Cast
Billy Bevan
Acting
Cast
Billy Bevan
Known for
Acting
Born
1887-09-29
From
Orange, New South Wales, Australia
Died
1957-11-26
Also known as William Bevan, Bill Bevans, Billy Bevin
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.)
Rebecca
as Policeman (uncredited)
The Picture of Dorian Gray
as Malvolio Jones
Stingaree
as Mac
Bringing Up Baby
as Joe (uncredited)
Jane Eyre
as Bookie (uncredited)
Cavalcade
as George Grainger
Suspicion
as Ticket Taker (uncredited)
Captain Fury
as Duffy
A Tale of Two Cities
as Jerry Cruncher
Mrs. Miniver
as Bus Conductor (uncredited)
The Trespasser
as Reporter (uncredited)
National Velvet
as Constable (uncredited)
Blond Cheat
as Bartender (uncredited)
Cluny Brown
as Uncle Arn Porritt
Payment Deferred
as Charlie Hammond
Private Number
as Frederick
The Lodger
A Christmas Carol
as Street Watch Leader
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
as Mr. Weller
I Married a Witch
as Puritan Vendor (uncredited)
Piccadilly Jim
as Taxi Driver
The Lost Patrol
as Hale
Dracula's Daughter
as Albert
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
as Cabby (uncredited)
The Secret Garden
as Barney
Caravan
as Police Sergeant
Slave Ship
as Atkins
Gymnasium Jim
as Jim
Bright Eyes
as The Nosey Butler
Personal Property
as Frank (uncredited)
Luxury Liner
as Schultz
Alice in Wonderland
as Two of Spades (uncredited)
Mystery Woman
as Jepson
Sky Devils
as Colonel
Easy Pickings
as The Detective
The Black Arrow
as Dungeon Keeper
Sneezing Beezers
as Joe Honck - Taxi Driver
Vanity Fair
as Joseph Sedley
The Invisible Man Returns
as Jim (uncredited)
Three Secrets
as Ed Jackson (uncredited)
The Invisible Man's Revenge
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Fortunes of Captain Blood
as Billy Bragg
Penny Serenade
as McDougal (uncredited)
Devotion
as Mr. Ames (uncredited)
Terror by Night
as Conductor Taking Tickets
Rogues of Sherwood Forest
as Will Scarlet
Moss Rose
as Harry, Cab Driver (uncredited)
The Man Who Wouldn't Die
as Phillips
The Long Voyage Home
as Joe
The Extra Girl
as Comedian
The Pearl of Death
as Constable With Food Tray (uncredited)
Tonight and Every Night
as Cabbie (uncredited)
Let Freedom Ring
as Cockney (uncredited)
Hans Christian Andersen
as Town Councilman (uncredited)
Counter-Espionage
as George Barrow
Looking Forward
as Mr. Barker
This Above All
as Farmer
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
as Man in Hotel Room
The Return of the Vampire
as Horace (uncredited)
Lloyd's of London
as Innkeeper
Let's Live a Little
as Morton
The Earl of Chicago
as Castle Guide
It Had to Be You
as Evans
A Study in Scarlet
as Will Swallow
The Best Man
as Best Man
Shining Victory
as Chivers
Waterloo Bridge
as Soldier on the Make (uncredited)
Monte Carlo
as Train Conductor (uncredited)
The Last Outpost
as Private Foster
Temptation
as Sam
Champagne Charlie
as Mr. Boswick
Forever and a Day
as Wartime Cabby
The Swordsman
as Old Andrew
Tin Pan Alley
as Stage Doorman
Black Sheep
as Alfred
30 Years of Fun
as (archive footage)
Should Husbands Marry?
as The Cop
The Wrong Road
as McLean
Transatlantic
as Hodgkins
The Girl from Everywhere
as Messenger
Chances
as Cuthbert (uncredited)
The Young in Heart
as Kennel Man (uncredited)
Me and My Gal
as Ashley, Arguing Drunk (uncredited)
London Blackout Murders
as Air Raid Warden
The Widow from Monte Carlo
as Officer Watkins
One More River
as Cloakroom Attendant
Born to Love
as Departing British Soldier (uncredited)
Techno-Crazy
as Mary's Father - the Mayor
Peacock Alley
as Walter
The Way to Love
as M. Prial
The Sky Hawk
as Tom Berry
Too Much Harmony
as Stage Director
The Girl of the Golden West
as Nick
For the Love o' Lil
as Edward O. Walker
Tell It to the Judge
as Winston, Kitty's Butler (uncredited)
Peg o' My Heart
as Detective #2 (uncredited)
The Golden Age of Comedy
as archive footage
Another Dawn
as Pvt. Hawkins
Journey's End
as Trotter
Shock
as Meadows
Mysterious Mr. Moto
as Customs Official
Confirm or Deny
as Mr. Bindle
Fight Night
as Walter Moore
The Secret Of St. Ives
as Douglas (uncredited)
Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies
as Hiram Case
Galloping Bungalows
as John Syrup Soother
Thundering Taxis
as One of the Taxi Boys
The Silent Witness
as Horace Ward
High Voltage
as Gus Jones
Arrest Bulldog Drummond
as Aquarium Guard
Distilled Love
Love and Doughnuts
as The Burglar
Song and Dance Man
as Curtis
The White Sin
as Travers Dale
Shadows Over Shanghai
as Gallicuddy
Riley the Cop
as Paris Cabman
The Sheik Steps Out
as Munson
Happy Times and Jolly Moments
as (archive footage)
A Small Town Idol
as Director
Uncle Jake
as Uncle Jake
Gold Digger of Weepah
as The Barber
Trimmed in Gold
as Otto Stropp
Limehouse Blues
as Herb
We Are Not Alone
as Mr. Jones
Scotch
as Gilbert - Addie's Brother
Over Thereabouts
as Joe Dobell
The Big Squeal
as Jake Burke
Flirty Four-Flushers
as Jerry Connors / Archibald De Shyster
Don't Get Jealous
as Billy Blake
Hoboken to Hollywood
as Billy Judkins
Vanessa: Her Love Story
as Horse Auctioneer
From Rags to Britches
as Joe Bush
A Sea Dog's Tale
as Wilbur Watts
Pack Up Your Troubles
as British Sergeant
When Summer Comes
as Lyons - the Tenderfoot
Circus Today
as Gus Barnum
Whispering Whiskers
as The Drifter
Off His Trolley
as The Traffic Cop
Ice Cold Cocos
as Gus Gander
The Slappiest Days of Our Lives
as (archive footage)
The Duck Hunter
as The Sportsman
The Crossroads of New York
as Press Agent
Astray from the Steerage
as A steerage passenger
Be Reasonable
as A Rolling Stone
The Quack Doctor
as The Hired Lady's Sweetheart
The Lion's Whiskers
as Otto Klutch
One Cylinder Love
as The Bachelor's Butler / Chauffeur / Footman
The Spot on the Rug
as Gerald J. Fitzgerald
Who's Who in the Zoo
as Father
On Patrol
as The Amateur Cop
Pirates of the Air
as The Bartender
Calling Hubby's Bluff
as Billy Barton
Giddap!
as Gaspard De Brie
God's Country and the Woman
as Plug Hat
His New Stenographer
as Billy Brooks
The Hollywood Kid
as Studio Organist
Butter Fingers
as Nick
His Unlucky Night
as Billy Trotter
Little Robinson Corkscrew
as The Sheriff
East of the Water Plug
as The Sheriff
Masked Mamas
as Casey McCorkle
The Cannon Ball Express
as Adam Fargo - Baggage Master
Pitfalls of a Big City
as Barfly (uncredited)
Weak But Willing
as George Downing
The Bicycle Flirt
as Doty Bassett - the Bicycle Flirt
Wandering Willies
as Percy Nudge
Bombs and Bandits
as The Chief of Police
Pop's Pal
as Grandpa
The Bull Fighter
as Pete De Tour
A Small Town Princess
as Joe Whiffet
She Whoops To Conquer
Hubby's Weekend Trip
as Bill Blake
Motorboat Mamas
as Billy Bender
The Golf Nut
as Billy Divott
Hubby’s Quiet Little Game
as Billy Foote
Lizzies of the Field
as Bud Gasket
Pink Pajamas
as Billy Brooks
Hayfoot, Strawfoot?
as Pete
Married Life
as Hospital Staff / Janitor (uncredited)
The Girl from Nowhere
as Constable Billy Barnes
Honeymoon Beach
as Billy Bevan
Musclebound Music
as Billy Hornby
Wall Street Blues
as The Janitor
Three Foolish Weeks
as King of Anchovia
Peaches and Plumbers
as Bill the Plumber
Are Married Policemen Safe?
Cupid In Quarantine
as The Father
Somebody's Widow
as Secretary
Nip and Tuck
as Sailor
Wandering Waistlines
as Sandy Hook - Sailor
Inbad the Sailor
as Jake aka Inbad the Sailor
The Iron Nag
as Joe Gobb
Gertie's Gasoline Glide
as The Minister
The Beach Club
One Spooky Night
as A.J. Bird Jr.
Love, Honor and Behave
as A Fake Lawyer
Honeymoon Hardships
as Farmer
Around the Town: British Film Stars and Studios
as Himself
Her Rustic Romeo
Should Sleepwalkers Marry?
as Charley Carter
Cured in the Excitement
as Professor Brawn