Verne Troyer

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Verne Troyer

Verne Troyer, May 2007
Born January 1, 1969 (1969-01-01) (age 39)
Sturgis, Michigan, USA
Occupation actor, stunt
Years active 1994 - present

Verne Troyer (born January 1, 1969[1]) is an American actor and stunt man. Verne is notable for his height of 2 ft. 8 in. (approx 80 cm), the result of dwarfism. As a professional actor, he is most noted for playing the character of Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movies.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Personal life

Troyer was born in Sturgis, Michigan, the son of Susan, a factory worker, and Reuben Troyer, a repair technician.[2] He has two siblings, Davon and Deborah. He grew up in Centreville, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1986. He attended Kellogg Community College in Coldwater, Michigan. On the door to one of his classrooms and the toilet facilities, the school installed a "special" door handle that is still there today.

The actor filed for an annulment on February 23, 2008 in order to foreclose any claim on the part of Genevieve Gallen that she married him.[3]

[edit] Stolen tape

On June 25, 2008, a private home videotape of Troyer and his former live-in girlfriend Ranae Shrider having sex was leaked to the public by TMZ,[4] which had been made during the Easter weekend of 2008 at Raffles L’Ermitage hotel.[5] Kevin Blatt, the man responsible for brokering the deal for the Paris Hilton sex tape in 2003, attempted to sell the video.

Troyer sued TMZ, Blatt, and online rental company, SugarDVD for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement. The lawsuit charged that Blatt illegally acquired the stolen tape and that TMZ ignored repeated cease-and-desist letters demanding its return.[6]

On June 27, 2008, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting distribution or broadcast of the tape, and indicated in his ruling that he would be inclined to make a stronger preliminary injunction against TMZ, Blatt, and SugarDVD.[7] Blatt responded by claiming that he was approached to broker the tape, but declined after learning Troyer had not consented to its release. Blatt also claimed "I never had [the tape] in my possession."[8] Shrider stated that the tape was created using her video camera and that she was the tape's owner.[9] As a result, the injunction against both TMZ and SugarDVD was lifted although Blatt was still enjoined from distributing or taking orders for the tape.[9]

On August 5, 2008, Troyer filed a second lawsuit seeking $20 Million in damages and an injunction prohibiting the marketing or distribution of the tape against Shrider, her manager Holly Bannon and Okorie Okorocha, an attorney Troyer alleged tried to broker a deal to distribute the tape.[10][11][12]

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Television work

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Verne Troyer at the Internet Movie Database
  2. ^ Verne Troyer Biography (1969-) from FilmReference.com
  3. ^ "Mini-Me Actor Challenges Model's Marriage Claims". IMDB. Retrieved on 21 January 2007.
  4. ^ "Troyer in Sex Tape Scandal". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved on 2008-07-04.
  5. ^ Sherri L. Shaulis (2008-07-03). "AVN Exclusive: Verne Troyer's Ex Discusses Sex Tape, Relationship, More". AVN. Retrieved on 2008-07-04.
  6. ^ Mini-Me's Xtra-Large Sex-Tape Suit
  7. ^ Judge halts release of Verne Troyer sex tape, Associated Press, June 27, 2008
  8. ^ Sherri L. Shaulis (2008-06-27). "Kevin Blatt: 'I Don't Have the Mini-Me Sex Tape'". AVN. Retrieved on 2008-06-28.
  9. ^ a b "TMZ allowed to repost portion of actor's sex tape". [[{Washington Post]] (2008-07-02). Retrieved on 2008-07-02.
  10. ^ http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2008/08/01/ap5282008.html
  11. ^ http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/celebrity/la-me-troyer7-2008aug07,0,4963733.story
  12. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080102690.html

[edit] External links

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The Surreal Life
Cast
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