Nelson de la Rosa
Nelson de la Rosa (1968 – October 22, 2006) was an actor from the Dominican Republic who measured either 33 inches (83 centimeters) tall or 28 inches tall depending on the source.
De la Rosa starred in a 1987 feature horror film made in Italy called Ratman. During the 1990s Nelson continued his path to international success by becoming a staple guest at Venevision's television show Sabado Sensacional in Venezuela, and, later on, he would be invited as a guest to Don Francisco's show, Sábado Gigante, and to other Univision shows. His popularity took him to other Hispanic countries such as Puerto Rico, Mexico, Spain and others. He married, and had a son.
In 1996, he had a minor role in the Hollywood production, The Island of Dr. Moreau, where he shared lines with Marlon Brando, among others. This role is said to be the inspiration for the Austin Powers movie character, "Mini-Me". Another very popular appearance was in the video for the song A mover el coolo of the South-American pop group Illya Kuriaky & the Valderramas. De la Rosa had been reached by many American media operators and television shows, such as ESPN and others, for a feature about his life. So far, however, no plans to film a documentary about him have been completed.
De la Rosa befriended Boston Red Sox pitcher and fellow Dominican Pedro Martínez, who began to take de la Rosa to playoff games held in Boston during the 2004 MLB playoffs.
He had recently been a main attraction in the "Hermanos Mazzini" and "Las Águilas Humanas" circuses, which marketed him as the Guinness World Record-holder for world's smallest man at 54 cm (21.25 inches) [1], though this organization does not endorse this claim [2].
While no official diagnosis of the cause of de la Rosa's short stature is known, it has been speculated that he was born with the genetic syndrome MOPD II (microcephalic osteodysplastic primordial dwarfism type II)[3]. The primary symptoms of the syndrome include extreme proportional short stature, as well as distinct facial features similar to those exhibited by Nelson de la Rosa. A recent documentary by Granada Television highlighting the syndrome was aired on TLC several times in 2006. [4] There are approximately 100 known cases of MOPD II in the world at this time, spread throughout various races and ethnic backgrounds.
He died of a heart attack at the age of 38, October 22, 2006 in Providence, RI, and is survived by his wife and 9 year old child (who is of normal height).[5]