William Robertson Russell Bennett (21 November 1887 – 30 June 1942) was a British

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

who specialised in

parodies A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satirical or ironic imitation. Often its subject is an original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, etc), but a parody can als ...

of dramatic

monologue In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...

s and was billed as "Almost a Gentleman".Midwinter (2004)

Life

Bennett's father, John Bennett, and his performing partner, Robert Martell, formed a

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

slapstick Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as ...

comedy duo. Billy Bennett trained as an acrobat but was initially reluctant to follow his father on the stage, instead enlisting in the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

. Bennett briefly left the army to become a comedian but soon re-enlisted at the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he enjoyed a distinguished career in the 16th Lancers and was awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military ...

, the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

and the Belgian

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

.Richard Anthony Baker, ''Old Time Variety: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2011, , pp.67-70 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 A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

the dramatic

s of the turn of the century. Perhaps best known is ''

The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog ''The Green Tie on the Little Yellow Dog'' is a three-part British television series that aired on Channel 4 in July 1983. It featured monologues, songs and sketches that had been popularised during the era of music hall, which were performed by a ...

'', his take on '' The Green Eye of the Yellow God''. He wrote many of his own

s, and performed others written for him by T. W. Connor. He also performed songs, many written for him by

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard ...

and R. P. Weston, such as "She Was Poor, But She Was Honest". In 1928, he appeared in a short film ''Almost a Gentleman'', filmed in the DeForest

Phonofilm Phonofilm is an optical sound-on-film system developed by inventors Lee de Forest and Theodore Case in the early 1920s. In 1919 and 1920, de Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patents on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofi ...

sound-on-film system. According to

Roger Wilmut Roger Wilmut (born 1942) is a British writer and compiler of books on British comedy. Wilmut attended Warwick School, and began his 'day job' as studio technician for the BBC on leaving school in 1961. Wilmut claims to have drifted into a car ...

, Bennett was "one of the most entertaining comics of the period..... isstyle bridged the gap between old-fashioned monologues and the later patter style..".Roger Wilmut, ''Kindly Leave the Stage: The Story of Variety 1919–1960'', Methuen, 1985, , pp. 33–34 He would end his jokes by saying "boom boom!" – a trick used by later comics and adopted by the puppet

Basil Brush Basil Brush is a fictional fox best known for his appearances on daytime British children's television. He is primarily portrayed by a glove puppet, but has also been depicted in animated cartoon shorts, books, annuals and comic strips. The char ...

James Agate James Evershed Agate (9 September 1877 – 6 June 1947) was an English diarist and theatre critic between the two world wars. He took up journalism in his late twenties and was on the staff of ''The Manchester Guardian'' in 1907–1914. He late ...

wrote of Bennett: Off-stage, Agate noted that his manner was quiet almost to shyness, in keeping with his gentle and wholly nice mind.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. He appeared at four

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

s – in 1926, 1931, 1933 and 1934. In three of those, he gave his usual repertoire, but in 1931 he appeared in

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

. In 1930, when his contracts prevented him from broadcasting under his own name, Denis Gifford, ''The Golden Age of Radio'', B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1985, , p.11 he adapted his act to

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

, appearing with, first, James Carew, and later

Albert Whelan Albert Whelan (born Albert Waxman; 5 May 1875 – 19 February 1961) was an Australian popular singer and entertainer, who was prominent in English music halls during the first half of the 20th century. Biography The son of an immigrant Polish Je ...

, as "two simple coons", the cross-talkers Alexander and Mose. They performed onstage as blackface

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...

s in the early 1930s.John Fisher, ''Funny Way to Be a Hero'', Random House, 2013, , pp.34-45 Bennett also had a role in Will Hay's 1934 comedy film '' Radio Parade of 1935''. He gave his final performance in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, a few weeks before his death there in 1942 at the age of 54.

Legacy

Bennett was an important influence on comedians

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

Tommy Cooper Thomas Frederick Cooper (19 March 1921 – 15 April 1984) was a Welsh prop comedian and magician. As an entertainer, his appearance was large and lumbering at , and he habitually wore a red fez when performing. He served in the British Army ...

Ron Moody Ron Moody (born Ronald Moodnick; 8 January 1924 – 11 June 2015) was an English actor, composer, singer and writer. He was best known for his portrayal of Fagin in '' Oliver!'' (1968) and its 1983 Broadway revival. Moody earned a Golden Glob ...

Eric Morecambe John Eric Bartholomew (14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984), known by his stage name Eric Morecambe, was an English comedian who together with Ernie Wise formed the double act Morecambe and Wise. The partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's de ...

Ken Dodd Sir Kenneth Arthur Dodd (8 November 1927 – 11 March 2018) was an English stand-up comedy, comedian, actor and singer. He was described as "the last great music hall entertainer" and was primarily known for his live stand-up comedy, stand-up pe ...

and

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...

Selected filmography

* '' Soft Lights and Sweet Music'' (1936) * '' Young Man's Fancy'' (1939)

References

Bibliography

* * * *— (2004)
Bennett, William Robertson Russell (1887–1942)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from History of the British Isles, British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') ...

'', Oxford University Press, accessed 14 March 2006 *

External links

*
A brief history of Billy Bennett
by Dan Quinn
Text of monologues
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Billy 1887 births 1942 deaths 16th The Queen's Lancers soldiers British Army personnel of World War I British male comedians Comedians from Glasgow Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal Recipients of the Military Medal British recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) 20th-century Scottish comedians