Michael Dunn (October 20, 1934 – August 30, 1973) was an
American actor and singer who shunned the usual "cute" typecasting of
dwarf actors and sought serious roles requiring dramatic skill. He was a trailblazer who ultimately inspired a generation of dedicated actors with extreme short stature, including
Zelda Rubinstein,
Mark Povinelli, and Ricardo Gil.
[Thomas-Matej, Elisabeth., "What's in a diagnosis? A medical biography of Michael Dunn." 2002. The Wild, Wild West fan site of Hazard, Nebraska. www.nctc.net/hazard/conrad/michaeldunn/biography/]
Medical condition
Michael Dunn suffered from medical
Dwarfism, a result of
spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (SED, subtype unknown), a genetic defect of cartilage production caused by a mutation in the COL2A1 (type II collagen)
gene. This disorder, classified as a
skeletal dysplasia, caused distorted development of his limbs, spine, and ribcage and led to early, widespread
osteoarthritis and constricted lung growth. As an adult, he stood 3' 10" and weighed about 78 pounds (117 cm, 35 kg). During Dunn's lifetime, his condition was described by the nonspecific term "progressive chondrodystrophy," or alternatively as "
achondroplasia," a term that now refers specifically to a skeletal dysplasia caused by a defect in the gene for fibroblast growth factor receptor 3.
