THE GIMP

‘Pulp Fiction’ Star Dies at 68

The actor and writer who played an infamous latex-clad character in Quentin Tarantino’s cult classic died of a heart attack.

Stephen Hibbert, the writer and actor best known for playing the disturbing character known only as “The Gimp” in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, has died at 68. A family member told TMZ that Hibbert died of a heart attack in Denver, Colorado, on Monday. “Our father, Stephen Hibbert, passed away unexpectedly this week,” his children, Ronnie, Rosalind, and Greg, said in a statement. “His life was full of love and dedication to the arts and his family. He will be dearly missed by many.” Though his appearance in Tarantino’s Oscar-winning 1994 film became his most recognizable role, Hibbert built a wide-ranging career in television writing. Born in Fleetwood, England, he began working in American television in the 1980s, including work on Late Night with David Letterman. He later contributed to several animated children’s shows and worked on series including MADtv and Boy Meets World. Hibbert also wrote the 1994 comedy It’s Pat: The Movie, starring Julia Sweeney. For many fans, however, he remained synonymous with one of Pulp Fiction’s most unsettling moments—the silent, latex-suited captive known as “The Gimp” in the film’s notorious pawn shop basement scene.