William John Bertanzetti, known professionally as Billy Barty, was an American actor with dwarfism. For Disney, he provided the voice of the Baitmouse in The Rescuers Down Under, as well as the original voice of Figment in the Journey into Imagination pavilion at Epcot. He also appeared in An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn and played Philly in Tough Guys.
Barty was born October 25, 1924 in Millsboro, Pennsylvania and began his acting career at a young age with Mickey Rooney in the Mickey McGuire shorts, a comedy series of the 1920s and 1930s based on the Toonerville Folks comics.
Barty's filmography covers a wide range of genres. He has appeared in films, like Gold Diggers of 1933, Bride of Frankenstein, A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, Roustabout, Harum Scarum, Pufnstuf, W.C. Fields and Me, The Lord of the Rings (1978), Masters of the Universe, Willow, UHF, and Life Stinks. His television credits included The Dennis Day Show, Peter Gunn, Rawhide, The Golden Girls, The Bugaloos, Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, The Redd Foxx Show, Barney Miller, The Love Boat, CHiPs, Man from Atlantis, Little House on the Prairie, Hart to Hart, and, at one time, the host of his own children's show Billy Barty's Bigtop. He also toured with Spike Jones and His City Slickers, and made appearances on Jones' television series.
He died on December 23, 2000, from heart failure and was survived by his wife, Shirley and two children, Braden and Lori.
