updated 1:44 p.m. ET Oct. 23, 2006

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Nelson de la Rosa, a 2-foot-4 actor and ubiquitous good-luck charm for the Boston Red Sox during their 2004 World Series run, has died. He was 38.

De la Rosa, believed to be one of the world’s smallest men, died of unknown causes in a Providence, R.I., hospital early Sunday, said his agent, Andres Duran.

He fell ill shortly after arriving in Miami on Friday from Chile, where the Dominican national had been working in a circus. On Saturday, he traveled to New York, and later to Providence, where two of his brothers live, Duran said.

De la Rosa became internationally known when he appeared alongside actor Marlon Brando in the 1996 film, “The Island of Dr. Moreau.”

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After the baseball fan was introduced to then-Boston ace Pedro Martinez by a mutual friend, the two Dominicans became friends. De la Rosa became a regular presence in the team’s clubhouse in the playoffs of the 2004 season, in which the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years.

De la Rosa’s body will be sent to the Dominican Republic after an autopsy and then could be put on display in a museum, his agent said.

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