Billy Bevan
Age: 70 | From: Orange, New South Wales, Australia
Person Details
Birthday: 1887-09-29 14:46:30
Death: 1957-11-26 14:46:30
Aliases: William Bevan , Bill Bevans , Billy Bevin , Bill Bivin
Gender: Male
Place of birth: Orange, New South Wales, Australia
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 87
TV Involvements: 0
Most Famous Work
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 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.)
Most Famous Work
Rebecca
(1940) Policeman (uncredited)
The Picture of Dorian Gray
(1945) Malvolio Jones
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
(1941) Mr. Weller
Mrs. Miniver
(1942) Bus Conductor (uncredited)
Terror by Night
(1946) Conductor Taking Tickets
Suspicion
(1941) Ticket Taker (uncredited)
Jane Eyre
(1943) Bookie (uncredited)
A Christmas Carol
(1938) Street Watch LeaderActing
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Horace - (archive footage) | |
| 1981 | Billy | |
| 1963 | N/A | |
| 1957 | archive footage | |
| 1952 | Town Councilman (uncredited) | |
| 1951 | (archive footage) | |
| 1950 | Ed Jackson (uncredited) | |
| Will Scarlet | ||
| Billy Bragg | ||
| 1949 | Winston, Kitty's Butler (uncredited) | |
| Douglas (uncredited) | ||
| Barney | ||
| 1948 | Morton | |
| Self | ||
| Dungeon Keeper | ||
| Old Andrew | ||
| 1947 | Evans | |
| Harry (uncredited) | ||
| 1946 | Uncle Arn Porritt | |
| Mr. Ames (uncredited) | ||
| Conductor Taking Tickets | ||
| 1945 | Malvolio Jones | |
| Constable (uncredited) | ||
| Cabbie (uncredited) | ||
| 1944 | Constable With Food Tray (uncredited) | |
| Police Sergeant (uncredited) | ||
| 1943 | Bookie (uncredited) | |
| Horace (uncredited) | ||
| Wartime Cabby | ||
| Air Raid Warden | ||
| (archive footage) | ||
| 1942 | Puritan Vendor (uncredited) | |
| George Barrow | ||
| Bus Conductor (uncredited) | ||
| Farmer | ||
| Phillips | ||
| 1941 | Mr. Bindle | |
| Ticket Taker (uncredited) | ||
| Mr. Weller | ||
| Chivers | ||
| McDougal (uncredited) | ||
| 1940 | Stage Doorman | |
| Joe | ||
| Policeman (uncredited) | ||
| Jim (uncredited) | ||
| Castle Guide | ||
| 1939 | Mr. Jones | |
| British Sergeant | ||
| Duffy | ||
| Cockney (uncredited) | ||
| 1938 | Street Watch Leader | |
| Aquarium Guard | ||
| Gallicuddy | ||
| Customs Official | ||
| Kennel Man (uncredited) | ||
| Bartender (uncredited) | ||
| Nick | ||
| Joe (uncredited) | ||
| 1937 | McLean | |
| Munson | ||
| Pvt. Hawkins | ||
| Atkins | ||
| Frank (uncredited) | ||
| Plug Hat | ||
| 1936 | Innkeeper | |
| Taxi Driver | ||
| Frederick | ||
| Police Constable Albert | ||
| Mr. Boswick | ||
| Cabby (uncredited) | ||
| Curtis | ||
| 1935 | Jerry Cruncher | |
| Officer Watkins | ||
| Private Foster | ||
| Alfred | ||
| Horse Auctioneer | ||
| Jepson | ||
| 1934 | Police Sergeant | |
| Herb | ||
| Man in Hotel Room | ||
| Cloakroom Attendant | ||
| Meadows | ||
| Mac | ||
| Hale | ||
| 1933 | Grandpa | |
| Two of Spades (uncredited) | ||
| M. Prial | ||
| Stage Director | ||
| One of the Taxi Boys | ||
| Detective #2 (uncredited) | ||
| Will Swallow | ||
| Uncle Jake | ||
| Mr. Barker | ||
| Mary's Father - the Mayor | ||
| George Grainger | ||
| Schultz | ||
| N/A | ||
| 1932 | Ashley (uncredited) | |
| Charlie Hammond | ||
| Billy Bevan | ||
| Joseph Sedley | ||
| Colonel | ||
| Horace Ward | ||
| 1931 | Father | |
| Soldier on the Make (uncredited) | ||
| Hodgkins | ||
| Cuthbert (uncredited) | ||
| Departing British Soldier (uncredited) | ||
| 1930 | Edward O. Walker | |
| Train Conductor (uncredited) | ||
| Trotter | ||
| Gilbert - Addie's Brother | ||
| Walter | ||
| 1929 | George Downing | |
| Reporter (uncredited) | ||
| Gus Jones | ||
| Billy Blake | ||
| Billy Brooks | ||
| Billy Barton | ||
| Tom Berry | ||
| 1928 | Billy Brooks | |
| Paris Cabman | ||
| Bill Blake | ||
| Billy Bender | ||
| Billy Trotter | ||
| Constable Billy Barnes | ||
| Doty Bassett - the Bicycle Flirt | ||
| Best Man | ||
| N/A | ||
| 1927 | Messenger | |
| Pete De Tour | ||
| The Barber | ||
| Billy Divott | ||
| Professor Brawn | ||
| Joe Whiffet | ||
| The Detective | ||
| Bill the Plumber | ||
| Charley Carter | ||
| 1926 | Jerry Connors / Archibald De Shyster | |
| Casey McCorkle | ||
| The Cop | ||
| Billy Judkins | ||
| Billy Foote | ||
| Wilbur Watts | ||
| Gus Gander | ||
| Billy Hornby | ||
| Walter Moore | ||
| Pete | ||
| Percy Nudge | ||
| Gus Barnum | ||
| Otto Stropp | ||
| The Drifter | ||
| 1925 | Joe Bush | |
| Joe Dobell | ||
| Nick | ||
| Joe Gobb | ||
| Joe Honck - Taxi Driver | ||
| Hiram Case | ||
| Otto Klutch | ||
| Gaspard De Brie | ||
| Farmer | ||
| 1924 | The Traffic Cop | |
| Adam Fargo - Baggage Master | ||
| John Syrup Soother | ||
| Sandy Hook - Sailor | ||
| The Sheriff | ||
| King of Anchovia | ||
| Bud Gasket | ||
| The Sheriff | ||
| The Janitor | ||
| Studio Organist | ||
| Travers Dale | ||
| A.J. Bird Jr. | ||
| 1923 | Jake aka Inbad the Sailor | |
| Comedian | ||
| Barfly (uncredited) | ||
| Sailor | ||
| 1922 | Lyons - the Tenderfoot | |
| Press Agent | ||
| Jim | ||
| The Amateur Cop | ||
| The Sportsman | ||
| 1921 | Himself | |
| The Nosey Butler | ||
| A Rolling Stone | ||
| The Burglar | ||
| A steerage passenger | ||
| Director | ||
| 1920 | The Hired Lady's Sweetheart | |
| 1918 | The Father | |
| N/A | ||
| Secretary | ||
| 1917 | The Chief of Police | |
| 1916 | The Bartender | |
| The Minister | ||
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
Directing
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 1920 | Director | |
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |