William George Burden (15 June 1914 – 3 June 1994) was an English actor and comedian, who specialised in playing "

country bumpkin Yokel is one of several derogatory terms referring to the stereotype of unsophisticated country people. The term is of uncertain etymology and is only attested from the early 19th century on. Yokels are depicted as straightforward, simple, na� ...

" roles. He made many appearances in the Theatre Royal panto in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

for Frank Maddox. Debuted on ITV as William in the TV series '' A Present for Dickie'' (1969–70), but only six episodes were made. From 1972 to 1984 he guested many times on the touring cabaret show "The Rick Jango Road Show" In 1978, he guest-starred as a farmer in the episode 'Nappy Days' of '' George & Mildred''. In 1980, he starred in another short-lived TV series, '' Oh, Happy Band'', playing the role of Mr Sowerby. Again, only six episodes were made. In 1982, he appeared in the

Val Guest Val Guest (born Valmond Maurice Grossman; 11 December 1911 – 10 May 2006) was an English film director and screenwriter. Beginning as a writer (and later director) of comedy films, he is best known for his work for Hammer Film Productions, ...

film '' The Boys in Blue'' (as the herdsman). Burden also guest-starred four times in ''

Hi-de-Hi! ''Hi-de-Hi!'' is a British sitcom created by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, and produced for the BBC. The programme initially began with a pilot on 1 January 1980 and aired for nine series between 26 February 1981 and 30 January 1988, and starre ...

''; three times as Mr Turner (1986 & 1988) and once as Mr Thompson (1986). Burden is also known for his role as Morris Moulterd in ''

Grace & Favour ''Grace & Favour'' (known as ''Are You Being Served? Again!'' in the United States) is a British television sitcom that was first broadcast on BBC One, BBC1 from 10 January 1992 to 8 February 1993. It served as a sequel series to ''Are You Being ...

'' (American and Canadian title: ''Are You Being Served? Again!'') (1992–93), a spin-off from ''

Are You Being Served? ''Are You Being Served?'' is a British television sitcom that was broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was created and written by David Croft (TV producer), David Croft and Jeremy Lloyd. Croft also served as executive producer and television directo ...

''. Burden died of a heart attack in 1994.

References

External links

*
Billy Burden obituary in The Independent
1914 births 1994 deaths English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors People from Wimborne Minster Male actors from Dorset 20th-century English male actors {{UK-screen-actor-stub