Stephen Hibbert's children—Ronnie, Rosalind, and Greg—shared a heartfelt statement following his sudden death. They said, 'Our father, Stephen Hibbert, passed away unexpectedly this week. His life was full of love and dedication to the arts and his family.
' The exact date of his death has not been specified beyond occurring on a Monday this week. The specific cause of the heart attack, such as underlying conditions or triggers, remains unknown. Hibbert was born in Fleetwood, England.
He began building a career in television writing in the 1980s, landing early work on Late Night with David Letterman. He later wrote for several animated children's series during the 1990s and contributed scripts to shows including MADtv and Boy Meets World. Hibbert penned the 1994 comedy It's Pat: The Movie, starring SNL veteran Julia Sweeney.
In addition to his writing, Hibbert appeared in several film roles during his career, including a small part as a prison guard in the 1999 comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. However, his brief appearance in Quentin Tarantino's cult classic Pulp Fiction cemented his place in pop-culture history. ' The Gimp emerges from a locked box, dressed head-to-toe in a black leather bondage suit with a zippered mask and leash.
In the film, The Gimp is tasked with guarding boxer Butch Coolidge, played by Bruce Willis, while the captors drag crime boss Marsellus Wallace, portrayed by Ving Rhames, into another room. The Gimp is silent throughout the scene, tries to raise the alarm when Butch manages to free himself, but is quickly knocked unconscious with a single punch. This disturbing moment became one of the most shocking scenes in Pulp Fiction.
Hibbert later had another brief on-screen role in The Cat in the Hat. Away from Hollywood, he remained active in the arts community in Denver, where he taught improv at Chaos Bloom Theater. Details about his family or personal life beyond his children's names are not publicly known.
Hibbert's death comes just months after the passing of his Pulp Fiction co-star Peter Greene, who died in December at age 60. Peter Greene portrayed the sadistic pawn shop guard Zed in Pulp Fiction, sharing the infamous basement scene with Hibbert's The Gimp. According to the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, authorities later determined that Peter Greene died from an accidental gunshot wound.
Greene was found dead inside his apartment on the Lower East Side of New York City on December 12 after neighbors reported loud music blaring from the unit for several days. Police conducting a welfare check entered Greene's apartment with the help of a locksmith and discovered Greene with visible injuries. Officials later said Peter Greene died from a gunshot wound to the left axilla that damaged a major artery.
The circumstances leading to the accidental gunshot wound have not been disclosed. Whether there is any connection between the deaths of Stephen Hibbert and Peter Greene beyond their shared role in Pulp Fiction remains unclear.