Major Mite
real photograph postcard, 5.5 x 3.5 inches, circa 1930
photographer: unknown
At the age of 22, Major Mite claimed a weight of 20 pounds and a height
of 26 inches. No matter what his size, the major certainly was a snappy
dresser.
Major Mite was actually Clarence Chesterfield Howerton, who was born in Salem, Oregon on 9 February 1913.
The Major had quite an interesting cinematic career, including the role of jewel-swiping crook
disguised as a baby in the early Our Gang short Free Eats (1932), and the coveted role of
Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz (1939), where Mite was both "third trumpeter" and one of
"the sleepyheads". Mite was apparently one of the smallest citizens of Munchkinland.
Howerton died in Salem on 18 November 1975.
Unidentified dwarf held aloft
real photograph postcard, 5.5 x 3.5 inches, circa 1930
photographer: unknown
The tiny fellow standing on this gentleman’s hand may also be the wee
Major Mite, though the caption doesn’t specify. This fellow is said to
be 18 years old, 19 pounds 10 ounces, and 28 inches tall. If this is Major
Mite, he maintained his weight over the following two years, but managed
to lose two inches in height!
It was pretty standard sideshow procedure to claim little people were
smaller, giants taller, and fat people heavier than they actually were.
It should then come as no surprise that Major Mite’s height would shrink
as his fame increased.
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