Hollywood's most successful
midget. Born in
1924 (although there are some disputes of this: apparently Mr. Barty doesn't have a
birth certificate) under the name "William John Bertanzetti", Mr. Barty has appeared in at least 74 films since
1930. His most notable films in
nerd memory include
UHF (as
Noodles MacIntosh, the cameraman),
Willow (the
High Aldwin),
Legend (
Screwball), and
Foul Play (
J.J. MacKuen). He also took part in the
Sid & Marty Krofft shows. He worked alongside the likes of
Elvis,
Reagan,
Busby Berkeley,
Kirk Douglas,
Mickey Rooney, and
Jerry Lewis. Despite appearing in the
Super Dave film, he is considered by many to be a fine
actor.
Barty has started two foundations, The Little People Of America, founded in 1957, and the Billy Barty Foundation in 1975.
Billy Barty had aspirations of being a sportswriter or an announcer after leaving college (he majored in journalism), but ended up going to New York City to co-host a children's show. He also had a short-lived semi-pro baseball career. His batting average was .500 -- one for two. He also had 45 walks and 7 stolen bases.
Unfortunately, Barty passed away due to heart failure on December 23, 2000 at the age of 76. He will be missed.
filmography:
1933
1934
1935
1937
1946
1950
1951
1952
1954
1956
1957
1958
1962
1964
1965
1969
1970
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1994
1997
1998
2000
Filmography information from imdb.com