Famous people with endocrine disorders
1. Name the former college basketball star from Gonzaga University who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 14 years.
Adam Morrison. After his final college season, Morrison shared college basketball’s Player of the Year Award with J.J. Redick of Duke. He was then selected third overall in the 2006 National Basketball Association (NBA) draft by the Charlotte Bobcats.
2. This female track star recovered from Graves’ disease and went on to win the title of “Fastest Woman in the World” at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Who is she?
Gail Devers. Devers repeated as champion in the women’s 100 meters at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. She enjoyed remarkable longevity in her sport. In February 2007, at age 40 years, she won the 60-meter hurdles at the Melrose games with a time of 7.86 seconds.
3. Name the dwarf actor who gained fame for his role as Tattoo on the television series Fantasy Island (1977–1984).
Herve Villechaize (1943–1993). Villechaize’s short stature was secondary to achondroplasia. His adult height was only 3 feet, 2 inches.
4. Television and film actress Mary Tyler Moore has what endocrine disorder?
Type 1 diabetes. Moore was diagnosed at age 33 years. Her diabetes has been complicated by retinopathy and recurrent foot infections.
5. George Bush and his wife Barbara were both diagnosed with Graves’ disease during his presidency (1989–1993). How did the president’s Graves’ disease manifest clinically?
KEY POINTS 1
1. Because many endocrine disorders are common, it is not surprising that famous people have or have had endocrine disorders.
2. Most endocrine disorders are either curable or treatable.
3. Many famous people have accomplished great things despite their endocrine disorders.
4. The lives of these famous people can serve as sources of encouragement to patients who suffer from similar endocrine conditions.
6. Pulitzer Prize–winning film critic Roger Ebert was diagnosed with what endocrine disorder at age 59 years?
Papillary thyroid cancer (treated with thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine). Ebert has a major risk factor for papillary thyroid cancer. As a child, he was given radiation treatment for an ear infection. He is unable to speak, but he uses a computer program to turn text into speech.
7. Name the acromegalic giant who played the character Jaws in the James Bond films The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979).
8. Name the 2-foot, 8-inch, dwarf actor best known for his role as Mini-Me in the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999).
Vern Troyer. Troyer’s dwarfism is secondary to chondrodysplasia. He has had acting roles in more than 15 feature films.
9. Name the Chicago Bear NFL quarterback who developed type 1 diabetes in 2007.
Jay Cutler. He lost 35 pounds at the time of his diagnosis and has made Web videos for Lilly on diabetes.
10. Ancient Egyptian sculptures and paintings suggest that Tutankhamen (1357–1339 BC) and other pharaohs of the Eighteenth Egyptian Dynasty had what endocrine disorder?
Gynecomastia. Familial aromatase excess syndrome is a possible explanation for this historical finding.
11. What famous male ice skater overcame growth failure related to a childhood illness to win the gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo?
Scott Hamilton. As a child, Hamilton suffered from Shwachman syndrome, a rare disorder of the pancreas. His adult height is 5 feet, 3 inches. Hamilton was also diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 38 years and with a craniopharyngioma at age 46 years.
12. How was Scott Hamilton’s craniopharyngioma treated?
13. Name the late professional wrestler (and actor) who was well known for his height and acromegalic facial features.
14. Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838–1883) reached an adult height of only 3 feet, 4 inches. What was his circus name?
General Tom Thumb. In 1863, Stratton married fellow diminutive circus performer Lavinia Warren, whose height was only 2 feet, 8 inches.
15. Actress Catherine Bell, who starred as Lt. Col. Sarah “Mac” MacKenzie on the television series JAG (1995–2005), has been treated for what thyroid disorder?
16. Oscar award–winning actress Halle Berry was diagnosed with what endocrine disorder at age 21 years?
17. After successful treatment for Graves’ disease, this professional golfer captained the United States team to the 1999 Ryder Cup in what has been called the greatest comeback in Ryder Cup history. Who is he?
18. Vocalist Rod Stewart has had surgery for what endocrine disorder?
Thyroid cancer (most likely papillary). It took 9 months for Stewart’s voice to recover from the surgery.
19. Ron Santo won six Golden Glove Awards and played in nine All Star games while playing third base for the Chicago Cubs. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at what age?
Eighteen years, just after signing his first contract to play major league baseball. Since his retirement from baseball, Santo has suffered the following macrovascular complications of his diabetes: coronary artery disease, requiring a quadruple coronary artery bypass operation and implantation of an automatic cardiac defibrillator device, and bilateral below-knee amputations for peripheral vascular disease.
20. Name the 3-foot, 7-inch, 65-pound midget who batted one time for the St. Louis Browns on August 19, 1951.
21. Gheorghe Muresan of the Washington Bullets is the tallest player in the history of the NBA (7 feet, 7 inches). What treatments has he received for his acromegaly and gigantism?
Transsphenoidal pituitary surgery, pituitary radiation, and somatostatin analog injections. (Note: Shaquille O’Neal is 7 feet, 1 inch tall.)
22. In his 6-year NBA career (Washington Bullets 1993–1997; New Jersey Nets 1998–2000), Muresan twice led the league in what category?
23. Regardless of acting ability, it seems that every famous giant gets an acting role in a movie. Gheorghe Muresan starred in what movie with Billy Crystal?
24. The late actor Rondo “The Creeper” Hatton had severe acromegalic facial features. He played the villain in numerous horror films such as the Pearl of Death (1944), House of Horrors (1946), and The Brute Man (1946). How old was Hatton at the time of his death?
Hatton died of a myocardial infarction at age 51 years. At the time of his death, he also reportedly suffered from diabetes and loss of vision. All these conditions were probably sequelae of his untreated acromegaly.
25. Nicole Johnson was 24 years old when she was crowned Miss America 1999. At age 19, she was diagnosed with what endocrine disorder?
26. Name the former chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court who died of anaplastic thyroid cancer at age 80 years.
William Rehnquist. Rehnquist was diagnosed with anaplastic cancer in October 2004, and he died less than 1 year later, in September 2005.
27. Grammy award–winning vocalists Johnny Cash (1932–2003), Ella Fitzgerald (1917–1996), Waylon Jennings (1937–2002), and Luther Vandross (1951–2005) all died of complications of what endocrine disorder?
28. Track star Carl Lewis competed in five consecutive Olympics. He is one of only three athletes who have won nine gold medals in an Olympic career. With what endocrine disorder was he diagnosed at age 35 years?
29. Name the American swimmer who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 18 months before he won two gold medals at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
30. Carla Overbeck, women’s soccer star and captain of the 1996 U.S. gold medal Olympic team, was diagnosed with what endocrine disorder at age 32 years?
31. Based on a true story, the film Lorenzo’s Oil (1992) portrays a family’s struggle with what rare adrenal disorder?
Adrenoleukodystrophy. The film’s main character, Lorenzo Odone, was diagnosed with this condition at age 5 years.
32. Despite his type 1 diabetes, this former National Hockey League star led the Philadelphia Flyers to back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1973 to 1974 and 1974 to 1975.
33. The demanding ironman Triathlon requires a 2.4-mile swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run. Name the three-time member of the U.S. National Team for Long Course Triathlon who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 24 years.
34. Name the Supreme Court justice who has type 1 diabetes.
Justice Sonia Sotomayor was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 7 years. She went to Princeton University and earned a law degree from Yale. She became the first Latina Supreme Court justice in 2009.
TOP SECRETS
1. Although type 1 diabetes is a serious disease, athletes with this condition have been able to compete and succeed at the professional level in almost every sport.
2. The accomplishments of track star Gail Devers emphasize the excellent prognosis of properly treated Graves’ disease.
3. Perhaps the most fascinating of all endocrine disorders are the disorders of growth. This explains why dwarfs and giants have been so popular as circus performers and movie actors.
4. The curability of most thyroid cancers is illustrated by the lives of Rod Stewart, Catherine Bell, and Roger Ebert.
5. The high mortality of untreated acromegaly is illustrated by the short lives of wrestler Andre “The Giant” Rousimoff and actor Rondo Hatton.
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http://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/thyroid/celebrities-thyroid-disorders
