Stephen Hibbert, a writer for “MADtv” and “Late Night With David Letterman,” as well as an actor for “Pulp Fiction,” died of a heart attack March 2 in Denver, Colo. He was 68.
Hibbert’s death was confirmed by his family to Rolling Stone and TMZ.
“Our father, Stephen Hibbert, passed away unexpectedly this week,” his children Ronnie, Rosalind and Greg said in a statement to media. “His life was full of love and dedication to the arts and his family. He will be dearly missed by many.”
Hibbert was a regular writer for “MADtv” during the show’s first season in 1995. In a 2014 interview with Trainwreck’d Society, Hibbert recalled, “It was a fun gig. I was only there for the first season, but I made some great friendships. You never what will be a hit, and I never think about that sort of thing.”
He moved to “Boy Meets World” after that first year, which he also described as a “great place to work.” His television writing career also included stints at “Darkwing Duck” and “Animaniacs.”
Hibbert’s role in 1994’s “Pulp Fiction” as The Gimp (the Guy In Mask Permanently) earned him the most name recognition. In an interview with AARP, the actor explained he and his ex-wife, Julia Sweeney, met Quentin Tarantino at the Groundlings Theater and were encouraged to audition for the movie. Sweeney played the girlfriend of Harvey Keitel’s character Winston Wolf.
On filming with Bruce Willis, Hibbert said, “Bruce is a lovely guy. At the end of the day he’d invite me, Duane Whitaker, Peter Greene and Ving Rhames over to his swanky, state-of-the-art trailer for drinks. He was totally cool. When a setup was taking a long time, he reminded everyone there was a guy— me — stuffed in head-to-toe leather gear, and it was pretty hot there on the set. I thought it was a tad grim, but all of those amazing actors had already been cast and I knew Quentin would stage it perfectly. Besides, I was hidden under all of that leather and studs, so if it was truly horrifying — and some would argue it is — I could stay anonymous.”
He also had roles in “Dr. Ken,” “Rush Hour,” “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me,” “The Cat in the Hat,” True Jackson, VP,” “Just Shoot Me” and “Jericho.”
Hibbert and Sweeney also co-wrote the “It’s Pat!” movie based on the long-running “Saturday Night Live” sketch. The movie wasn’t considered a success, but Hibbert told Trainwreck’d Society he enjoyed the experience.
“The film ended up at Disney. While the film didn’t turn out as well as any of us would have liked, I still think there are some wonderful performances: Julia’s, Dave Foley’s, Charlie Rocket, and there are lots of truly funny jokes and scenes,” he said. “So I’m actually pretty proud of much of the movie, and think it’s fair to say it’s better than you remember it, that is in the unlikely event you’ve actually seen it.”
He also joined “Letterman” as a writer in 1984 and stayed with the show until 1986, contributing to over 250 episodes.
Stephen Hibbert was born on September 19, 1957, in Fleetwood, England. He is survived by his former wives Sweeney and Alicia Agos, and his aforementioned three children, Ronnie, Rosalind and Greg.
