Edward Gale (August 23, 1963 – May 27, 2025) was an American actor,

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

and registered sex offender who appeared in films and television series primarily between 1986 and 2013. He was notably the physical performer of Chucky in '' Child's Play'', ''

Child's Play 2 ''Child's Play 2'' is a 1990 American slasher film and the direct sequel to '' Child's Play'', written by Don Mancini and directed by John Lafia, one of the co-writers of the first film. It is the second installment in the ''Child's Play'' fran ...

'', and ''

Bride of Chucky ''Bride of Chucky'' is a 1998 American black comedy slasher film written by Don Mancini and directed by Ronny Yu. The fourth installment in the ''Child's Play'' franchise, it stars Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, John Ritter, Katherine Heigl, and ...

''.

Early life

Gale was born with

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition of people and animals marked by unusually small size or short stature. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is . '' ...

. He was born in

Plainwell, Michigan Plainwell is a city in Allegan County, Michigan, Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,788 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Plainwell is located on M-89 (Michigan highway), M-89 just east of its junctio ...

, and graduated from Plainwell High School.

Career

His debut was as the title role of

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

in the 1986 film ''

Howard the Duck Howard the Duck is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Steve Gerber, based very loosely on his college friend Howard Tockman, and artist Val Mayerik. Howard the Duck firs ...

''. While

Chip Zien Jerome Herbert "Chip" Zien (born March 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for originating the lead role of the Baker in the original Broadway production of the musical ''Into the Woods'' by Stephen Sondheim. He appeared in all of ...

provided Howard's voice, Gale was the actor in the suit throughout the film. In 1988, he played Chucky in the horror film '' Child's Play''. He went on to appear in two other films in the franchise. He played the dinosaur Tasha in the short-lived television series'' Land of the Lost'' (1991). In 2002, he had a supporting role as

Matthew McConaughey Matthew David McConaughey ( ; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He achieved his breakthrough with a supporting performance in the coming-of-age comedy '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993). After a number of supporting roles, his first su ...

and

Gary Oldman Sir Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Gary Oldman, various accolades, including an Academ ...

's characters' uncle Bobby Barry in ''

Tiptoes ''Tiptoes'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Matthew Bright. The film stars Gary Oldman, Kate Beckinsale, Patricia Arquette, and Matthew McConaughey. The film's plot revolves around an average-sized man (McConaughey ...

'', a film that revolves around a family of people with

. Gale appeared in a minor role in the popular American television sitcom ''

My Name Is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia (producer), Greg Garcia for NBC. It aired for four seasons from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, with a total of List of My Name Is Earl episodes, 96 episodes. It wa ...

''. The episode, titled "Little Bad Voodoo Brother," aired in 2006 and featured Gale as a carnival performer named "Little Eddie."

Sexual misconduct conviction

In April 2023, Gale was accused by a group of online predator-hunters of attempting to solicit sex from multiple minors, one male among whom he allegedly believed to be aged fourteen years. He had his

smartphones A smartphone is a mobile phone with advanced computing capabilities. It typically has a touchscreen interface, allowing users to access a wide range of applications and services, such as web browsing, email, and social media, as well as mult ...

seized by the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

(LAPD) during a home visit on April 19, but was at that time neither charged nor arrested. It was soon revealed Gale had admitted to the group that he at that time had recently been "sexting" and attempting to "hook up" with an underage 14-year-old boy, and that he had in the past also had sexual conversations with at least 10 other people who he assumed were minors. Until his death, he remained under investigation by the LAPD and the

Los Angeles County District Attorney The District Attorney of Los Angeles County is in charge of the office that prosecutor, prosecutes felony and misdemeanor crimes that occur within Los Angeles County, California, United States. The current district attorney (DA) is Nathan Hochma ...

. Following Gale's death, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office revealed to ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' that a case had been referred to the Los Angeles City Attorney's office in September 2023, but only for a possible

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

filing. In 2024, he pled guilty to one charge of contacting a minor with intent to commit a specified sex offense and registered as a sex offender.https://www.offenderradar.com/offender-details/ed-gale-of-california-1697865

Death

Gale died in a Los Angeles

hospice Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life b ...

on May 27, 2025. He was 61.

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gale, Ed 1963 births 2025 deaths Actors with dwarfism American actors with disabilities American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American stunt performers People from Plainwell, Michigan