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Legacy

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	==Legacy==		==Legacy==
	Bennett was an important influence on comedians [[George Formby, Jr.\|George Formby]], [[Tommy Cooper]], [[Ron Moody]], [[Eric Morecambe]], [[Ken Dodd]]<ref name="ODNB"/> and [[Spike Milligan]]~~{{Citation needed\|date=August 2007}}~~.		Bennett was an important influence on comedians [[George Formby, Jr.\|George Formby]], [[Tommy Cooper]], [[Ron Moody]], [[Eric Morecambe]], [[Ken Dodd]]<ref name="ODNB"/> and [[Spike Milligan]].

	==Selected filmography==		==Selected filmography==

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	~~{{for\|other persons named Billy Bennett or William Bennett\|William Bennett (disambiguation)}}~~
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=January 2017}}~~
	~~{{Use British English\|date=January 2017}}~~
	'''William Robertson Russell Bennett''' [[Distinguished Conduct Medal\|DCM]] [[Military Medal\|MM]] (21 November 1887 – 30 June 1942) was a British [[comedian]] who specialised in [[parody\|parodies]] of dramatic [[monologue]]s and was [[bill matter\|billed as]] "Almost a Gentleman".<ref name="ODNB">Midwinter (2004)</ref>		'''William Robertson Russell Bennett''' [[Distinguished Conduct Medal\|DCM]] [[Military Medal\|MM]] (21 November 1887 – 30 June 1942) was a British [[comedian]] who specialised in [[parody\|parodies]] of dramatic [[monologue]]s and was [[bill matter\|billed as]] "Almost a Gentleman".<ref name="ODNB">Midwinter (2004)</ref>

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	==External links==		==External links==
	~~{{Wikiquote}}~~
	*{{IMDb name\|id=0071617\|name=Billy Bennett}}		*{{IMDb name\|id=0071617\|name=Billy Bennett}}
	*[http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/bennett.htm A brief history of Billy Bennett], by Dan Quinn		*[http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/bennett.htm A brief history of Billy Bennett], by Dan Quinn
	*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060514120237/http://www.topicrecords.co.uk/Index_Link_Files/billy_bennett_topic_records.html Recordings at Topic Records]		*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060514120237/http://www.topicrecords.co.uk/Index_Link_Files/billy_bennett_topic_records.html Recordings at Topic Records]
	*[http://www.monologues.co.uk/003/ Text of monologues]		*[http://www.monologues.co.uk/003/ Text of monologues]

	~~{{authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Billy}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Billy}}

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avoid miscapped redirect (via WP:JWB)

New page

{{Infobox comedian 
| pre-nominals =
| name = Billy Bennett
| post-nominals =
| image = Billy Bennett comedian.jpeg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| pseudonym =
| birth_name = William Robertson Russell Bennett
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1887|11|21|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Glasgow]], Scotland
| death_date = {{death date and age|1942|6|30|1887|11|21|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Blackpool]], England
| resting_place =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| medium =
| nationality = British
| education =
| alma_mater =
| years_active = 1919–1942
| employer =
| genre =
| subject =
| spouse =
| domestic_partner =
| children =
| parents =
| relatives =
| notable_works =
| memorials =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
| module =
}}
{{for|other persons named Billy Bennett or William Bennett|William Bennett (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
'''William Robertson Russell Bennett''' [[Distinguished Conduct Medal|DCM]] [[Military Medal|MM]] (21 November 1887 – 30 June 1942) was a British [[comedian]] who specialised in [[parody|parodies]] of dramatic [[monologue]]s and was [[bill matter|billed as]] "Almost a Gentleman".<ref name="ODNB">Midwinter (2004)</ref>

==Life==
Bennett's father, John Bennett, and his performing partner, Robert Martell, formed a [[music hall]] [[slapstick]] comedy duo. Billy Bennett trained as an acrobat but was initially reluctant to follow his father on the stage, instead enlisting in the [[British army|army]]. Bennett briefly left the army to become a comedian but soon re-enlisted at the start of [[World War I]], where he enjoyed a distinguished career in the [[The Queen's Royal Lancers|16th Lancers]] and was awarded the [[Distinguished Conduct Medal]], the [[Military Medal]] and the [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[Croix de Guerre]].<ref name="ODNB"/><ref name=baker>Richard Anthony Baker, ''Old Time Variety: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-78340-066-9}}, pp.67-70</ref>

In 1919, he began his stage career, appearing with [[Mark Lupino]] and in [[Fred Karno's army]]. Bennett's favourite act was to mock and [[parody]] the dramatic [[monologue]]s of the turn of the century. Perhaps best known is ''[[The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog]]'', his take on ''[[The Green Eye of the Yellow God]]''. He wrote many of his own [[monologue]]s, and performed others written for him by [[T. W. Connor]]. He also performed songs, many written for him by [[Bert Lee]] and [[R. P. Weston]], such as "She Was Poor, But She Was Honest".<ref name=baker/> In 1928, he appeared in a short film ''Almost a Gentleman'', filmed in the [[Lee De Forest|DeForest]] [[Phonofilm]] sound-on-film system.

According to [[Roger Wilmut]], Bennett was "one of the most entertaining comics of the period..... [his] style bridged the gap between old-fashioned monologues and the later [[patter]] style..".<ref name=wilmut>Roger Wilmut, ''Kindly Leave the Stage: The Story of Variety 1919–1960'', Methuen, 1985, {{isbn|0-413-48960-4}}, pp. 33–34</ref> He would end his jokes by saying "boom boom!" – a trick used by later comics and adopted by the puppet [[Basil Brush]].<ref name=wilmut/> [[James Agate]] wrote of Bennett: {{ quotation | Nobody who saw him is ever likely to forget that rubicund, unaesthetic countenance, that black, plastered quiff, that sergeant-major's moustache, that dreadful dinner-jacket, that well-used dickey and seedy collar, the too-short trousers, the hob-nailed boots, the red silk handkerchief tucked into the waistcoat, the continual perspiration which was the outward and visible sign of a mind struggling for expression - these things will not be forgotten. }} Off-stage, Agate noted that his manner was quiet almost to shyness, in keeping with his gentle and wholly nice mind.<ref>Agate, James; ''Ego 5. Again More of the Autobiography of James Agate.'', London, George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd (page 241, Appreciation of Billy Bennet, dtd 1 July 1942) 1942.</ref>

He appeared at four [[Royal Variety Performance]]s – in 1926, 1931, 1933 and 1934. In three of those, he gave his usual repertoire, but in 1931 he appeared in [[blackface]].<ref name=fisher/> In 1930, when his contracts prevented him from broadcasting under his own name,<ref name=gifford>[[Denis Gifford]], ''The Golden Age of Radio'', B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1985, {{isbn|0-7134-4235-2}}, p.11</ref> he adapted his act to [[radio programming|radio]], appearing with, first, [[James Carew]], and later [[Albert Whelan]], as "two simple [[List of ethnic slurs#Coon|coon]]s", the cross-talkers Alexander and Mose.<ref name=baker/> They performed onstage as blackface [[minstrel]]s in the early 1930s.<ref name=fisher>John Fisher, ''Funny Way to Be a Hero'', Random House, 2013, {{ISBN|978-1-84809-313-3}}, pp.34-45</ref>

Bennett also had a role in [[Will Hay]]'s 1934 comedy film ''[[Radio Parade of 1935]]''. He gave his final performance in [[Blackpool]], a few weeks before his death there in 1942 at the age of 54.<ref name="ODNB"/>

==Legacy==
Bennett was an important influence on comedians [[George Formby, Jr.|George Formby]], [[Tommy Cooper]], [[Ron Moody]], [[Eric Morecambe]], [[Ken Dodd]]<ref name="ODNB"/> and [[Spike Milligan]]{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}}.

==Selected filmography==
* ''[[Soft Lights and Sweet Music]]'' (1936)
* ''[[Young Man's Fancy (film)|Young Man's Fancy]]'' (1939)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|author=Busby, R.|title=British Music Hall: An Illustrated Who's Who from 1850 to the Present Day|year=1976|publisher=Elek|isbn=0-236-40053-3}}
*{{cite book|author=Fisher, J|title=Funny Way to be a Hero|year=1973|publisher=Paladin|isbn=0-586-08240-9}}
*{{cite book|author=Midwinter, E.C.|title=Make 'em Laugh: Famous Comedians and their Worlds|year=1979|publisher=Allen & U|isbn=0-04-792011-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/makeemlaughfamou0000midw}}
*— (2004) "[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/64558 Bennett, William Robertson Russell (1887–1942)]", ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', Oxford University Press, accessed 14 March 2006 {{ODNBsub}}
*{{cite book|author=Sculthorpe, D.|title=The Lost World of Music Hall|year=2021|publisher=Bear Manor Media|isbn=978-1-62933-802-6}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0071617|name=Billy Bennett}}
*[http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/bennett.htm A brief history of Billy Bennett], by Dan Quinn
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060514120237/http://www.topicrecords.co.uk/Index_Link_Files/billy_bennett_topic_records.html Recordings at Topic Records]
*[http://www.monologues.co.uk/003/ Text of monologues]

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Billy}}
[[Category:1887 births]]
[[Category:1942 deaths]]
[[Category:16th The Queen's Lancers soldiers]]
[[Category:British Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:British male comedians]]
[[Category:Comedians from Glasgow]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Military Medal]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)]]
[[Category:20th-century British comedians]]
[[Category:British male comedy actors]]

Billy Bennett (comedian) - Revision history

Kurt at 21:55, 25 April 2023

Kurt: /* Legacy */

Kurt at 18:21, 21 April 2023

Kurt at 18:21, 21 April 2023

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Dicklyon: avoid miscapped redirect (via WP:JWB)