Felix Silla

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Felix Silla
Silla in 2007
Born
Felice Anthony Silla

(1937-01-11)January 11, 1937
DiedApril 16, 2021(2021-04-16) (aged 84)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • stuntman
Years active1955–2021
Spouse
(m. 1965)
Children4

Felix Anthony Silla (January 11, 1937 – April 16, 2021), also credited as Felix Cilla, was an Italian character actor, circus performer, voice artist and movie stuntman, best known for his career in Hollywood in TV and film.

Silla started his career in the circus, but is best known from television's The Addams Family as Cousin Itt, a costumed character. Itt was only in one of Charles Addams original comics and his demeanor was created for the show. The character's voice was provided by series director Nat Perrin and Anthony Magro.[1]

Silla featured in the Star Wars film Return of the Jedi as one of the hang glider Ewoks.

He was also a voice artist on The Sims 2 video game.[2][3]

Biography[edit]

Early life and circus career[edit]

Felix Silla was born January 11, 1937,[4] in the small village of Roccacasale, Abruzzo, Italy. He trained as a circus performer and came to the United States aged 18, in 1955, touring with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. His multiple talents as a bareback horse rider, trapeze artist, and tumbler brought him to Hollywood, where he became a stuntman, appearing in the film, A Ticklish Affair.

Film and television[edit]

His best-known roles include Litvak, the maniacal, miniature Hitler who menaces George Segal in film The Black Bird (his favorite role). He was also responsible for the physical performance of the robot Twiki in the TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century,[3] a role for which the voice was supplied by Mel Blanc or Bob Elyea.

In part due to his short stature of 1.19 m (3 ft 11 in), he often doubled for children in such movies as The Towering Inferno, The Hindenburg, and Battlestar Galactica as well as Meatballs 2 as the alien. Between movies, he frequently appeared in Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada, night clubs with his own musical combo, The Original Harmonica Band.[5]

Voice-art work[edit]

Silla provided the voice for the video game The Sims 2 as Mortimer Goth 2005.

Famous characters[edit]

The Addams Family: Cousin Itt[edit]

Silla became famous however as the recurring costumed character of Cousin Itt on television's The Addams Family. The character was only in one of Charles Addams original comics, but his demeanor was created for the original black and white television series by producer David Levy, debuting in the 1965 first-season episode "Cousin Itt Visits the Addams Family", and appearing in a total of 19 episodes, 17 of which featured Silla and Roger Arroyo, over the course of the show's two seasons. The character's voice was usually provided by studio sound engineer Anthony Magro (1923–2004). The character became so popular it was carried over to subsequent licensed media including film, stage and video games.[citation needed]

Star Wars: Ewoks[edit]

He played one of the hang glider Ewoks in the film Star Wars Return of the Jedi in 1983.[6]

He also appears to have done quite a bit of work with Glen A. Larson as he was the body actor for the robot Twiki in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century as well as Lucifer in "Battlestar Galactica."

Death[edit]

Felix Silla died on April 16, 2021, from pancreatic cancer at the age of 84, in Las Vegas, Nevada.[7][1]

Filmography (as Actor)[edit]

name year role
Bonanza (TV series) 1963 Sean
Grimdl (TV series) 1963 Flaged
Petticoat Junction (TV series) 1965 Baron Munchin
The Addams Family (original TV series) 1965-1966 (17 episodes) Cousin Itt. (costumed character)
Star Trek (TV series) Talosian (uncredited)
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (TV series) 1966 Circus Performer
The Monkees (TV series) 1967 Willy the Midget in S1:E22, "Monkees at the Circus"
She Freak (film) 1967 Shorty
Point Blank (film) 1967 Bellhop
Planet of the Apes (film) 1968 Child Gorilla
The April Fools (film) 1969 Waiter at Safari Club
Justine 1969 Child Prostitute
H.R. Pufnstuf (TV series) 1969-1970 Polka Dotted Horse - Various Characters
Pufnstuf (film version, based on above) 1970 Polka Dotted Horse
Bewitched (TV series) 1967/1970 Goblin/Troll
Night Gallery (TV series) 1971 Baby New Year (uncredited)
Lidsville (TV series) 1971-1972 Colonel Poom
Little Cigars (film) 1973 Frankie
Sssssss (film) 1973 Sam Lee the Seal Boy
Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (TV movie) 1973 Creature
Lincoln (TV miniseries) 1974 General Tom Thumb
The Black Bird (film) 1975 Litvak
Mastermind 1975 Scahatzi
Black Samurai (film) 1976 Little Hitman Reinhardt
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (TV series) 1977 Chuck
Demon Seed (film) 1977 Baby
The Kentucky Fried Movie (film) 1977 Crazed Clown
Halloween with the New Addams Family (TV movie) 1977 Cousin Itt.
The Manitou 1978 Misquamacus
The Lord of the Rings (voice) 1979 Character actor
Battlestar Galactica (TV series) 1978-1979
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1979-1981 Twiki (body)
Under the Rainbow (film) 1981 Hotel Rainbow Guest
Mork and Mindy (TV series) 1981 Orkan Porter
The Sting II (film) 1983 Ringside man taking bets
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (film) 1983 Ewok
Meatballs Part II 1984 Meathead the Alien
The Dungeonmaster(credited here as 'Felix Cilla 1984 Desert Bandit
The Dukes of Hazard (TV series) 1985 THe Visitor
House 1985 Little Critter
Spaceballs 1987 Dink
Ghostbusters II (film) 1989 Courtroom Spectator
Married... With Children 1990 Alien
Batman Returns (film) 1992 Emperor Penguin
The Legend of Galgameth 1996 Little Galgy
CHARACTERZ 2016 Don Cluff
Meet Slate (TV miniseries) 2018 Bitcoin

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Haring, Bruce (16 April 2021). "Felix Silla Dies: Cousin Itt On TV's 'The 'Addams Family' Was 84". Deadline.
  2. ^ Daniel, Jeff (7 March 2006). "They don't come much bigger". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. E1. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  3. ^ a b Glionna, John M (2 November 2014). "Felix Silla, a.k.a. Cousin Itt, looks back on a kooky career". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  4. ^ Tate, Marsha Ann; Houser, Eric (2022). What America Watched: Television Favorites From the Cornfields to the Cosmos, 1960s-1990s. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company. p. 118. ISBN 9781476680576.
  5. ^ "Talking With Felix Silla – June 2, 2016". Talk About Las Vegas with Ira. 2 June 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  6. ^ "Felix Silla, Cousin Itt on TV's 'Addams Family,' dies at 84". Associated Press. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Felix Silla, Cousin Itt on 'The Addams Family,' Dies at 84". Variety. Retrieved 16 April 2021.

External links[edit]