One of my favorite celebrity sightings ever was the time, many years ago, probably at least twenty-five, when I still lived in Los Angeles and worked in Hollywood, when I saw Billy Barty driving his enormous fancy car.  It was on the freeway, and it was in downtown L.A., as I recall now, and I was thrilled.  I always loved Billy Barty, and today would have been his 83rd birthday.  The incredibly talented performer was born on October 25, 1924, and so we remember him fondly today.

Most people are probably not familiar with the vast show business legacy that Billy Barty created over his long career, starting from the time his father moved Billy and the rest of the family out to Hollywood, partly for Billy’s health.  In the days before L.A. smog, the air was so clear that it was particularly good for Barty’s bad hay fever.  The opportunities that came up from living close to the movie studios were nothing to sneeze at, however.  (I know…I had to work it in somehow, sorry about that!)  While milling around a location shoot, a director spotted the personable young Billy and gave him a part, and Billy Barty, Hollywood character actor, was born.  He became a regular on the two-reel comedy short circuit, including a long stint playing opposite Mickey McGuire aka Rooney in a series of comedies, along with making many appearances in full-length pictures, including many directed or choreographed by Busby Berkeley, for whom Billy was almost a part of his stock company.  Roles in Gold Diggers of 1933 (as a baby) and Footlight Parade, as well as Roman Scandals (look for Billy as a mini-Eddie Cantor in this musical number), Bride of Frankenstein, Alice in Wonderland (the weird 1933 version with Cary Grant, and Gary Cooper and a whole bunch of Paramount stars, quite fascinating, really!), A Midsummer Night’s Dream and others, some of them uncredited, kept Billy busy, along with constant touring with his successful vaudeville act. 

When vaudeville started to wane, Barty went back to school in Los Angeles and studied journalism, also participating in college sports including football.  He decided against a full-time journalism career and drifted back into show business, starting out slowly and then in the early 1950s he teamed up with comedy bandleader sensation Spike Jones and the City Slicker and spend the next decade touring with Spike as an all-around entertainer, and also appearing with Jones on many TV programs of the period, including Spike Jones’ own network series.  After his tenure with Spike Jones came to an end in the early 1960s, Billy Barty continued on his own in a variety of movies and TV, including a weekday afternoon kid show on local L.A. station KTTV called Billy Barty’s Big Show where he entertained and ran Three Stooges shorts.  (This was one of the ways I became fond of Barty during my childhood; he was marvelous and how can you not love the Stooges?). 

Younger folks than I might know Barty better from his roles on several Sid and Marty Krofft productions like The Bugaloos and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.  He still made lots of interesting movie appearances, like W.C. Fields and Me, The Day of the Locust, Rabbit Test, Won Ton Ton, The Dog Who Saved Hollywood, Foul Play, Hardly Working, Under the Rainbow, as well as more prestigious titles like Legend, Masters of the Universe, Tough Guys, and of course as the High Aldwin in Willow.  Barty also was a constant guest star on TV, with great roles in Little House on the Prairie, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Hart to Hart, Trapper John M.D. and almost every other iconic series of the 1970s and 1980s. 

Probably Billy Barty’s proudest accomplishment was his founding of The Little People of America, the organization he created in 1957 to promote the interests of the short statured.  He was a tireless worker and fundraiser for his causes, and in 1981 he got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  Billy Barty was constantly in the public eye, adored by fans all over the world and respected by all who benefited from his philanthropic work and the important contributions made to society by the LPA.  Billy Barty died on December 23, 2000, but anytime his name is mentioned, we all remember his huge smile, his distinctive voice, and all the great times he gave us.  He was an unforgettable performer.