San Diego ? Joshua Ryan Evans, the 3-foot-2 actor who played Timmy the living doll on the NBC soap “Passions,” died during a medical procedure, the network said Tuesday. He was 20.

Evans, who was born with a rare disease that stunted his growth, died Monday at a San Diego hospital, NBC publicist Lauren Townsend said.

The cause of death and the nature of the medical procedure were not disclosed Tuesday.

On Monday’s episode of “Passions,” taped last month, Evans’ character died.

On the show, Timmy was a doll created by the witch Tabitha, played by Juliet Mills, and was recently turned into a real boy.

NBC said Tuesday that future episodes of “Passions” were re-edited to remove any scenes including Timmy.

The Timmy role won Evans two consecutive Soap Opera Digest Awards for outstanding male scene stealer.

Evans was 12 when he got national exposure in a Dreyer’s Ice Cream commercial titled “The Dancing Baby.”

The commercial won a Cleo Award and resulted in a role for Evans in the movie “Baby Geniuses.”

His TV credits included “Ally McBeal,” which featured him as young lawyer Oren, Ally’s nemesis.

He was also featured as Tom Thumb in the A&E miniseries “P.T. Barnum” and was in Showtime’s “Poltergeist: The Legacy.”

He also played the young grinch in the movie “The Grinch.”

Funeral arrangements were not immediately disclosed.