This bit of 125th Street was renamed in June 1987 for Hawthorne’s most famous little person: Mihaly “Michu” Meszaros (1939-2016). The Budapest native, who was 2’9″ tall, spent years in Hungarian circuses before arriving stateside in 1973 when he was signed by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey. He officially defected to the U.S. in 1980. A few years later, Michu left the big top for Hollywood – and by “Hollywood” I mean Hawthorne, where his manager lived, but he also started performing in film, television, and commercials. Michu quickly grew to love Hawthorne, so when the city’s Chamber of Commerce was auctioning off the naming rights to this road at a fundraiser, he eagerly participated and won with a $6,000 bid. He was named the city’s honorary mayor in 1997.
Find it on the map:
