Felix Silla (January 11, 1937 - April 16, 2021) was an Italian actor, musician, stuntman and circus performer, who appeared in S4's episode The Honeymoon as The Orkan Porter.
Biography[]
Felix Silla was born on January 11, 1937 in a small village outside Rome, Lazio, Italy. Silla trained as a circus performer, came to the United States in 1955, and toured with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Show, where he learned English. His multiple talents -- as a bareback rider, trapeze artist and tumbler -- brought him to Hollywood where he became a stuntman, starting with the Gig Young-Shirley Jones vehicle, A Ticklish Affair (1963). Between movies, he frequently appeared in Las Vegas and Reno night clubs with his own musical combo, "The Original Harmonica Band".
Silla and wife Sue Silla -- a "little person", like himself -- were married from 1965 until Felix's death in 2021 from pancreatic cancer in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. They had two children, Bonnie and Michael.
Career[]
As a stuntman he doubled -- often for children -- in such hits as The Towering Inferno (1974), The Hindenburg (1975) and Battlestar Galactica (1978), and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) While working as the stunt double for "Short Round" in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom during the filming of the river rapids scene. The life raft in which he was riding flipped over in the turbulent water and he was trapped underneath it for some time with a faulty inflatable life vest, nearly drowning until a safety diver could reach him and pull him to safety.
In front of the camera his best-known roles are the maniacal, miniature "Hitler" who menaces George Segal in The Black Bird (1975) and "Cousin Itt" on The Addams Family (1964) and Twiki, in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.
Cousin Itt was not a creation of Charles Addams in the original Addams Family and did not debut on The Addams Family (1964) until over a third of the way through the entire series, Silla's delightfully odd and inspired performance of the character made him so popular that "Cousin Itt" was carried over into both the animated series and the motion picture versions of "The Addams Family", even though the character was a creation of television producer David Levy.
During the production of "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," he developed a close friendship with star Gil Gerard that lasted over 40 years. It was Gerard who announced Silla's passing in 2021.
Filmography : Movies[]
| Year | Movie | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | She Freak | Shorty |
| 1967 | Point Blank | Bellhop |
| 1968 | Planet of the Apes | Child Gorilla |
| 1969 | The April Fools | Waiter as Safari Club |
| 1969 | Justine | Child Prostitute |
| 1970 | HR Pufnstuf | Polkadotted Horse |
| 1973 | Little Cigars | Frankie |
| 1973 | Sssssss | Sam Lee, the Seal Boy |
| 1975 | The Black Bird | Litvak |
| 1976 | Mastermind | Schatzi |
| 1976 | Black Samurai | Rheinhardt |
| 1977 | Demon Seed | Baby |
| 1977 | The Kentucky Fried Movie | Crazed Clown |
| 1978 | The Manitou | Misquaamacus |
| 1978 | The Lord of the Rings | Voice |
| 1979 | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | Twiki (body) |
| 1979 | The Brood | Creature |
| 1981 | Under the Rainbow | Hotel Rainbow Guest |
| 1983 | The Sting II | Man taking Bets |
| 1983 | Return of the Jedi | Ewok |
| 1984 | Meatballs II | Meathead the Alien |
| 1984 | The Dungeonmaster | Desert Bandit |
| 1985 | House | Critter |
| 1987 | Spaceballs | Dink |
| 1989 | Ghostbusters | Courtroom Spectator |
| 1992 | Batman Returns | Emperor Penguin |
| 1996 | The Legend of Galgameth | Little Galgy |
| 2016 | CHARACTERz | Don Cluff |
He also made the TV Movies Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (1973) and Halloween with the New Addams Family (1977)
Filmography : TV Series[]
| Year | Series | Episode | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Grindl | 'Twas the Week Before Christmas | Flaged |
| 1963 | Bonanza | Hoss and the Leprechauns | Sean |
| 1965 | Petticoat Junction | There's No Business with Show Business | Baron Munchin |
| 1965 - 1966 | The Addams Family | 17 Episodes | Cousin Itt |
| 1966 | The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | The Romany Lie Affair | Circus Performer |
| 1966 | Star Trek: TOS | The Cage | Talosian |
| 1967 | The Monkees | Monkees at the Circus | Willy the Midget |
| 1967-1971 | Bewtiched | Samantha and the Troll
A Safe and Sane Halloween |
Troll / Goblin |
| 1969-1970 | H.R. Pufnstuf | 17 Episodes | Polka Dotted Horse |
| 1971 | Night Gallery | Baby New Year (segment "The Diary") | |
| 1971-1972 | Lidsville | 17 Episodes | Colonel Poom |
| 1974 | Lincoln | Mrs. Lincoln's Husband | General Tom Thumb |
| 1977 | Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman | 6 Episodes | Chuck |
| 1978-1979 | Battlestar Galactica | 10 Episodes | Lucifer |
| 1979 | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | 30 Episodes | Twiki / Odee-X |
| 1981 | Mork & Mindy | The Honeymoon | Orkan Porter |
| 1985 | The Dukes of Hazzard | Strange Visitor to Hazzard | The Visitor |
| 1990 | Married...with Children | Married...with Aliens | Alien |
| 2018 | Meet Slate | Mini Series | Bitcoin |
Mork & Mindy[]
Felix Silla appeared in The Honeymoon as The Orkan Porter in the foyer of the Hotel Mmm Pltzz *cheek pull* & Spa, who takes Mork & Mindy's luggage on their arrival, and watches on with some amusement as they try and deal with Orlando the Clerk in trying to organize their room.