Rene Kirby, an actor identified for his work in “Shallow Hal” died on July 11 in Burlington, Vermont. He was 70.

His brother Jon confirmed to Seven Days that Kirby had died on the College of Vermont Medical Heart. Kirby was hospitalized for 2 months with kidney, bladder and esophagus points, in addition to a number of infections. Kirby had beforehand survived throat most cancers, however misplaced the power to talk after the removing of his larynx.

Born in Vermont, Kirby was born with spina bifida, a situation that causes scoliosis, leg paralysis, and problem strolling. After incomes state titles in swimming and snowboarding, Kirby labored with IBM for 20 years. Whereas dwelling in Vermont, Kirby was scouted by Peter Farelly whereas he was directing “Me, Myself and Irene” in 1999. After the pair met, Farelly determined to solid Kirby in “Shallow Hal,” the place he performed a personality named Walt alongside Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black.

In an interview with the Burlington Free Press in 2023, Farelly spoke about working with Kirby on “Shallow Hal.” “Rene’s a man we met in actual life, on our travels, in Burlington. He’s not the sort of man you see in a film. You see him in Burlington, however you don’t see him within the motion pictures. There’s a disconnect there.”

After working with Farelly on “Shallow Hal,” Kirby was solid as Phil Rupp in “Caught on You,” marking his second collaboration with the Farrelly brothers in 2003. In 2005, Kirby had a small position within the 2005 collection “Carnivàle,” which adopted numerous characters in a touring circus in the course of the Mud Bowl and the Nice Melancholy.

Kirby is survived by his mom and 6 siblings.