Billy Curtis
Billy Curtis (June 27, 1909 - November 9, 1988) was an American film and television actor. He was a dwarf who had a 50-year career in a variety of roles. He was born on 27 June 1909 in Springfield, Massachusetts, and died November 9, 1988 in Dayton, Nevada, of a heart attack. According to the IMDb site, his birth name was Luigi Curto, and his height was 4 feet 2 inches (1.27 m). The bulk of his work was in the western and science fiction genres. One of his early jobs was as one of the Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz. He also appeared in Adventures of Superman in the 1950s. Most notably, Curtis worked in westerns, including the Clint Eastwood feature, High Plains Drifter in which he featured as Mordecai, a friendly dwarf sympathetic to Eastwood, he also appeared in the 1938 Musical/Western The Terror of Tiny Town. This film is, as far as is known, the world's only Western with an all-dwarf cast. Many of the actors in Tinytown were part of a performing troupe called Singer's Midgets, who also played Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz, released in 1939. He also had a starring role in American International Pictures' 1973 release, Little Cigars, about a gang of "midgets" on a crime spree.
Acted in
Father Guido Sarducci's Vatican Inquirer: The Pope's Tour
1986
as Monsignor Duffy
The Twilight Zone
1985
Head Office
1985
as Reverend Lynch
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1984
as Barnaby
Faerie Tale Theatre
1982
as Barnaby
Eating Raoul
1982
as Little Person
Knots Landing
1979
as Billy Curtis
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
1979
as General Yoomak
Loose Shoes
1978
as Menchkin
Monster Squad
1976
as The Ringmaster
Laverne & Shirley
1976
The Wild McCullochs
1975
as Charlie P.
White House Madness
1975
as Secret Service Man
Little Cigars
1973
as Slick Bender
High Plains Drifter
1973
as Mordecai
Evil Roy Slade
1972
as Toy Cowboy (uncredited)
Aphrodisiac: The Love Secret
1971
as Man on the Street Interviewee
Norwood
1970
as Edmund B. Ratner
Hello, Dolly!
1969
as Little Person (uncredited)
Here's Lucy
1968
as Herman
The Legend of Lylah Clare
1968
as Clown (uncredited)
Planet of the Apes
1968
as Child Ape (uncredited)
The Monkees
1966
Star Trek
1966
as Small, copper skinned ambassador (uncredited)
Out of Sight
1966
as The Man From F.L.U.S.H.
Batman
1966
as Midget
Bob Hope Christmas Show
1965
as Self
Two on a Guillotine
1965
as Big Mike (uncredited)
Bewitched
1964
Robin and the 7 Hoods
1964
as Newsboy
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
The Beverly Hillbillies
1962
Backstage Party
1961
as Self
87th Precinct
1961
Adventures in Paradise
1959
as Captain Borcher
Tightrope
1959
77 Sunset Strip
1958
Shirley Temple's Storybook
1958
as Boomalakka Wee
Shirley Temple's Storybook
1958
as Dwarf
The Adventures of Super Pup
1958
as Super Pup / Bark Bent
Man of a Thousand Faces
1957
as Harry Earles (uncredited)
The Incredible Shrinking Man
1957
as Midget
Friendly Persuasion
1956
as Midget at County Fair (uncredited)
Gunsmoke
1955
as Arizona
Jungle Moon Men
1955
as Damu
Princess of the Nile
1954
as Tut (uncredited)
Limelight
1952
as Midget in Agent's Office (uncredited)
This Is Your Life
1952
as Self
Adventures of Superman
1952
Superman and the Mole-Men
1951
as Mole-Man (uncredited)
Pygmy Island
1950
as Makuba
Homicide for Three
1948
as Circus Performer
April Showers
1948
as Capt. Rudolph L. Nemo
Buck Privates Come Home
1947
The Hard Way
1943
as Vaudeville Midget (Uncredited)
Lucky Legs
1942
as Newsboy
Saboteur
1942
as Midget - Circus Troupe
Don't Lie
1942
as Melinda, the chimp
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!
1942
as Midget
Hellzapoppin'
1941
as Bodyguard (uncredited)
Ice-Capades
1941
as George
Emergency Landing
1941
as Judge
Maisie Was a Lady
1941
as Midget (Uncredited)
The Wizard of Oz
1939
as Munchkin (uncredited)
Three Texas Steers
1939
as Hercules - the Midget
The Terror of Tiny Town
1938
as The Hero (Buck Lawson)