Billy Curtis (born Luigi Curto; June 27, 1909 – November 9, 1988) was an American film and television actor with

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition of people and animals marked by unusually small size or short stature. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is . '' ...

, who had a 50-year career in the entertainment industry.

Early years

Curtis was born Luigi Curto in Springfield, Massachusetts, on June 27, 1909. 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.

Career

Before 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. 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 A Munchkin is a native of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by American author L. Frank Baum. Although a common fixture in Germanic fairy tales, they are introduced to modern audiences with the first appearance in the classic c ...

city father in ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'' (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 An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

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 ''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 Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

feature ''

High Plains Drifter ''High Plains Drifter'' is a 1973 American Western film directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Ernest Tidyman, and produced by Robert Daley for The Malpaso Company and Universal Pictures. The film stars Eastwood as a mysterious stranger who ...

'' (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''. In 1973 he appeared as Arizona in an episode of ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

'' titled "Arizona Midnight". He had a starring role in

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

' '' Little Cigars'' (1973), about a gang of small people on a crime spree. Curtis also played Mayor McCheese. On Broadway, Curtis portrayed a little boy in ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, revised considerably by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madc ...

'' (1934) and ''Every Man for Himself'' (1940).

Death

Curtis died November 9, 1988, aged 79 in Dayton, Nevada of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Filmography

References

External links

* * * 1909 births 1988 deaths 20th-century American male actors Male actors from Massachusetts Actors with dwarfism American actors with disabilities American male film actors American male television actors Actors from Springfield, Massachusetts {{US-film-actor-1900s-stub