Biography for
Billy Barty

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Date of Birth

25 October 1924, Millsboro, Pennsylvania, USA

Date of Death

23 December 2000, Glendale, California, USA (heart failure)

Birth Name

William John Bertanzetti

Height

3' 9" (1.14 m)

Mini Biography

Billy Barty began performing at three, and began making pictures in 1933. He played Mickey Rooney's little brother in the "Mickey McGuire" comedy shorts series. He was equally adept in both comedy and drama, and generally gives an added zest to any production he is associated with. He founded the Little People of America in 1957, and the Billy Barty Foundation in 1975. He possessed an immense talent and energetic charm that added a much needed shot in the arm to many shows and films.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Xeresa@home.com

Spouse

Shirley Bolingbroke

(24 February 1962 - 23 December 2000) (his death) 2 children

Trivia

Hospitalized overnight for injuries from a motor scooter accident during a parade. [28 May 1999]

Founder of 'The Little People of America Inc', a philanthropic organization of which no one taller than 4 ft 6 inches can become a member.

Father of Braden Barty.

Has a daughter, Lori.

His funeral was held at the Church of Jesus Christ at Latter-day Saints in North Hollywood, California on December 27, 2000.

Billy died at 9:20 a.m. PST at Glendale Memorial Hospital after a two week stay with lung and heart problems.

He was a noted crusader for the greater public knowledge and social acceptance of dwarfs and was angered at his contemporary with a similar condition, Hervé Villechaize, for hampering his efforts by publicly insisting that he (Villechaize) was a midget instead.

He hosted his own daily kids TV show, "Billy Barty's Big Show" (1963), where he entertained and informed his viewers and studio audiences in between reruns of The Three Stooges films. It was seen weekday afternoons on KTTV Ch.11 in Hollywood, California from the early to mid 1960s.

In 1991, after the first Gulf War, Rush Limbaugh, on his radio show, spoke of making a movie about it. When somebody suggested casting Billy Barty, Limbaugh said he was dead; however, the next day, Barty, who admitted he listened to Limbaugh's show regularly but had missed it that day, called in to prove otherwise.

Granddaughter, Tina.

He was on the Board with former President George Bush to help pass the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Audio book: "Highlights from Within Reach", available only from the official web-site. [October 2005]

Majored in journalism at L.A. City College and was both sports editor and public relations director of the newspaper 'L.A. Collegian'.

Had an admirable college career in sports: he played both football and basketball, plus ran 50 yards in 7.2 seconds.

Personal Quotes

The name of my condition is Cartilage Hair Hypoplasia, but you can just call me Billy.

The general public thinks all little people are in circuses or sideshows. We have doctors, nurses, just about every field covered.

[from a 1988 interview] I've never looked at acting as "Ahhh!" and "Gee!" I started in vaudeville when I was five and for me it was just walking on a stage and I'm gonna perform. Later on I was impressed by many things, like when I worked with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas in Tough Guys (1986). That was an "Ahhh!" for me. When I look back, even today, I guess I can go "Ahhh!" because I worked with Ruby Keeler and Dick Powell in Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) when I was nine. Then they were just grown-ups on the stage. As I look back, I'm more awed now than I was when I was actually doing it.

The hardest thing is to erase from minds the stereotypes that people have about people of short stature. You don't see any little people doing newscasts, you don't see any doing sports writing, you don't see any sports announcing, you don't see any coaches, but there are little people who are capable of doing these things, who have proven themselves.

That's where it starts and sometimes finishes. My parents never told me I was small, so I never knew any better. They had to sign for me to play football and basketball, but they never said, "No, you can't. You're too small." I'm not the only one who has proved little people can get along in a big world. There are other little people out there who are doctors, lawyers, school teachers, electronics engineers.

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