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.)
Acted in 179
1960s
- 1963
30 Years of Fun
(archive footage)
1950s
- 1957
- 1952
- 1951
The Slappiest Days of Our Lives
(archive footage)
- 1950
Three Secrets
Ed Jackson (uncredited)
Rogues of Sherwood Forest
Will Scarlet
Fortunes of Captain Blood
Billy Bragg
1940s
- 1949
Tell It to the Judge
Winston, Kitty's Butler (uncredited)
- 1948
Let's Live a Little
Morton
The Black Arrow
Dungeon Keeper
The Swordsman
Old Andrew
- 1947
It Had to Be You
Evans
Moss Rose
Harry, Cab Driver (uncredited)
- 1946
Devotion
Mr. Ames (uncredited)
- 1945
Tonight and Every Night
Cabbie (uncredited)
- 1944
The Invisible Man's Revenge
Police Sergeant (uncredited)
- 1943
The Return of the Vampire
Horace (uncredited)
Forever and a Day
Wartime Cabby
London Blackout Murders
Air Raid Warden
Happy Times and Jolly Moments
(archive footage)
- 1942
Counter-Espionage
George Barrow
This Above All
Farmer
The Man Who Wouldn't Die
Phillips
- 1941
Confirm or Deny
Mr. Bindle
Shining Victory
Chivers
- 1940
Tin Pan Alley
Stage Doorman
The Invisible Man Returns
Jim (uncredited)
1930s
- 1939
We Are Not Alone
Mr. Jones
Pack Up Your Troubles
British Sergeant
Captain Fury
Duffy
Let Freedom Ring
Cockney (uncredited)
- 1938
Arrest Bulldog Drummond
Aquarium Guard
Shadows Over Shanghai
Gallicuddy
Mysterious Mr. Moto
Customs Official
Blond Cheat
Bartender (uncredited)
- 1937
The Wrong Road
McLean
The Sheik Steps Out
Munson
Another Dawn
Pvt. Hawkins
Slave Ship
Atkins
Personal Property
Frank (uncredited)
God's Country and the Woman
Plug Hat
- 1936
Lloyd's of London
Innkeeper
Piccadilly Jim
Taxi Driver
Private Number
Frederick
Dracula's Daughter
Albert
Champagne Charlie
Mr. Boswick
Song and Dance Man
Curtis
- 1935
The Widow from Monte Carlo
Officer Watkins
The Last Outpost
Private Foster
Black Sheep
Alfred
Vanessa: Her Love Story
Horse Auctioneer
Mystery Woman
Jepson
- 1934
Caravan
Police Sergeant
Limehouse Blues
Herb
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
Man in Hotel Room
One More River
Cloakroom Attendant
Shock
Meadows
- 1933
The Way to Love
M. Prial
Too Much Harmony
Stage Director
Peg o' My Heart
Detective #2 (uncredited)
Uncle Jake
Uncle Jake
Looking Forward
Mr. Barker
Luxury Liner
Schultz
She Whoops To Conquer
Movie
- 1932
Payment Deferred
Charlie Hammond
Vanity Fair
Joseph Sedley
Sky Devils
Colonel
The Silent Witness
Horace Ward
- 1931
Who's Who in the Zoo
Father
Waterloo Bridge
Soldier on the Make (uncredited)
Transatlantic
Hodgkins
Chances
Cuthbert (uncredited)
Born to Love
Departing British Soldier (uncredited)
- 1930
For the Love o' Lil
Edward O. Walker
Monte Carlo
Train Conductor (uncredited)
Temptation
Sam
Journey's End
Trotter
Scotch
Gilbert - Addie's Brother
1920s
- 1929
Weak But Willing
George Downing
The Trespasser
Reporter (uncredited)
High Voltage
Gus Jones
Pink Pajamas
Billy Brooks
Calling Hubby's Bluff
Billy Barton
The Sky Hawk
Tom Berry
- 1928
His New Stenographer
Billy Brooks
The Lion's Roar
Jake Higgs - Katie's Brother
Riley the Cop
Paris Cabman
Motorboat Mamas
Billy Bender
His Unlucky Night
Billy Trotter
The Girl from Nowhere
Constable Billy Barnes
The Bicycle Flirt
Doty Bassett - The Bicycle Flirt
The Best Man
Best Man
The Beach Club
Billy Doolittle
- 1927
The Girl from Everywhere
Messenger
Gold Digger of Weepah
The Barber
The Golf Nut
Billy Divott
Cured in the Excitement
Professor Brawn
Peaches and Plumbers
Bill the Plumber
- 1926
Flirty Four-Flushers
Jerry Connors / Archibald De Shyster
Should Husbands Marry?
The Cop
Hoboken to Hollywood
Billy Judkins
Hubby’s Quiet Little Game
Billy Foote
A Sea Dog's Tale
Wilbur Watts
Ice Cold Cocos
Gus Gander
Musclebound Music
Billy Hornby
Fight Night
Walter Moore
Wandering Willies
Percy Nudge
Circus Today
Gus Barnum
- 1925
From Rags to Britches
Joe Bush
Over Thereabouts
Joe Dobell
Butter Fingers
Nick
The Iron Nag
Joe Gobb
Sneezing Beezers
Joe Honck - Taxi Driver
Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies
Hiram Case
The Lion's Whiskers
Otto Klutch
Honeymoon Hardships
Farmer
- 1924
Off His Trolley
The Traffic Cop
Galloping Bungalows
John Syrup Soother
Wandering Waistlines
Sandy Hook - Sailor
Little Robinson Corkscrew
The Sheriff
Three Foolish Weeks
King of Anchovia
Lizzies of the Field
Bud Gasket
East of the Water Plug
The Sheriff
Wall Street Blues
The Janitor
The Hollywood Kid
Studio Organist
The White Sin
Travers Dale
One Spooky Night
A.J. Bird Jr.
- 1923
The Extra Girl
Comedian
Pitfalls of a Big City
Barfly (uncredited)
Nip and Tuck
Sailor
- 1922
When Summer Comes
Lyons - the Tenderfoot
The Crossroads of New York
Press Agent
Gymnasium Jim
Jim
On Patrol
The Amateur Cop
The Duck Hunter
The Sportsman
- 1921
Bright Eyes
The Nosey Butler
Be Reasonable
A Rolling Stone
Astray from the Steerage
A steerage passenger
A Small Town Idol
Director
- 1920
Love, Honor and Behave
A Fake Lawyer
The Quack Doctor
The Hired Lady's Sweetheart
Distilled Love
Movie
1910s
- 1918
Cupid In Quarantine
The Father
Are Married Policemen Safe?
Movie
Somebody's Widow
Secretary
- 1917
Bombs and Bandits
The Chief of Police
- 1916
Pirates of the Air
The Bartender
Gertie's Gasoline Glide
The Minister
Directed 1
1920s
- 1920
The Quack Doctor
Director
Appearances1
1940s
- 1948
