One of the dwarfs but not grumpy

Press, Issue 33842, 14 May 1975, Page 6

One of the dwarfs but not grumpy

By

LEONE STEWART)

Life's what you make it. is Mrs Rosetta Jeannes's philosophy. And w hen her 3ft 4in cannot make it to the kitchen sink she is not bothered by having to stand up on a box.

Rosetta Jeannes — everyone knows her as Rosie — is one of the seven dwarfs keeping company with Snow White in the James Hay Theatre. She is appropriately. the Little One. “I'm the smallest person in Australia, and New Zealand," said Mrs Jeannes yesterday. Looking down at her tiny figure perched neatly on the edge of the divan in her dressing room that matter-of-a-fact claim was easy to believe. Looking up to the rest of the adult world has its advantages, in her book. “Yep,” she says, it’s been good for her character. She has learned to make the best of everything. Star's friend Being a lone woman among six male little people certainly has at least one advantage. Rosie shares a dressing room with the star. Mrs Jeannes and Gai O’Meley get on, says Snow White, “like a house on fire.” A pint-sized trouper, Rosetta Jeannes has been with the company for almost eight years. Gai O’Meley is grateful for her advice and encouragement. Mrs Jeannes has quite a

■ reputation as a character actress. She was “discovered” ‘by the company while working on a children’s pro- ’ gramme for Channel 7 in her home city of Adelaide. .This Christmas season of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in Sydney was the first she has missed since then. Her convalescent ( mother, whom she had looked after for many years, died aged 96. It is a loss Mrs Jeannes feels keenly. It was her mother’s influence and battling spirit that enable her to grow up well adjusted and determined to adapt to a world designed for “giants.” Close to twin One of a family of nine, Rosetta Jeannes has a twin brother she describes as “bigger than me, but small.” They formed a natural bond as children, and remain close. ( As a child Mrs Jeannes’s ; mother maintained Rosetta ; could do anything the other 1 children could do. She; Taught her to knit, crochet,: 'and sew. When her tiny fin-j gers had to be trained to I thread needles her mother! made her practise for an] 'hour until she got it right. When the local school said she was too tiny to go j to classes when she was five, her mother bought a blackboard and chalk and

I taught her for two years. I She went through con- ! ventionai schooling, even managing to ride a custornj made-two-wheeled bicycle ■ and competing successfully lin school athletics for a ! while. Now a widow, Rosetta -Jeannes married a man sft J2in tall. He was, she said, a ■ good husband and she [enjoyed a happy marriage. When asked whether her I lack of size presented any ; problems at all, Mrs Jeannes ' replied with a cheerful “no”. ;An Italian cobbler makes j shoes to fit her tiny feet, and ; her dressmaker sews a doll- | sized wardrobe — and it’s, j all very much in fashion. ; With typical enterprise, she buys the smallest sized panty-hose and cuts off the [toes. All the furniture in her Adelaide home is standard ! size. How about the high dusting? “I do it with a long-handled mop,” she laughed. Local shopkeepers deliver orders to her home. When she is touring, she finds everyone very friendly and helpful.