Acting
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.
Filmography
Father Guido Sarducci's Vatican Inquirer: The Pope's Tour
Film · 1986
Head Office
Film · 1985
The Twilight Zone
Series · 1985
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Film · 1984
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Film · 1984
Eating Raoul
Film · 1982
Faerie Tale Theatre
Series · 1982
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
Series · 1979
Knots Landing
Series · 1979
Loose Shoes
Film · 1978
Laverne & Shirley
Series · 1976
Monster Squad
Series · 1976
White House Madness
Film · 1975
The Wild McCullochs
Film · 1975
High Plains Drifter
Film · 1973
Little Cigars
Film · 1973
Evil Roy Slade
Film · 1972
Aphrodisiac!: The Sexual Secret of Marijuana
Film · 1971
Norwood
Film · 1970
Hello, Dolly!
Film · 1969
The Comic
Film · 1969
Planet of the Apes
Film · 1968
The Legend of Lylah Clare
Film · 1968
Here's Lucy
Series · 1968
Out of Sight
Film · 1966
Star Trek
Series · 1966
Batman
Series · 1966
The Monkees
Series · 1966
Bob Hope Christmas Show
Film · 1965
Two on a Guillotine
Film · 1965
Get Smart
Series · 1965
Get Smart
Series · 1965
Robin and the 7 Hoods
Film · 1964
Bewitched
Series · 1964
The Greatest Show on Earth
Series · 1963
The Beverly Hillbillies
Series · 1962
Backstage Party
Film · 1961
87th Precinct
Series · 1961
Adventures in Paradise
Series · 1959
Tightrope
Series · 1959
77 Sunset Strip
Series · 1958
Shirley Temple's Storybook
Series · 1958
Shirley Temple's Storybook
Series · 1958
The Incredible Shrinking Man
Film · 1957
Man of a Thousand Faces
Film · 1957
Friendly Persuasion
Film · 1956
Jungle Moon Men
Film · 1955
Gunsmoke
Series · 1955
Princess of the Nile
Film · 1954
Limelight
Film · 1952
This Is Your Life
Series · 1952
Adventures of Superman
Series · 1952
Adventures of Superman
Series · 1952
Superman and the Mole Men
Film · 1951
Pygmy Island
Film · 1950
The Cisco Kid
Series · 1950
The Bob Hope Show
Series · 1950
Homicide for Three
Film · 1948
April Showers
Film · 1948
Buck Privates Come Home
Film · 1947
The Hard Way
Film · 1943
Don't Lie
Film · 1942
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!
Film · 1942
Lucky Legs
Film · 1942
Saboteur
Film · 1942
Emergency Landing
Film · 1941
Ice-Capades
Film · 1941
Hellzapoppin'
Film · 1941
Maisie Was a Lady
Film · 1941
The Wizard of Oz
Film · 1939
Three Texas Steers
Film · 1939
The Terror of Tiny Town
Film · 1938