Turning the pages back... January 5, 1983 (01/11/98)

Turning the pages back...

January 5, 1983

Ukrainian American actor Pat Bilon, who has touched the hearts of millions as America's favorite extraterrestrial in Steven Spielberg's box office smash "E.T." visited The Ukrainian Weekly on January 5, 1983. The 2-foot-10-inch, 35-year-old dwarf who wore a cumbersome 50-pound costume, which exceeded his weight by five pounds, visited the Ukrainian National Association's headquarters to thank Roma Hadzewycz for an article that she wrote after it was revealed that what was believed to be a mechanized E.T. was in fact a human.

Mr. Bilon, who was called "Petrush" by his family, was a third-generation Ukrainian American who spoke Ukrainian and was a member of the League of Ukrainian Catholics, a UNA member, as well as a member of St. Anne's Ukrainian Catholic Church from Youngstown, Ohio. He founded and hosted the "Ukrainian Radio Hour" on WKTL-FM in Youngstown. Mr. Bilon also established Petrush's Ukrainian Arts, a Ukrainian gift shop in his parents' house that sold Ukrainian crafts. As a gift of gratitude and appreciation, he presented The Weekly's editor with two ceramic figurines of Ukrainian dancers created of by his father.

Mr. Bilon had been performing since childhood - he donned his first pair of tap shoes at the early age of 7. Before landing his star role in "E.T.," he played what he described as a "sub-major role" in the film "Under the Rainbow" with Chevy Chase and Carrie Fisher.

Mr. Bilon, a member of Little People of America, was considered to be one of the smallest adult male dwarfs in the U.S.

During his visit at The Weekly, Mr. Bilon revealed his plans to act in Spielberg's sequel to "E.T.," which was to have begun taping in 1984. However, Pat Bilon died three weeks later, on January 27, 1983, of a blood disorder.

Sources: "The real E.T." by Roma Hadzewycz, July, 11, 1982, Vol. L, No. 28; "E.T. visits The Weekly," January 16, 1983, Vol. LI, No. 3; and "Pat Bilon, 'E.T.' star, dies," January 30, 1983, Vol. LI, No. 5, The Ukrainian Weekly.