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Billy Bevan
Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Billy Bevan (born William Bevan Harris, 29 September 1887 – 26 November 1957) was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film actor. He appeared in 254 American films between 1916 and 1950.
Bevan was born in the country town of Orange, New South Wales, Australia. He went on the stage at an early age, traveled to Sydney and spent eight years in Australian light opera, performing as Willie Bevan. He sailed to America with the Pollard’s Lilliputian Opera Company in 1912 and later toured Canada. Bevan broke into films with the Sigmund Lubin studio in 1916. When the company disbanded, Bevan became a supporting actor in Mack Sennett movie co…
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Billy Bevan (born William Bevan Harris, 29 September 1887 – 26 November 1957) was an Australian-born vaudevillian, who became an American film actor. He appeared in 254 American films between 1916 and 1950. Bevan was born in the country town of Orange, New South Wales, Australia. He went on the stage at an early age, traveled to Sydney and spent eight years in Australian light opera, performing as Willie Bevan. He sailed to America with the Pollard’s Lilliputian Opera Company in 1912 and later toured Canada. Bevan broke into films with the Sigmund Lubin studio in 1916. When the company disbanded, Bevan became a supporting actor in Mack Sennett movie comedies. An expressive pantomimist, Bevan's quiet scene-stealing attracted attention, and by 1922 Bevan was a Sennett star. He supplemented his income, however, by establishing a citrus and avocado farm at Escondido, California. Usually filmed wearing a derby hat and a drooping mustache, Bevan may not have possessed an indelible screen character like Charlie Chaplin but he had a friendly, funny presence in the frantic Sennett comedies. Much of the comedy depended on Bevan's skilled timing and reactions; the famous "oyster" routine performed on film by Curly Howard, Lou Costello, and Huntz Hall—in which a bowl of "fresh oyster stew" shows alarming signs of life and battles the guy trying to eat it—was originated on film decades earlier by Bevan in the short film Wandering Willies. By the mid-1920s Bevan was often teamed with Andy Clyde; Clyde soon graduated to his own starring series. The late 1920s found Bevan playing in wild marital farces for Sennett. The advent of talking pictures took their toll on the careers of many silent stars, including Billy Bevan. Bevan began a second career in "talkies" as a character actor and bit player in roles such as that of a bus driver in the 1929 film High Voltage, a hotel employee in the Mae Murray film Peacock Alley, and the supporting role of Second Lieutenant Trotter in Journey's End in 1930. His starring roles had come to an end, however, and for the next 20 years he often would play rowdy Cockneys (as in Pack Up Your Troubles with The Ritz Brothers), and affable Englishmen (as in Tin Pan Alley and Terror by Night). He played a friendly bus conductor opposite Greer Garson in one of the opening scenes of Mrs. Miniver. Bevan died in 1957 in Escondido, California, just before new audiences discovered him in Robert Youngson's silent-comedy compilations. (The Youngson films mispronounce his name as "Be-VAN"; Bevan himself offered the proper pronunciation in a Voice of Hollywood reel in 1930.)
Biography expanded
BODY OF WORK
Billy Bevan's Filmography
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30 Years of Fun
as (archive footage)
The Golden Age of Comedy
as archive footage
Hans Christian Andersen
as Town Councilman (uncredited)
The Slappiest Days of Our Lives
as (archive footage)
Three Secrets
as Ed Jackson (uncredited)
Rogues of Sherwood Forest
as Will Scarlet
Fortunes of Captain Blood
as Billy Bragg
Tell It to the Judge
as Winston, Kitty's Butler (uncredited)
No Poster
The Secret Of St. Ives
as Douglas (uncredited)
The Secret Garden
as Barney
Let's Live a Little
as Morton
The Black Arrow
as Dungeon Keeper
The Swordsman
as Old Andrew
It Had to Be You
as Evans
Moss Rose
as Harry, Cab Driver (uncredited)
Cluny Brown
as Uncle Arn Porritt
Devotion
as Mr. Ames (uncredited)
Terror by Night
as Conductor Taking Tickets
The Picture of Dorian Gray
as Malvolio Jones
National Velvet
as Constable (uncredited)
Tonight and Every Night
as Cabbie (uncredited)
The Pearl of Death
as Constable With Food Tray (uncredited)
The Invisible Man's Revenge
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
The Lodger
Jane Eyre
as Bookie (uncredited)
The Return of the Vampire
as Horace (uncredited)
Forever and a Day
as Wartime Cabby
London Blackout Murders
as Air Raid Warden
Happy Times and Jolly Moments
as (archive footage)
I Married a Witch
as Puritan Vendor (uncredited)
Counter-Espionage
as George Barrow
Mrs. Miniver
as Bus Conductor (uncredited)
This Above All
as Farmer
The Man Who Wouldn't Die
as Phillips
Confirm or Deny
as Mr. Bindle
Suspicion
as Ticket Taker (uncredited)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
as Mr. Weller
Shining Victory
as Chivers
Penny Serenade
as McDougal (uncredited)
Tin Pan Alley
as Stage Doorman
The Long Voyage Home
as Joe
Rebecca
as Policeman (uncredited)
The Invisible Man Returns
as Jim (uncredited)
The Earl of Chicago
as Castle Guide
We Are Not Alone
as Mr. Jones
Pack Up Your Troubles
as British Sergeant
Captain Fury
as Duffy
Let Freedom Ring
as Cockney (uncredited)
A Christmas Carol
as Street Watch Leader
Arrest Bulldog Drummond
as Aquarium Guard
Shadows Over Shanghai
as Gallicuddy
Mysterious Mr. Moto
as Customs Official
The Young in Heart
as Kennel Man (uncredited)
Blond Cheat
as Bartender (uncredited)
The Girl of the Golden West
as Nick
Bringing Up Baby
as Joe (uncredited)
The Wrong Road
as McLean
The Sheik Steps Out
as Munson
Another Dawn
as Pvt. Hawkins
Slave Ship
as Atkins
Personal Property
as Frank (uncredited)
God's Country and the Woman
as Plug Hat
Lloyd's of London
as Innkeeper
Piccadilly Jim
as Taxi Driver
Private Number
as Frederick
Dracula's Daughter
as Albert
Champagne Charlie
as Mr. Boswick
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
as Cabby (uncredited)
Song and Dance Man
as Curtis
A Tale of Two Cities
as Jerry Cruncher
The Widow from Monte Carlo
as Officer Watkins
The Last Outpost
as Private Foster
Black Sheep
as Alfred
Vanessa: Her Love Story
as Horse Auctioneer
Mystery Woman
as Jepson
Caravan
as Police Sergeant
Limehouse Blues
as Herb
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
as Man in Hotel Room
One More River
as Cloakroom Attendant
Shock
as Meadows
Stingaree
as Mac
The Lost Patrol
as Hale
No Poster
Pop's Pal
as Grandpa
Alice in Wonderland
as Two of Spades (uncredited)
The Way to Love
as M. Prial
Too Much Harmony
as Stage Director
No Poster
The Big Squeal
as Jake Burke
No Poster
Thundering Taxis
as One of the Taxi Boys
Peg o' My Heart
as Detective #2 (uncredited)
A Study in Scarlet
as Will Swallow
Uncle Jake
as Uncle Jake
Looking Forward
as Mr. Barker
No Poster
Techno-Crazy
as Mary's Father - the Mayor
Cavalcade
as George Grainger
Luxury Liner
as Schultz
She Whoops To Conquer
Me and My Gal
as Ashley, Arguing Drunk (uncredited)
Payment Deferred
as Charlie Hammond
No Poster
Honeymoon Beach
as Billy Bevan
No Poster
The Spot on the Rug
as Gerald J. Fitzgerald
Vanity Fair
as Joseph Sedley
Sky Devils
as Colonel
The Silent Witness
as Horace Ward
Who's Who in the Zoo
as Father
Waterloo Bridge
as Soldier on the Make (uncredited)
Transatlantic
as Hodgkins
Chances
as Cuthbert (uncredited)
Born to Love
as Departing British Soldier (uncredited)
For the Love o' Lil
as Edward O. Walker
Monte Carlo
as Train Conductor (uncredited)
Temptation
as Sam
Journey's End
as Trotter
Scotch
as Gilbert - Addie's Brother
Peacock Alley
as Walter
Weak But Willing
as George Downing
The Trespasser
as Reporter (uncredited)
High Voltage
as Gus Jones
No Poster
Don't Get Jealous
as Billy Blake
Pink Pajamas
as Billy Brooks
Calling Hubby's Bluff
as Billy Barton
The Sky Hawk
as Tom Berry
His New Stenographer
as Billy Brooks
The Lion's Roar
as Jake Higgs - Katie's Brother
Riley the Cop
as Paris Cabman
No Poster
Hubby's Weekend Trip
as Bill Blake
Motorboat Mamas
as Billy Bender
His Unlucky Night
as Billy Trotter
The Girl from Nowhere
as Constable Billy Barnes
The Bicycle Flirt
as Doty Bassett - The Bicycle Flirt
The Best Man
as Best Man
The Beach Club
as Billy Doolittle
The Girl from Everywhere
as Messenger
No Poster
The Bull Fighter
as Pete De Tour
Gold Digger of Weepah
as The Barber
The Golf Nut
as Billy Divott
Cured in the Excitement
as Professor Brawn
No Poster
A Small Town Princess
as Joe Whiffet
No Poster
Easy Pickings
as The Detective
Peaches and Plumbers
as Bill the Plumber
No Poster
Should Sleepwalkers Marry?
as Charley Carter
Flirty Four-Flushers
as Jerry Connors / Archibald De Shyster
No Poster
Masked Mamas
as Casey McCorkle
Should Husbands Marry?
as The Cop
Hoboken to Hollywood
as Billy Judkins
Hubby’s Quiet Little Game
as Billy Foote
A Sea Dog's Tale
as Wilbur Watts
Ice Cold Cocos
as Gus Gander
Musclebound Music
as Billy Hornby
Fight Night
as Walter Moore
No Poster
Hayfoot, Strawfoot?
as Pete
Wandering Willies
as Percy Nudge
Circus Today
as Gus Barnum
No Poster
Trimmed in Gold
as Otto Stropp
Whispering Whiskers
as The Drifter
From Rags to Britches
as Joe Bush
Over Thereabouts
as Joe Dobell
Butter Fingers
as Nick
The Iron Nag
as Joe Gobb
Sneezing Beezers
as Joe Honck - Taxi Driver
Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies
as Hiram Case
The Lion's Whiskers
as Otto Klutch
No Poster
Giddap!
as Gaspard De Brie
Honeymoon Hardships
as Farmer
Off His Trolley
as The Traffic Cop
No Poster
The Cannon Ball Express
as Adam Fargo - Baggage Master
Galloping Bungalows
as John Syrup Soother
Wandering Waistlines
as Sandy Hook - Sailor
Little Robinson Corkscrew
as The Sheriff
Three Foolish Weeks
as King of Anchovia
Lizzies of the Field
as Bud Gasket
East of the Water Plug
as The Sheriff
Wall Street Blues
as The Janitor
The Hollywood Kid
as Studio Organist
The White Sin
as Travers Dale
One Spooky Night
as A.J. Bird Jr.
No Poster
Inbad the Sailor
as Jake aka Inbad the Sailor
No Poster
One Cylinder Love
as The Bachelor's Butler / Chauffeur / Footman
The Extra Girl
as Comedian
Pitfalls of a Big City
as Barfly (uncredited)
Nip and Tuck
as Sailor
When Summer Comes
as Lyons - the Tenderfoot
The Crossroads of New York
as Press Agent
Gymnasium Jim
as Jim
On Patrol
as The Amateur Cop
The Duck Hunter
as The Sportsman
No Poster
Around the Town: British Film Stars and Studios
as Himself
Bright Eyes
as The Nosey Butler
Be Reasonable
as A Rolling Stone
No Poster
Love and Doughnuts
as The Burglar
Astray from the Steerage
as A steerage passenger
A Small Town Idol
as Director
Love, Honor and Behave
as A Fake Lawyer
The Quack Doctor
as The Hired Lady's Sweetheart
Married Life
as Hospital Staff / Janitor (uncredited)
Distilled Love
Cupid In Quarantine
as The Father
No Poster
Her Rustic Romeo
Are Married Policemen Safe?
Somebody's Widow
as Secretary
Bombs and Bandits
as The Chief of Police
Pirates of the Air
as The Bartender
Gertie's Gasoline Glide
as The Minister