Malcolm Dixon (actor)

Malcolm Watson Dixon (1934 – 9 April 2020) was an English actor. He is known for having played the role of Strutter in the 1981 film Time Bandits.^[1][2] He had many roles which took advantage of his 124 cm (4 ft 1 in) height, such as Ewoks and dwarfs.

Malcolm Dixon
Born	1934 Crook, County Durham, England
Died	9 April 2020 (aged 85) Blackpool, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1966–1997
Height	124 cm (4 ft 1 in)
Spouse	Anita Dixon
Children	2

Early life

Malcolm Dixon was born in Crook, County Durham, in 1934, as the youngest of seven brothers and the only child with dwarfism. He was raised in Crook. His parents died when he was young and he outlived all his brothers.^[3]

Career

Dixon's 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. He starred in Time Bandits and also in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as an Oompa-Loompa (an uncredited role). He featured in many music videos for artists including David Bowie, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet.

Death

He died in Blackpool on 9 April 2020, at the age of 85.^[4][5]

Filmography

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

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs	Sleepy[6]	TV movie
1971	Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory	Oompa Loompa	uncredited[7][8]
1979	Black Jack	Tom Thumb's Army
1980	Flash Gordon	Dwarf No. 1
1980	Basil Brush
1980–1981	The Dick Emery Show		2 episodes
1981	Time Bandits	Strutter
1981–1982	The Goodies	Washing Machine / Dwarf	2 episodes
1982	The Dark Crystal	Additional Performer
1983	Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi	Leektar the Ewok Warrior	as Malcom Dixon
1985	Arena: An Absurd Notion		Video
1986	Labyrinth	Goblin Corps
1987	Snow White	Diddy
1988	Willow	Nelwyn Band Member	Uncredited
1997	Witch Way Love	Merlin	(final film role)
2005	100 Greatest Family Films	Himself	TV movie documentary

Theatre

His main leading role in theatre was as Bilbo Baggins in an adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit at the Fortune Theatre 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.^[9][10][11] His other theatre roles included:

• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Phoenix Arts Center, Leicester, England
• Peter Pan at The Palladium
• Sleeping Beauty on Ice in 1968 at Empire Pool, Wembley