Scary People

Scary pictures of people from movies with ugly faces that made them famous. You may not recognize the names of these actors, but once you see them, you’ll never forget them. Their disturbing appearance made them cult figures in the world of horror movies.

1. Rondo Hatton

Rondo Hatton never spoke much in his films, but his bulbous, brutish, misshapen face made him famous.

When Rondo was born, he was a normal, healthy, cute-looking baby. As a boy, he was good at sports and was actually voted ‘Most Handsome’ in his class twice. Rondo fought in World War 1 and was exposed to a dangerous chemical warfare agent called Mustard Gas. He was hospitalized with damaged lungs, but soon recovered.

Shortly afterwards, Rondo developed a disease known as Acromegaly. It is a pituitary disorder where an abnormal increase in hormones results in extra growth of the hands, feet, nose, chin and lips. At the time, they claimed that the disease was caused by the Mustard Gas but, in reality, it was probably caused by a benign brain tumor in his pituitary gland.

The changes were subtle at first and Rondo got married, but as the disease progressed, it took its toll on Rondo’s once-handsome looks, turning him into a monster. His wife couldn’t take it and filed for divorce.

Movie directors spotted Rondo and hired him for small parts. In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, he played the winner of an ugly man contest. His most famous role was in a Sherlock Holmes movie called Pearl of Death, where he played ‘The Creeper’. Sadly, he was just on the verge of becoming a star when tragedy struck. Acromegaly causes heart problems and Rondo collapsed and died of a heart attack at the age of 51.

2. Michael Berryman

Michael Berryman suffers from Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia which is a genetic disorder that causes you to be born without teeth, hair, nails or sweat glands. He managed to use his weird and creepy appearance to great effect in a number of horror movies such as The Hills have Eyes and The Devil’s Rejects. Berryman generally portrayed mutant bikers, evil undertakers, monsters and other frightening characters. He also starred in episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and The X-Files.

3. Ted Cassidy

Ted Cassidy became famous as Lurch in the TV show The Addams Family. He also suffered from acromegaly, which causes your jawbone to overgrow and gives you a deep and husky voice. It also makes you very tall and gives you big hands and a thick forehead. Cassidy had heart problems due to his disease and died at the age of 46.

4. Carel Struycken

Carel Struycken is another actor who suffers from acromegaly. The fact that he’s bald as well gives him an even stranger look. His most recognizable role was as the Giant in Twin Peaks and a blue-skinned alien in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is 7 feet tall and he’s still alive at the age of 66.

5. Michael J Anderson

He famously played The Man from Another Place in Twin Peaks. Michael J Anderson may look like a dwarf, but he actually has a genetic disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta. It makes your bones break easily and gives you curvature of the spine. It also makes your eyes bug out. The frequent bone fractures don’t heal properly and leave you with a shortened stature. Anderson is 3 foot 7 inches tall.

6. Marty Feldman

Marty Feldman was a British comedian whose distinctive bulging eyes were caused by a thyroid condition called Graves Disease. A botched operation on his eyes left them looking even more crooked and misaligned. His most famous role was Igor in Mel Brooks’ horror comedy Young Frankenstein. He died of a heart attack at 48, but it wasn’t caused by his disease. He smoked 5 packs of cigarettes a day.

7. Richard Kiel

Richard Kiel became hugely popular playing Jaws in the James Bond movies. He also played an alien in The Twilight Zone episode “To Serve Man”. He was over 7 feet tall. Again, his excessive height and strange facial features were the result of Acromegaly. He had a long movie career and died of heart problems at the age of 74.

8. Matthew McGrory

Matthew McGrory appeared in the Rob Zombie horror movies House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects. He was 5 feet tall in kindergarten and grew to 7 ft 6 inches as an adult. He wore size 29 shoes and was nicknamed “Bigfoot”. Nobody knows exactly what disease he had because he was never tested. Some people speculate that it was Marfan Syndrome which is a genetic disorder that causes your arms and legs to grow very long and thin. Sadly, Matthew died of heart failure at the age of 32.

9. Robert Z’Dar

Robert Z’Dar’s oversized cheeks and chin led to him appearing in over 60 movies. His most famous role was in the cult horror movie, Maniac Cop. He suffers from Cherubism which causes excessive growth of fibrous tissue in the cheeks and jaw. Usually, this fades as you grow older, but in some cases, the condition gets worse with age. Over the years, Robert’s condition has grown much worse and his face is now enormous.

10. Vincent Schiavelli

Vincent Schiavelli’s weird looks won him many roles in a variety of movies. Perhaps his most famous was as the subway ghost who teaches Patrick Swayze how to kick a tin can in Ghost. He also suffered from Marfan Syndrome. He died of lung cancer at the age 57.

11. Julian Beck

Julian Beck played Reverend Henry Kane, the leader of a religious cult in Poltergeist II: The Other Side. He always looked old and creepy, but at the time the movie was being filmed, Beck was suffering from stomach cancer which made him look extremely gaunt and frail. He died shortly after the movie was completed.

12. Tom Noonan

Tom Noonan’s most famous roles are as the demented serial killer in Manhunter, Frankenstien’s Monster in The Monster Squad and a rabid satanist in House of the Devil.

13. Billy Drago

Billy Drago’s weird, angular and sinister looks led to a long career playing the villian in many, many movies and TV shows. His most memorable role was as a white-suited hitman in The Untouchables.

14. Angus Scrimm

Angus Scrimm played The Tall Man in the Phantasm movies.

15. Mason Verger

After a horrible accident in which his face was bitten off by a dog, actor Mason Verger triumphed over adversity and went on to star in a number of horror movies… Just kidding, this is Gary Oldman in a latex mask.

Special mention goes to:

Clint Howard, Peter Lorre, Gary Busey, Udo Kier, Zelda Rubenstein, Danny Trejo, Ron Perlman, Andre the Giant, Jack Elam, Jackie Earle Haley, Tobin Bell, Larry Drake.

Jeff Kober’s best role was as the creepy mask-wearing serial killer in The First Power (1990). Ironically, when he takes off the mask, he’s still just as creepy-looking.