DU doctors and nurses! What affliction does Jim Carrey have?

[kay1864]

Background: I was married to a doctor back in 1988. We saw Jim Carrey perform (this was before In Living Color or The Mask). Back then his standup act included him "doing faces"--Leonid Brezhnev, Charles Nelson Reilly, James Dean, etc. Except he would actually change his face, like it was rubber, without touching it. (this ability helped in The Mask, since he could do several of the effects without prosthetics or CGI).

My ex-wife said he had ______'s Disease, the symptoms of which were elastic skin, and height (Carrey is 6'2"). She said it very matter-of-factly, not trying to impress me, but just something she noticed on the spot. But I forgot the name of it.

Medical folks, any idea what it is?

[SPKrazy]

1. He Has

elastic/plastic skin syndrome (EPSS)

a very rare syndrome found only in actors who change their faces. In fact there is a correlation with acting and making faces and it's prevalence.




:P :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[kay1864]

3. I knew there was a name for it

Glad to hear it from an authority! And I hear that Nick Nolte has GVS (Gravelly Voice Syndrome)

:P


(seriously, I'm not making that up about what she said. Can't call her up and ask her either--we haven't spoken since 1990)

[soleft]

2. Could it be related to his being double jointed?

[kay1864]

5. Ooh, now there's a clue

I did a Wiki search on double-jointed, and got "Ehlers-Danlos syndrome"--fragile rubbery skin. BUT it often results in welts or scars, and no mention of height.

That *might* have been it, but I'm not sure. And not one real Google hit for "Ehlers-Danlos syndrome" "Jim Carrey".

[Ptah]

4. plastic fantastic lover syndrome

Her neon mouth with the blinking soft smile
Is nothing but an electric sign
You could say she has an individual style
She's part of a colorful time

Super-sealed lady, chrome-color clothes
You wear 'cause you have no other
But I suppose no one knows
You're my plastic fantastic lover

Your rattlin' cough never shuts off
Is nothin' but a used machine
Your aluminum finish, slightly diminished
Is the best I ever have seen

Cosmetic baby plugged into me
And never ever find another
And I realize no one's wise
To my plastic fantastic lover

The electrical dust is starting to rust
Her trapezoid thermometer taste
All the red tape is mechanical rape
Of the TV program waste

Data control and IBM
Science is mankind's brother
But all I see is drainin' me
On my plastic fantastic lover

[deucemagnet]

6. Was it Ehlers-Danlos syndrome?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehlers-Danlos_syndrome

BTW, I don't think he has it, I think he just spent a lot of time making faces in front of a mirror.

[kay1864]

7. Have you seen any videos of him doing the faces though?

It really is beyond the norm. I can't imagine a "normal" face doing that, even with lots of practice.

[seemunkee]

11. Doubt it

I have a very mild variant of it. Got it from my mom and passed it to my daughter. Its a connective tissue problem. Weak joints, transparent skin, extreme flexibility, easy bruising are all symptons.

[Pale Blue Dot]

8. My fiancee (a nurse) says she may have thought it was Marfan's Syndrome

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfan_syndrome

If so, however, I think your ex-wife was mistaken.

[RebelOne]

9. Definitely not Marfan's Syndrome.

That has nothing to do with skin. I have a friend with it.

[Shakespeare]

10. I was just about to post that.

That was my first thought, too.

[kay1864]

12. Maybe...

That entry mentions long limbs. No mention of elastic skin though.

But...a doctor make a mistake with a diagnosis? Never!

(oh, if only she'd trained under Bill Frist... :P)

[bif]

13. Stupidity?

[MrCoffee]

14. No-talentitis...a tragic affliction