In Remembrance: Nelson de la Rosa

     Nelson de la Rosa, the 2-foot 4-inch actor believed to be one of the world’s smallest men, has passed away on October 22, 2006 in Providence, RI. He was 38.

     Born in June 1968 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, began his acting career in the 1987 Italian horror film Ratman. Throughout the 1990s, he became a popular guest on the Venezuelan television series Sabado Sensacional and on other series in Hispanic countries such as Puerto Rico, Mexico and Spain.

     In 1996, de la Rosa made his only Hollywood film appearance opposite Marlon Brando in The Island Of Dr. Moreau as the small genetically-altered creature that shadowed Brando’s Moreau. Although the film was critically lambasted, the character made such an impression that it was lampooned on the cartoon series South Park and is considered the inspiration for Vern Troyer’s Mini-Me character in Mike Myers’ spy spoof film series Austin Powers.

     De la Rosa became friends with fellow Dominican and Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez and was a regular visitor to the ball club’s dugout during its 2004 season in which they won the World Series. More recently, he had been working in two different circuses.