Billy Curtis

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

71

Gender

Male

Birthday

1909-06-27

Day of death

1988-11-09 (79 years old)

Place of Birth

Springfield, Massachusetts, USA

Billy Curtis

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.

Known For

  • Star Trek

    Star Trek

  • Batman

    Batman

  • Bewitched

    Bewitched

  • Knots Landing

    Knots Landing

  • The Beverly Hillbillies

    The Beverly Hillbillies

  • Get Smart

    Get Smart

  • Get Smart

    Get Smart

  • The Twilight Zone

    The Twilight Zone

  • Gunsmoke

    Gunsmoke

  • The Wizard of Oz

    The Wizard of Oz

  • Faerie Tale Theatre

    Faerie Tale Theatre

  • Planet of the Apes

    Planet of the Apes

  • Here's Lucy

    Here's Lucy

  • April Showers

    April Showers

  • Adventures of Superman

    Adventures of Superman

  • Adventures of Superman

    Adventures of Superman

  • Adventures in Paradise

    Adventures in Paradise

  • Laverne & Shirley

    Laverne & Shirley

  • Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

    Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

  • Hellzapoppin'

    Hellzapoppin'

  • The Monkees

    The Monkees

  • 77 Sunset Strip

    77 Sunset Strip

  • This Is Your Life

    This Is Your Life

  • Head Office

    Head Office

  • Don't Lie

    Don't Lie

  • Ice-Capades

    Ice-Capades

  • Limelight

    Limelight

  • Hello, Dolly!

    Hello, Dolly!

  • Tightrope

    Tightrope

  • Robin and the 7 Hoods

    Robin and the 7 Hoods

  • Shirley Temple's Storybook

    Shirley Temple's Storybook

  • Shirley Temple's Storybook

    Shirley Temple's Storybook

  • The Greatest Show on Earth

    The Greatest Show on Earth

  • 87th Precinct

    87th Precinct

  • The Comic

    The Comic

  • Princess of the Nile

    Princess of the Nile

  • Aphrodisiac: The Love Secret

    Aphrodisiac: The Love Secret

  • Evil Roy Slade

    Evil Roy Slade

  • Backstage Party

    Backstage Party

  • The Cisco Kid

    The Cisco Kid

  • The Wild McCullochs

    The Wild McCullochs

  • Lucky Legs

    Lucky Legs

  • It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

    It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

  • High Plains Drifter

    High Plains Drifter

  • Monster Squad

    Monster Squad

  • The Incredible Shrinking Man

    The Incredible Shrinking Man

  • Saboteur

    Saboteur

  • Friendly Persuasion

    Friendly Persuasion

  • Superman and the Mole Men

    Superman and the Mole Men

  • The Legend of Lylah Clare

    The Legend of Lylah Clare

  • Man of a Thousand Faces

    Man of a Thousand Faces

  • Eating Raoul

    Eating Raoul

  • The Hard Way

    The Hard Way

  • Pygmy Island

    Pygmy Island

  • Buck Privates Come Home

    Buck Privates Come Home

  • Two on a Guillotine

    Two on a Guillotine

  • Loose Shoes

    Loose Shoes

  • Jungle Moon Men

    Jungle Moon Men

  • Three Texas Steers

    Three Texas Steers

  • Bob Hope Christmas Show

    Bob Hope Christmas Show

  • Little Cigars

    Little Cigars

  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

    Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

  • Maisie Was a Lady

    Maisie Was a Lady

  • Norwood

    Norwood

  • Father Guido Sarducci's Vatican Inquirer: The Pope's Tour

    Father Guido Sarducci's Vatican Inquirer: The Pope's Tour

  • Homicide for Three

    Homicide for Three

  • Out of Sight

    Out of Sight

  • Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!

    Tramp, Tramp, Tramp!

  • The Terror of Tiny Town

    The Terror of Tiny Town

  • Emergency Landing

    Emergency Landing

  • White House Madness

    White House Madness