Prince Denis (January 26, 1900 – June 20, 1984) was a French-born American actor of sideshows and film 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 . '' ...

, best known for his role as the

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 ...

Sergeant-at-Arms in the 1939 film ''

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 ...

''.

Early life

Originally from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Denis moved to the United States and changed his name to Dennison before eventually legally changing it to Prince Denis.

Career

Denis toured various circuses, including the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey, with his two sisters, Princess Marguerite and Lady Little. Denis would later go on to appear in the 1939 film ''The Wizard of Oz'' at the age of 25. His wife Ethel also had a minor role as a Munchkin in the film. He stated that he had played the role of the mayor of Munchkinland and that

Charlie Becker Karl Becker (November 24, 1887 – December 28, 1968), billed as Charlie Becker, was a German American actor. He was 3'9" in height, and is best known for appearing as the Mayor of Munchkinland in ''The Wizard of Oz'' (1939). Billy Bletcher d ...

, who had played the mayor, was selected to play the sergeant-in-arms. It was later learned that Denis had lied for more publicity. Denis later went on to appear in films such as '' The Greatest Show on Earth'' and '' Three Wise Fools''.

Death

Denis died at the Maricopa Medical Center in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, on June 20, 1984, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denis, Prince 1900 births 1984 deaths Actors with dwarfism American actors with disabilities 20th-century American male actors French emigrants to the United States