![Actor Vern Troyer and Los Angeles Clippers Center, Cole Aldrich. ] (SPECIAL TO THE STAR TRIBUNE/BRE McGEE) **Vern Troyer (actor), Cole Aldrich (LA Clippers, Bloomington Jefferson Alumni)](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/6E3T3BLIWZOEYERJI5NZU4FCWA.jpg?&w=1080)
Verne Troyer, who was best known for his role as Mini-Me in the "Austin Powers" movies, died Saturday in Los Angeles. He was 49.
Troyer — who starred in a number of commercials and films over the years and attended many Starkey Foundation fundraisers in the Twin Cities — gained international fame as Mini-Me, a 2-foot-8 version of Mike Myers' Dr. Evil, in "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" and "Austin Powers in Goldmember."
"Verne was … 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," a statement posted Saturday on Troyer's Facebook page said. No cause of death was given.
A year ago, Troyer wrote on Instagram that he had battled alcohol addiction. "While it's not always been an easy fight, I'm willing to continue my fight day by day," he wrote.
Troyer rose to stardom in the late 1990s, roaming the red carpet, sitting for celebrity interviews and passing out business cards that read "The Biggest Little Man in Show Business." He grew up on a southern Michigan farm, where he said his parents treated him the same as his other average-sized siblings.
His first movie break was as a stunt double for a 9-month-old baby in the 1994 comedy "Baby's Day Out." After that, he played everything from a baby panda in "The Amazing Panda Adventure" and a pro wrestler in "My Giant" to Santa Claus in "Jingle All the Way" and a young gorilla in the thriller "Instinct."
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