Donald Gibb, who became a star by tossing bespectacled geeks off balconies in the low-brow Eighties classic Revenge of the Nerds, has died at the age of 71.
Gibb’s death was confirmed by his son Travis, who told TMZ that his father died from ongoing health complications at his home in Texas on Tuesday (12 May), surrounded by his family and loved ones.
The New York-born actor was famed for his hulking physique and 6 ft 4 inch stature, which saw him quickly cast as wrestlers, bodyguards and convicts when he turned to acting after an injury put paid to his football career.
Minor parts in the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film Conan the Barbarian (1981) and the comedy sequel Meatballs II (1984) led him to Revenge of the Nerds (1984), in which he played the role of Ogre, a campus bully who shouts “Nerds!” at the sight of weedy first-year students moving into his university.
Gibb would reprise the role in two sequels, 1987’s Nerds in Paradise and 1994’s Nerds in Love, and also appeared as Jean-Claude Van Damme’s American martial arts pal in the 1988 B-movie classic Bloodsport.
Other roles included the Albert Brooks comedy Lost in America (1985), the Fugitive sequel US Marshals (1998), and the Will Smith superhero film Hancock (2008), in which he played a convict.
Speaking to the Youngstown Studio podcast last year, Gibb explained how Nerds fandom saved his life, following a divorce and a sink into depression.
“When the young kids come up to me and yell ‘nerds’ … it is the cutest damn thing,” Gibb said. “My fans don’t remember anything bad that I did, like throwing nerds out the window and stuff. They only remember the good things.”
He continued: “My fans have saved my life. I was in a very bad way. My buddy Sean took care of me and made sure I was OK. But after my divorce, I did a [fan] convention and it was like getting back on the horse. All these people are just wonderful.”
Speaking to TMZ, Gibb’s son Travis wrote that his father “loved the Lord and his family, friends and fans with all his heart”, while asking for prayers and privacy.
Gibb’s death comes just three months after the death of his Revenge of the Nerds co-star Robert Carradine, who died in February at the age of 71.
