Billy Bevan

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.)

Place of Birth: Not available

Birthday: September 29, 1887

Deathday: November 26, 1957

Popularity:

3.684

Known For

Rebecca
Rebecca

1940-03-23

Bringing Up Baby
Bringing Up Baby

1938-02-18

The Secret Of St. Ives
The Secret Of St. Ives

1949-06-30

Terror by Night
Terror by Night

1946-02-01

Dracula's Daughter
Dracula's Daughter

1936-05-11

Suspicion
Suspicion

1941-11-14

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

1936-04-09

Fortunes of Captain Blood
Fortunes of Captain Blood

1950-05-19

Pop's Pal
Pop's Pal

1933-12-21

The Pearl of Death
The Pearl of Death

1944-08-01

Off His Trolley
Off His Trolley

1924-12-14

A Tale of Two Cities
A Tale of Two Cities

1935-12-25

Around the Town: British Film Stars and Studios
Around the Town: British Film Stars and Studios

1921-12-31

The Invisible Man Returns
The Invisible Man Returns

1940-01-12

The Invisible Man's Revenge
The Invisible Man's Revenge

1944-06-09

Payment Deferred
Payment Deferred

1932-11-01

Mysterious Mr. Moto
Mysterious Mr. Moto

1938-09-17

Tonight and Every Night
Tonight and Every Night

1945-01-09

Journey's End
Journey's End

1930-04-09

The Girl of the Golden West
The Girl of the Golden West

1938-03-18

Bombs and Bandits
Bombs and Bandits

1917-07-03

The Lost Patrol
The Lost Patrol

1934-02-16

Gold Digger of Weepah
Gold Digger of Weepah

1927-10-02

The Girl from Everywhere
The Girl from Everywhere

1927-12-11

The Bicycle Flirt
The Bicycle Flirt

1928-03-18

The Girl from Nowhere
The Girl from Nowhere

1928-08-05

Motorboat Mamas
Motorboat Mamas

1928-09-30

Hubby's Weekend Trip
Hubby's Weekend Trip

1928-11-01

Don't Get Jealous
Don't Get Jealous

1929-05-19

Counter-Espionage
Counter-Espionage

1942-09-03

Cavalcade
Cavalcade

1933-02-08

Calling Hubby's Bluff
Calling Hubby's Bluff

1929-02-03

Pink Pajamas
Pink Pajamas

1929-04-21

Musclebound Music
Musclebound Music

1926-05-30

Hayfoot, Strawfoot?
Hayfoot, Strawfoot?

1926-04-18

East of the Water Plug
East of the Water Plug

1924-08-24

The Man Who Wouldn't Die
The Man Who Wouldn't Die

1942-04-27

From Rags to Britches
From Rags to Britches

1925-12-13

Trimmed in Gold
Trimmed in Gold

1926-02-14

Should Sleepwalkers Marry?
Should Sleepwalkers Marry?

1927-01-23

Should Husbands Marry?
Should Husbands Marry?

1926-10-26

Pitfalls of a Big City
Pitfalls of a Big City

1923-09-02

Inbad the Sailor
Inbad the Sailor

1923-12-30

One Spooky Night
One Spooky Night

1924-01-27

The Cannon Ball Express
The Cannon Ball Express

1924-11-30

Wandering Waistlines
Wandering Waistlines

1924-10-05

The Crossroads of New York
The Crossroads of New York

1922-06-22

Little Robinson Corkscrew
Little Robinson Corkscrew

1924-09-21

Sneezing Beezers
Sneezing Beezers

1925-07-19

Over Thereabouts
Over Thereabouts

1925-10-11

Peaches and Plumbers
Peaches and Plumbers

1927-02-20

Cured in the Excitement
Cured in the Excitement

1927-06-12

The Bull Fighter
The Bull Fighter

1927-11-27

Weak But Willing
Weak But Willing

1929-12-14

God's Country and the Woman
God's Country and the Woman

1937-01-16

Pirates of the Air
Pirates of the Air

1916-06-28

Luxury Liner
Luxury Liner

1933-02-03

His New Stenographer
His New Stenographer

1928-12-30

High Voltage
High Voltage

1929-06-29

Butter Fingers
Butter Fingers

1925-08-30

Wandering Willies
Wandering Willies

1926-03-28

Hubby’s Quiet Little Game
Hubby’s Quiet Little Game

1926-08-08

Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair

1932-03-15

The Best Man
The Best Man

1928-02-08

The Beach Club
The Beach Club

1928-01-21

Piccadilly Jim
Piccadilly Jim

1936-08-14

Mrs. Miniver
Mrs. Miniver

1942-07-03

Sky Devils
Sky Devils

1932-03-12

The Slappiest Days of Our Lives
The Slappiest Days of Our Lives

1951-03-23

Limehouse Blues
Limehouse Blues

1934-12-11

Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies
Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies

1925-06-14

Stingaree
Stingaree

1934-05-24

Slave Ship
Slave Ship

1937-06-16

Hoboken to Hollywood
Hoboken to Hollywood

1926-09-05

Lizzies of the Field
Lizzies of the Field

1924-09-07

Flirty Four-Flushers
Flirty Four-Flushers

1926-12-25

Masked Mamas
Masked Mamas

1926-10-30

Astray from the Steerage
Astray from the Steerage

1921-04-23

Be Reasonable
Be Reasonable

1921-12-11

Mystery Woman
Mystery Woman

1935-01-08

The Sky Hawk
The Sky Hawk

1929-01-29

Whispering Whiskers
Whispering Whiskers

1926-01-24

The Wrong Road
The Wrong Road

1937-10-11

Pack Up Your Troubles
Pack Up Your Troubles

1939-10-24

The Hollywood Kid
The Hollywood Kid

1924-04-19

Who's Who in the Zoo
Who's Who in the Zoo

1931-10-11

Scotch
Scotch

1930-01-19

Shining Victory
Shining Victory

1941-05-30

Peacock Alley
Peacock Alley

1930-01-04

Too Much Harmony
Too Much Harmony

1933-09-23

Shadows Over Shanghai
Shadows Over Shanghai

1938-10-14

Galloping Bungalows
Galloping Bungalows

1924-11-02

Circus Today
Circus Today

1926-03-07

Looking Forward
Looking Forward

1933-04-28

Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen

1952-12-19

A Sea Dog's Tale
A Sea Dog's Tale

1926-07-11

Ice Cold Cocos
Ice Cold Cocos

1926-06-20

Black Sheep
Black Sheep

1935-08-01

Private Number
Private Number

1936-06-05

Gymnasium Jim
Gymnasium Jim

1922-05-09

Moss Rose
Moss Rose

1947-05-30

The Extra Girl
The Extra Girl

1923-10-28

Bright Eyes
Bright Eyes

1921-12-24

Love and Doughnuts
Love and Doughnuts

1921-09-14

Easy Pickings
Easy Pickings

1927-02-20

Penny Serenade
Penny Serenade

1941-04-24

Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland

1933-12-18

Somebody's Widow
Somebody's Widow

1918-01-29

Gertie's Gasoline Glide
Gertie's Gasoline Glide

1916-05-17

Blond Cheat
Blond Cheat

1938-06-17

Champagne Charlie
Champagne Charlie

1936-05-06

Arrest Bulldog Drummond
Arrest Bulldog Drummond

1938-11-25

Born to Love
Born to Love

1931-04-17

Caravan
Caravan

1934-12-30

Let Freedom Ring
Let Freedom Ring

1939-02-24

We Are Not Alone
We Are Not Alone

1939-11-25

The Big Squeal
The Big Squeal

1933-07-09

The Swordsman
The Swordsman

1948-01-02

When Summer Comes
When Summer Comes

1922-09-22

On Patrol
On Patrol

1922-03-12

Wall Street Blues
Wall Street Blues

1924-08-09

One Cylinder Love
One Cylinder Love

1923-11-04

The Duck Hunter
The Duck Hunter

1922-02-13

Her Rustic Romeo
Her Rustic Romeo

1918-05-28

Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre

1943-12-24

Three Foolish Weeks
Three Foolish Weeks

1924-09-13

It Had to Be You
It Had to Be You

1947-12-07

The Sheik Steps Out
The Sheik Steps Out

1937-09-05

Transatlantic
Transatlantic

1931-08-19

Riley the Cop
Riley the Cop

1928-11-25

Confirm or Deny
Confirm or Deny

1941-12-12

Another Dawn
Another Dawn

1937-06-26

Shock
Shock

1934-07-19

The Earl of Chicago
The Earl of Chicago

1940-01-05

The Lodger
The Lodger

1944-01-19

London Blackout Murders
London Blackout Murders

1943-01-15

The Golf Nut
The Golf Nut

1927-09-03

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

1941-08-12

The Black Arrow
The Black Arrow

1948-03-18

Rogues of Sherwood Forest
Rogues of Sherwood Forest

1950-06-21

Peg o' My Heart
Peg o' My Heart

1933-05-26

Thundering Taxis
Thundering Taxis

1933-06-23

Vanessa: Her Love Story
Vanessa: Her Love Story

1935-03-01

Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley

1940-11-29

The Silent Witness
The Silent Witness

1932-02-07

The Long Voyage Home
The Long Voyage Home

1940-11-16

She Whoops To Conquer
She Whoops To Conquer

1933-01-01

The Last Outpost
The Last Outpost

1935-10-11

Nip and Tuck
Nip and Tuck

1923-08-11

Temptation
Temptation

1930-06-05

Forever and a Day
Forever and a Day

1943-01-21

Me and My Gal
Me and My Gal

1932-12-04

Personal Property
Personal Property

1937-03-19

Captain Fury
Captain Fury

1939-05-26

I Married a Witch
I Married a Witch

1942-10-30

Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo

1930-08-27

Uncle Jake
Uncle Jake

1933-05-04

The Trespasser
The Trespasser

1929-11-11

Giddap!
Giddap!

1925-03-22

The Young in Heart
The Young in Heart

1938-07-06

National Velvet
National Velvet

1945-01-26

A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol

1938-12-16

Honeymoon Beach
Honeymoon Beach

1932-10-22

Song and Dance Man
Song and Dance Man

1936-03-11

The White Sin
The White Sin

1924-02-24

The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray

1945-03-03

A Small Town Idol
A Small Town Idol

1921-02-13

The Quack Doctor
The Quack Doctor

1920-07-04

The Return of the Vampire
The Return of the Vampire

1943-11-11

Cupid In Quarantine
Cupid In Quarantine

1918-09-10

The Iron Nag
The Iron Nag

1925-08-09

The Lion's Whiskers
The Lion's Whiskers

1925-04-09

Honeymoon Hardships
Honeymoon Hardships

1925-01-25

His Unlucky Night
His Unlucky Night

1928-08-12

Happy Times and Jolly Moments
Happy Times and Jolly Moments

1943-01-01

Fight Night
Fight Night

1926-05-09

A Small Town Princess
A Small Town Princess

1927-03-20

Chances
Chances

1931-07-18

Let's Live a Little
Let's Live a Little

1948-12-09

The Widow from Monte Carlo
The Widow from Monte Carlo

1935-12-19

Lloyd's of London
Lloyd's of London

1936-11-25

Three Secrets
Three Secrets

1950-10-20

The Golden Age of Comedy
The Golden Age of Comedy

1957-12-26

Waterloo Bridge
Waterloo Bridge

1931-09-01

One More River
One More River

1934-08-06

Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back

1934-08-15

The Secret Garden
The Secret Garden

1949-04-30

This Above All
This Above All

1942-05-12

Devotion
Devotion

1946-04-05

The Way to Love
The Way to Love

1933-10-20

For the Love o' Lil
For the Love o' Lil

1930-08-29

Tell It to the Judge
Tell It to the Judge

1949-11-18

A Study in Scarlet
A Study in Scarlet

1933-05-14

30 Years of Fun
30 Years of Fun

1963-02-10

Techno-Crazy
Techno-Crazy

1933-03-12

Cluny Brown
Cluny Brown

1946-06-02

Distilled Love
Distilled Love

1920-02-01