Verne Troyer

Verne Jay Troyer (January 1, 1969 – April 21, 2018) was an American actor, comedian, YouTuber and stunt performer. He was best known for his role of Mini-Me in the Austin Powers film series (1997–2002). Troyer had cartilage–hair hypoplasia and was 2 ft 8 in (81 cm) tall.[1][2]

Verne Troyer
Troyer at the Chiller Theatre Expo in 2017
Born
Verne Jay Troyer

(1969-01-01)January 1, 1969
Sturgis, Michigan, U.S.
DiedApril 21, 2018(2018-04-21) (aged 49)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of deathAlcohol poisoning
Resting placeColon United Methodist Church Columbarium
Occupation
  • Actor
  • comedian
  • stunt performer
Years active1994–2018
Height2 ft 8 in (81 cm)
Spouse(s)
Genevieve Gallen
​
​
(m. 2004; annulled 2004)​
Partner(s)Brittney Powell (2007–2018)
Signature

Early life

Verne Jay Troyer was born in Sturgis, Michigan, on January 1, 1969,[3] the son of Susan, a factory worker, and Reuben Troyer, a repair technician.[4] 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."[5] Troyer was initially raised Amish, but his parents left the faith when he was a child.[6] During his childhood, Troyer spent much time visiting Amish relatives[7] in Centreville, Michigan. He graduated in 1987 from Centreville High School, where a plaque was dedicated to him in 2003.[8]

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).[9] 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),[10] and My Giant (1998).[11]

He first met with Jay Roach to discuss portraying Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series,[12] 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 removed the character's death.[13] Troyer reprised the role three years later in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002), and collaborated again with Myers on The Love Guru (2008).[10]

After reaching a large audience as Mini-Me, Troyer portrayed Griphook in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001),[14] and played the role of Percy in Terry Gilliam's fantasy film The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009).[15] He also made several appearances as himself in reality television series, including The Surreal Life (2005), Welcome to Sweden (2007),[10] and the sixth season of the British Celebrity Big Brother (2009).[16]

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, filmed in 2008 in Beverly Hills, California, and Shrider's hometown of Fort Cobb, Oklahoma,[17] was leaked to the public by Shrider and TMZ.[18] 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.[19]

In May 2015, Troyer, his girlfriend Brittney Powell, and her son Tyson appeared on Celebrity Wife Swap, where she switched places with Hines Ward's wife.[20]

In early April 2018, Troyer was admitted to a hospital after an incident in his home.[21][22] He had previously been admitted to rehab to undergo treatment for alcoholism.[22][23]

Death

On April 21, 2018, Troyer died at the age of 49. No cause was immediately released.[24][25][26] His death was reported as a possible suicide to the coroner, who found very high alcohol levels in his body, suggesting alcohol poisoning.[27][28] His death was later ruled a suicide.[29] He was cremated and his ashes were interred in a niche at Colon United Methodist Church Columbarium in Colon, St. Joseph County, Michigan.

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Ref(s)
1994 Baby's Day Out Baby Bink's stunt double debut role [9]
1996 Dunston Checks In [10]
1996 Jingle All the Way Little Santa [10]
1996 Pinocchio's Revenge Pinocchio's Miniature Double [30]
1997 Volcano [31]
1997 Men in Black Alien Son [32]
1997 Wishmaster Creature Stage #1 [32]
1997 RocketMan [33]
1998 My Giant Wrestler [11]
1998 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Wee Waiter Billed as "Verne J. Troya" [34]
1998 The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald Sundae Direct-to-video
Voice by Dee Bradley Baker		 [35]
1998 Mighty Joe Young Baby Joe [34]
1999 Here Lies Lonely Virgil [36]
1999 Instinct Gorilla Performer [34]
1999 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me Mini-Me [37]
2000 Bit Players Marty Rosenthal [38]
2000 How the Grinch Stole Christmas Band Member [34]
2001 Bubble Boy Dr Phreak [32]
2001 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Griphook Voice by Warwick Davis [37]
2002 Run for the Money Attila [32]
2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember Mini-Me [37]
2003 Pauly Shore Is Dead Himself [32]
2007 Postal Himself [32]
2008 The Love Guru Coach Punch Cherkov [37]
2008 College Himself [34]
2009 The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Percy [32]
2012 Keith Lemon: The Film Archimedes [34]
2015 Trailer Park Boys: Drunk, High, and Unemployed: Live in Austin Himself [32]
2015 Gnome Alone The Gnome [38]
2018 The Delivery The Boss Short film, Posthumous release
2019 Aliens Clowns and Geeks Emperor Beezel-Chugg Posthumous Release [30]
TBA The 420 Movie Posthumous Release [39]

Television
Year(s) Title Role Notes Ref(s)
1999–2000 Shasta McNasty Verne [32]
2000 Jack of All Trades Napoleon Bonaparte [32]
2002 Sabrina the Teenage Witch Angus [37]
2003 Boston Public Taylor Prentice 2 episodes [37]
2004 Karroll's Christmas Spike [32]
2005 The Girls Next Door Himself episode "Fight Night" [40]
2005 The Surreal Life Himself [32]
2006 Bo! in the USA [41]
2007 The Surreal Life: Fame Games Himself [32]
2007 Welcome to Sweden Himself [32]
2008–2015 Celebrity Juice Himself [42]
2008 The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest... Commentator [43]
2008 The Podge and Rodge Show Himself [44]
2009 Celebrity Big Brother Himself [34]
2009 Friday Night with Jonathan Ross Himself [32]
2009 The Paul O'Grady Show Himself [34]
2009 WWE Raw Guest host [32]
2013 Lemon La Vida Loca Himself [45]
2013 Legit Himself [38]
2014 BGO.com TV Campaign [46]
2014 Whose Line Is It Anyway? Himself Season 10, episode 3 [32]
2014 Through the Keyhole Himself [42]
2015 Celebrity Wife Swap Himself [32]
2017 Trailer Park Boys: Out of the Park: USA Himself; final appearance Episode: "Los Angeles 2" [32]

Music videos
Year Artist Song Album
1999 Madonna Beautiful Stranger Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
2002 Moby We Are All Made of Stars 18
2004 D12 My Band D12 World
2005 Ludacris Number One Spot The Red Light District
2014 Steve Aoki featuring will.i.am Born to Get Wild Neon Future I

Video games
Year Title Voice role Ref(s)
2016 Let It Die Jackal X [47]

Web
Year Title Role Notes
2018 My 90-Year-Old Roommate Verne Troyer Episode: Verne Troyer; Posthumous Release

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 Corp Australia. 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. Guardian News and Media Limited. 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. "CNN.com - Mini-Me: From stunt double to popular clone - July 30, 2002". CNN. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  13. "Why 'Austin Powers' Changed Its Original Tragic Ending For Mini-Me". Huffington Post. October 4, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  14. 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.
  15. "Verne Troyer: a life in pictures". The Guardian. April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  16. "In pictures: Big Brother Eviction". BBC. April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  17. Sherri L. Shaulis (July 3, 2008). "AVN Exclusive: Verne Troyer's Ex Discusses Sex Tape, Relationship, More". AVN. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  18. Isola, Laurie (June 26, 2008). "Troyer in Sex Tape Scandal". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
  19. Dobuzinskis, Alex (June 27, 2008). ""Mini-Me" actor Verne Troyer sues over sex tape". Reuters. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  20. "Verne Troyer And Girlfriend Brittney on Celebrity Wife Swap". DailyENews. April 21, 2018. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  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. Steve Almasy. "Verne Troyer, 'Mini-Me' in Austin Powers films, dies at 49". cnn.com.
  25. Ferré-Sadurní, Luis (April 21, 2018). "Verne Troyer, Mini-Me in Austin Powers Movies, Dies at 49". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
  26. "Mini-Me actor Verne Troyer dies at 49". BBC News. April 22, 2018.
  27. "Verne Troyer's Death 'Possible Suicide': 'Very High Level of Alcohol in His System,' Says Coroner". People. April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  28. "Verne Troyer's death may be the latest suicide for Hollywood's community of little people". Fox News. April 23, 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  29. "Verne Troyer's death ruled as suicide". The Guardian. London, England: Guardian Media Group. Associated Press. October 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
  30. "Farewell, Mini-Me! Verne Troyer Passes Away at 49". Ain't It Cool News. April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  31. "'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.
  32. "Verne Troyer List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  33. Ashton, Will (April 4, 2018). "Austin Powers Actor Verne Troyer Hospitalized After Apparent Suicide Attempt". CinemaBlend. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  34. "Verne J. Troyer". BFI. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  35. "Sundae the Dog". Weasyl. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  36. "Here Lies Lonely (1999)". LetterBoxD. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  37. Dalton, Andrew (April 21, 2018). "Verne Troyer, Mini-Me from 'Austin Powers' films, has died". APNews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  38. "Verne Troyer". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  39. "The 420 Movie (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  40. "Fight Night". The Girls Next Door. Season 1. Episode 5. August 28, 2005. E!.
  41. "Bo! In The USA - Cast, Crew and Credits". TV.com. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  42. Reid, Claire (April 22, 2018). "Mike Myers Pays Tribute To Verne Troyer". LADbible. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  43. "Verne Troyer Then & Now!". Stanton Daily. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  44. "The Podge and Rodge Show Season 4, Episode 23". HSB Noticias. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  45. "Lemon La Vida Loca". ITV. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  46. bgo.com TV advertisement featuring Verne Troyer from bgo.com
  47. "CAST｜PlayStation®4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.
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