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{{Infobox person
| name = Billy Russell
| birthname = Adam George Brown
| image = Billy_Russell_comedian.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1893|7|16|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1971|11|25|1893|7|16|df=y}}
| death_place = London, England
| resting_place =
| years_active = 1900–1971
| spouse =
| children =
| occupation = Comedian, actor
}}
'''Adam George Brown''' (16 July 1893 – 25 November 1971), who used the [[stage name]] '''Billy Russell''', was a British comedian and [[character actor]].

==Biography==
He was born in [[Birmingham]], and first appeared on stage at the age of seven in 1900 in a theatrical show in [[Gloucester]]. He also worked in [[Traveling carnival|funfair]]s, and before the [[First World War]] as a child actor in the [[north of England]], the [[Midlands]] and [[Wales]], sometimes as part of a duo. He learned [[stagecraft]] from actors and [[music hall]] performers such as [[Bransby Williams]] and [[George Robey]]. A skilled visual artist, he sometimes appeared as "Baroni the Ambidextrous Cartoonist". He served in the [[South Staffordshire Regiment]] during the war, and entertained the troops as "The Trench Philosopher", performing [[monologue]]s in the style of the character "Old Bill" devised by cartoonist [[Bruce Bairnsfather]].<ref name=voices>[http://voices-of-variety.com/billy-russell/ Stephen Dixon, "Billy Russell", ''Voices of Variety'']. Retrieved 30 December 2020</ref><ref name=tatchell>[https://laughterlog.com/2009/03/09/performers-billy-russell/ Peter Tatchell, "Billy Russell", ''LaughterLog'', 2011]. Retrieved 30 December 2020</ref><ref name=reading>Geoff Matthews, "Old Bill", ''Reading Evening Post'', 1962</ref>

After the war he continued to perform the act as "[[Old Bill (comics)|Old Bill]]", with Bairnsfather's endorsement,<ref name=reading/> initially in theatres run by his father in [[Hertfordshire]]. On realising that many in his audience did not want to be reminded of the war, he modified the act to become "Old Bill in [[Civvies]]", and was sometimes billed as "The Son of Toil". Stephen Dixon writes: "A walrus moustache covered his mouth and a good part of his chin. He dressed like a traditional workman from the 1920s, with a squashed and oil-grimed hat, hobnailed boots, collarless shirt with red handkerchief tied around the throat, moleskin trousers secured just below the knee with string. He would clear his throat and address the audience in a crackly Birmingham whine: 'On behalf of the working classes...'"<ref name=voices/> He often improvised his performance in character, extemporising from the latest newspaper headlines and commenting on political events.<ref name=reading/><ref name=hudd>Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, {{ISBN|1-86105-206-5}}, p.159</ref>

He toured widely, and appeared regularly on [[BBC Radio]] in the 1930s, becoming popular with tirades against "[[the establishment]]", as well as traditional [[mother-in-law joke]]s.<ref name=rt>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=asc&q=%22Billy+Russell%22#search Search, Billy Russell, ''Radio Times'']. Retrieved 30 December 2020</ref> He wrote his own material, mostly through observation. He said: "I used to get most of my material in pub tap rooms. I would go into a town when I was on tour and just listen to people’s conversation. Nobody knew me because my character and appearance on and offstage were completely different. I’d listen to people and then I’d twist it a bit."<ref name=voices/> He appeared at [[Royal Variety Performance]]s in 1933, 1947, and 1954.<ref name=voices/> His performance at the [[Argyle Theatre]] in [[Birkenhead]] in November 1939 was recorded and issued by [[Regal Zonophone Records]]; the theatre was destroyed by bombing shortly after the recording. He also made minor film appearances in ''Take Off That Hat'' (1938) and as [[Hitler]] in ''[[Night Train to Munich]]'' (1940).<ref name=tatchell/>

After the [[Second World War]], Russell's appearances on variety stages became less frequent and he began to appear more as a character actor in films, on television and in the theatre. He appeared in the films ''[[The Man in the White Suit]]'' (1951) and ''[[Judgment Deferred]]'' (1952), appeared on television in episodes of ''[[The Good Old Days (British TV series)|The Good Old Days]]'', and toured and recorded in Australia in the mid-1950s.<ref name=tatchell/> He featured in [[David Kossoff]]'s television [[sitcom]] ''A Little Big Life'' in 1963, and then in several television series and plays, including ''[[United!]]'' (1965-66), ''[[Cold Comfort Farm#Adaptations|Cold Comfort Farm]]'' (as Adam Lambsbreath, 1968), ''[[Dr. Finlay's Casebook]]'' (1969), and ''[[The Woodlanders#Adaptations|The Woodlanders]]'' (1970). In 1969, he appeared in [[David Storey]]'s play ''The Contractor'', when he insisted that the other actors rub dirt under their fingernails for authenticity,<ref name=voices/><ref name=hudd/> and he also appeared in the films ''[[Negatives (1968 film)|Negatives]]'' (1968) and ''[[I Start Counting]]'' (1970).<ref name=tatchell/>

From the 1930s, he lived at [[Caversham, Reading]], [[Berkshire]].<ref name=voices/> He died in 1971, aged 78, in London, while waiting for his call in a television rehearsal room.<ref name=voices/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{imdb name|0751029}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Billy}}
[[Category:1893 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:Music hall performers]]
[[Category:English comedians]]

Billy Russell (comedian) - Revision history

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