Biography
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
all 61
Movies 42
TV Shows 19
self 5
The Twilight Zone (1985)
Head Office (1985)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1984)
Faerie Tale Theatre (1982)
Eating Raoul (1982)
Knots Landing (1979)
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)
The Making of the Wizard of Oz (1979)
Loose Shoes (1978)
Monster Squad (1976)
Laverne & Shirley (1976)
The Wild McCullochs (1975)
White House Madness (1975)
Little Cigars (1973)
High Plains Drifter (1973)
Evil Roy Slade (1972)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Aphrodisiac!: The Sexual Secret of Marijuana (1971)
Norwood (1970)
Hello, Dolly! (1969)
Here's Lucy (1968)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
The Monkees (1966)
Star Trek (1966)
Out of Sight (1966)
Batman (1966)
Bewitched (1964)
Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964)
The Greatest Show on Earth (1963)
Back Stage Party (1961)
Back Stage Party (1961)
87th Precinct (1961)
Adventures in Paradise (1959)
Tightrope (1959)
77 Sunset Strip (1958)
The Adventures of Super Pup (1958)
Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
Gunsmoke (1955)
Jungle Moon Men (1955)
Princess of the Nile (1954)
This Is Your Life (1952)
Adventures of Superman (1952)
Superman and the Mole-Men (1951)
Pygmy Island (1950)
So You Want to Throw a Party (1950)
Homicide for Three (1948)
April Showers (1948)
Wedding Belle (1947)
The Hard Way (1943)
Lucky Legs (1942)
Saboteur (1942)
Don't Lie (1942)
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp! (1942)
Hellzapoppin' (1941)
Ice-Capades (1941)
Emergency Landing (1941)
Maisie Was a Lady (1941)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Three Texas Steers (1939)
The Terror of Tiny Town (1938)
Ratings
Gallery
Information
Known ForActing
GenderMale
Birthday1909-06-27
Deathday1988-11-09 (79 years old)
Birth PlaceSpringfield, Massachusetts, United States of America
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsLuigi Curto
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
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