Pat Walshe

Patrick Walshe (July 26, 1900 – December 11, 1991) was an American dwarf character actor and circus performer who specialized in impersonating and portraying animals. He is best known for playing Nikko, the head of the Winged Monkeys in the MGM film The Wizard of Oz (1939). He appeared in only a few films, as most of his work was in theater, vaudeville and circus. Throughout his vaudeville career, he was a frequent collaborator of Lew Fields and Joe Cook. Life and career Pat Walshe was born as Patrick Walshe, on July 26, 1900, in New York City. Living his early years in Brooklyn, Walshe had a form of restricted growth, and as a result never grew to be taller than 3'11". Walshe began performing in vaudeville shows and circuses at a young age. He made his first Broadway appearance in 1908 in Lew Fields's production of The Girl Behind the Counter, where he played "Thompkins", part of a quartet of comical waiters. In 1909, he went on to perform in The Midnight Sons alongside little actor Irwin Emmer. Emmer and Walshe appeared as a pair of birds, making this one of Walshe's earliest appearances an animal. Shortly after, he appeared in the Ringling Brothers Circus, run by the famed Ringling Brothers. He also appeared alongside 'The Rising Generation', a vaudeville family act, featuring a young Eddie Quillan.