Billy Bevan

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

199

Gender

Male

Birthday

1887-09-29

Day of death

1957-11-26 (70 years old)

Place of Birth

Orange, New South Wales, Australia

Billy Bevan

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.)

Known For

  • A Tale of Two Cities

    A Tale of Two Cities

  • The Ed Sullivan Show

    The Ed Sullivan Show

  • The Wrong Road

    The Wrong Road

  • Arrest Bulldog Drummond

    Arrest Bulldog Drummond

  • Gymnasium Jim

    Gymnasium Jim

  • The Long Voyage Home

    The Long Voyage Home

  • The Man Who Wouldn't Die

    The Man Who Wouldn't Die

  • Be Reasonable

    Be Reasonable

  • A Christmas Carol

    A Christmas Carol

  • High Voltage

    High Voltage

  • Personal Property

    Personal Property

  • The Secret Garden

    The Secret Garden

  • Masked Mamas

    Masked Mamas

  • Jane Eyre

    Jane Eyre

  • Suspicion

    Suspicion

  • Looking Forward

    Looking Forward

  • Honeymoon Hardships

    Honeymoon Hardships

  • Techno-Crazy

    Techno-Crazy

  • Limehouse Blues

    Limehouse Blues

  • The Invisible Man's Revenge

    The Invisible Man's Revenge

  • Wandering Waistlines

    Wandering Waistlines

  • The Lodger

    The Lodger

  • Waterloo Bridge

    Waterloo Bridge

  • The Crossroads of New York

    The Crossroads of New York

  • Bright Eyes

    Bright Eyes

  • Rebecca

    Rebecca

  • God's Country and the Woman

    God's Country and the Woman

  • Shock

    Shock

  • Galloping Bungalows

    Galloping Bungalows

  • Over Thereabouts

    Over Thereabouts

  • Champagne Charlie

    Champagne Charlie

  • National Velvet

    National Velvet

  • From Rags to Britches

    From Rags to Britches

  • Vanity Fair

    Vanity Fair

  • The Widow from Monte Carlo

    The Widow from Monte Carlo

  • Scotch

    Scotch

  • Distilled Love

    Distilled Love

  • On Patrol

    On Patrol

  • Transatlantic

    Transatlantic

  • Mrs. Miniver

    Mrs. Miniver

  • Piccadilly Jim

    Piccadilly Jim

  • The Golden Age of Comedy

    The Golden Age of Comedy

  • Private Number

    Private Number

  • Monte Carlo

    Monte Carlo

  • The Trespasser

    The Trespasser

  • Three Secrets

    Three Secrets

  • Cluny Brown

    Cluny Brown

  • The Picture of Dorian Gray

    The Picture of Dorian Gray

  • Devotion

    Devotion

  • The Best Man

    The Best Man

  • Stingaree

    Stingaree

  • The Swordsman

    The Swordsman

  • Circus Today

    Circus Today

  • Shining Victory

    Shining Victory

  • Bringing Up Baby

    Bringing Up Baby

  • The Sheik Steps Out

    The Sheik Steps Out

  • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

  • Lloyd's of London

    Lloyd's of London

  • Wall Street Blues

    Wall Street Blues

  • Cavalcade

    Cavalcade

  • Dracula's Daughter

    Dracula's Daughter

  • Counter-Espionage

    Counter-Espionage

  • The Way to Love

    The Way to Love

  • Sky Devils

    Sky Devils

  • Caravan

    Caravan

  • Butter Fingers

    Butter Fingers

  • Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back

    Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back

  • Should Sleepwalkers Marry?

    Should Sleepwalkers Marry?

  • Uncle Jake

    Uncle Jake

  • Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

    Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

  • Journey's End

    Journey's End

  • The Last Outpost

    The Last Outpost

  • The Iron Nag

    The Iron Nag

  • Moss Rose

    Moss Rose

  • I Married a Witch

    I Married a Witch

  • Musclebound Music

    Musclebound Music

  • The Lost Patrol

    The Lost Patrol

  • Mystery Woman

    Mystery Woman

  • Giddap!

    Giddap!

  • Calling Hubby's Bluff

    Calling Hubby's Bluff

  • Terror by Night

    Terror by Night

  • The Silent Witness

    The Silent Witness

  • Luxury Liner

    Luxury Liner

  • The Young in Heart

    The Young in Heart

  • Hans Christian Andersen

    Hans Christian Andersen

  • Born to Love

    Born to Love

  • It Had to Be You

    It Had to Be You

  • The Black Arrow

    The Black Arrow

  • The Pearl of Death

    The Pearl of Death

  • Shadows Over Shanghai

    Shadows Over Shanghai

  • The Girl from Nowhere

    The Girl from Nowhere

  • The Return of the Vampire

    The Return of the Vampire

  • Peacock Alley

    Peacock Alley

  • Little Robinson Corkscrew

    Little Robinson Corkscrew

  • Fortunes of Captain Blood

    Fortunes of Captain Blood

  • Tell It to the Judge

    Tell It to the Judge

  • We Are Not Alone

    We Are Not Alone

  • Mysterious Mr. Moto

    Mysterious Mr. Moto

  • Payment Deferred

    Payment Deferred

  • Me and My Gal

    Me and My Gal

  • Tonight and Every Night

    Tonight and Every Night

  • Forever and a Day

    Forever and a Day

  • The Lion's Whiskers

    The Lion's Whiskers

  • The Bull Fighter

    The Bull Fighter

  • Alice in Wonderland

    Alice in Wonderland

  • London Blackout Murders

    London Blackout Murders

  • Chances

    Chances

  • The Sky Hawk

    The Sky Hawk

  • The Invisible Man Returns

    The Invisible Man Returns

  • This Above All

    This Above All

  • Let Freedom Ring

    Let Freedom Ring

  • Let's Live a Little

    Let's Live a Little

  • Riley the Cop

    Riley the Cop

  • Rogues of Sherwood Forest

    Rogues of Sherwood Forest

  • Hubby’s Quiet Little Game

    Hubby’s Quiet Little Game

  • Lizzies of the Field

    Lizzies of the Field

  • Hubby's Weekend Trip

    Hubby's Weekend Trip

  • Hoboken to Hollywood

    Hoboken to Hollywood

  • Three Foolish Weeks

    Three Foolish Weeks

  • The Girl of the Golden West

    The Girl of the Golden West

  • The Earl of Chicago

    The Earl of Chicago

  • For the Love o' Lil

    For the Love o' Lil

  • 30 Years of Fun

    30 Years of Fun

  • The Girl from Everywhere

    The Girl from Everywhere

  • When Summer Comes

    When Summer Comes

  • One More River

    One More River

  • The Duck Hunter

    The Duck Hunter

  • The Quack Doctor

    The Quack Doctor

  • Off His Trolley

    Off His Trolley

  • Nip and Tuck

    Nip and Tuck

  • Song and Dance Man

    Song and Dance Man

  • A Sea Dog's Tale

    A Sea Dog's Tale

  • Trimmed in Gold

    Trimmed in Gold

  • Easy Pickings

    Easy Pickings

  • Penny Serenade

    Penny Serenade

  • Cured in the Excitement

    Cured in the Excitement

  • Pitfalls of a Big City

    Pitfalls of a Big City

  • Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies

    Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies

  • Don't Get Jealous

    Don't Get Jealous

  • Too Much Harmony

    Too Much Harmony

  • Happy Times and Jolly Moments

    Happy Times and Jolly Moments

  • Tin Pan Alley

    Tin Pan Alley

  • Fight Night

    Fight Night

  • The Beach Club

    The Beach Club

  • A Small Town Princess

    A Small Town Princess

  • Confirm or Deny

    Confirm or Deny

  • Weak But Willing

    Weak But Willing

  • Pink Pajamas

    Pink Pajamas

  • The Bicycle Flirt

    The Bicycle Flirt

  • Gold Digger of Weepah

    Gold Digger of Weepah

  • The Hollywood Kid

    The Hollywood Kid

  • Astray from the Steerage

    Astray from the Steerage

  • Ice Cold Cocos

    Ice Cold Cocos

  • One Cylinder Love

    One Cylinder Love

  • One Spooky Night

    One Spooky Night

  • The Cannon Ball Express

    The Cannon Ball Express

  • The Slappiest Days of Our Lives

    The Slappiest Days of Our Lives

  • Whispering Whiskers

    Whispering Whiskers

  • The Extra Girl

    The Extra Girl

  • Inbad the Sailor

    Inbad the Sailor

  • Honeymoon Beach

    Honeymoon Beach

  • She Whoops To Conquer

    She Whoops To Conquer

  • Blond Cheat

    Blond Cheat

  • A Study in Scarlet

    A Study in Scarlet

  • Hayfoot, Strawfoot?

    Hayfoot, Strawfoot?

  • Motorboat Mamas

    Motorboat Mamas

  • Peg o' My Heart

    Peg o' My Heart

  • The Golf Nut

    The Golf Nut

  • Her Rustic Romeo

    Her Rustic Romeo

  • Bombs and Bandits

    Bombs and Bandits

  • Gertie's Gasoline Glide

    Gertie's Gasoline Glide

  • Slave Ship

    Slave Ship

  • Pack Up Your Troubles

    Pack Up Your Troubles

  • Captain Fury

    Captain Fury

  • Black Sheep

    Black Sheep

  • The Secret Of St. Ives

    The Secret Of St. Ives

  • Around the Town: British Film Stars and Studios

    Around the Town: British Film Stars and Studios

  • Another Dawn

    Another Dawn

  • His Unlucky Night

    His Unlucky Night

  • East of the Water Plug

    East of the Water Plug

  • Love and Doughnuts

    Love and Doughnuts

  • Vanessa: Her Love Story

    Vanessa: Her Love Story

  • His New Stenographer

    His New Stenographer

  • Wandering Willies

    Wandering Willies

  • The Big Squeal

    The Big Squeal

  • Temptation

    Temptation

  • Should Husbands Marry?

    Should Husbands Marry?

  • Pirates of the Air

    Pirates of the Air

  • The White Sin

    The White Sin

  • Somebody's Widow

    Somebody's Widow

  • Flirty Four-Flushers

    Flirty Four-Flushers

  • Peaches and Plumbers

    Peaches and Plumbers

  • Who's Who in the Zoo

    Who's Who in the Zoo

  • Thundering Taxis

    Thundering Taxis

  • A Small Town Idol

    A Small Town Idol

  • Cupid In Quarantine

    Cupid In Quarantine

  • Pop's Pal

    Pop's Pal

  • Sneezing Beezers

    Sneezing Beezers

  • Are Married Policemen Safe?

    Are Married Policemen Safe?