Rene Kirby, an actor and gymnast most remembered for his performance in Shallow Hal, died. He was seventy.

His brother, Jon Kirby, verified the story to local Vermont newspaper Seven Days, stating that his sibling, who was born with spina bifida, had esophageal, renal, and bladder problems.

Rene died on July 11 at the University of Vermont Medical Center, according to the publication, with Jon admitting that his brother had been hospitalized for two months with the aforementioned difficulties and infections.

Jon, who lived two houses down from his brother in Burlington, Vermont, said of Rene, “He just showed me that there are no limitations on what anyone can do.”

What is one comment from Rene that he will always remember? “You don’t have to stand up to stand out,” observed Jon, the youngest of seven siblings. Rene was the second-born.

Rene was born to Don and Janet Kirby in Burlington and, according to Seven Days, was frequently seen riding his three-wheeled bike throughout town until the fall of 2024.

He made waves as Walt in the 2001 comedy Shallow Hal, which starred Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow and featured sequences with Black, 55, and Jason Alexander.

Two years later, Rene played Phil Rupp in another Farrelly brothers film, Stuck on You, alongside Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear. His final screen appearance was in a 2005 episode of Carnivàle.

Rene was a swimmer, skier, and carpenter in addition to his film and TV appearances and previous gymnastics experience (the latter of which earned him state titles in high school, according to Seven Days), and he worked for IBM for two decades, according to his brother Jon.

Rene and Jon’s sister, Cheryl St. Amour, informed Seven Days that Rene had survived throat cancer, but his larynx had been removed as part of the therapy, and he had lost his ability to speak a few years before.

According to Seven Days, his father died before him, and he is survived by his mother and six siblings.