Short voice actors and actresses

As a vertically-challenged (to be politically correct) person -- although I'm not one of the "Little People" -- I figured it was time to start this thread, especially since Dick Beals was just mentioned in another thread.

Here are some notable short men and women (including Beals) who were long on talent as cartoon voice artists:


Josh Ryan Evans (3'2"; 1982-2002)
Born with achondroplasia (a form of dwarfism), Evans played all the babies in the live-action 1999 film Baby Geniuses. Billed as Josh Evans, he guested as a third-grader in "Big Gino/Jamie O in Love," a 1999 episode of Hey Arnold!

Phil Fondacaro (3'6"; b. 1958)
The mustached Fondacaro worked for George Lucas for his films Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and Willow (1988). He provided the voice of Creeper in Disney's The Black Cauldron (1985).

Billy Barty (3'9"; 1924-2000)
In 1957, Barty founded Little People of America, which allows no one taller than 4'6" to join. He was an animation stand-in in the 1978 movie Lord of the Rings and voiced Baitmouse in the 1990 sequel The Rescuers Down Under. He voiced Troll in Star Fairies and Dweedle in Wildfire (both 1986 TV series). Hips McManus in "Double Talk," a 1997 episode of Batman: Gotham Knights, he voiced Uncle Lester in the 1986 TV special The Mouse and the Motorcycle.

Patty Maloney (3'11")
Still alive and performing, Maloney took on the role of Honk in the Krofft Brothers' Far Out Space Nuts. For Hanna-Barbera, she voiced Darla Hood in the 1982 series The Little Rascals and Tannis in the 1988 TV-movie Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School. She was also in the voice casts of The Smurfs and The Monchhichis.

Felix Silla (3'11"; b. 1936) Best-known as Cousin Itt in The Addams Family, Italian-born Silla was in the voice cast of 1978's The Lord of the Rings.

David Rappaport (3'11"; 1951-1990) This British actor portrayed Randall in Time Bandits (1981) and Rinaldo in The Bride (1985). He was the voice of MAL in the 1990s TV series Captain Planet and the Planeteers.

Zelda Rubinstein (4'3"; b. 1936) Her live-action films include the Poltergeist series (as clairvoyant Tangina Barrons). She was heard in TV-movies as the voice of Ralph's mother in The Mouse and the Motorcycle (1986) and the psychiatrist in The Flintstones: On the Rocks (2001).

Deep Roy (4'4") Kenya-born Roy played all 165 Oompa-Loompas in Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Also that year, he voiced General Bonesapart in Burton's Corpse Bride.

Dick Beals (4'6"; b. 1927)
This veteran voice actor has worked in many TV series, including The Gumby Show (as Gumby; 1957); Davey and Goliath (as Davey; 1960); The Jetsons (1962); Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo (1964); Roger Ramjet and The Secret Squirrel Show (both 1965); and Frankenstein Jr. and the Impossibles (1966).

Gary Coleman (4'8"; b. 1968)
Arnold of Diff'rent Strokes, Coleman portrayed a character much younger than himself. He voiced Andy Le Beau in the long-forgotten 1992 animated series The Gary Coleman Show.

June Foray (4'11"; b. 1917?) "The Cartoon Queen" began as a voice actress at age 12 on radio. Her many roles include Rocky and Natasha in Rocky and Bullwinkle, Granny in the Tweety and Sylvester series, Witch Hazel in Looney Tunes and Lucifer the cat in Cinderella.

Dana Hill (5'; 1964-1996)
Hill died prematurely of diabetes; her short stature enabled her to portray girls and women much younger than herself. As complications from her diabetes continued, she turned to voiceover roles in such animated shows as Jetsons: The Movie (1990), Goof Troop (1992) and Duckman (1994).

Debbie Reynolds (5'2"; b. 1932)
A staple of Singin' in the Rain and other MGM musicals, she voiced spider Charlotte in the 1973 movie Charlotte's Web. She was also the voice of Lulu Pickles in Rugrats.

Daws Butler (5'2"; 1916-1988) A huge part of Hanna-Barbera's success, he provided the voices for such well-known characters as Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Quick-Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Jinks the cat, Dixie the mouse, Augie Doggie, Peter Potamus, Wally Gator, Hokey Wolf, Super Snooper, Blabber Mouse, Cogswell Cogs and Elroy Jetson.

Hamilton Camp (5'2"; 1934-2005)
A folk singer before he became an actor, Camp frequently used his shortness as the subject of humor in sitcom guest roles. Best-known in animation as the voice of Greedy Smurf in The Smurfs, he voiced characters in The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones, The Little Mermaid, Disney's TaleSpin, Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, The Kwicky Koala Show, The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, among many other cartoons.

Dudley Moore (5'2½"; 1935-2002)
"Cuddly Duddly" had stunted growth as a child. He had the lead role in the Collingwood O'Hare animated series Oscar's Orchestra. Moore's film debut was as a voice actor in a now little-seen cartoon, The Ever-Changing Motor Car, produced for the Ford Company in 1962.

Paul Frees (5'3"; 1920-1986) A composer and actor as well as a voice artist, he voiced the Fox (Frank Tashlin's "Fox & Crow" series), Ludwig Von Drake, Boris Badenov, Inspector Fenwick, Morocco Mole, Barney Bear and the Pillsbury Doughboy!

Mickey Rooney (5'3"; b. 1920)
When short actors are discussed, "The Mickster" is often the first person who comes to mind. His animated productions include Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town (1970); Journey Back to Oz and The Year Without a Santa Claus (both 1974); Pete's Dragon (1977); Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979); The Fox and the Hound (1981); The Care Bears Movie (1985); Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1988); The Magic Voyage (1992); and Kleo the Misfit Unicorn (1997).

Michael J. Fox (5'4½"; b. 1961) Marty McFly in the Back to the Future movies and Alex Keaton in Family Ties, Fox starred as Milo James Thatch in Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001).



Honorable Mention: Mae West (5'1"; 1893-1980) Although Mae never did a voice role in animation, she and her voice were caricatured in many 1930s cartoons. West appeared taller in films than she really was, thanks to six-inch platforms attached to her shoes.


P.S.: Though Tom Cruise and David Spade have both been voice actors in cartoons, I do not consider them "short." Both of them are taller than I!



"Dream big!" -- Josh Ryan Evans [/B]

Richard Beals was also the voice of Birdboy, as well as the voice of Terrible Tiny Tom in the 60's Lone Ranger cartoons. In live action, he also played a leprechaun in the ABC Weekend Special "All The Money In The World."

Aside from his voiceover roles and live action appearances, Hamilton Camp also had a hit song called "Here's To You."

Danny DeVito (5 foot?) was in the voice cast of Disney's "Hercules" film as Philoctetes aka "Phil" and (along with wife Rhea Perlman) in the "My Little Pony" movie in the 1980s .

Walter Tetley (Sherman in the Mr. Peabody) may have had body growth problems since he was in his 40s when he played Sherman's voice. Possibly a sobering example of a man trapped in a kid's body.