Erland van Lidth de Jeude was a Dutch actor who appeared in several Hollywood films, as well as being a wrestler, an opera singer bass-baritone, and also worked with computers. While his large size was not unusual in the opera and wrestling worlds, it was key to his movie roles. Van Lidth de Jeude was born in Hilversum, the Netherlands, and came to the United States with his family in 1958, where they resided in Orange, New Jersey until 1960, Stamford, Connecticut , Ridgefield, Connecticut , and Mont Vernon, New Hampshire . In addition to studying computer science at the Massachusetts... Institute of Technology , he also distinguished himself on the wrestling team and in stage productions, the most successful of which was A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, in which he played Miles Gloriosus. After graduation he worked in Manhattan as a computer professional, while also attending the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal as an alternate in the heavyweight wrestling team.
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