Joshua Shintani, an actor who made his one movie role into a very memorable one, died last Wednesday of complications from pneumonia.
He was 32 years old.
Shintani appeared opposite Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow (and Jason Alexander, as pictured above) in the 2001 comedy Shallow Hal.
He made a cameo in the film as a ukulele player who played the song “Never Forget Where I’m From,” having been discovered by Peter Farrelly.
The director was on vacation in Hawaii and the spotted the high school senior strumming his instrument outside a public library.
He hired Shintani on the spot and Shallow Hal became his first – and ultimately, only – big screen credit.
According to TMZ, Joshua’s mother took him to the emergency room in Kauai last week.
There, it was discovered that he was battling an advanced case of pneumonia.
We send our thoughts and prayers to Shintani’s friends, family members and loved ones.
