‘Biggest little man in show business’ Verne Troyer dies
UNITED STATES: Actor Verne Troyer, who was best known for his role as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movies, has died at the age of 49.
‘‘It is with great sadness and incredibly heavy hearts to write that Verne passed away today,’’ a statement posted yesterday on Troyer’s Facebook page said. No cause of death was given.
Troyer, who starred in a number of commercials and films over the years, gained international fame as Mini-Me, an 81cm version of Mike Myers’ Dr Evil, in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember. Troyer rose to stardom in the late 1990s. At that time, he roamed the red carpet, sat for celebrity interviews and passed out business cards that read ‘‘The Biggest Little Man in Show Business.’’ The actor grew up in rural Michigan, where he said his parents treated him the same as his other siblings, who were average-sized.
‘‘I had to do everything they had to do,’’ Troyer said in 1999. ‘‘My brother used to wrestle in high school and college, so I grew up around that.’’ ‘‘I got disciplined just as much as they did, if not more. I was pretty bad when I was younger. (Mini-Me) is like my natural role. I was meant to play the part.’’ His first break into movies was as a stunt double for a 9-month-old baby in the 1994 slapstick comedy Baby’s Day Out. Since then he’s played everything from a baby panda in The Amazing Panda Adventure and a pro wrestler in My Giant to Santa Claus in and a young gorilla in the current thriller Instinct. Austin Powers director Jay Roach said in 1999 he was awed by Troyer’s talents. ‘‘He’s not only an amazing stunt man and extremely agile, he can dance and he can act. He has a very expressive face and great comic timing.’’ Troyer struggled in more recent years. In 2008, he was at the centre of a legal dispute over a sex tape involving him and an ex-girlfriend that generated weeks of headlines.
Troyer was hospitalised this month after friends, concerned about his behaviour, called authorities.
On the night of April 2, a friend called police and said that the person who lived at Troyer’s North Hollywood address ‘‘was depressed and wanted the police to come check it out,’’ said Los Angeles Police Department Sergeant Matthew Barrick, without confirming that it was Troyer. Officers were dispatched, and about an hour later, they requested paramedics for ‘‘unspecified medical aid,’’ a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman said.
About 15 minutes later, an individual at the house was taken to the hospital, officials said. Questions on the person’s condition were directed to the mental evaluation unit at Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys in the San Fernando Valley.
A message posted to Troyer’s Instagram account the next day said, ‘‘Asking you to keep Verne in your thoughts and prayers. He’s getting the best care possible and resting comfortably.’’ The statement posted on his Facebook page Saturday referenced the recent troubles. - LA Times