Would-be corpse gets chance to join ‘Stiffs’

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man who has posed as a dead body on his Web site in hopes of landing a movie role has found one in a comedy about a hearse driver.

Chuck Lamb, 47, was offered a role in "Stiffs" on Wednesday night during an interview on MSNBC's "Rita Cosby: Live and Direct."

"Do you know how many people around the world right now are jumping up?" he said after Roger Marino, the film's executive producer, surprised him with the offer.

Lamb, a father of six from Columbus, said he gets support from people around the world who visit his Web site, http://www.deadbodyguy.com. On the site, he has posted pictures of himself in various "dead" poses, his attempt to secure a role as a corpse in a movie or TV show.

1. More Entertainment stories
   1. Freddie Mercury resurrected for stage show
      

      Queen will bring back the band's late frontman Freddie Mercury through optical illusion for Monday's tenth anniversary per...

   2. 'Avengers' joke cruel to adoption community?
   3. Whitney Houston's family gets reality show
   4. Will Stern drive fans away from 'Got Talent'?
   5. Friend: Robin Gibb has 50-50 chance to recover

For "Stiffs," which stars comedian Danny Aiello, he'll play a dead man in a body bag.

Marino jokingly expressed concern over Lamb's height and said he wasn't sure he'd fit in a body bag.

The 6-foot Lamb quickly offered to cut off his feet, saying he doesn't use them since he lies around so much.

Video: Dying for his Hollywood break The surprise offer came after a day of TV appearances for Lamb. He appeared on CBS' "The Early Show" and NBC's "Today" on Wednesday morning.

"Stiffs" casting agent Kevin Fennessy caught the NBC appearance and approached film executives with the idea of offering him the role.

Lamb said being a dead body just seems the easiest way to achieve his goal of seeing his name in the credits once.

MSNBC took Lamb around New York to film him posing dead at such sites as the Carnegie Deli.

Lamb's crusade to be a corpse got its start when he put up the Web site last month, featuring photos of him dead: hanged from a ceiling fan, bludgeoned with a hammer, smashed by a garage door.

The Web site has gotten more than a million hits and has attracted media attention around the world, including from publications in the United Kingdom, Italy and Greece, he said.

"It's like a big bomb to me," Lamb said. "It's pretty overwhelming sometimes."

Lamb said he wanted to show his children and others that anyone, even a balding, average guy, can succeed with determination.

"I want everybody to know that you can do this, anybody can do this," he said.

Lamb said he gets plenty of help from his wife, Tonya, who comes up with many of the photo concepts and mixes his fake blood.