Please Rewind Talent Wall

Billy Barty

Billy Barty built a remarkably varied screen career from comic bits, character roles, children’s television and voice work. Born on October 25, 1924, in Millsboro, Pennsylvania, he moved with his family to California in 1927 and began appearing on screen as a child. He co-starred with Mickey Rooney in the Mickey McGuire comedy shorts, where his small stature was often used to sharpen sight gags involving imposing adults or animals. His early film appearances included Gold Diggers of 1933 and Footlight Parade. Much of his later movie work involved brief parts and visual comedy, but Barty could give even a compact role its own lively personality. His more substantial characters included the elf Screwball in Legend, village elder High Aldwin in Willow, Cosmic Key creator Gwildor in Masters of the Universe and cameraman Noodles MacIntosh in UHF. He also played the brash Bible salesman MacKuen in Foul Play. Barty was equally at home on television. He performed as a singer, dancer, comedian and impressionist on The Spike Jones Show, played occasional informant Babby on Peter Gunn and made regular appearances on The Red Skelton Hour and the Canadian sketch series Bizarre. For younger viewers, he worked inside full-body costumes as Sparky the Firefly in The Bugaloos and Sigmund in Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. His voice work included Figment in Epcot’s Journey Into Imagination. Beyond acting, Barty was a prominent advocate for people with dwarfism. In 1957, he organized a gathering in Reno that developed into Little People of America, the first North American organization for little people. That work gives his career a significance beyond the many parts he played: Barty sought not only greater visibility on screen, but greater dignity and opportunity away from it. He received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1981 for his contributions to film.