Early Life
Hank was born Henry Joseph Nasiff Jr. on April 20, 1962, in Fall River, Massachusetts (he was of Lebanese, French, and English descent). A week after he was born, Hank was diagnosed with achondroplasia dwarfism. Hank's mother, Claudette, taught him from a young age that he could do whatever he set his mind to do, and Hank participated in Little League Baseball for several seasons. When Hank was twelve he had an operation on his legs to straighten them. Although doctors had said that he would eventually require more surgery, Hank put off doing it and ultimately opted to not undergo another operation.
Before being associated with the Howard Stern Show, Hank had a bit part in an ongoing performance of Finnegans Wake at a Boston dinner theater. Hank played a character named "Stretch" that would pop up out of a beer keg at the end of each performance. He was paid $50 to say four lines of dialogue. The gig lasted two years.
Read more about this topic: Hank The Angry Drunken Dwarf
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“The early Christian rules of life were not made to last, because the early Christians did not believe that the world itself was going to last.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“We [actors] are indeed a strange lot! There are times we doubt that we have any emotions we can honestly call our own. I have approached every dynamic scene change in my life the same way. When I married Charlie MacArthur, I sat down and wondered how I could play the best wife that ever was.... My love for him was the truest thing in my life; but it was still important that I love him with proper effect, that I act loving him with great style, that I achieve the ultimate in wifedom.”
—Helen Hayes (1900–1993)