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Billy Barty

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Billy Barty
Barty in 1976
Born
William John Bertanzetti

(1924-10-25)October 25, 1924
Millsboro, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedDecember 23, 2000(2000-12-23) (aged 76)
Glendale, California, U.S.
Occupations
Years active1927–2000
Height3 ft 9 in (114 cm)
SpouseShirley Bolingbroke (m. 1962)
Children2, including Braden Barty

Billy Barty (born William John Bertanzetti, October 25, 1924 – December 23, 2000) was an American actor and activist.[1] In adult life, he stood 3 ft 9 in (1.14 m) tall, due to cartilage–hair hypoplasia dwarfism. Because of his short stature, he was often cast in films opposite taller performers for comic effect. He specialized in outspoken or wisecracking characters. During the 1950s, he became a television actor, appearing regularly in the Spike Jones ensemble. In the early 1970s, he was a staple in a variety of roles in children's TV programs produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. As an activist for people with dwarfism, he founded the Little People of America organization in 1957.

Early life[edit]

Barty was born October 25, 1924, in Millsboro, Pennsylvania, the son of Albert Steven and Ellen Cecial Bertanzetti.[2] His paternal grandfather was Italian. The family moved to California in 1927.[3] He had two sisters, Delores and Evelyn.[3]

Career[edit]

Barty co-starred with Mickey Rooney in the Mickey McGuire shorts, a comedy series of the 1920s and 1930s based on the Toonerville Folks comics. Small for his age even then, Barty would impersonate very young children alongside brawny authority figures or wild animals, making these threats seem even larger by comparison.

In the 1933 film Gold Diggers of 1933, a nine-year-old Barty appeared as a baby who escapes from his stroller. He also appeared as The Child in the 1933 film Footlight Parade. He is briefly seen in the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein, in an uncredited role as a baby in one of Dr. Pretorius' experiments, although his close-ups were cut out of the picture.

Much of Barty's film work consisted of bit parts and gag roles. He appeared in Fireman Save My Child (with Spike Jones), and also appeared in two Elvis Presley films, Roustabout (in one scene) and Harum Scarum, as a co-star without dialogue. However, some of his more substantial film roles were as the High Aldwin, the village elder, in Willow alongside Warwick Davis, creator of the cosmic key, Gwildor in the 1987 cult classic film Masters of the Universe, and as cameraman Noodles MacIntosh in "Weird Al" Yankovic's UHF.

Television[edit]

Barty appeared several times on The Dennis Day Show,[4] including once as a leprechaun. Beginning in 1958, he played pool hustler Babby, an occasional "information resource", in eight episodes of the Peter Gunn TV series. Barty starred in the Rawhide episode "Prairie Elephant" in 1961.

Barty also starred in a local Southern California children's show, Billy Barty's Bigtop, in the mid-1960s, which regularly showed The Three Stooges shorts. In one program, Stooge Moe Howard visited the set as a surprise guest. The program gave many Los Angeles area children their first opportunity to become familiar with little people, who until then had been rarely seen on the screen except as two-dimensional curiosities. He also appeared as a guest host on KTTV's Sheriff John's Lunch Brigade whenever "Sheriff John" Rovick was on vacation. Barty also made regular appearances on The Red Skelton Hour during the mid-1960s.

Barty starred in full-body costumes in two children's television shows produced by Sid and Marty Krofft: as "Sparky the Firefly" in The Bugaloos from 1970 to 1972, and as "Sigmund" in Sigmund and the Sea Monsters from 1974 to 1976. Out of costume, he played the evil sidekick on the Kroffts' Dr. Shrinker from 1976 to 1977. Meanwhile, he played Toulouse Lautrec in the 1972 The Brady Bunch Saturday morning cartoons preview special The Brady Bunch Meet ABC's Saturday Superstars.

He was a regular cast member of comedian Redd Foxx's variety show The Redd Foxx Show. Barty appeared in an episode of Barney Miller in 1977, and an episode of The Love Boat in 1978. Another show he guest-starred in was CHiPs. In June 1978, Barty guest-starred in the final episode of Man from Atlantis titled "Deadly Carnival". He also guest starred in two episodes of Little House on the Prairie playing a circus member in the episode "Annabelle". Also in a later episode ("Little Lou") as a single father trying to raise a baby daughter. Barty was regularly seen on Bizarre, a weekly Canadian TV sketch comedy series, airing from 1980 to 1985. In 1981, he appeared in a documentary called Being Different and in late 1985, he appeared as Rose Nylund's father in a dream sequence on an episode of The Golden Girls titled "A Little Romance".

In 1982, Barty appeared in an episode of Hart to Hart called "A Christmas Hart" (Season 4, Episode 10).[citation needed]

In 1983, Barty supplied the voice for "Figment" in Epcot's Journey Into Imagination dark ride.[5] He briefly reprised the role in the ride's second version.

Barty was an annual guest-star on Canada's Telemiracle telethon, one of the most successful (per capita) telethons in the world.

Barty appeared on a 1976 episode of Celebrity Bowling paired with Dick Martin, defeating John Schuck and Michael Ansara, 120–118. He also appeared as himself in the 1981 documentary film Being Different.[6]

Activism[edit]

Main article: Little People of America

Barty was a noted activist for the promotion of rights for others with dwarfism. He was disappointed with contemporary Hervé Villechaize's insistence that they were "midgets" instead of actors with dwarfism.[7] Barty founded the Little People of America organization to help people with dwarfism in 1957 when he called upon people of short stature to join him in a get-together in Reno, Nevada. That original meeting of 21 people grew into Little People of America, a group which as of 2023 has more than 7,500 members. It was the first North American organization for little people.

Other[edit]

In 1981, Barty received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard for his contributions to the film industry.[8]

In 1990, Barty was sued in small claims court by two of the writers of his cancelled comedy television series Short Ribbs, which aired for 13 weeks in the autumn of 1989 as a local program on KDOC-TV. Producer and writer William Winckler and writer Warren Taylor filed separate lawsuits against Barty for money owed, and Barty lost both cases. Barty claimed the lawsuit news was the most publicity he ever got, and compared it to similar press that celebrity Zsa Zsa Gabor received for slapping a Beverly Hills police officer.[9][10]

A tribute book on Barty's life was published in December 2002. Within Reach: An Inspirational Journey into the Life, Legacy and Influence of Billy Barty was produced by Barty's nephew, Michael Copeland, and Copeland's wife, Debra.

In the 1980s, Barty owned a popular roller rink in Fullerton, California, that also booked bands on weekends.[11]

Personal life[edit]

In 1962, he married Shirley Bolingbroke of Malad City, Idaho. They had two children, Lori Neilson and TV/film producer and director Braden Barty.[12]

Barty and his family were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[13]

Death[edit]

Barty died of heart failure in 2000 at age 76.[1][14] He is entombed in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park.

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1930 Soup to Nuts Junior Uncredited
1931 Daddy Long Legs Billy Uncredited
1931 Over the Hill Shelby Boy Uncredited
1933 Out All Night Child
1933 Gold Diggers of 1933 Baby Uncredited
1933 Footlight Parade Mouse, Little Boy Uncredited
1933 Roman Scandals Little Eddie Uncredited
1933 Alice in Wonderland White Pawn, Baby Uncredited
1935 Bride of Frankenstein Baby Uncredited
1935 A Midsummer Night's Dream Mustard Seed
1937 Nothing Sacred Ankle-Biting Boy Uncredited
1946 Three Wise Fools Bit Uncredited
1950 Pygmy Island Kimba Uncredited
1953 The Clown Billy Uncredited
1954 Fireman Save My Child Clarinetist Uncredited
1957 The Undead Imp
1962 The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm Court Jester Uncredited
1964 Roustabout Billy Uncredited
1965 Harum Scarum Baba
1967 The Perils of Pauline Pygmy Leader Uncredited
1970 Pufnstuf Googy Gopher, Orville Pelican
1975 The Day of the Locust Abe Kusich
1975 The Godmothers Hawk
1975 Sixpack Annie Pie Vendor Uncredited
1976 W. C. Fields and Me Ludwig
1976 Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood Assistant Director
1976 The Amazing Dobermans Samson
1977 The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington Little Man
1978 Rabbit Test Lester
1978 Foul Play J.J. MacKuen
1979 Firepower Dominic Carbone
1979 Skatetown, U.S.A. Jimmy
1980 Hardly Working Sammy
1981 Under the Rainbow Otto Kriegling
1984 Night Patrol Captain Lewis
1985 Legend Screwball
1987 Body Slam Tim McClusky
1987 Rumpelstiltskin Rumpelstiltskin
1987 Snow White Iddy
1987 Masters of the Universe Gwildor
1987 Off the Mark Little Russian
1988 Willow High Aldwin
1989 UHF Noodles
1990 The Rescuers Down Under Baitmouse (voice) [5]
1990 Wishful Thinking Gypsy
1990 Diggin' Up Business Crosby
1991 Life Stinks Willy
1992 The Naked Truth Bellboy
1994 Radioland Murders Himself
1998 An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn Himself
2000 The Extreme Adventures of Super Dave Funeral Eulogist Uncredited
2001 I/O Error Custodian

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1957 Alfred Hitchcock Presents George Episode: "The Glass Eye"
1961 Rawhide Shorty Episode: "The Prairie Elephant"
1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour The Barker Episode: "The Jar"
1976 Dr. Shrinker Hugo
1978 The Love Boat Ralph Warren Episode: "The Little People"
1978 Little House on the Prairie Owen, Lou Bates 2 episodes
1985 The Golden Girls Edgar Lingstrom Episode: "A Little Romance"
1986 Wildfire Dweedle (voice) 9 episodes
1986–1988 ABC Weekend Special Uncle Lester (voice) 2 episodes[5]
1987 DuckTales King Brian (voice) Episode: "Luck o' the Ducks"
1990 Adventures of the Gummi Bears Nemo (voice) Episode: "A Recipe for Trouble"
1996 Frasier Chris Episode: "High Crane Drifter"[5]
1997 The New Batman Adventures Hips McManus (voice) Episode: "Double Talk"[5]
1999 L.A. Heat Morty Feinberg Episode: "In Harm's Way"

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Billy Barty, 76, Diminutive Actor And an Advocate for Dwarfs". The New York Times. December 27, 2000. Retrieved October 24, 2014. Billy Barty, a 3-foot-10-inch actor whose career spanned seven decades and all types of roles, died on Saturday at a hospital in Glendale, Calif. He was 76. Mr. Barty had been hospitalized for heart problems and a lung infection, and died of heart failure, said his publicist, Bill York.
  2. ^ "Billy Barty Biography (1924–2000)". Film Reference. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Billy Barty". This Is Your Life. 1960.
  4. ^ The Dennis Day Show: Party Pooper, episode from Apr 12, 1954 at IMDb.com, listing Barty in the cast
  5. ^ a b c d e "Billy Barty (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 8, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its opening and/or closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
  6. ^ Jay Scott, "Rasky's 'freaks' turn out to be extraordinary ordinary people". The Globe and Mail, June 13, 1981.
  7. ^ Evanier, Mark (January 19, 2001). "POV Victor & Billy". Comics Buyer's Guide. News from ME.
  8. ^ "Hollywood Walk of Fame – Billy Barty". Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  9. ^ "SHORT TAKES: Barty to Pay; Claims Victory". Los Angeles Times. March 20, 1990. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  10. ^ "SHORT TAKES : Barty Ordered to Pay TV Writer". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. May 8, 1990. Retrieved September 29, 2012.
  11. ^ "Billy Barty ran a roller rink in..." Showbiz Imagery and Forgotten History. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
  12. ^ "Diminutive Actor Billy Barty Dies at 76". The Washington Post. December 25, 2000.
  13. ^ "Mormon News for WE 29Dec00: Diminutive Mormon Entertainer Bill". Mormonstoday.com. December 29, 2000. Retrieved January 31, 2012.
  14. ^ "Billy Barty; Diminutive Entertainer". Los Angeles Times. August 20, 1992. Retrieved March 17, 2018.

References[edit]

  • Copeland, Michael and Debra (2002). Within Reach: An Inspirational Journey into the Life, Legacy and Influence of Billy Barty. Xulon Press. ISBN 1-59160-391-9.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Billy Barty.
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