Felix Silla

Felix Anthony Silla was an actor and stuntman who appeared as a Talosian in the pilot . He did not receive credit for this role. He filmed his scene on Friday at Desilu Culver Stage 15.
Hailing from a small village outside Rome, Italy, the 3'11" (119 cm) tall Silla began his career in show business as a circus performer and toured with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus following his arrival in the United States in 1955. In the early 1960s, he broke into acting and stunt work.
One of Silla's best-known roles in that of the short, hair-covered, gibberish-speaking Cousin Itt on the classic 1960s television series , which co-starred fellow Original Series guest actor Ted Cassidy. Other Trek actors who appeared alongside Silla in guest roles are Lee Bergere, Meg Wyllie, and Anthony Caruso. The character of Cousin Itt was later portrayed on the big screen by John Franklin. Another of Silla's famous roles is Litvak in the 1975 film The Black Bird, co-starring Elisha Cook and Victor Tayback. He is also known for playing the robot Twiki in the science fiction series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, co-starring with Tim O'Connor and Eric Server. Other Trek alumni who worked on this show are Vic Perrin, Don Marshall, Seamon Glass, Frank Gorshin, James Sloyan, Jay Robinson, Ray Walston, Earl Boen, Michael Ansara, Alfred Ryder, Sid Haig, Julie Newmar, Barbara Luna, David Opatoshu, Lance LeGault, Mark Lenard, Paul Carr, Harry Townes, Anthony James, Billy Curtis, Walker Edmiston, writer D.C. Fontana, and director Vincent McEveety. In both of these cases, Silla wore his character's costume, while another actor provided the character's voice (Tony Magro for Itt, Mel Blanc and Bob Elyea for Twiki). In addition to these roles, Silla was a regular performer on H.R. Pufnstuf, appeared as Lucifer on Battlestar Galactica (with John Colicos, Ed Begley, Jr., Reggie Nalder, George Murdock, Arlene Martel, and Larry Cedar and which was directed by Richard Colla), and played an Ewok in (1983).
Besides Star Trek, Silla made guest appearances on , The Monkees, , , and . He also acted in a number of films, including Point Blank (1967, with Sharon Acker, Sid Haig, James B. Sikking, Michael Strong, Michael Bell, Carey Foster, Jerry Catron, and Chuck Hicks), (1968, with James Daly, Lou Wagner, Paul Lambert, Billy Curtis, Jane Ross, music by Jerry Goldsmith, and designs by Wah Chang), (1977, with Biff Yeager), (1977, co-starring Gerrit Graham, Davis Roberts, Fritz Weaver, and, in a bit part, Michael Dorn), The Manitou (1978, with Michael Ansara), (1979, starring Samantha Eggar and directed by David Cronenberg), (1984, starring Hamilton Camp and John Larroquette), (1986, with Michael Ensign and Steve Susskind), and (1987, featuring Tim Russ and Leslie Bevis).
Silla's stunt work consists primarily of feature films, including (1973, with France Nuyen, Paul Williams, David Gerrold, music by Leonard Rosenman, and cinematography by Richard H. Kline), The Towering Inferno (1974, with Elizabeth Rogers, Paul Comi, and John Crawford), Robert Wise's (1975, with René Auberjonois, Alan Oppenheimer, and Vic Perrin), (1982), (1982, with Allan Graf, music by Jerry Goldsmith, and cinematography by Matthew F. Leonetti), and (1984). He was later a stunt actor on (1992, co-starring Diane Salinger, Vincent Schiavelli, Sean Whalen, and Biff Yeager).
== External links ==
* – official site
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