Thursday, July 06, 2006
RIP, John Rice
This is a bit late, as I only recently heard about the news.You may not recognize the name John Rice, but odds are you would recognize him and his brother Greg. Together they are listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's smallest surviving twins, measuring in at 2 feet 10 inches. They have become famous around the country as commercial spokesmen, infomercial hosts, motivational speakers, and occasionally actors. They also are South Florida natives well-known locally for their appearances in ads for a pest control firm (in which they became partners), their tremendous success in the real estate business, and as all-around good guys. Not bad for a couple of kids who were abandoned by their parents at birth.
Although they were millionaires, it wasn't unusual to see one or the other of them around town doing what the rest of us not-so-famous, middle-class, "average-sized" people do. I couldn't tell them apart, but I ran into one or or the other of them twice. Once was at Barnes & Noble, where I helped one of them reach a book from a top shelf.
The other time was at the supermarket. I knew that one of them -- it was John, although I didn't remember which one it was at the time -- had been hospitalized for about a year with a neck injury and nearly died. So I went up to him and asked how his brother was doing. "No, that was ME," he said. He hadn't let his neck injury slow him down, either.
John died last November as the result of surgical complications after breaking his leg. There are some questions about the medical care provided, and Greg has filed a suit against the hospital as a result. But John and Greg's popularity was obvious at John's funeral, where about 500 people turned out to pay their respects. You'll be missed, John. :-(
