 Following the death of the real Joseph "John" Merrick, parts of his  body were preserved for medical science to study. Some internal  organs were kept in jars, and plaster casts were taken of his head,  an arm, and a foot. Although the organs were destroyed by German air  raids during the Second World War, the casts survived and are kept  at the London Hospital. The makeup for John Hurt (qv), who played  Merrick in the film, was designed directly from those casts.