Billy Curtis
Acting
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.
Known for
Acting68
tvThe Twilight Zone
1985
Creature (segment "Personal Demons")
movieHead Office
1985
Reverend Lynch
tvFaerie Tale Theatre
1982
Barnaby
movieEating Raoul
1982
Little Person
tvKnots Landing
1979
Billy Curtis
tvBuck Rogers in the 25th Century
1979
General Yoomak
movieLoose Shoes
1978
Menchkin
tvMonster Squad
1976
The Ringmaster
movieThe Wild McCullochs
1975
Charlie P.
movieWhite House Madness
1975
Secret Service Man
movieLittle Cigars
1973
Slick Bender
movieHigh Plains Drifter
1973
Mordecai
movieEvil Roy Slade
1972
Toy Cowboy (uncredited)
movieAphrodisiac: The Love Secret
1971
Man on the Street Interviewee
movieNorwood
1970
Edmund B. Ratner
movieHello, Dolly!
1969
Little Person (uncredited)
movieThe Comic
1969
Lifeguard in Film (uncredited)
tvHere's Lucy
1968
Herman
movieThe Legend of Lylah Clare
1968
Clown (uncredited)
moviePlanet of the Apes
1968
Child Ape (uncredited)
tvThe Monkees
1966
Midget
tvStar Trek
1966
Small, copper skinned ambassador (uncredited)
movieOut of Sight
1966
The Man From F.L.U.S.H.
tvBatman
1966
Midget
tvGet Smart
1965
El Lobo-Ito / Tiny Allen (uncredited)
movieTwo on a Guillotine
1965
Big Mike (uncredited)
tvBewitched
1964
Jack O'Lantern
tvAdventures in Paradise
1959
Captain Borcher
tvShirley Temple's Storybook
1958
Boomalakka Wee / Dwarf
movieMan of a Thousand Faces
1957
Harry Earles (uncredited)
movieFriendly Persuasion
1956
Midget at County Fair (uncredited)
tvGunsmoke
1955
Arizona
moviePrincess of the Nile
1954
Tut (uncredited)
movieLimelight
1952
Midget in Agent's Office (uncredited)
tvAdventures of Superman
1952
Mole-Man #1 (uncredited)
movieSuperman and the Mole Men
1951
Mole-Man (uncredited)
moviePygmy Island
1950
Makuba
The Cisco Kid
1950
The Laughing Badman
movieHomicide for Three
1948
Circus Performer
movieApril Showers
1948
Capt. Rudolph L. Nemo
movieThe Hard Way
1943
Vaudeville Midget (Uncredited)
movieLucky Legs
1942
Newsboy
movieSaboteur
1942
Midget - Circus Troupe
movieDon't Lie
1942
Melinda, the chimp
movieHellzapoppin'
1941
Bodyguard (uncredited)
movieIce-Capades
1941
George
movieMaisie Was a Lady
1941
Midget (Uncredited)
movieThe Wizard of Oz
1939
Munchkin (uncredited)
movieThree Texas Steers
1939
Hercules - the Midget
movieThe Terror of Tiny Town
1938
The Hero (Buck Lawson)
Crew1
movieDirty Harry
1971
Stunts