Billy Barty was an American activist and actor. The feature that made him stood out and so popular was his height. He was 3 ft 9 in tall as he was suffering from cartilage-hair hypoplasia dwarfism. His short height helped him in getting several roles in movies opposite taller co-stars. He was mainly popular for playing witty and outspoken characters. In the 1950s, he shifted to television and started appearing in the ensemble of Spike Jones. He was also seen in a massive number of children TV programs, and most of them were produced by Sid and Marty Krofft. He himself was a dwarf, so he wanted to help people with dwarfism, and for that, he formed an organisation in 1957 which was named ‘Little People of America’.
Early life
Billy’s real name is William John Bertanzetii, but he is more popular with the name of Billy Barty. He was born in Millsboro, Pennsylvania, on 25th October 1924. His father’s name is Albert Steven, and his mother’s name is Ellen Cecial Bertanzetti. In the year 1927, he shifted to California along with his family. He had two female siblings, Evelyn and Delores. There is no information available about his early education and degrees.
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Career beginning
Billy started his career in acting at a young age. He started working in the Mickey McGuire, which was a comedy series aired in the 1930s. He used to play the roles of young children, which was quite small for his age, but he did it quite well. His small height made the negative roles look even bigger and enhance the impact. In 1933, he was seen in ‘Gold Diggers of 1933’ in which he played the role of a baby. If we talk about his television career, he has been seen numerous times on The Dennis Day Show. He also once appeared as a leprechaun. He started his TV journey in 1958 with Peter Gunn, in which he played the role of pool hustler Babby.
He also worked in Billy Barty’s Bigtop in the 1960s. The program was made to allow the juveniles of Los Angeles to learn about little people and get familiar with them. Billy was also a guest host in the ‘Sheriff John’s Lunch Brigade’. He was also seen regularly on The Red Skelton Hour in the 1960s. In 1981, Billy got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard. In 1957, he founded the Little People of America Organisation to help dwarf people. Initially, it had only 21 people, but by 2010 the organisation had over 6800 members and was the first organisation in North America working for dwarf people.
Personal life
Billy Barty got married to Shirley Bolingbroke in 1962. She was from Malad City, Idaho, and they both have two children; Lori Neilson and Braden Barty. Barty expired in 2000 after suffering from heart failure. He was 76 years old at the time.
Net Worth
Billy Barty worked hard throughout his life, and at the time of his death, his net worth was a whopping $2.3 million.
