{{Short description|Hungarian actor (1939–2016)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Mihaly "Michu" Meszaros | image = | birth_name = Mészáros Mihály | native_name_lang = hu | birth_date = {{Birth date|1939|10|1|df=y}} | birth_place = Budapest, Hungary | death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|06|12|1939|10|1|df=y}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|circus performer|entertainer|stuntman}} | years_active = 1969–1993, 2015 | height = {{convert|84|cm|ftin|abbr=on}} }} '''Mihaly''' "'''Michu'''" '''Meszaros''' (Hungarian: '''Mészáros Mihály''', {{ipa|hu|ˈmeːsaːroʃ ˈmihaːj}}; 1 October 1939 – 12 June 2016)<ref name=telegraphobit/> was a Hungarian and American actor, circus performer/entertainer, and stuntman. He was {{convert|2|ft|9|in|m}} tall and weighed 25 pounds.<ref name=breezeobit/> He was best remembered as a performer with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus and for his role in the NBC sitcom ''ALF'' in 1986. He appeared in many films in the late 1980s and early 1990s and also appeared opposite Michael Jackson in a Pepsi commercial<ref name=nolaobit/> and in the Ozzy Osbourne music video for "Time After Time" in 1992. His last appearance was in ''Death to Cupid'' in 2015.
==Biography== ===Early life=== Meszaros was born in a small village outside Budapest and was the seventh of nine siblings.<ref name=breezeobit>{{Cite news | url=https://www.dailybreeze.com/2016/06/13/michu-meszaros-33-inch-tall-circus-performer-and-actor-who-played-alf-dies-in-torrance/ | title='Michu' Meszaros, 33-inch-tall circus performer and actor who played 'Alf' dies in Torrance | first=Larry | last=Altman | work=Daily Breeze | date=June 13, 2016}}</ref> He attended a school of circus arts and performed in the circus since age nine, working two or three shows a day, five days a week.<ref name=breezeobit/> He performed in the Liebel Family Circus and toured Eastern Europe.<ref name=legacy/> However, a government agent from the Hungarian People's Republic followed him to make sure he did not defect, and the government took most of his money.<ref name=breezeobit/>
===Career=== Circus producers Irvin Feld and Kenneth Feld had heard of Meszaros, and, after locating him in 1973, signed him to a contract and made arrangements to bring him to the U.S. and have him star in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus as the "smallest man in the world".<ref name=telegraphobit>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/07/01/mihaly-michu-meszaros-smallest-man--obituary/ | title=Mihaly 'Michu' Meszaros, 'smallest man' – obituary | work=The Daily Telegraph | date=1 July 2016 | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=nolaobit>{{Cite web | url=https://obits.nola.com/us/obituaries/nola/name/michu-meszaros-obituary?pid=180327059 | title=Michu Meszaros Obituary | work=The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate | date=June 14, 2016 | via=Legacy.com}}</ref>
In 1980, Meszaros, along with his Hungarian guard, defected to the U.S.<ref name=breezeobit/> He became a resident alien in 1984.<ref name=breezeobit/>
As a circus performer, he performed an act with poodles, in which the poodles, standing on their hind legs, appeared much taller than Meszaros, delighting children in the crowd.<ref name=nolaobit/>
In the Grand Spectacle performance of 1982 and 1983, Meszaros portrayed a character known as the Marshal of Marshmallow Gulch, resplendent in a well-tailored white, silver and gold costume encrusted with rhinestones, along with a ten-gallon cowboy hat and silver cowboy boots.<ref name=telegraphobit/>
In the 1980s, Hawthorne, California, where he resided, named the shortest street in that city "Michu Lane" in his honor.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/1987/06/13/a-street-called-michu/ | title=A Street Called Michu | work=The Sun Sentinel | location=Ft. Lauderdale | date=13 June 1987 | url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=breezeobit/>
For the first season of the ''ALF'' television series, in 1986, Meszaros donned a costume whenever a full-body shot was needed for scenes of the alien walking, running, or standing. However, in most cases, upper-body shots of a mechanical puppet were used instead as the costume was uncomfortable. Meszaros had no lines in the show and was let go after two years.<ref name=breezeobit/>
Meszaros became a U.S. citizen in 1990.<ref name=breezeobit/><ref name=hrobit>{{Cite news | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/michu-meszaros-dead-alf-actor-902332/ | title=Michu Meszaros, Who Played the Alien ALF on TV, Dies at 76 | first=Mike | last=Barnes | work=The Hollywood Reporter | date=June 13, 2016}}</ref>
==Death== Meszaros died in June 2016 at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, California, after a stroke at his home that left him in a coma for several days. He had overcome another stroke eight years earlier and was dealing with several health issues.<ref name=breezeobit/><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.cnn.com/2016/06/13/entertainment/alf-actor-dies/index.html | last=Melas | first=Chloe | title=Mihaly 'Michu' Meszaros, actor who played 'ALF,' dies at 76 | work=CNN | date=13 June 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.brainerddispatch.com/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/alf-actor-michu-meszaros-dies-at-76 | title='Alf' Actor Michu Meszaros Dies at 76 | agency=Variety | work=Brainerd Dispatch | date=June 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name=legacy>{{Cite web | url=https://www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/notable-deaths/article/michu-meszaros-1939-2016?preview=7305531 | title=Michu Meszaros Obituary | work=Legacy.com | date=14 June 2016}}</ref>
In October 2018, his memorial service was held at the Dearly Departed Tours & Artifact Museum, owned and operated by author and historian Scott Michaels. Meszaros’ remains had been inurned and on public display along with items from his life and career until the museum closed in 2021. In September 2023, a crowdfunding campaign was launched by Michaels and "Dearly Departed", in order to raise funds for a formal, more appropriate interment.<ref>{{Cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_vVb9KqOKE | title=The Little Man Inside ALF is Unburied - Michael Jackson's Best Man! | date=September 7, 2023 | via=YouTube}}</ref> This was successful, and Meszaros was ultimately interred at Valhalla Memorial Park in April 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=travsd |date=2024-04-05 |title=This Friday in Hollywood: Michu Gets Memorialized |url=https://travsd.wordpress.com/2024/04/05/this-friday-in-hollywood-michu-gets-memorialized/ |access-date=2025-07-04 |website=(Travalanche) |language=en}}</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes |- | 1986 || ''ALF'' || ALF || credited as one of Alf's "Assistants"<ref name=nolaobit/> |- | 1988 || ''Waxwork'' || Hans ||<ref name=nolaobit/> |- | 1988 || ''Big Top Pee-wee'' || Andy ||<ref name=nolaobit/> |- | 1989 || ''Look Who's Talking'' || "baby stunt performer" ||<ref name=nolaobit/> |- | 1991 || ''Dear John'' || Mishka || Episode: "Louise, the Hero"<ref name=breezeobit/> |- | 1993 || ''Freaked'' || George Ramirez #3 ||<ref name=nolaobit/> |- | 1993 || ''Warlock: The Armageddon'' || Augusto ||<ref name=hrobit/> |- | 2015 || ''Death to Cupid'' || Leprechaun || Short film |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0582361}} *[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/164833322/mihaly-meszaros Michu Meszaros] at Find a Grave *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXSLQVQHmJ0 Interment at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, April 2024, Youtube]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Meszaros, Michu}} Category:1939 births Category:2016 deaths Category:20th-century Hungarian male actors Category:21st-century Hungarian male actors Category:Actors with dwarfism Category:Entertainers from Budapest Category:Hungarian circus performers Category:Hungarian emigrants to the United States Category:Hungarian male film actors Category:Hungarian male television actors Category:Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery