# Mini-Me dead at 49 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [April 21, 2018, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873 "2018-04-21T21:13:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/21 "2018-04-22T14:17:04Z")
> [@Johnny\_Ace](#): > > Doctor Loveless, I presume. 🙂 Yep. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/22 "2018-04-22T14:19:33Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Sounds like suicide. ☹ > [@nearwildheaven](#): > > sadly, suicide is not uncommon. As far as I’ve read, suicide has not been confirmed. It can be inferred, but how sure are people who knew him that he croaked himself? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/23 "2018-04-22T14:21:44Z")
Jerry Maren is still alive. He was one of the Singer midgets who appeared in 1939’s _The Wizard of Oz_. He was a member of the Lollipop Guild. But, yeah, tough to hear about Mr. Troyer. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/24 "2018-04-22T14:29:15Z")
I always liked his Apple [commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvbuwfawqcc). The laptop is wider than he is! ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/25 "2018-04-22T15:17:17Z")
I hope he’s flying up to heaven in a rocket shaped like a giant… …JOHNSON! ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/26 "2018-04-22T16:22:16Z")
I’m sad about this. A close friend of mine worked with him and described him as generous and open. Not “Hollywood”. It’s unfortunate he couldn’t find what he needed to be happy. Rest in peace. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/27 "2018-04-22T17:09:28Z")
It’s sad that fame and money couldn’t give Verne the peace of mind that he needed. He seemed very troubled and unhappy. Verne is one of so many diminutive actors that are never quite happy with their lot in life. Gary Coleman and Herve Villechaize being the most well known examples. RIP Verne ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/28 "2018-04-22T17:53:15Z")
I heard Michael Dunn sing on TV once and I was surprised at the power of his voice. Especially because of the restrictions his size and shape imposed. I see reruns of The Wild, Wild West and anlways enjoy it when Dr. Loveless is on. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/29 "2018-04-22T19:47:37Z")
Poor guy. I heard he saw his doctor recently, but all the doc said was he had to be a little patient. RIP, Verne. ☚ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/30 "2018-04-22T20:54:51Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Poor guy. I heard he saw his doctor recently, but all the doc said was he had to be a little patient. [An anxious achondroplastic patient](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=483241) ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/31 "2018-04-22T21:01:35Z")
His performance in Terry Gilliam’s troubled 2009 movie _The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus_ should be mentioned—it was an honorable attempt at a career in dramatic acting. The death of Heath Ledger famously led to the movie being reworked and cobbled together with the help of Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law. But who knows how the re-shuffling of the original premise affected the chance Troyer might have had to move into serious roles. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/32 "2018-04-23T01:54:15Z")
It’s too bad. In addition to the usual Hollywood crap that has led more than one (physically) normal person to alcoholism, addiction, self-destructive acts, and suicide, the dwarfs are also battling prejudice, limited opportunities AND all too often physical pain either directly from their medical condition or as a result of the wear and tear of living in a (to them) outsized world. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/33 "2018-04-23T03:10:37Z")
I was not particularly a fan of Mr. Troyer’s, though I find his plight sad. As others have noted, life is especially challenging for little people. Nevertheless, in this thread full of lamentations and cruel ironies, I would like to cite Angelo Rossitto as something of an exception. In a career longer and (at times) higher profile than the better known Billy Barty or Billy Curtis, Mr. Rossitto carved a memorable (cult) niche for himself; and to the extent he “struggled” in life, it appears it was not much different than any other working actor - i.e., how to make a living – or any other human, i.e., dealing with age-related health issues. > **[Angelo Rossitto - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0744441/?ref_=nv_sr_1)** > > Angelo Rossitto. Actor: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Small in stature at only 2' 11", but big in demand onscreen, the diminutive Angelo Rossitto was one of Hollywood's busiest "small" actors and appeared in over 70 feature films between 1927 until... > **[Angelo Rossitto](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/angelo-rossitto-1.1053993)** > > CULT HERO: Hi-Ho, hi-ho, and off to work Angelo Rossitto would go - for an astonishing 61 years as Hollywood's busiest dwarf… ----Note that in the fourth paragraph of the above article, it mistakenly references Michael Dunn as having ended his own life. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2018, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/34 "2018-04-23T06:43:03Z")
Suicide may not be confirmed, but he was admitted to a hospital over a suicide attempt not too long ago, IIRC. So I immediately assumed suicide this time. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/35 "2018-04-29T02:12:32Z")
I have no idea about possible suicide, but he was always drinking and wasted on The Surreal Life reality show he was a housemate on. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2018, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873/36 "2018-04-30T15:28:11Z")
Here is an [article](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/apr/23/verne-troyer-mini-me-dwarfism-abuse-austin-powers) from a person with dwarfism, who says that portrayals of characters like Mini-Me has been deeply damaging and upsetting, for the same reasons as the problem of Apu as to South Asians. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-me-dead-at-49/812873.md?page=1)