Billy CurtisBilly Curtis and Malachi Throne

In Batman as a henchmanBilly Curtis played a henchman in Episodes-# 17-True or False Face and # 18 - Holy Rat Race

 

Billy Curtis was born June 27, 1909. Both of his parents were normal size but he never got any bigger than 4'2". During his younger years he found work a shoe store clerk until meeting Shirley Booth ( Hazel on TV) who convinced him to try his hand at acting. His first roles were on Billy Curtis in The Wizard Of Ozstage then in 1938 he hit the big time, He appeared in " The Wizard of OZ" as the Mayor and also starred in " The Terror of Tiny Town" an all midget movie western. During the filming of the Wizard of OZ", Judy Garland commented that the Munchkins were " Little Drunks" due to the fact that Billy made several In The Terror Of Tiny Town 1938passes at her during the filming. She told him " Mother wouldn't approve" which was pretty nice considering she could have said something much more to the point ( I can think of a few funny lines.) Of the 124 Munchkins only about two dozen were professional performers. The rest were non-entertainers who returned to private life after the film was shot." Among the professionals the most established were Billy Curtis and Little Billy Rhoades, as well as Mickey Carroll. As a side note, most of the small actors voices ( including Billy's) were dubbed in later by other actors because the studio didn't feel they were suitable for the screen.

In Batman  1966Burt Ward and Billy Curtis

 Most of Billy's roles were not very flattering, he was rude and mean for the most part. He did however turn down In High Plains Drifter 1973 with Clint Eastwoodroles that degraded the perception of little people. He was probably the most active dwarf/midget in the entertainment field, appearing in The Incredible Shrinking Man (1956), Out of Sight (1966) and landed a starring role with Clint Eastwood in " High Plains Drifter (1973) plus many others appearances. He was in many more TV and movies until the 1980's where he semi retired. He continued to appear at OZ conventions prior to his death.

 

He passed away at the age of 81 on November 9th 1988 in Dayton, NV


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