Acting
Billy Bevan
EN, FR, XX cinema · 202 credits
Born
29 September 1887
Died
26 November 1957 (aged 70)
Birthplace
Orange, New South Wales, Australia
Also known as William Bevan · Bill Bevans · Billy Bevin · Bill Bivin
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
Filmography
30 Years of Fun
as (archive footage)
The Golden Age of Comedy
as archive footage
Hans Christian Andersen
as Town Councilman (uncredited)
The Slappiest Days of Our Lives
as (archive footage)
Fortunes of Captain Blood
as Billy Bragg
Rogues of Sherwood Forest
as Will Scarlet
Three Secrets
as Ed Jackson (uncredited)
The Secret Of St. Ives
1949
The Secret Of St. Ives
as Douglas (uncredited)
The Secret Garden
as Barney
Tell It to the Judge
as Winston, Kitty's Butler (uncredited)
The Swordsman
as Old Andrew
The Black Arrow
as Dungeon Keeper
Let's Live a Little
as Morton
Moss Rose
as Harry, Cab Driver (uncredited)
It Had to Be You
as Evans
Terror by Night
as Conductor Taking Tickets
Devotion
as Mr. Ames (uncredited)
Cluny Brown
as Uncle Arn Porritt
Tonight and Every Night
as Cabbie (uncredited)
National Velvet
as Constable (uncredited)
The Picture of Dorian Gray
as Malvolio Jones
The Pearl of Death
as Constable With Food Tray (uncredited)
The Invisible Man's Revenge
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Jane Eyre
as Bookie (uncredited)
London Blackout Murders
as Air Raid Warden
Forever and a Day
as Wartime Cabby
The Return of the Vampire
as Horace (uncredited)
Happy Times and Jolly Moments
as (archive footage)
Counter-Espionage
as George Barrow
The Man Who Wouldn't Die
as Phillips
Mrs. Miniver
as Bus Conductor (uncredited)
I Married a Witch
as Puritan Vendor (uncredited)
This Above All
as Farmer
Suspicion
as Ticket Taker (uncredited)
Shining Victory
as Chivers
Penny Serenade
as McDougal (uncredited)
Confirm or Deny
as Mr. Bindle
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
as Mr. Weller
Rebecca
as Policeman (uncredited)
The Invisible Man Returns
as Jim (uncredited)
The Earl of Chicago
as Castle Guide
Tin Pan Alley
as Stage Doorman
Pack Up Your Troubles
as British Sergeant
Let Freedom Ring
as Cockney (uncredited)
We Are Not Alone
as Mr. Jones
Captain Fury
as Duffy
Bringing Up Baby
as Joe (uncredited)
Mysterious Mr. Moto
as Customs Official
Shadows Over Shanghai
as Gallicuddy
Blond Cheat
as Bartender (uncredited)
Arrest Bulldog Drummond
as Aquarium Guard
The Young in Heart
as Kennel Man (uncredited)
A Christmas Carol
as Street Watch Leader
God's Country and the Woman
as Plug Hat
Slave Ship
as Atkins
The Wrong Road
as McLean
The Sheik Steps Out
as Munson
Another Dawn
as Pvt. Hawkins
Personal Property
as Frank (uncredited)
Dracula's Daughter
as Albert
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
as Cabby (uncredited)
Piccadilly Jim
as Taxi Driver
Private Number
as Frederick
Champagne Charlie
as Mr. Boswick
Song and Dance Man
as Curtis
Lloyd's of London
as Innkeeper
A Tale of Two Cities
as Jerry Cruncher
Mystery Woman
as Jepson
Black Sheep
as Alfred
Vanessa: Her Love Story
as Horse Auctioneer
The Last Outpost
as Private Foster
The Widow from Monte Carlo
as Officer Watkins
The Lost Patrol
as Hale
Limehouse Blues
as Herb
Stingaree
as Mac
Caravan
as Police Sergeant
Shock
as Meadows
One More River
as Cloakroom Attendant
Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back
as Man in Hotel Room
Pop's Pal
1933
Pop's Pal
as Grandpa
Cavalcade
as George Grainger
Luxury Liner
as Schultz
Too Much Harmony
as Stage Director
Looking Forward
as Mr. Barker
Alice in Wonderland
as Two of Spades (uncredited)
The Big Squeal
1933
The Big Squeal
as Jake Burke
Peg o' My Heart
as Detective #2 (uncredited)
Thundering Taxis
1933
Thundering Taxis
as One of the Taxi Boys
Uncle Jake
as Uncle Jake
The Way to Love
as M. Prial
A Study in Scarlet
as Will Swallow
Techno-Crazy
1933
Techno-Crazy
as Mary's Father - the Mayor
Payment Deferred
as Charlie Hammond
Vanity Fair
as Joseph Sedley
Sky Devils
as Colonel
The Silent Witness
as Horace Ward
Me and My Gal
as Ashley, Arguing Drunk (uncredited)
Honeymoon Beach
1932
Honeymoon Beach
as Billy Bevan
The Spot on the Rug
1932
The Spot on the Rug
as Gerald J. Fitzgerald
Born to Love
as Departing British Soldier (uncredited)
Transatlantic
as Hodgkins
Chances
as Cuthbert (uncredited)
Waterloo Bridge
as Soldier on the Make (uncredited)
Journey's End
as Trotter
Scotch
as Gilbert - Addie's Brother
Peacock Alley
as Walter
Temptation
as Sam
Monte Carlo
as Train Conductor (uncredited)
For the Love o' Lil
as Edward O. Walker
Don't Get Jealous
1929
Don't Get Jealous
as Billy Blake
Calling Hubby's Bluff
as Billy Barton
Pink Pajamas
as Billy Brooks
Weak But Willing
as George Downing
High Voltage
as Gus Jones
The Sky Hawk
as Tom Berry
The Trespasser
as Reporter (uncredited)
The Bicycle Flirt
as Doty Bassett - The Bicycle Flirt
Motorboat Mamas
as Billy Bender
The Girl from Nowhere
as Constable Billy Barnes
His New Stenographer
as Billy Brooks
The Best Man
as Best Man
The Beach Club
as Billy Doolittle
Riley the Cop
as Paris Cabman
His Unlucky Night
as Billy Trotter
The Lion's Roar
as Jake Higgs - Katie's Brother
Gold Digger of Weepah
as The Barber
The Girl from Everywhere
as Messenger
Should Sleepwalkers Marry?
1927
Should Sleepwalkers Marry?
as Charley Carter
Peaches and Plumbers
as Bill the Plumber
Cured in the Excitement
as Professor Brawn
The Bull Fighter
1927
The Bull Fighter
as Pete De Tour
Easy Pickings
1927
Easy Pickings
as The Detective
The Golf Nut
as Billy Divott
Musclebound Music
as Billy Hornby
Trimmed in Gold
1926
Trimmed in Gold
as Otto Stropp
Should Husbands Marry?
as The Cop
Wandering Willies
as Percy Nudge
Hubby’s Quiet Little Game
as Billy Foote
Hoboken to Hollywood
as Billy Judkins
Flirty Four-Flushers
as Jerry Connors / Archibald De Shyster
Masked Mamas
1926
Masked Mamas
as Casey McCorkle
Whispering Whiskers
as The Drifter
Circus Today
as Gus Barnum
A Sea Dog's Tale
as Wilbur Watts
Ice Cold Cocos
as Gus Gander
Fight Night
as Walter Moore
From Rags to Britches
as Joe Bush
Sneezing Beezers
as Joe Honck - Taxi Driver
Over Thereabouts
as Joe Dobell
Butter Fingers
as Nick
Super-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies
as Hiram Case
Giddap!
1925
Giddap!
as Gaspard De Brie
The Iron Nag
as Joe Gobb
The Lion's Whiskers
as Otto Klutch
Honeymoon Hardships
as Farmer
Off His Trolley
as The Traffic Cop
East of the Water Plug
as The Sheriff
Wandering Waistlines
as Sandy Hook - Sailor
One Spooky Night
as A.J. Bird Jr.
The Cannon Ball Express
1924
The Cannon Ball Express
as Adam Fargo - Baggage Master
Little Robinson Corkscrew
as The Sheriff
Lizzies of the Field
as Bud Gasket
The Hollywood Kid
as Studio Organist
Galloping Bungalows
as John Syrup Soother
Wall Street Blues
as The Janitor
Three Foolish Weeks
as King of Anchovia
The White Sin
as Travers Dale
Pitfalls of a Big City
as Barfly (uncredited)
Inbad the Sailor
1923
Inbad the Sailor
as Jake aka Inbad the Sailor
The Extra Girl
as Comedian
One Cylinder Love
1923
One Cylinder Love
as The Bachelor's Butler / Chauffeur / Footman
Nip and Tuck
as Sailor
The Crossroads of New York
as Press Agent
When Summer Comes
as Lyons - the Tenderfoot
On Patrol
as The Amateur Cop
The Duck Hunter
as The Sportsman
Be Reasonable
as A Rolling Stone
Astray from the Steerage
as A steerage passenger
Love and Doughnuts
1921
Love and Doughnuts
as The Burglar
Bright Eyes
as The Nosey Butler
A Small Town Idol
as Director
The Quack Doctor
as The Hired Lady's Sweetheart, Director
Love, Honor and Behave
as A Fake Lawyer
Married Life
as Hospital Staff / Janitor (uncredited)
Somebody's Widow
as Secretary
Cupid In Quarantine
as The Father
Bombs and Bandits
as The Chief of Police
Pirates of the Air
as The Bartender
Gertie's Gasoline Glide
as The Minister