Billy Barty was born William John Bertanzetti
on October 25, 1924 in Millsboro, Pennsylvania. He began his
acting career at the ripe age of three, with his first cinematic
performance at the tender age of only 9, in 1933 starring
opposite Mickey Rooney in the silent comedies of MICKEY McGUIRE.
In 1950 he married his wife Shirley. They lived happily together
with their two children until his death in 2000.
Most noted for his diminutive stature, Billy
Barty has made a name for himself playing typecast roles as
“the little person”. Nevertheless his adeptness in both comedy
and drama helped Billy expand his career beyond the available
“pigeon-holed” roles. He is still fondly remembered as a mischievous
little tyke in ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1933) and his performance
in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (1935).
Never without a sense of humor or compassion,
Billy founded the philanthropic organization “The Little People
of America” in 1957, and the Billy Barty Foundation in 1975.
His personal crusade for the social acceptance of dwarfs touched
the lives of thousands of people, non-dwarf and dwarf alike.
Billy Barty also appeared in many television
shows such as, WILD WILD WEST
