Danny Woodburn (born July 26, 1964) is an American actor, comedian and activist for the

disability rights movement The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all disabled people. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocates, around ...

linked to his

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition of people and animals marked by unusually small size or short stature. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dwarfism is . '' ...

. He played Mickey Abbott on the sitcom ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

''. He has more than 150 television and 30 film appearances to date.

Early life and education

Woodburn was born on July 26, 1964, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He is a graduate of

Abington Senior High School Abington Senior High School is a four-year co-educational high school in Abington, Pennsylvania, United States. A part of the Abington School District, the school was a two-year high school known as Abington South Campus from September 1964 u ...

Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Abington Township is a Township (Pennsylvania), township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is adjacent to Philadelphia's northern fringe. The population was 58,502 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it ...

and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

School of Communications and Theater. He received the school's Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award in 2001.

Career

Stage

Woodburn appeared in numerous stage productions before moving to Los Angeles, such as ''

The Indian Wants the Bronx ''The Indian Wants the Bronx'' is a one-act play by Israel Horovitz. Gupta, the Indian of the title, has just arrived in New York City from his native country to visit his son and speaks only a few words of English. While waiting for a bus to T ...

'' (by

Israel Horovitz Israel Horovitz (March 31, 1939 – November 9, 2020) was an American playwright, director, actor and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company in 1979. He served as artistic director until 2006 and later served on the board, ex officio and ...

); ''

Scapino {{Use dmy dates, date=January 2024 Scapino or Scapin is a Zanni character from the commedia dell'arte. His name is related to the Italian language, Italian word ''scappare'' ('to escape') and his name translates to 'little escape artist', in ref ...

'';

David Mamet David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...

's ''Revenge of the Space Pandas''; and a touring company production of ''

Viet Rock ''Viet Rock'' is a rock musical by Megan Terry that served as inspiration to the musical ''Hair (musical), Hair''. A violent denunciation of the American involvement in the Vietnam War, the play was described by its author as a "folk war movie" co ...

''. His debut in the New York theater world began with ''The Soda Jerk''.

Stand-up comedy

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

for over 20 years, Woodburn has performed nationwide. He has headlined at comedy clubs which include

The Improv The Improv is a comedy club franchise. It was founded as a single venue in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City in 1963, and expanded into a chain of venues in the late 1970s. History Originally, it was a 50-seat single venue (whic ...

, the

Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Com ...

Gotham Comedy Club Gotham Comedy Club is a venue for stand-up comedy in New York City. The comedy club is located on 208 West 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eighth avenues in Chelsea, M ...

, Carolines on Broadway, The Ice House, and the

Laugh Factory Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada. Endurance record The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record for ...

Television actor

Woodburn starred as "Professor Pixel" in

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

's 1992 Halloween special, ''Count DeClues' Mystery Castle,'' which was shot at The Magic Castle nightclub in Los Angeles. Of his more than 150 TV appearances, Woodburn has had numerous starring and reoccurring roles on widely recognized network shows, beginning with his memorable turns as Mickey Abbott on the multi-Emmy winning series ''

''. He starred on the 1997 series '' Conan the Adventurer'' (as ''Otli'', Conan's sidekick); ''

Special Unit 2 ''Special Unit 2'' is an American science fiction comedy television series that aired on UPN for two seasons from April 11, 2001 through February 13, 2002. The series focused upon the exploits of a top-secret Chicago police division known as Sp ...

'' as Carl; and multiple return appearances on ''

Passions ''Passions'' is an American television soap opera that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1999, to September 7, 2007, and on DirecTV's The 101 Network from September 17, 2007, to August 7, 2008. Created by screenwriter James E. Reilly and ...

''; ''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''Th ...

''; '' Tracey Takes On...''; ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

''; ''

Early Edition ''Early Edition'' is an American fantasy comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS from September 28, 1996, to May 27, 2000. Set in Chicago, Illinois, it follows the adventures of a man who mysteriously receives each ''Chicago Sun-Times' ...

'', ''

Murder She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The s ...

''; ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...

''; ''

Becker Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany, it can also derive from th ...

''; ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'';. Additionally there were numerous guest-starring roles on such shows ''

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

''; '' Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman''; '' The Pretender''; ''

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

''; '' CSI''; ''

Veronica's Closet ''Veronica's Closet'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman. It aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997 to December 7, 2000. Kirstie Alley starred as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, the owner an ...

''; ''

8 Simple Rules ''8 Simple Rules'' (originally ''8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter'') is an American television sitcom originally starring John Ritter and Katey Sagal as middle-class parents Paul and Cate Hennessy, raising their three children. ...

''; ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

''; and ''

Jane the Virgin ''Jane the Virgin'' is an American romantic comedy-drama and satirical telenovela developed by Jennie Snyder Urman. The series premiered October 13, 2014, on The CW and concluded on July 31, 2019. It is a loose adaptation of the Venezuelan te ...

''. He has guest starred on such children's television shows as ''

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' is an American teen sitcom created by Danny Kallis and Jim Geoghan. The series aired on Disney Channel from March 18, 2005, to September 1, 2008. The series was nominated twice for the Primetime Emmy Award for ...

''; ''

iCarly ''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...

''; ''

Cory in the House ''Cory in the House'' is an American television sitcom which aired on the Disney Channel from January 12, 2007, to September 12, 2008, and was a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the Disney Channel series ''That's So Raven''. The show focuses o ...

''; '' Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn'';, and ''

Bizaardvark ''Bizaardvark'' is an American comedy television series created by Kyle Stegina and Josh Lehrman that premiered on Disney Channel on June 24, 2016. The series ran for three seasons consisting of 63 episodes, airing its final episode on April 13, ...

''. He appeared regularly as Mr. Poulos on '' Crash & Bernstein''. In "Pixtopia", an episode of

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

's '' Star vs. the Forces of Evil'' starring

Eden Sher Eden Rebecca Sher (born December 26, 1991) is an American actress and comedian. The accolades she has received include a Critics' Choice Television Award, alongside a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. In television, Sher is best known for ...

, he guest-voiced the pixie task master.

Film roles

Woodburn has appeared in the films '' Jingle All the Way''; ''

Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her Things or The Things may refer to: Music * ''Things'' (album), by Uri Caine and Paolo Fresu, 2006 * "Things" (Bobby Darin song), 1962; covered by Ronnie Dove, 1975 * "Things", a song by Joe Walsh from '' There Goes the Neighborhood'', 1981 * "Thi ...

''; ''

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas ''The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas'' is a 2000 American romantic comedy film directed by Brian Levant, written by Jim Cash, Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, and Jack Epps, Jr., and is the prequel to Levant's ''The Flintstones'' (1994), based ...

''; ''

Death to Smoochy ''Death to Smoochy'' is a 2002 satirical black comedy crime film directed by Danny DeVito and written by Adam Resnick. Starring Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, DeVito, and Jon Stewart, the film centers on "Rainbow" Randolp ...

''; '' Employee of the Month''; ''

Watchmen ''Watchmen'' is a comic book Limited series (comics), limited series by the British creative team of writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins (comics), John Higgins. It was published monthly by DC Comics in 1986 and 19 ...

''; '' Mirror Mirror''; and ''

The Identical ''The Identical'' is a 2014 American musical drama film directed by Dustin Marcellino and written by Howard Klausner. The film was released theatrically in the United States on September 5, 2014. It was universally panned by both critics and audi ...

''. He also appeared in the children's feature series '' Santa Buddies'', '' The Search for Santa Paws'', and '' Santa Paws 2: The Santa Pups''. He performed the

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

for

Splinter A splinter (also known as a sliver) is a fragment of a larger object, or a foreign body that penetrates or is purposely injected into a body. The foreign body must be lodged inside tissue to be considered a splinter. Splinters may cause initia ...

in ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

'', with the voice of Splinter being supplied by

Tony Shalhoub Anthony Marc Shalhoub ( ; ; born October 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is known for a variety of roles ranging from comedic to dramatic on stage and screen. He has received several accolades including five Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, s ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Commercial work

Woodburn was featured in a series of ads for

Burger King Burger King Corporation (BK, stylized in all caps) is an American multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacks ...

BK Stacker The BK Stacker sandwiches are a family of cheeseburgers sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. History In 2002, Burger King changed ownership when its parent company, Diageo, sold its interest in the company to a g ...

sandwiches.

Advocacy

Woodburn is an advocate for

disabled Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

and little people issues. He serves on the

Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...

"Performers with Disabilities Committee." Throughout his career as both a comic and an actor he chose to avoid the stereotyping of little people as sight gags or props. Gaining the respect of his peers has allowed him to actively pursue change within his profession for all disabled performers. He has been recognized for the change of attitudes and societal perceptions of not only people with dwarfism but of all disabled persons. He was awarded the DREAM Award by the Disability Rights Legal Center in 2009 for those efforts in TV and film as well as the 2010 Screen Actors Guild

Harold Russell Harold John Avery Russell (January 14, 1914 – January 29, 2002) was an American World War II veteran and actor. After losing his hands during his military service, Russell was cast in the epic drama film ''The Best Years of Our Lives'' (1946 ...

Award. He was keynote speaker at 2010 RespectAbility Conference and the Inclusion Network of Cincinnati, and has been active as both teacher and speaker for The Little People's Research Fund, Actors For Autism, Media Access, American Association of People with Disabilities and the National ReelAbilities film festivals. He discussed some of his experiences as a little person, both on- and offscreen, in an interview with '' ABILITY Magazine'' in 2015.

Personal life

Woodburn is married to Amy Buchwald, an actress, writer, and comedian. She appeared in an episode of '' Conan the Adventurer'' as Woodburn's character's love interest.

References

External links

* *
Philly Magazine Exit Interview

Official YouTube Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodburn, Danny Living people 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors Male actors from Philadelphia Temple University alumni Actors with dwarfism American actors with disabilities American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American sketch comedians American stand-up comedians Comedians from Philadelphia 1964 births