Hervé Villechaize was born in France .
In later years , he insisted on being called a midget , rather than `` little person '' ( which irritated little activists like Billy Barty ) .Villechaize was born in Paris , France to English-born Evelyn ( Recchionni ) and raised there by her and his stepfather André Villechaize , a French surgeon who adopted him .
Hervé Villechaize