Pat Walshe

of Walshe, from The Boston Post, 1920. From left to right: Walshe outside his monkey costume, getting into his costume, and in full costume with makeup.|350x350px 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 as 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. In following years, Walshe appeared in the cabaret revue Hell at the Folies-Bergère, and later was reunited with Lew Fields for Bunty, Bulls and Strings, where he played "Mr MacGregor", a Scottish farmer. In 1913, Walshe heard that the American Play Company was producing Within the Law, with an entire cast of dwarf actors, and he wrote to them hoping for a part. Walshe made his motion picture debut in 1915, in the Lew Fields comedy Old Dutch. He reprised his role from The Girl Behind the Counter from five years previously. The waiters' quartet had been popular with audiences, so Fields reunited them all for his comedy film produced by World Films. (far right)|350x350px Many of Walshe's performances included playing animals, particularly monkeys and apes. Eventually he began to specialize in monkeys. This gained him popularity on the vaudeville circuit, where he appeared in shows such as Lew Fields' and Joe Weber's Reunion show. Appearing in many variety shows, Walshe earned prominence for his performances and received the nickname 'the Monkey Man'. They performed in many shows, and did stunts, such as riding a two-seated bicycle together. Working with Baldy's trainer, the two spent weeks inside Baldy's cage, to help prepare her for the performance, as well as simply studying her behavior. Walshe had a close bond with Baldy, and was known to carry a photo of her in his pocket. He described her as "the most intelligent of all performers of the animal kingdom". In 1928, Walshe was enlisted to appear in Rain or Shine, ==The Wizard of Oz==

'' In 1938, Walshe was cast in the most prominent role of his career: his feature film appearance in The Wizard of Oz, where he played Nikko, the leader of the Winged Monkeys. Walshe was sought after for the role due to his extensive vaudeville and circus experience and his acclaimed ape imitations. His casting was formally announced on September 28 and he travelled up to MGM on October 3. Unlike the other monkeys, Nikko was a credited role, serving as the Wicked Witch's (played by Margaret Hamilton) minion and second-in-command. Though he had no spoken lines, performing only through physical movement, he received on-screen credit (rare for bit players at the time). Instead of the simple stage makeup he generally used in his shows, he had to wear complex prosthetics designed by Jack Dawn. While the other monkeys wore simple rubber masks, Walshe needed to appear in closeups, so multi-piece prosthetic makeup was produced for him, moulded to his features and glued to his face. ==Later career, retirement==

From 1945 to 1946, Walshe performed with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, Al Dean's Circus, at the Court Square Theater, and with the Cole Bros. Circus. He also made some other film appearances, with minor roles in Pinky and Roseanna McCoy, and in addition to working as a stunt double. He had one of his few on-screen speaking roles in Panic in the Streets (1950), where he played a newspaper peddler named Pat (after himself). Walshe eventually quit performing due to the physical demands of his work, but was still remembered for his appearance in The Wizard of Oz. ==Death==

Walshe died on December 11, 1991, in Los Angeles, following a heart attack. At the age of 91, he was the last surviving credited cast member of The Wizard of Oz. His resting place is in Westwood Memorial Park. ==Selected theatre appearances==

• The Girl Behind the Counter (1908) - Thompkins, a waiter • The Midnight Sons (1909) - Bird • Ringling Brothers Circus (1910) • Hell at Folies-Begere (1911) - An Antique • Bunty Bull and Strings (1912) - Mr MacGregor • Barnum & Bailey at Madison Square Garden (1912) - Clown • A Good Little Devil (1913) - Huggermunk/Squirrel • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1913) - Dwarf • Frank A. Robbins Circus (1914) • Toyland (1915) • Weber and Fields Reunion (1915) - Monkey • Good-Bye, Bill (1918) - Chorus • As You Were (1920) - Primeval Father • The Merchant of Venice (1922) - Jessica's monkey • The Jeweled Tree (1926) - Hotep/First Shade • Rain or Shine (1928–29) - The Monkey • Fine and Dandy (1930–31) - J. Newton Wheer/The Colt • Topsy Turvy Revue (1936) - Midget Tarzan • Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1945–46) • ''Al Dean's Circus'' (1946) - The Human Ape • Cole Bros. Circus (1950) ==Filmography==