrote, directed, and starred in Citizen Kane, widely regarded as the best movie ever made.
Moreover, network executives wanted “an attractive, sexy girl” to serve as Mr. Roarke’s assistant, Spelling recalled in A Prime-Time Life. He and producing partner Leonard Goldberg said no to that idea, at least at first, relenting when ingenue Wendy Schaal joined Fantasy Island as Julie, Mr. Roarke’s niece, for the 198182 season.
In The Years After Fantasy Island Her Film Career Took Off
After her season of Fantasy Island, Schaal continued to work in television, with jobs including Happy Days, AfterMASH, The A-Team, and MacGyver in the ’80s, and Murder, She Wrote, Friends, The X-Files, and Six Feet Under in the ’90s and 2000s. She’s also acted in movies, including four by the director Joe Dante: Innerspace, The ‘Burbs, Runaway Daughters, and Small Soldiers.
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Fantasy Island Is Coming Back Strong In The 2020s
Never mind those misbegotten attempts to revive Fantasy Island in the late 90s and mid-2010s, because the franchise is experiencing new life for a whole new generation of fans more than 40 years after it debuted on ABC. In 2020, filmmaker Jeff Wadlow leaned into some of the more blatantly terrifying and unsettling aspects of Fantasy Island and co-wrote and directed a big-screen adaptation of the TV series for horror-oriented movie studio Blumhouse Productions. Michael Peña of Ant-Man played Mr. Roarke, reimagined as a dangerous deviant who lures guests to his luxury island, only to terrorize them instead. Despite a lowly seven-percent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Fantasy Island the movie earned a respectable $53 million at the box office.
A few months after the successful theatrical run of Fantasy Island, the Fox network announced that it had ordered a new Fantasy Island TV series. Liz Craft and Sarah Fain, seasoned TV writers who have worked on Angel, The Shield, and The Vampire Diaries, will oversee the show, which will offer a different approach from the original series or the movie. The new Fantasy Island will aim for a positive and inspiring tone, with characters finding a visit to Fantasy Island turning their lives around for the better.
Why Did Rubys Tattoo Change On Fantasy Island
The fact that Ruby chooses to get that particular tattoo tells Roarke that shes connected to the Island and that the Island wants her to become Roarkes right hand woman. The tattoo transforms at the end into its final state because Rubys decision to stay means she is now officially part of Fantasy Island.
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There Was A Minor Actor Revolt On The Set Of Fantasy Island
In 1983, Fantasy Island wrapped up its sixth season with Love Island/The Sisters. Of the two stories in that episode, the first involved a couple of wannabe ladies men whose fantasy is to inhabit a remote island filled with beautiful women. Every Fantasy Island fantasy has a twist, and the one here is that the island is set in prehistoric times. Robert Firth, a young actor with just a couple of credits at the time, was cast in a small role as Caveman, and he and a handful of other actors decamped to film the prehistoric island scenes in a section of Bronson Canyon, a wild and rocky section of Los Angeles Griffith Park that looks so suitably like a land before time that its a much-used filming location.
Along with all that traffic came signs of human life, namely broken glass and trash on the ground, which was a problem because the actors hired to play cave-people were expected to perform barefoot. When I realized the potential fate of our collective feet, Firth told Looper, he expressed his apprehension to the people in charge. That seemed to trigger an avalanche of voices, which led to a stopping of filming, he added. The wardrobe department was contacted, and they provided some clunky suede prehistoric footwear.
She Was Already Acting Prior To Fantasy Island
When Schaal joined Fantasy Island in 1981, she was 27 years old and had already appeared on a number of TV shows, including Welcome Back, Kotter, Little House on the Prairie, and Its a Living. She also appeared on Rhoda, which starred her stepmother Valerie Harper. Schaals father, actor Richard Schaal, was also on the show.
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In Ricardo’s Mind Fantasy Island Was Purgatory
The backstory of just what Fantasy Island truly is well, it’s never explained in the show. But the lead actor needed some backstory for his character. He had his own beliefs about Mr. Roarke that he carried with him to guide his performance. “He’s not the devil what is he? What is he?” Montalbán mused about his character in an interview late in his life. “Even though the audience didn’t realize what I was thinking I decided this man was an angel who still had a little sin of pride in him so he is in charge of purgatory, and he has his little cherub to help him.”
Image: The Everett Collection
Is Mr Roarke The Devil An Angel A Ghost Or Something Else
Mr. Roarke appears in more than 150 episodes of Fantasy Island, yet viewers learn very little about the character. The action of the show only invites more questions, mostly about the true nature and motivations of Mr. Roarke. Its heavily implied that he isnt quite human, nor a legitimate, honest individual. He seems to delight in getting others to pay a large amount of money to come to his island, where he can thoroughly mess with them, suggesting that Mr. Roarke is a demon or Satan, although hes probably not the latter because Satan visits Fantasy Island in one episode. Mr. Roarke could be a wizard, an immortal being, or simply ancient he alludes to friendships with long-dead historical figures like Cleopatra and Helen of Troy. He could even be a ghost, as he claims to know the Angel of Death. That one might be close to the truth, or at least as interpreted by Ricardo Montalbán, the actor who portrayed Mr. Roarke.
The character Mr. Roarke, I had to identify him with something, Montalbán told the Television Academy Foundation, dismissing notions that he was God or the devil. I decided this man was an angel that still had a little bit of sinner pride in him too proud, Montalbán added and then suggested that in his mind, Mr. Roarke was in charge of Purgatory, the in-between place between Heaven and Hell in which some religious people believe.
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