Acting · Springfield, Massachusetts, USA · Born June 27, 1909
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.
MovieFather Guido Sarducci's Vatican Inquirer: The Pope's Tour
1986
as Monsignor Duffy
TVThe Twilight Zone
1985
as Creature (segment "Personal Demons")
MovieHead Office
1985
as Reverend Lynch
MovieIt Came Upon the Midnight Clear
1984
as Elf #2
MovieSnow White and the Seven Dwarfs
1984
as Barnaby
TVFaerie Tale Theatre
1982
as Barnaby
MovieEating Raoul
1982
as Little Person
TVKnots Landing
1979
as Billy Curtis
TVBuck Rogers in the 25th Century
1979
as General Yoomak
MovieLoose Shoes
1978
as Menchkin
TVMonster Squad
1976
as The Ringmaster
TVLaverne & Shirley
1976
MovieThe Wild McCullochs
1975
as Charlie P.
MovieWhite House Madness
1975
as Secret Service Man
MovieLittle Cigars
1973
as Slick Bender
MovieHigh Plains Drifter
1973
as Mordecai
MovieEvil Roy Slade
1972
as Toy Cowboy (uncredited)
MovieAphrodisiac: The Love Secret
1971
as Man on the Street Interviewee
MovieNorwood
1970
as Edmund B. Ratner
MovieHello, Dolly!
1969
as Little Person (uncredited)
MovieThe Comic
1969
as Lifeguard in Film (uncredited)
TVHere's Lucy
1968
as Herman
MovieThe Legend of Lylah Clare
1968
as Clown (uncredited)
MoviePlanet of the Apes
1968
as Child Ape (uncredited)
TVThe Monkees
1966
as Midget
TVStar Trek
1966
as Small, copper skinned ambassador (uncredited)
MovieOut of Sight
1966
as The Man From F.L.U.S.H.
TVBatman
1966
as Midget
Bob Hope Christmas Show
1965
as Self
TVGet Smart
1965
as El Lobo-Ito
MovieTwo on a Guillotine
1965
as Big Mike (uncredited)
TVBewitched
1964
as Jack O'Lantern
MovieRobin and the 7 Hoods
1964
as Newsboy
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
TVThe Beverly Hillbillies
1962
MovieBackstage Party
1961
as Self
TV87th Precinct
1961
TVAdventures in Paradise
1959
as Captain Borcher
TVTightrope
1959
TV77 Sunset Strip
1958
TVShirley Temple's Storybook
1958
as Boomalakka Wee
MovieMan of a Thousand Faces
1957
as Harry Earles (uncredited)
MovieThe Incredible Shrinking Man
1957
as Midget
MovieFriendly Persuasion
1956
as Midget at County Fair (uncredited)
TVGunsmoke
1955
as Arizona
MovieJungle Moon Men
1955
as Damu
MoviePrincess of the Nile
1954
as Tut (uncredited)
MovieLimelight
1952
as Midget in Agent's Office (uncredited)
TVThis Is Your Life
1952
as Self
TVAdventures of Superman
1952
MovieSuperman and the Mole Men
1951
as Mole-Man (uncredited)
MoviePygmy Island
1950
as Makuba
The Cisco Kid
1950
as The Laughing Badman
MovieHomicide for Three
1948
as Circus Performer
MovieApril Showers
1948
as Capt. Rudolph L. Nemo
MovieBuck Privates Come Home
1947
MovieThe Hard Way
1943
as Vaudeville Midget (Uncredited)
MovieLucky Legs
1942
as Newsboy
MovieSaboteur
1942
as Midget - Circus Troupe
MovieDon't Lie
1942
as Melinda, the chimp
MovieTramp, Tramp, Tramp!
1942
as Midget
MovieHellzapoppin'
1941
as Bodyguard (uncredited)
MovieIce-Capades
1941
as George
MovieEmergency Landing
1941
as Judge
MovieMaisie Was a Lady
1941
as Midget (Uncredited)
MovieThe Wizard of Oz
1939
as Munchkin (uncredited)
MovieThree Texas Steers
1939
as Hercules - the Midget
MovieThe Terror of Tiny Town
1938
as The Hero (Buck Lawson)
