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Billy Curtis (born Luigi Curto; June 27, 1909 – November 9, 1988) was an American film and television actor with dwarfism, who had a 50-year career in the entertainment industry.
Billy Curtis | |
|---|---|
_still_1.jpg) Curtis and Yvonne Moray in The Terror of Tiny Town (1938) | |
| Born | Luigi Curto June 27, 1909 |
| Died | November 9, 1988 (aged 79) Dayton, Nevada, U.S. |
| Other names | Little Billy, The Singer Midgets |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1938–1988 |
| Height | 4 ft 2 in (1.27 m)[1] |
Early years
editCurtis was born Luigi Curto in Springfield, Massachusetts,[2] on June 27, 1909.[1] He had three older brothers and a younger sister. After his graduation from high school at age 16, he worked in a store before joining a local stock theater company.[3]
Career
editBefore Curtis performed in films, he was an acrobat in vaudeville and a professional wrestler. His work in films included being a double for child stars.[4]
The bulk of his work was in the western and science fiction genres, portraying a little person. One of his early roles was uncredited as a Munchkin city father in The Wizard of Oz (1939). He featured as part of the circus troupe in Alfred Hitchcock's Saboteur (1942). He also appeared in Superman and the Mole Men (1951), a B-Picture intended as the pilot for the Adventures of Superman TV series. Curtis followed up this role by playing yet another alien visitor in an episode of the last season of The Adventures of Superman television series, titled "Mister Zero". As the title character, he portrayed a stranded refugee from Mars who visits the Metropolis Daily Planet newspaper office.
Curtis's work in westerns included the Clint Eastwood feature High Plains Drifter (1973) in which he was featured as Mordecai, a friendly dwarf sympathetic to Eastwood's character. He also appeared in the Musical/Western The Terror of Tiny Town (1938). As far as is known, the film is the world's only Western with an all-midget cast. Many of the actors in Tiny Town were part of a performing troupe called Singer's Midgets, who also played Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz.[5] In 1973 he appeared as Arizona in an episode of Gunsmoke titled "Arizona Midnight". He had a starring role in American International Pictures' Little Cigars (1973), about a gang of small people on a crime spree.
Curtis was also Mayor McCheese.[2] After Curtis' death, McDonald's retired the character.[1]
On Broadway, Curtis portrayed a little boy in Anything Goes (1934) and Every Man for Himself (1940).[6]
Death
editCurtis died November 9, 1988, aged 79 in Dayton, Nevada of a heart attack. His body was cremated, and the urn went to his wife.[1]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | The Terror of Tiny Town | The Hero | |
| 1939 | Three Texas Steers | Hercules | |
| The Wizard of Oz | Braggart Munchkin | Uncredited | |
| 1941 | Maisie Was a Lady | Midget | Uncredited |
| Emergency Landing | Midget Judge | ||
| Meet John Doe | Midget | Uncredited | |
| Outlaws of Cherokee Trail | Papoose | Uncredited | |
| Hellzapoppin' | Bodyguard | Uncredited | |
| 1942 | Tramp, Tramp, Tramp | Midget | |
| Don't Lie | Melinda the Chimp | Short | |
| Saboteur | Midget - Circus Troupe | ||
| My Gal Sal | Midget Driver | Uncredited | |
| Wings for the Eagle | Midget (Eddie) | ||
| Just Off Broadway | Billy, Midget in Wings | Uncredited | |
| Lucky Legs | Newsboy | Uncredited | |
| 1943 | The Hard Way | Vaudeville Midget | Uncredited |
| 1944 | Ghost Catchers | Midget in Nightclub Dinner Gag | Uncredited |
| 1945 | That's the Spirt | Midget | Uncredited |
| Incendiary Blonde | 'Baby' Joe | Uncredited | |
| An Angel Comes to Brooklyn | Midget Musician | Uncredited | |
| 1946 | Three Wise Fools | Dugan | |
| 1947 | Buck Privates Come Home | Man | Uncredited |
| Blaze of Noon | Midget Barker | Uncredited | |
| 1948 | April Showers | Colonel Rudolph L. Nemo | |
| Hills of Home | Mighty Mite | Uncredited | |
| Homicide for Three | Himself, Midget | ||
| Jiggs and Maggie in Court | Little Man | Uncredited | |
| 1950 | Pygmy Island | Makuba | |
| 1951 | Two Tickets to Broadway | Midget in Deli | Uncredited |
| Superman and the Mole Men | Mole-Man | Uncredited | |
| 1952 | Limelight | Midget in Agent's Office | Uncredited |
| 1953 | Here Come the Girls | Clown | Uncredited |
| 1954 | Gorilla at Large | Slim, Midget Carnival Employee | Uncredited |
| Gog | Gog / Magog Operator | Uncredited | |
| Princess of the Nile | Tut | Uncredited | |
| 3 Ring Circus | Circus Midget Clown | Uncredited | |
| 1955 | Jungle Moon Men | Damu | |
| The Court Jester | One of Hermine's Midgets | Uncredited | |
| 1956 | Friendly Persuasion | Midget at County Fair | Uncredited |
| 1957 | The Incredible Shrinking Man | Midget | |
| 1958 | The Adventures of Superpup | Bark Bent / Superpup | |
| 1959 | The Angry Red Planet | Martian | Uncredited |
| 1961 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Carnival Visitor | Season 7 Episode 3: "Maria" (uncredited) |
| 1964 | Robin and the 7 Hoods | Newsboy | Uncredited |
| 1965 | Two on a Guillotine | Big Mike, Owner / Bartender | Uncredited |
| John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! | Little Football Player | Uncredited | |
| Harlow | Newsboy | Uncredited | |
| 1966 | Batman | Midget | Episode: "True or False-Face", "Holy Rat Race" |
| Out of Sight | The Man From Flush | ||
| 1967 | Gilligan's Island | Soldier | Episode "Lovey's Secret Admirer", Uncredited |
| Star Trek: The Original Series | Small Copper-Skinned Ambassador | Episode: "Journey to Babel" | |
| Bewitched | Goblin | Episode: "Safe and Sane Halloween" | |
| 1968 | Planet of the Apes | Child Ape | Uncredited |
| The Legend of Lylah Clare | Clown | Uncredited | |
| 1969 | The Comic | Lifeguard in Film | Uncredited |
| Hello, Dolly! | Midget | Uncredited | |
| 1970 | Norwood | Edmund B. Ratner | |
| 1972 | Evil Roy Slade | Toy Cowboy | TV movie, Uncredited |
| 1973 | High Plains Drifter | Mordecai | |
| Little Cigars | Slick Bender | ||
| 1973 | Gunsmoke | Arizona | Episode:" Arizona Midnight " |
| 1974 | How to Seduce a Woman | Toulouse | |
| 1975 | The Wild McCullochs | Charlie P. | |
| White House Madness | Secret Service Man | ||
| 1976 | Monster Squad | The Ringmaster | Episode:" The Ringmaster " |
| 1978 | Loose Shoes | Menchkin | |
| 1982 | Eating Raoul | Little Person | |
| 1984 | The Night They Saved Christmas | Jack | |
| 1985 | Head Office | Reverend Lynch | |
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | Creature | TV series: Personal Demons |
| 1987 | Bloody Wednesday | Teddy | Voice, (final film role) |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Wilson, Scott (August 19, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. p. 171. ISBN 978-1-4766-2599-7. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ a b Kear, Lynn; King, James (October 21, 2009). Evelyn Brent: The Life and Films of Hollywood's Lady Crook. McFarland. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-7864-5468-6. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ "More Memoirs Of a Midget". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. August 25, 1935. p. 28. Archived from the original on April 17, 2024. Retrieved April 17, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Freese, Gene Scott (April 24, 2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s: A Biographical Dictionary, 2d ed. McFarland. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-7864-7643-5. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
- ^ O'Connor, John E and Peter C Rollins. "Hollywood's West: The American Frontier In Film, Television, And History." 2006. American Historical Review. Ed. Professional Development Review. web. October 2, 2015.
- ^ "Billy Curtis". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on May 24, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
External links
edit- Billy Curtis at IMDb
- Billy Curtis at Memory Alpha
- The Terror of Tiny Town at IMDb
- Billy Curtis at the Internet Broadway Database
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