Danny Murphy, a quadriplegic who was friends with Peter Farrelly, died at age 59 on Friday. He frequently appeared in the films Farrelly made with his brother Bobby Farrelly, like There’s Something About Mary and Dumb and Dumber To.
Murphy’s death was first reported by TMZ. He had been a quadriplegic since 19, when he was involved in a car accident. He was a childhood friend of Peter Farrelly, who cast him in Kingpin in 1996.
After that, the Farrellys continued casting him in small, but hilarious parts. As the Hollywood Reporter notes, Murphy appears in There’s Something About Mary, Shallow Hal, Fever Pitch, Me, Myself & Irene and Hall Pass.
Murphy didn’t appear in Dumb and Dumber, but the Farrellys made sure to include him in the sequel, Dumb and Dumber To. That movie opens in November.
Murphy was born in Boston and became an advocate for actors with disabilities once he went into show business. He was the vice-chair of the Screen Actors Guild Performers With Disabilities Committee. In addition, he co-founded the Blue Zone Productions theater company, specifically with disabled performers in mind.
His agent, Cynthia Kazarian, confirmed to THR, he died in Florida, where he moved to a few years ago.