Writer and actor Stephen Hibbert – best known for playing the eerie character known as The Gimp in Pulp Fiction – has died at the age of 68.
A family member confirmed to TMZ that Hibbert passed away from a heart attack in Denver on Monday.
His children – Ronnie, Rosalind and Greg – shared a heartfelt statement following his sudden death.
‘Our father, Stephen Hibbert, passed away unexpectedly this week,’ they told the outlet. ‘His life was full of love and dedication to the arts and his family. He will be dearly missed by many.’
Born in Fleetwood, England, Hibbert began building a career in television writing in the 1980s, landing early work on Late Night with David Letterman.
He later wrote for several animated children’s series during the 1990s and contributed scripts to shows including MADtv and Boy Meets World.
Writer and actor Stephen Hibbert – best known for playing the eerie character known as The Gimp in Pulp Fiction – has died at the age of 68; (pictured 2014)
It was his brief – and unforgettable – appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic Pulp Fiction that cemented his place in pop-culture history
He also penned the 1994 comedy It’s Pat: The Movie, starring SNL vet Julia Sweeney.
Hibbert also appeared in several film roles during his career, including a small part as a prison guard in the 1999 comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me.
But it was his brief – and unforgettable – appearance in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic Pulp Fiction that cemented his place in pop-culture history.
In the film’s infamous pawn shop basement sequence, Hibbert’s character appears when the shop owner orders his accomplice to ‘bring out the Gimp.’
Emerging from a locked box, the eerie figure is dressed head-to-toe in a black leather bondage suit with a zippered mask and leash.
He is tasked with guarding boxer Butch Coolidge – played by Bruce Willis – while the captors drag crime boss Marsellus Wallace – portrayed by Ving Rhames – into another room.
Silent throughout the scene, the chained character tries to raise the alarm when Butch manages to free himself, but is quickly knocked unconscious with a single punch.
The disturbing moment became one of the most shocking scenes in Pulp Fiction.
In the film’s infamous pawn shop basement sequence, Hibbert’s character appears when the shop owner orders his accomplice to ‘bring out the Gimp’
Emerging from a locked box, the eerie figure is dressed head-to-toe in a black leather bondage suit with a zippered mask and leash
Hibbert’s death comes just months after the passing of his Pulp Fiction co-star Peter Greene, who died in December at age 60. Greene shared the infamous basement scene with Hibbert, playing Zed, the sadistic pawn shop security guard; (Greene in 2010)
He later had another brief on-screen role in The Cat in the Hat.
Away from Hollywood, he remained active in the arts community in Denver, where he taught improv at Chaos Bloom Theater.
Hibbert’s death comes just months after the passing of his Pulp Fiction co-star Peter Greene, who died in December at age 60.
Authorities later determined that Greene died from an accidental gunshot wound, according to the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner.
The actor was found dead inside his apartment on the Lower East Side of New York City on December 12 after neighbors reported loud music blaring from the unit for several days.
Police conducting a welfare check entered the apartment with the help of a locksmith and discovered Greene with visible injuries.
Officials later said he died from a gunshot wound to the left axilla that damaged a major artery.
Greene portrayed the sadistic pawn shop guard Zed in Pulp Fiction, sharing the infamous basement scene with Hibbert’s The Gimp – making the loss of both actors from that unforgettable sequence all the more striking.
