Angelo Rossitto
Angelo Salvatore Rossitto (February 18, 1908 – September 21, 1991) was an American actor and voice artist. He had dwarfism and was 2'11" (89 cm) tall, and was often billed as Little Angie or Moe. Angelo first appeared in silent films opposite Lon Chaney and John Barrymore. On-screen, he portrayed everything from dwarfs, midgets, gnomes, and pygmies as well as monsters, villains, and aliens, with appearances in more than 70 films.
Rossitto was born in Omaha, Nebraska to Salvatore Rossitto and Carmela Caniglia, both born in Carlentini, Province of Siracusa, Sicily, Italy, and had a sister, Josephine Rossitto.
He was discovered by John Barrymore and made his screen debut opposite Barrymore in The Beloved Rogue (1927). That same year he appeared in Warner Brother's Old San Francisco. He appeared in the controversial 1932 film Freaks directed by Tod Browning, and another controversial film, 1938's Child Bride. During the 1940s, he appeared in several poverty row movies starring Bela Lugosi. He appeared frequently in television series and mini-series, particularly best known for the police drama Baretta, and his later film roles included appearances in Alex in Wonderland (1970), Brain of Blood (1971), Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971), Little Cigars (1973), and Fairy Tales (1978). His last major role was as "Master" opposite Mel Gibson in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).
Rossitto appears alongside singer/songwriter Tom Waits and Lee Kolima on the cover art of Waits' 1983 album Swordfishtrombones, which pays homage to his performance in Freaks. He also appears on the cover of Bob Dylan's album The Basement Tapes.
Known for
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Spectator (uncredited)
The Rockford Files
Dwarf Patient (uncredited)
Amazing Stories
Vaudevillian
The Wizard of Oz
Munchkin Villager (uncredited)
Gunsmoke
Billy (uncredited)
Starsky & Hutch
Big Ben
The Incredible Hulk
Tom Thumb (uncredited)
Seven Footprints to Satan
The Dwarf
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Blind Pencil Seller
The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries
The Trip
Dwarf in Forest Fantasy (uncredited)
Baretta
The Rebel
Godfrey
Child Bride
Angelo
The Master Gunfighter
Side show midget
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Master
Branded
Shooting Gallery Man (uncredited)
Shirley Temple's Storybook
Mouse
Shirley Temple's Storybook
Dwarf
The Baron of Arizona
Angie -- Gypsy
Reunion in France
Citizen in Bomb Shelter (uncredited)
Doctor Dolittle
Dwarf (uncredited)
Freaks
Angeleno
The Dark
Angie (uncredited)
Help Woodsy Spread the Word
Woodsy Owl
The Magic Sword
2nd Dwarf
Pocketful of Miracles
Angie (uncredited)
Dracula: A Cinematic Scrapbook
Luigi / Indigo (archive footage)
The Other
Sideshow Performer (uncredited)
The Stone Killer
Little Man in Hotel Lobby (uncredited)
T.H.E. Cat
Circus Dwarf (uncredited)
Fairy Tales
Otto
Galaxina
Monster from Egg
The Perils of Pauline
Pygmy Leader's Assistant
The Snoop Sisters
Little Igor
Spooks Run Wild
Luigi
The Spider Woman
Obongo - Pygmy (uncredited)
The Greatest Show on Earth
Dwarf
Mr. Wong in Chinatown
Mute Dwarf
H.R. Pufnstuf
Seymore Spider
The Clones
Man at Phone Booth
Smokey Bites the Dust
Desk Clerk
The Mysterious Island
Underwater Creature
The Big House
Inmate (uncredited)
Dementia
Newsboy (uncredited)
Alex in Wonderland
Fellini #1
Pufnstuf
Seymore Spider / Clang
Invasion of the Saucer-Men
Saucer Man
Dracula vs. Frankenstein
Grazbo the Evil Dwarf
The Other Side of the Wind
Angelo
Brain of Blood
Dorro
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Little Person #1
The Viking
Viking Little Person (uncredited)
Jason of Star Command
Bork
Babes in Toyland
Elmer - Second Little Pig / 1st Sandman in Cave (uncredited)
Hellzapoppin'
Dwarf Devil (uncredited)
The Bandit Queen
Nino
Doomed to Die
Newsboy #3 in Montage
Lidsville
Mr. Big
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
Dwarf
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Arab Dwarf (uncredited)
One Stolen Night
The Dwarf
Kung Fu
Angelo (uncredited)
From a Whisper to a Scream
Tinker
I Believed in You
Greenwich Village Waiter
I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now?
Little Pianist
Requiem for a Heavyweight
Midget Wrestler Outside Wrestling Ring (uncredited)
Old San Francisco
Chang Loo - the Dwarf
Mesa of Lost Women
Dwarf Lab Assistant
The Wild and the Innocent
Midget (uncredited)
Scared to Death
Indigo
The Beloved Rogue
Beppo - the Dwarf
The Story of Mankind
Dwarf in Nero's Court
While the City Sleeps
Member of Skeeter's Gang
The Corpse Vanishes
Toby
Mongo's Back in Town
Trembles
Confessions of an Opium Eater
Newspaper Boy
The Making of 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome'
Self
Little Cigars
Angelo
Carnival Lady
Dwarf