Malcolm Watson Dixon (1934 – 9 April 2020) was an English actor, best known for playing the role of Strutter in the 1981 film ''

Time Bandits ''Time Bandits'' is a 1981 British fantasy adventure film co-written, produced, and directed by Terry Gilliam. It stars Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelley Duvall, Ralph Richardson, Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Michael Palin, Peter Vaughan and ...

''. He had many roles which took advantage of his height, such as

ewok The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species There are a number of lists of fictional species: Extraterrestrial *List of fictional extraterrestrials (by media type) *Lists of fictional alien species: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, ...

s and dwarfs.

Life and career

Malcolm Dixon was born in

Crook, County Durham Crook is a market town in the district and ceremonial county of County Durham, Northern England. The town is located on the edge of Weardale, therefore is sometimes referred to as the "Gateway to Weardale". The town is in an unparished area, ...

, in 1934, as the youngest of seven brothers and the only child with

dwarfism Dwarfism is a condition wherein an organism is exceptionally small, and mostly occurs in the animal kingdom. In humans, it is sometimes defined as an adult height of less than , regardless of sex; the average adult height among people with dw ...

. He was raised in Crook. His parents died when he was young and he outlived all his brothers. Dixon worked on his parents' poultry farm and as a floral artist. He was discovered by a talent agent who was keen on Dixon's talents with ice skates at the Durham Ice Rink. He then worked in an ice show at Empire Pool, Wembley. His stature and physical abilities landed him work with Jim Henson's Creature Shop, where he worked in multiple films and television shows until becoming an independent actor, most notably starring in ''Time Bandits'' and also in ''

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' by Roald Dahl. The film ...

'' as an

Oompa-Loompa This is a list of characters in the 1964 Roald Dahl book ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'', his 1972 sequel ''Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator'', and the former's film adaptations, ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' (1971) and '' ...

(an uncredited role). He featured in many music videos for artists including

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger ...

and

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...

. Dixon was married to Anita Dixon and had two children. He died in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

on 9 April 2020, at the age of 85.

Filmography

Dixon had acted in over 30 film and TV productions, including:

Theatre

His main leading role in theatre was as Bilbo Baggins in an adaptation of

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

's ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the '' ...

'' at the

Fortune Theatre The Fortune Theatre is a 432-seat West End theatre on Russell Street, near Covent Garden, in the City of Westminster. Since 1989 the theatre has hosted the long running play ''The Woman in Black''. History The site was acquired by author, playw ...

in London, England, from 1986 to 1989. From 2000 to 2020, he was a regular in panto productions of ''

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" is a 19th-century German fairy tale that is today known widely across the Western world. The Brothers Grimm published it in 1812 in the first edition of their collection ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' and numbered as T ...

''. His other theatre roles included: *''

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950. It is the first published and best known of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). Among all the ...

'' at Phoenix Arts Center, Leicester, England *''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...

'' at The Palladium *''Sleeping Beauty on Ice'' in 1968 at Empire Pool, Wembley

References

External links

* *
Dixon at Hollywood.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Malcolm 1934 births 2020 deaths 20th-century English male actors 21st-century English male actors Actors with dwarfism English male film actors English male stage actors People from Crook, County Durham Actors from County Durham