Acting · Orange, New South Wales, Australia · Born September 29, 1887
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.)
Movie30 Years of Fun
1963
as (archive footage)
MovieThe Golden Age of Comedy
1957
as archive footage
MovieHans Christian Andersen
1952
as Town Councilman (uncredited)
MovieThe Slappiest Days of Our Lives
1951
as (archive footage)
MovieThree Secrets
1950
as Ed Jackson (uncredited)
MovieRogues of Sherwood Forest
1950
as Will Scarlet
MovieFortunes of Captain Blood
1950
as Billy Bragg
MovieTell It to the Judge
1949
as Winston, Kitty's Butler (uncredited)
The Secret Of St. Ives
1949
as Douglas (uncredited)
MovieThe Secret Garden
1949
as Barney
MovieLet's Live a Little
1948
as Morton
TVThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
MovieThe Black Arrow
1948
as Dungeon Keeper
MovieThe Swordsman
1948
as Old Andrew
MovieIt Had to Be You
1947
as Evans
MovieMoss Rose
1947
as Harry, Cab Driver (uncredited)
MovieCluny Brown
1946
as Uncle Arn Porritt
MovieDevotion
1946
as Mr. Ames (uncredited)
MovieTerror by Night
1946
as Conductor Taking Tickets
MovieThe Picture of Dorian Gray
1945
as Malvolio Jones
MovieNational Velvet
1945
as Constable (uncredited)
MovieTonight and Every Night
1945
as Cabbie (uncredited)
MovieThe Pearl of Death
1944
as Constable With Food Tray (uncredited)
MovieThe Invisible Man's Revenge
1944
as Police Sergeant (uncredited)
MovieThe Lodger
1944
MovieJane Eyre
1943
as Bookie (uncredited)
MovieThe Return of the Vampire
1943
as Horace (uncredited)
MovieForever and a Day
1943
as Wartime Cabby
MovieLondon Blackout Murders
1943
as Air Raid Warden
MovieHappy Times and Jolly Moments
1943
as (archive footage)
MovieI Married a Witch
1942
as Puritan Vendor (uncredited)
MovieCounter-Espionage
1942
as George Barrow
MovieMrs. Miniver
1942
as Bus Conductor (uncredited)
MovieThis Above All
1942
as Farmer
MovieThe Man Who Wouldn't Die
1942
as Phillips
MovieConfirm or Deny
1941
as Mr. Bindle
MovieSuspicion
1941
as Ticket Taker (uncredited)
MovieDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
1941
as Mr. Weller
MovieShining Victory
1941
as Chivers
MoviePenny Serenade
1941
as McDougal (uncredited)
MovieTin Pan Alley
1940
as Stage Doorman
MovieThe Long Voyage Home
1940
as Joe
MovieRebecca
1940
as Policeman (uncredited)
MovieThe Invisible Man Returns
1940
as Jim (uncredited)
MovieThe Earl of Chicago
1940
as Castle Guide
MovieWe Are Not Alone
1939
as Mr. Jones
MoviePack Up Your Troubles
1939
as British Sergeant
MovieCaptain Fury
1939
as Duffy
MovieLet Freedom Ring
1939
as Cockney (uncredited)
MovieA Christmas Carol
1938
as Street Watch Leader
MovieArrest Bulldog Drummond
1938
as Aquarium Guard
MovieShadows Over Shanghai
1938
as Gallicuddy
MovieMysterious Mr. Moto
1938
as Customs Official
MovieThe Young in Heart
1938
as Kennel Man (uncredited)
MovieBlond Cheat
1938
as Bartender (uncredited)
MovieThe Girl of the Golden West
1938
as Nick
MovieBringing Up Baby
1938
as Joe (uncredited)
MovieThe Wrong Road
1937
as McLean
MovieThe Sheik Steps Out
1937
as Munson
MovieAnother Dawn
1937
as Pvt. Hawkins
MovieSlave Ship
1937
as Atkins
MoviePersonal Property
1937
as Frank (uncredited)
MovieGod's Country and the Woman
1937
as Plug Hat
MovieLloyd's of London
1936
as Innkeeper
MoviePiccadilly Jim
1936
as Taxi Driver
MoviePrivate Number
1936
as Frederick
MovieDracula's Daughter
1936
as Albert
MovieChampagne Charlie
1936
as Mr. Boswick
MovieMr. Deeds Goes to Town
1936
as Cabby (uncredited)
MovieSong and Dance Man
1936
as Curtis
MovieA Tale of Two Cities
1935
as Jerry Cruncher
MovieThe Widow from Monte Carlo
1935
as Officer Watkins
MovieThe Last Outpost
1935
as Private Foster
MovieBlack Sheep
1935
as Alfred
MovieVanessa: Her Love Story
1935
as Horse Auctioneer
MovieMystery Woman
1935
as Jepson
MovieCaravan
1934
as Police Sergeant
MovieLimehouse Blues
1934
as Herb
MovieBulldog Drummond Strikes Back
1934
as Man in Hotel Room
MovieOne More River
1934
as Cloakroom Attendant
MovieShock
1934
as Meadows
MovieStingaree
1934
as Mac
MovieThe Lost Patrol
1934
as Hale
Pop's Pal
1933
as Grandpa
MovieAlice in Wonderland
1933
as Two of Spades (uncredited)
MovieThe Way to Love
1933
as M. Prial
MovieToo Much Harmony
1933
as Stage Director
The Big Squeal
1933
as Jake Burke
Thundering Taxis
1933
as One of the Taxi Boys
MoviePeg o' My Heart
1933
as Detective #2 (uncredited)
MovieA Study in Scarlet
1933
as Will Swallow
MovieUncle Jake
1933
as Uncle Jake
MovieLooking Forward
1933
as Mr. Barker
Techno-Crazy
1933
as Mary's Father - the Mayor
MovieCavalcade
1933
as George Grainger
MovieLuxury Liner
1933
as Schultz
MovieShe Whoops To Conquer
1933
MovieMe and My Gal
1932
as Ashley, Arguing Drunk (uncredited)
MoviePayment Deferred
1932
as Charlie Hammond
Honeymoon Beach
1932
as Billy Bevan
The Spot on the Rug
1932
as Gerald J. Fitzgerald
MovieVanity Fair
1932
as Joseph Sedley
MovieSky Devils
1932
as Colonel
MovieThe Silent Witness
1932
as Horace Ward
MovieWho's Who in the Zoo
1931
as Father
MovieWaterloo Bridge
1931
as Soldier on the Make (uncredited)
MovieTransatlantic
1931
as Hodgkins
MovieChances
1931
as Cuthbert (uncredited)
MovieBorn to Love
1931
as Departing British Soldier (uncredited)
MovieFor the Love o' Lil
1930
as Edward O. Walker
MovieMonte Carlo
1930
as Train Conductor (uncredited)
MovieTemptation
1930
as Sam
MovieJourney's End
1930
as Trotter
MovieScotch
1930
as Gilbert - Addie's Brother
MoviePeacock Alley
1930
as Walter
MovieWeak But Willing
1929
as George Downing
MovieThe Trespasser
1929
as Reporter (uncredited)
MovieHigh Voltage
1929
as Gus Jones
Don't Get Jealous
1929
as Billy Blake
MoviePink Pajamas
1929
as Billy Brooks
MovieCalling Hubby's Bluff
1929
as Billy Barton
MovieThe Sky Hawk
1929
as Tom Berry
MovieHis New Stenographer
1928
as Billy Brooks
MovieRiley the Cop
1928
as Paris Cabman
Hubby's Weekend Trip
1928
as Bill Blake
MovieMotorboat Mamas
1928
as Billy Bender
MovieHis Unlucky Night
1928
as Billy Trotter
MovieThe Girl from Nowhere
1928
as Constable Billy Barnes
MovieThe Bicycle Flirt
1928
as Doty Bassett - the Bicycle Flirt
MovieThe Best Man
1928
as Best Man
MovieThe Beach Club
1928
MovieThe Girl from Everywhere
1927
as Messenger
The Bull Fighter
1927
as Pete De Tour
MovieGold Digger of Weepah
1927
as The Barber
MovieThe Golf Nut
1927
as Billy Divott
MovieCured in the Excitement
1927
as Professor Brawn
A Small Town Princess
1927
as Joe Whiffet
MoviePeaches and Plumbers
1927
as Bill the Plumber
Easy Pickings
1927
as The Detective
Should Sleepwalkers Marry?
1927
as Charley Carter
MovieFlirty Four-Flushers
1926
as Jerry Connors / Archibald De Shyster
Masked Mamas
1926
as Casey McCorkle
MovieShould Husbands Marry?
1926
as The Cop
MovieHoboken to Hollywood
1926
as Billy Judkins
MovieHubby’s Quiet Little Game
1926
as Billy Foote
MovieA Sea Dog's Tale
1926
as Wilbur Watts
MovieIce Cold Cocos
1926
as Gus Gander
MovieMusclebound Music
1926
as Billy Hornby
MovieFight Night
1926
as Walter Moore
Hayfoot, Strawfoot?
1926
as Pete
MovieWandering Willies
1926
as Percy Nudge
MovieCircus Today
1926
as Gus Barnum
Trimmed in Gold
1926
as Otto Stropp
MovieWhispering Whiskers
1926
as The Drifter
MovieFrom Rags to Britches
1925
as Joe Bush
MovieOver Thereabouts
1925
as Joe Dobell
MovieButter Fingers
1925
as Nick
MovieThe Iron Nag
1925
as Joe Gobb
MovieSneezing Beezers
1925
as Joe Honck - Taxi Driver
MovieSuper-Hooper-Dyne Lizzies
1925
as Hiram Case
MovieThe Lion's Whiskers
1925
as Otto Klutch
Giddap!
1925
as Gaspard De Brie
MovieHoneymoon Hardships
1925
as Farmer
MovieOff His Trolley
1924
as The Traffic Cop
The Cannon Ball Express
1924
as Adam Fargo - Baggage Master
MovieGalloping Bungalows
1924
as John Syrup Soother
MovieWandering Waistlines
1924
as Sandy Hook - Sailor
MovieLittle Robinson Corkscrew
1924
as The Sheriff
MovieThree Foolish Weeks
1924
as King of Anchovia
MovieLizzies of the Field
1924
as Bud Gasket
MovieEast of the Water Plug
1924
as The Sheriff
MovieWall Street Blues
1924
as The Janitor
MovieThe Hollywood Kid
1924
as Studio Organist
MovieThe White Sin
1924
as Travers Dale
MovieOne Spooky Night
1924
as A.J. Bird Jr.
Inbad the Sailor
1923
as Jake aka Inbad the Sailor
One Cylinder Love
1923
as The Bachelor's Butler / Chauffeur / Footman
MovieThe Extra Girl
1923
as Comedian
MoviePitfalls of a Big City
1923
as Barfly (uncredited)
MovieNip and Tuck
1923
as Sailor
MovieWhen Summer Comes
1922
as Lyons - the Tenderfoot
MovieThe Crossroads of New York
1922
as Press Agent
MovieGymnasium Jim
1922
as Jim
MovieOn Patrol
1922
as The Amateur Cop
MovieThe Duck Hunter
1922
as The Sportsman
Around the Town: British Film Stars and Studios
1921
as Himself
MovieBright Eyes
1921
as The Nosey Butler
MovieBe Reasonable
1921
as A Rolling Stone
Love and Doughnuts
1921
as The Burglar
MovieAstray from the Steerage
1921
as A steerage passenger
MovieA Small Town Idol
1921
as Director
MovieLove, Honor and Behave
1920
as A Fake Lawyer
MovieThe Quack Doctor
1920
as The Hired Lady's Sweetheart
MovieMarried Life
1920
as Hospital Staff / Janitor (uncredited)
MovieDistilled Love
1920
MovieCupid In Quarantine
1918
as The Father
Her Rustic Romeo
1918
MovieAre Married Policemen Safe?
1918
MovieSomebody's Widow
1918
as Secretary
MovieBombs and Bandits
1917
as The Chief of Police
MoviePirates of the Air
1916
as The Bartender
MovieGertie's Gasoline Glide
1916
as The Minister
