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Verne Troyer
Troyer at the Chiller Theatre Expo in 2017
Born	Verne Jay Troyer (1969-01-01)January 1, 1969 Sturgis, Michigan, U.S.
Died	April 21, 2018(2018-04-21) (aged 49) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Leonidas Cemetery
Occupations	Actor comedian stunt performer
Years active	1994–2018
Height	2 ft 8 in (81 cm)
Partner	Brittney Powell (2007–2018; his death)
Signature

Verne Jay Troyer (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) was an American actor, best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers film series. He had cartilage–hair hypoplasia and was 2 ft 8 in (81 cm) tall.

Early life

Troyer was born in Sturgis, Michigan, on January 1, 1969, the son of Susan, a factory worker, and Reuben Troyer, a repair technician. He had two siblings, Davon and Deborah. He stated that his parents "never treated me any different than my other average-sized siblings. I used to have to carry wood, feed the cows and pigs and farm animals." Troyer was initially raised Amish, but his parents left the faith when he was a child. During his childhood, Troyer spent much time visiting Amish relatives in Centreville, Michigan. He graduated in 1987 from Centreville High School, where a plaque was dedicated to him in 2003.

Career

Troyer's film career began when a former president of Little People of America contacted him, looking for someone to serve as a stunt double for the infant character "Baby Bink" in John Hughes' film Baby's Day Out (1994). He gained further work as a stunt double with some minor comedic roles in several films of the 1990s, including Dunston Checks In, Jingle All the Way (both 1996), Men in Black (1997), and My Giant (1998). He is also known for an appearance in an Apple PowerBook G4 advertisement.

He first met with Jay Roach to discuss portraying Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series, directed by Roach and starring co-creator Mike Myers, before filming for the series' second film began. Myers was impressed with Troyer's performance, rewriting the script for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) to give Mini-Me more screen time and remove the character's death. Troyer reprised the role three years later in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and collaborated again with Myers on The Love Guru (2008).

After reaching a large audience as Mini-Me, Troyer portrayed Griphook in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), and played the role of Percy in Terry Gilliam's fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009). He also made several appearances as himself in reality television series, including The Surreal Life (2005), Welcome to Sweden (2007), and the British Celebrity Big Brother 6 (2009), in which he placed fourth.

Personal life

On June 25, 2008, a private home video was leaked of Troyer and his former live-in girlfriend Ranae Shrider having sex. The video, recorded in 2008 in Beverly Hills, California, and Shrider's hometown of Fort Cobb, Oklahoma, was leaked to the public by Shrider and TMZ. Kevin Blatt, the man responsible for brokering the deal for Paris Hilton's sex tape in 2003, tried to sell the video. Troyer, through his long-time attorney, Ed McPherson, sued TMZ, Blatt, and online rental company SugarDVD, for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement.

In early April 2018, Troyer was admitted to a hospital after an incident in his home. He had previously been admitted to rehab to undergo treatment for alcoholism.

Death

Troyer died at a hospital in Los Angeles on April 21, 2018, at age 49. His death was later ruled a suspected suicide by alcohol intoxication. He was interred with his parents in Leonidas Cemetery in St. Joseph County, Michigan.

Filmography

Television

Music videos

Video games

Web

References

1. As stated by Troyer during interview on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, September 25, 2009.
2. "Verne Troyer: 'Mini Me' actor reportedly hospitalised after suffering seizure at Heart of Texas Comic Con in Waco". news.com.au. March 23, 2015.
3. "UPI Almanac for Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019". United Press International. January 1, 2019. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019. actor Verne Troyer in 1969
4. "Verne Troyer Biography (1969-)". Film Reference. Advameg, Inc. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
5. "vernetroyer comments on I am Verne Troyer, AMA!!!". Reddit.com. February 13, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
6. Ewing, Sarah (October 16, 2015). "Verne Troyer: my family values". The Guardian. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
7. "Verne Troyer respects the Amish lifestyle". The Arizona Republic. January 4, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
8. Tunison, John (April 21, 2018). "Verne Troyer, Michigan native who starred as Mini-Me, dead at 49". MLive.com. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
9. ^ "Verne Troyer Opens Up About Being Called the M-Word As a Child – and How He Physically Defended Himself Against a Bully". People. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
10. ^ "Verne Troyer: from Mini-Me to Celebrity Big Brother". The Daily Telegraph. April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
11. ^ "Verne Troyer biography and filmography - Verne Troyer movies". Tribute. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
12. PowerBook G4 12" 17" Ad. Retrieved April 12, 2024 – via www.youtube.com.
13. "CNN.com - Mini-Me: From stunt double to popular clone - July 30, 2002". CNN. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
14. "Why 'Austin Powers' Changed Its Original Tragic Ending For Mini-Me". Huffington Post. October 4, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
15. McKay, Rich (April 21, 2018). "Austin Powers Movies' Mini-Me, Verne Troyer, Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
16. "Verne Troyer: a life in pictures". The Guardian. April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
17. "In pictures: Big Brother Eviction". BBC. April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
18. Sherri L. Shaulis (July 3, 2008). "AVN Exclusive: Verne Troyer's Ex Discusses Sex Tape, Relationship, More". AVN. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
19. Isola, Laurie (June 26, 2008). "Troyer in Sex Tape Scandal". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
20. Dobuzinskis, Alex (June 27, 2008). ""Mini-Me" actor Verne Troyer sues over sex tape". Reuters. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
21. "Mini Me actor Verne Troyer in hospital after alleged incident". Sky News. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
22. ^ "Actor Verne Troyer in hospital". BBC News. April 4, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
23. "Verne Troyer treated for alcoholism". BBC News. April 7, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
24. Chiu, Allyson (October 11, 2018). "Verne Troyer, Mini-Me of 'Austin Powers,' fought a drinking addiction. His death was ruled a suicide by alcohol intoxication". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
25. "Verne Troyer's death ruled as suicide". The Guardian. Associated Press. October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
26. ^ "Farewell, Mini-Me! Verne Troyer Passes Away at 49". Ain't It Cool News. April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
27. "'Austin Powers' star Verne Troyer dies at age 49". Press-Republican. April 21, 2018. Archived from the original on April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
28. ^ "Verne Troyer List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
29. Ashton, Will (April 4, 2018). "Austin Powers Actor Verne Troyer Hospitalized After Apparent Suicide Attempt". CinemaBlend. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
30. ^ "Verne J. Troyer". BFI. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
31. "Sundae the Dog". Weasyl. Archived from the original on July 6, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
32. "Here Lies Lonely (1999)". Letterboxd. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
33. ^ Dalton, Andrew (April 21, 2018). "Verne Troyer, Mini-Me from 'Austin Powers' films, has died". Associated Press. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
34. ^ "Verne Troyer". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
35. "Gnome Alone (2015)". IMDb.
36. "The 420 Movie (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes.
37. "Fight Night". The Girls Next Door. Season 1. Episode 5. August 28, 2005. E!.
38. "Half & Half (TV Series 2002–2006)", IMDb, retrieved April 9, 2021
39. "Bo! In The USA - Cast, Crew and Credits". TV.com. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
40. "Verne Troyer Then & Now!". Stanton Daily. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
41. "The Podge and Rodge Show Season 4, Episode 23". HSB Noticias. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
42. "Lemon La Vida Loca". ITV. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
43. bgo.com TV advertisement featuring Verne Troyer Archived July 6, 2018, at the Wayback Machine from bgo.com
44. "CAST｜PlayStation4用サバイバルアクションゲーム — Let It Die". letitdie.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved March 17, 2018.
45. "Story Cops with Verne Troyer". YouTube. May 31, 2014.

External links

• Verne Troyer at IMDb
• Verne Troyer at Find a Grave
• Verne Troyer interview, Movieset.com

• 1969 births
• 2018 deaths
• 2018 suicides
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• Male actors from Michigan
• Male actors with dwarfism
• American actors with disabilities
• American male film actors
• American male television actors
• American stunt performers
• Drug-related suicides in California
• People from Centreville, Michigan
• People from Sturgis, Michigan
• American Amish people
• Alcohol-related deaths in California
• YouTube channels launched in 2015
• YouTube channels closed in 2018
• American male comedians
• Comedians from Michigan