Angelo Muscat

Angelo Muscat
Muscat in The Prisoner, 1967
Born	Angelo Muscat (1930-09-24)24 September 1930 Malta
Died	10 October 1977(1977-10-10) (aged 47) London, England
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1965–1971
Height	130 cm (4 ft 3 in)

Angelo Muscat (24 September 1930 – 10 October 1977) was a Maltese-born British character actor.^[1] He is primarily remembered for his role as the silent butler in the 1967 television series The Prisoner.

Muscat was born on 24 September 1930 in Malta to a policeman father. He was distinctly diminutive at only 4 ft 3 in (1.30 m), although both his parents and his three brothers were over 6 ft (1.8 m) in height. Muscat initially found work as a kitchen porter and then as a stoker at an RAF base in Malta. After the death of his parents and finding himself largely alone, he moved to England where he worked in a zip-fastener factory.

In 1961 Muscat joined a production of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs that was to tour the United Kingdom. Moving into television, he played a Chumbley robot in the Doctor Who serial Galaxy 4 (1965), played the part of a clown in the ITV series Emergency – Ward 10 and appeared as the Queen's Servant in the BBC television adaptation of Alice in Wonderland (1966).^[2]

Muscat appeared in the television series The Prisoner (1967–1968) with Patrick McGoohan, appearing in 14 of the 17 episodes as a silent butler. He played an Oompa-Loompa in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (uncredited, 1971). He also appeared in the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour (uncredited, 1967).

During his later years, Muscat lived alone and virtually penniless in a basement flat in North London. He found it difficult to find acting work, and to supplement his income he made ornate birdcages by hand.^[2]

Muscat died of pneumonia on 10 October 1977, aged 47 at St Bartholomew's Hospital in London.^{[citation needed]}

Each year, on 10 October a small group of enthusiasts dubbed the "Friends of Angelo Muscat" (FOAM) celebrate his life.^[1]

• Angelo Muscat at IMDb
• Angelo Muscat on the 'Who's Who of Short People' website