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.
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.
External links
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/nm0193260
Wikipedia: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q863063
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Filmography (Movies)
Father Guido Sarducci's Vatican Inquirer: The Pope's Tour
Character:Monsignor Duffy
Release Date:18/10/1986
Head Office
Character:Reverend Lynch
Release Date:06/06/1985
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Character:Elf #2
Release Date:15/12/1984
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Character:Barnaby
Release Date:16/07/1984
Eating Raoul
Character:Little Person
Release Date:24/03/1982
Loose Shoes
Character:Menchkin
Release Date:01/09/1978
The Wild McCullochs
Character:Charlie P.
Release Date:21/05/1975
White House Madness
Character:Secret Service Man
Release Date:01/01/1975
Little Cigars
Character:Slick Bender
Release Date:22/06/1973
High Plains Drifter
Character:Mordecai
Release Date:19/04/1973
Evil Roy Slade
Character:Toy Cowboy (uncredited)
Release Date:18/02/1972
Aphrodisiac: The Love Secret
Character:Man on the Street Interviewee
Release Date:05/11/1971
Norwood
Character:Edmund B. Ratner
Release Date:24/11/1970
Hello, Dolly!
Character:Little Person (uncredited)
Release Date:12/12/1969
The Comic
Character:Lifeguard in Film (uncredited)
Release Date:19/11/1969
The Legend of Lylah Clare
Character:Clown (uncredited)
Release Date:21/08/1968
Planet of the Apes
Character:Child Ape (uncredited)
Release Date:07/02/1968
Out of Sight
Character:The Man From F.L.U.S.H.
Release Date:12/05/1966
Bob Hope Christmas Show
Character:Self
Release Date:15/12/1965
Two on a Guillotine
Character:Big Mike (uncredited)
Release Date:13/01/1965
Robin and the 7 Hoods
Character:Newsboy
Release Date:24/06/1964
Backstage Party
Character:Self
Release Date:17/12/1961
Man of a Thousand Faces
Character:Harry Earles (uncredited)
Release Date:15/08/1957
The Incredible Shrinking Man
Character:Midget
Release Date:22/02/1957
Friendly Persuasion
Character:Midget at County Fair (uncredited)
Release Date:30/10/1956
Jungle Moon Men
Character:Damu
Release Date:08/04/1955
Princess of the Nile
Character:Tut (uncredited)
Release Date:01/07/1954
Limelight
Character:Midget in Agent's Office (uncredited)
Release Date:16/10/1952
Superman and the Mole Men
Character:Mole-Man (uncredited)
Release Date:23/11/1951
Pygmy Island
Character:Makuba
Release Date:22/11/1950
Homicide for Three
Character:Circus Performer
Release Date:08/12/1948
April Showers
Character:Capt. Rudolph L. Nemo
Release Date:27/03/1948
Buck Privates Come Home
Character:
Release Date:04/04/1947
The Hard Way
Character:Vaudeville Midget (Uncredited)
Release Date:13/01/1943
Lucky Legs
Character:Newsboy
Release Date:01/10/1942
Saboteur
Character:Midget - Circus Troupe
Release Date:22/04/1942
Don't Lie
Character:Melinda, the chimp
Release Date:04/04/1942
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!
Character:Midget
Release Date:02/04/1942
Hellzapoppin'
Character:Bodyguard (uncredited)
Release Date:25/12/1941
Ice-Capades
Character:George
Release Date:19/08/1941
Emergency Landing
Character:Judge
Release Date:07/03/1941
Maisie Was a Lady
Character:Midget (Uncredited)
Release Date:10/01/1941
The Wizard of Oz
Character:Munchkin (uncredited)
Release Date:15/08/1939
Three Texas Steers
Character:Hercules - the Midget
Release Date:12/05/1939
The Terror of Tiny Town
Character:The Hero (Buck Lawson)
Release Date:01/12/1938
Television Appearances
The Twilight Zone
Character:Creature (segment "Personal Demons")
Faerie Tale Theatre
Character:Barnaby
Knots Landing
Character:Billy Curtis
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Character:General Yoomak
Monster Squad
Character:The Ringmaster
Laverne & Shirley
Character:
Here's Lucy
Character:Herman
The Monkees
Character:Midget
Star Trek
Character:Small, copper skinned ambassador (uncredited)
Batman
Character:Midget
Bewitched
Character:Jack O'Lantern
The Greatest Show on Earth
Character:
The Beverly Hillbillies
Character:
87th Precinct
Character:
Adventures in Paradise
Character:Captain Borcher
Tightrope
Character:
77 Sunset Strip
Character:
Shirley Temple's Storybook
Character:Boomalakka Wee
Shirley Temple's Storybook
Character:Dwarf
Gunsmoke
Character:Arizona
This Is Your Life
Character:Self
Adventures of Superman
Character:
Adventures of Superman
Character:Mole-Man #1 (uncredited)
The Cisco Kid
Character:The Laughing Badman
Images
