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Actor And Lifelong Steelers Fan Verne Troyer Passed Away Saturday At 49

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Actor Verne Troyer, perhaps most-famous for his role as Mini-Me in the “Austin Powers” comedy movies, died Saturday at the age of 49.

The news of the Troyer’s death was reported on his Instagram account Saturday afternoon.

“It is with great sadness and incredibly heavy hearts to write that Verne passed away today,” a post to Troyer’s account read.

It is with great sadness and incredibly heavy hearts to write that Verne passed away today. Verne was an extremely caring individual. He wanted to make everyone smile, be happy, and laugh. Anybody in need, he would help to any extent possible. Verne hoped he made a positive change with the platform he had and worked towards spreading that message everyday. He inspired people around the world with his drive, determination, and attitude. On film & television sets, commercial shoots, at comic-con’s & personal appearances, to his own YouTube videos, he was there to show everyone what he was capable of doing. Even though his stature was small and his parents often wondered if he’d be able to reach up and open doors on his own in his life, he went on to open more doors for himself and others than anyone could have imagined. He also touched more peoples hearts than he will ever know. Verne was also a fighter when it came to his own battles. Over the years he’s struggled and won, struggled and won, struggled and fought some more, but unfortunately this time was too much. During this recent time of adversity he was baptized while surrounded by his family. The family appreciates that they have this time to grieve privately. Depression and Suicide are very serious issues. You never know what kind of battle someone is going through inside. Be kind to one another. And always know, it’s never too late to reach out to someone for help. In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation in Verne’s name to either of his two favorite charities; The Starkey Hearing Foundation and Best Buddies. Photo by @paulmobleystudio

A post shared by Verne Troyer (@vernetroyer) on

Troyer was a lifelong fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I’m definitely a Steelers fan,” Troyer told Missi Matthews of steelers.com during a 2015 training camp visit. “Ever since the 70s – Steel Curtain and Jack Ham and Jack Lambert, Rocky Bleier, Franco [Harris], Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, [John] Stallworth, I could keep going, but ever since then I’ve been a fan.”

In 2016, Troyer even had Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown over to his house to play Madden 16. The wide receiver released a short statement on the passing of Troyer on his own Instragram account Saturday afternoon.

Troyer was born in Sturgis, Michigan on January 1, 1969 with achondroplasia dwarfism. At just 2 feet, 8-inches, he was considered to be one of the smallest people in the world but that didn’t prevent him from carving out a pretty big acting career that included several movies, television shows and commercials.

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