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By Rosemary Pollock
Diminutive Mormon Entertainer Billy Barty Dead At 76
GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA -- Billy Barty, the diminutive entertainer who
turned the ability to spin on his head into a seven-decade career in
show business, died on Saturday, December 23 at the Glendale Memorial
Hospital. The 3-foot, 9-inch actor had been hospitalized since
November 30, with heart and lung problems. A memorial service was
held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in North
Hollywood, where Barty was a member.
Barty was born William John Bertanzetti in Millsboro, Pa. He founded
the Little People of America, an advocacy group for those with
dwarfism in 1957. On his foundation's Web site, Barty said," The name
of my condition is Cartilage Hair Syndrome Hypoplasia, but you can
just call me Billy."
Barty appeared in over 200 films and hundreds of television shows
during his career from 1927 at the age of 3 to the present. He earned
his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1981 and was awarded the
Long Beach Film Festival's Humanitarian of the Year Award in October,
2000. "Billy is somebody who has given his whole life to the film
industry and the entertainment industry...and has always been a
gigantic, tremendous personality and star to me, and always will be,"
said friend Mickey Rooney.
"Most difficult to overcome are the attitudinal barriers, which
little people face - the notion that we are found only in show
business or at the circus," Barty once said. In an interview last
year with The Associated Press, Barty confronted the idea that people
with dwarfism only hold jobs in the entertainment industry. "The
general public thinks all little people are in circuses or
sideshows," Barty said. "We have doctors, nurses, just about every
field covered."
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich appointed Barty to the
Los Angeles County Disabilities Commission. Barty served on a
federal disabilities commission under former Housing and Urban
Develpment Director Jack Kemp. Barty was an active Rupublican who,
"was happy to live long enough to see that Bush won," said Antonovich
who was a close friend of Barty's for 36 years.
Barty is survived by his wife, Shirley; sister Deede Morse; son,
Braden; daughter Lori Neilson and son-in-law David Neilson; and
adopted granddaughter, Tina. The family asks that any donations be
made to The Billy Barty Memorial Adoption Fund.
Sources:
Actor, Activist Billy Barty Dies
Los Angeles Times (AP) 23Dec00 A2
By Paul Chavez: Associated Press Writer
[submitted by Eric D. Olson]
Billy Barty dies at 76
Los Angeles Times 27Dec00 A2
Billy Barty Dies at 76
Los Angeles Times 25Dec00 A2
Billy Barty, Diminutive Entertainer
Los Angeles Times 23Dec00 A2
Hollywood mourning the loss of Billy Barty
KNBC TV4 Los Angeles CA 24Dec00 A2
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