Ed Gale

Gale was born with dwarfism.^[1][specify] He was born in Plainwell, Michigan, and graduated from Plainwell High School.

His debut was as the title role of Howard in the 1986 film Howard the Duck. While Chip Zien provided Howard's voice, Gale was the actor in the suit throughout the film. In 1988, he played Chucky in the horror film Child's Play.^[3] He went on to appear in two other films in the franchise.^[1][4] He played the dinosaur Tasha in the short-lived television series Land of the Lost (1991). In 2002, he had a supporting role as Matthew McConaughey and Gary Oldman's characters' uncle Bobby Barry in Tiptoes, a film that revolves around a family of people with dwarfism. Gale appeared in a minor role in the popular American television sitcom My Name Is Earl. The episode, titled "Little Bad Voodoo Brother," aired in 2006 and featured Gale as a carnival performer named "Little Eddie."

In April 2023, Gale was accused by a group of online predator-hunters of attempting to solicit sex from multiple minors, one male among whom he allegedly believed to be aged fourteen years.^[5] He had his smartphones seized by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) during a home visit on April 19, but was at that time neither charged nor arrested.^[6] It was soon revealed Gale had admitted to the group that he at that time had recently been "sexting" and attempting to "hook up" with an underage 14-year-old boy, and that he had in the past also had sexual conversations with at least 10 other people who he assumed were minors.^[7][8][2] Until his death, he remained under investigation by the LAPD and the Los Angeles County District Attorney.^[9] Following Gale's death, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office revealed to People that a case had been referred to the Los Angeles City Attorney's office in September 2023, but only for a possible misdemeanor filing.^[2]

In 2024, he pled guilty to one charge of contacting a minor with intent to commit a specified sex offense and registered as a sex offender.^[10][11]

Gale died at a Los Angeles hospice on May 27, 2025, at the age of 61.^[2][12]