Celebrity Names with the Letter B: Part 2

Bill Murray is an American actor, comedian, and writer. The fifth of nine children, he was born William James Murray in Wilmette, Illinois, to Lucille (Collins), a mailroom clerk, and Edward Joseph Murray II, who sold lumber. He is of Irish descent. Among his siblings are actors Brian Doyle-Murray, Joel Murray, and John Murray. He and most of his siblings worked as caddies, which paid his tuition to Loyola Academy, a Jesuit school. He played sports and did some acting while in that school, but in his words, mostly "screwed off." He enrolled at Regis College in Denver to study pre-med but dropped out after being arrested for marijuana possession. He then joined the National Lampoon Radio Hour with fellow members Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner, and John Belushi. However, while those three became the original members of Saturday Night Live (1975), he joined Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell (1975), which premiered that same year. After that show failed, he later got the opportunity to join Saturday Night Live (1975), for which he earned his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series. He later went on to star in comedy films, including Meatballs (1979), Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981), Tootsie (1982), Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), Scrooged (1988), What About Bob? (1991), and Groundhog Day (1993). He also co-directed Quick Change (1990). Murray garnered additional critical acclaim later in his career, starring in Lost in Translation (2003), which earned him a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, as well as an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He also received Golden Globe nominations for his roles in Ghostbusters, Rushmore (1998), Hyde Park on Hudson (2012), St. Vincent (2014), and the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014), for which he later won his second Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie.

Bill Nighy is an award-winning British character actor. He was born William Francis Nighy on December 12, 1949 in Caterham, Surrey, England, to Catherine Josephine (Whittaker), a psychiatric nurse from Glasgow, and Alfred Martin Nighy, who was English-born and managed a garage in Croydon.

At school, he gained 'O'-levels in English Language and English Literature and enjoyed reading, particularly Ernest Hemingway. On leaving school he wanted to become a journalist but didn't have the required qualifications. He eventually went on to work as a messenger boy for the Field magazine. He stayed in Paris for a while because he wanted to write "the great novel", but he only managed to write the title. When he ran out of money, the British consul shipped him home.

Nighy wound up training at Guildford School of Dance and Drama in London, and has since then worked consistently in film, television, and on stage.

Nighy is perhaps best-known to international audiences for his memorable performance as washed-up pop singer Billy Mack in Love Actually (2003), which won him a BAFTA for best supporting actor. He has also made appearances in major franchises: he played vampire leader Viktor in Underworld (2003), Underworld: Evolution (2006) and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009), did the performance capture and voice for Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007), and made a brief appearance as Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010).

Nighy's recent film credits include roles in I Capture the Castle (2003), Shaun of the Dead (2004), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), The Constant Gardener (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Hot Fuzz (2007), Valkyrie (2008) and The Boat That Rocked (2009). He has also provided voice work for many animated movies in the past few years including Flushed Away (2006), Astro Boy (2009), Rango (2011) and Arthur Christmas (2011).

With supporting turns in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Wrath of the Titans (2012) and Total Recall (2012), 2012 was a busy year for Nighy. There are no signs of slowing down either, as he next appeared in Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), About Time (2013), and I, Frankenstein (2014).

Nighy has also had an active career on the small screen, beginning with Agony (1979), and his first widely-recognized role was in 1991 mini-series The Men's Room (1991). He has also made a habit of working on television with Harry Potter director David Yates: projects together include State of Play (2003), The Young Visiters (2003), The Girl in the Café (2005) and Page Eight (2011). Nighy won a Golden Globe for his performance in Gideon's Daughter (2005).

Nighy actually began his career on the stage, and has earned acclaim for his work in numerous plays including "The Vertical Hour," "Pravda". "A Map of the World", Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1993, and David Hare's Skylight. He received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance in 2001 play "Blue/Orange."

Bill's partner was actress Diana Quick (he asked her to marry him but she said: "don't ask me again"; he called her his wife because anything else would have been too difficult). They have a daughter, Mary Nighy, who is studying at university and contemplating an acting career. She has already begun to appear on TV dramas and radio programs.

Commanding performer Bill Nunn made his feature debut in fellow Morehouse College graduate Spike Lee's School Daze (1988), but really etched himself into moviegoers' minds as a formidable screen presence in his second film with Lee, Do the Right Thing (1989), playing Radio Raheem, whose ever-present boom box is at the center of a fight that leads to his death at the hands of an overzealous police officer, the prelude to the all-out riot that follows (Nunn also acted in Mo' Better Blues (1990) and He Got Game (1998) for Lee). Though he made his initial mark playing young street toughs on screen, this veteran of the Atlanta stage showed he could use his impressive size for something other than menace with a critically acclaimed performance as Harrison Ford's sympathetic, high-spirited physical therapist in Regarding Henry (1991). Nunn subsequently played pretty much every type there is, all the way up to nice, huggable teddy bear guys like Whoopi Goldberg's protector Eddie Souther in Sister Act (1992).

His professionalism made him a favorite of other directors besides Lee. He portrayed a Southern police chief in Bill Condon's White Lie (1991) (USA Network), later reteaming with Condon for Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (1995), and has also acted twice for Michael Apted (Extreme Measures (1996), HBO's Always Outnumbered (1998)) and Gary Fleder (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead (1995), Kiss the Girls (1997)). Nunn also turned in a fine performance as Tim Roth's adoptive father in The Legend of 1900 (1998), Giuseppe Tornatore's first English-language feature, released initially in Italy and then in the United States in 1999. He can also be seen in Spider-Man (2002), People I Know (2002) with Al Pacino and the prison thriller Lockdown (2000).

Nunn has also found time to do numerous television pilots and three series. He was in the CBS series Traps (1994) with George C. Scott, sitcom Local Heroes (1995) for NBC and the critically acclaimed The Job (2001) with Denis Leary on ABC. He appeared on episodes of Chicago Hope (1994), Touched by an Angel (1994) (both CBS), New York Undercover (1994) and Millennium (1996) (both Fox), among others.

Nunn lived in Georgia with his wife Donna and daughters Jessica and Cydney.

Bill Nye was born on 27 November 1955 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Bill Nye the Science Guy (1993), Flubber (1997) and Stargate: Atlantis (2004). He has been married to Liza Mundy since 22 June 2022. He was previously married to Blair Tindall.

Known for Daytime Emmy Award-winning "Take This Lollipop" and a ratings-winning role on CBS-TV's "Criminal Minds," Bill Oberst Jr. is an American actor of stage and screen whose real-life gentleness and interest in things spiritual are at odds with his often macabre screen persona. Ron Chaney, great-grandson of Lon Chaney, presented Oberst with the first Lon Chaney Award For Outstanding Achievement In Independent Horror Films in 2014.

Oberst's staged theatrical reading "Ray Bradbury's Pillar Of Fire" won an Ernest Kearney Platinum Award for its Los Angeles debut, and was named Best Solo Show Of Hollywood Fringe and Best LA Solo Show in the 2015 Best Of LA Theater Roundup at Bitter-Lemons. In 2017 "Ray Bradbury's Pillar Of Fire" won a United Solo Theatre Festival Award for its Off-Broadway debut on Theatre Row in New York City. Oberst later played Ray Bradbury on tour and Off-Broadway in "Ray Bradbury Live! (forever)", a solo portrayal authorized by Ray Bradbury's estate and publisher. His touring solo stage show about Satan, "Adversary," debuted in 2024.

The premiere of the horror-themed episode of CBS-TV's "Criminal Minds" which introduced Oberst's deformed killer character (also guest-starring Adrienne Barbeau and Tobin Bell) was the evening's most-watched TV program. CBS included Oberst's character in their list of "Criminal Minds' 14 Most Notorious Serial Killers." The character remains one of only a handful of uncaptured "Criminal Minds" killers.

He is perhaps most widely-known internationally as the face of director Jason Zada's "Take This Lollipop," awarded a Daytime Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the category of New Approaches-Daytime Entertainment. Oberst has been seen by over 100 million viewers worldwide as an online stalker in the interactive application for Facebook users.

His individual award wins include a 2017 Horror Icon Award at The Optical Theatre Festival in Italy, a 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award at Killuride Film Festival, a 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award at iHolly International Film Festival, a 2017 Best Actor Award at Dark Veins Horror Film Festival, a 2016 Eastman Award for Best Actor at Stock Shock Film Festival, a 2014 Best Actor Award at the Los Angeles Movie Awards, a 2015 Best Actor Award at Chicago Horror Film Festival, a 2015 Best Actor Award at Ontario Fright Night Theatre Film Festival, a 2015 Best Actor Award at Biloxi Fear Fete Film Festival, a 2015 Best Actor Award at Dallas Twisted Tails Film Festival, a 2014 Best Actor Award at FANtastic Horror Film Festival, a 2014 Best Actor Award at Housecore Horror Film Festival, a 2014 Best Actor Award at Tucson Terrorfest, a 2014 Best Actor Award at Los Angeles ZedFest Film Festival, a 2013 Best Actor Award at Pollygrind Film Festival, a 2012 Best Actor Award at Shockfest Film Festival, a 2012 Golden Cobb Award for Best Rising B-Movie Actor, a 2012 Baddest Villain Award at ZedFest Film Festival, a 2013 Monstey Award for Great Historical Monster Moments, a 2016 Best Supporting Actor Award at FANtastic Horror Film Festival, a 2017 Best Actor Award at Italy's Optical Theatre Festival and a 2018 Best Actor Award at An Anti-Hero Production Genre Film Festival in Los Angeles, a 2023 Best Actor Award at FANTastic Horror Film festival, a 2024 Best Actor Award at Shawna Shea Film Festival and a 2024 Best Actor Award at Wreak Havoc Horror Film Festival

His shared awards include a 2013 International Critics Award at Deauville Film Festival in France, a 2014 Best Narrative Feature Award at The Los Angeles Movie Awards, a 2016 Director's Award at Boston Underground Film Festival, a 2013 Audience Award at Phoenix Film Festival, a 2013 Audience Award at New Orleans Film Festival, a 2013 Copper Wing Award at Phoenix Film Festival, a 2013 Best Feature Award at Unreal Film Festival, a 2013 Narrative Feature Award at Pollygrind Film Festival, a 2012 Shocker Award at LA Shockfest Film Festival, a 2012 Best Ensemble Acting Award at Sacramento Horror Film Festival a 2012 Best Ensemble Acting Award at Phoenix Film Festival, a 2021 Outstanding Achievement Award at L'age d'Or International Arthouse Film Festival, a 2021 Festival Award at Crown Wood International Film Festival, a 2020 Judges Award at Culture & Diversity Film Festival, and a 2022 Award of Prestige at the Vegas Movie Awards.

Bill Paterson was born on 3 June 1945 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Witches (1990), Miss Potter (2006) and How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008). He has been married to Hildegard Bechtler since 1984. They have two children.

Bill Paxton was born on May 17, 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas. He was the son of Mary Lou (Gray) and John Lane Paxton, a businessman and actor (as John Paxton). Bill moved to Los Angeles, California at age eighteen, where he found work in the film industry as a set dresser for Roger Corman's New World Pictures. He made his film debut in the Corman film Crazy Mama (1975), directed by Jonathan Demme. Moving to New York, Paxton studied acting under Stella Adler at New York University. After landing a small role in Stripes (1981), he found steady work in low-budget films and television. He also directed, wrote and produced award-winning short films including Barnes & Barnes: Fish Heads (1980), which aired on Saturday Night Live (1975). His first appearance in a James Cameron film was a small role in The Terminator (1984), followed by his very memorable performance as Private Hudson in Aliens (1986) and as the nomadic vampire Severen in Kathryn Bigelow's Near Dark (1987). Bill also appeared in John Hughes' Weird Science (1985), as Wyatt Donnelly's sadistic older brother Chet. Although he continued to work steadily in film and television, his big break did not come until his lead role in the critically acclaimed film-noir One False Move (1991). This quickly led to strong supporting roles as Wyatt Earp's naive younger brother Morgan in Tombstone (1993) and as Fred Haise, one of the three astronauts, in Apollo 13 (1995), as well as in James Cameron's offering True Lies (1994).

Bill died on February 25, 2017, in Los Angeles, from complications following heart surgery. He was 61.

Bill Pertwee was born on 21 July 1926 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. He was an actor and writer, known for Dad's Army (1968), Dad's Army (1971) and Chance in a Million (1984). He was married to Marion Pertwee. He died on 27 May 2013 in Truro, Cornwall, England, UK.

Bill Pohlad is known for 12 Years a Slave (2013), Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Love & Mercy (2014).

William James Pullman was born in Hornell, New York, one of seven children of Johanna (Blaas), a nurse, and James Pullman, a doctor. He is of Dutch (mother) and English, Northern Irish, and Scottish (father) descent. After high school, Bill went into a building construction program at SUNY Delhi in New York. He transferred to State University of New York College at Oneonta where he received his BA in Theater. He received both his MFA in Theater/Directing and an honorary PHD from University of Massachusetts at Amherst. While teaching Directing at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, one of Bill's students was the soon-to-be film director John Dahl, who later cast Mr. Pullman in "The Last Seduction".

Moving to New York City, he worked with Kathy Bates in the acclaimed stage production of "Curse of the Starving Class". However, it was his first work in three strikingly diverse films that brought him to the attention of his audience: "Ruthless People" with Danny DeVito and Bette Milder, the Mel Brooks hit "Spaceballs" and the Oscar-nominated (and winner for Best Supporting Actress Geena Davis) "The Accidental Tourist". Still attracted to the art and study of building construction, Bill has designed and/or restored three "barns": In Montana, he converted a 1933 barn at his ranch into his family home. In Los Angeles, he built a Truss barn in the style of LA's 1910 fruit storage barns. In western New York State, he restored a '3-bay' barn that sometimes serves as a community center near his hometown of Hornell, New York. Focused more on neighborhoods than show business-based charities and societies, Pullman has defined himself by his work with his local communities. He works to bridge communities of Los Angeles through his board work with Cornerstone Theater. Pullman continues to work with his neighbors who formed "Concerned Citizens Montana" to secure a place at the table regarding the national need for a smart grid for energy transmission. He also works with the local university (Alfred University, New York) as well as supports local health services ("The Pullman Women's Health and Birthing Center" at St James Hospital, Hornell, NY).

Pullman is also an MS Society Ambassador. Based in Los Angeles, New York City and Western Montana, Pullman is married to dancer Tamara Hurwitz Pullman, and they have three children, daughter singer/songwriter Maesa Rae and multi-talented sons Jack and Lewis Pullman, who is now also an actor.

Bill Quinn was born on 6 May 1912 in New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983), Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) and The Birds (1963). He was married to Mary Catherine Roden. He died on 29 April 1994 in Camarillo, California, USA.

Throughout his 16-year NFL career, Romanowski was mired in controversy as he was notorious for having numerous altercations with opponents as well as teammates which made him widely considered as the dirtiest player in NFL history. His career effectively ended in 2003 when he fought fellow Oakland Raider Marcus Williams which involved a punch in the face that was hard enough to crush one of his eye sockets. This ended Williams' career prematurely due to poor vision from Romanowski's punch.

Bill Sage was born on 3 April 1962 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for American Psycho (2000), Mysterious Skin (2004) and Boiler Room (2000).

Bill Istvan Gunther Skarsgard is a Swedish actor, producer, director, writer, voice actor, and model. He is best known for portraying Pennywise the Dancing Clown in the supernatural horror films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019), based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. He also voiced the Deviant Kro in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Eternals (2021).

Connecticut-born actor Bill Smitrovich (on May 16, 1947) started his acting career rather late. A Masters degree holder from Smith College and a former acting teacher at the University of Massachusetts, the hefty actor earned his big break in an understudy role in the world premiere of Arthur Miller's "The American Clock" at the Spoleto Festival, a production that went to Broadway. Other stage parts have included "Food from Trash," "Requiem for a Heavyweight," "Far East" and "Frankie & Johnny at the Claire de Lune." Bill was a founding member of the No Theatre Company, now in association with the Wooster Group, whose members included Willem Dafoe and the late Spalding Gray. Bill made his 1978 New York debut in the company's production of "The Elephant Man."

In the early 1980s he started tackling film and TV roles, often playing good cops and assorted villainous types. He made his film debut in a small role in A Little Sex (1982) and went on to play a prime part in the TV-movie pilot of Miami Vice (1984). A co-starring detective part on the series Crime Story (1986) led to more visibility. He finally became a household face (if not quite a name) as former construction worker-turned-restaurateur Drew Thatcher, the father of three on the critically acclaimed dramatic series Life Goes On (1989). Co-starring with Patti LuPone (of "Evita" fame), they played parents to a son born with Down Syndrome (portrayed by Chris Burke). The much-admired family-oriented show, which went on to deal with other topical themes such as AIDS, lasted four seasons.

Since then Bill has involved himself in raising public consciousness and sensitivity of Down Syndrome. He has hosted the annual "Life Goes On Celebrity Golf Classic" for the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles. Following this TV success, Bill co-starred on the A Nero Wolfe Mystery (2001) with Timothy Hutton and Maury Chaykin, had a recurring chief prosecutor role on The Practice (1997) and played a lieutenant in the Fox hit series Millennium (1996). His many film roles include Key Exchange (1985), Renegades (1989), The Trigger Effect (1996) with Dermot Mulroney, Independence Day (1996) with Will Smith, a strong role as a public defender in Rob Reiner's Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), Air Force One (1997) and, more recently, as a general in Kevin Costner's Cuban Missile Crisis drama Thirteen Days (2000). He also played Alexander Haig in the TV-movie biopic on Ronald Reagan starring James Brolin and Judy Davis.

Married to Shaw Purnell and the father of two, he has played a number of high-ranking officials, both good or corrupt, over the years. Most of Bill's recent work into the millennium has been on the small screen with guest appearances on such popular shows as "Nash Bridges," "NYPD Blue," "24," "Numb3rs," "Law and Order," "Criminal Minds," "Brothers & Sisters," "Desperate Housewives," "Boston Legal," "Castle," "Californication," "Two and a Half Men" and "Grey's Anatomy," with regular/recurring roles on such series as The Practice (1997), Without a Trace (2002), The Event (2010), The Last Ship (2014) Dynasty (2017). Occasional big screen supports include Thirteen Days (2000), Iron Man (2008), The Rum Diary (2011),Eagle Eye (2008), Ted (2012) and its sequel Ted 2 (2015), The November Man (2014), Bitch (2017) and Valley of Bones (2017)

Billie Joe Armstrong was born in Piedmont, California, a small town surrounded by the city of Oakland, and was raised in Rodeo, California, the youngest of six children of Ollie (Jackson) and Andrew "Andy" Marsicano Armstrong. His father worked as a jazz musician and truck driver for Safeway Inc. to support his family. He died of esophageal cancer on September 10, 1982. The song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" is a memorial to his father. He has five older siblings: David, Alan, Marci, Hollie, and Anna. His mother worked at Rod's Hickory Pit restaurant in El Cerrito. Armstrong and Mike Pritchard's first live performance was at Rod's Hickory Pit in 1987; their first performance under the name Green Day was in Davis, a college town approximately an hour's drive northeast of San Francisco Bay.

Armstrong's interest in music started at a young age. He attended Hillchest Elementary School in Rodeo, where a teacher encouraged him to record a song titled "Look for Love" at the age of five on the Bay Area label Fiat Records. After his father died, his mother married a man whom her children disliked, which resulted in Armstrong's further retreat into music. At the age of 10, Armstrong met Mike Dirnt in the school cafeteria and they immediately bonded over their love of music. He became interested in punk rock after being introduced to punk rock by his brothers. Armstrong has also cited Minneapolis-based bands The Replacements and Husker Du as major musical influences.

Armstrong attended John Swett High School, also in Crockett, and later Pinole Valley High School in Pinole, California, but then dropped out to pursue his musical career.

In 1987, aged 15, Armstrong formed a band called Sweet Children with his childhood friend Mike Pritchard. In the beginning, Pritchard and Armstrong both played guitar, with John Kiffmeyer on drums, and Sean Hughes on bass. After a few performances, Hughes left the band in 1988; Pritchard then began playing bass and they became a three-piece band. They changed their name to Green Day in April 1989, choosing the name because of their fondness for marijuana. That same year, they released their debut EP 1,000 Hours through Lookout Records. They recorded their debut studio album 39/Smooth and the extended play Slappy in 1990, which were later combined with 1,000 Hours into the compilation 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours in 1991. Frank Edwin Wright III eventually became Green Day's drummer in late 1990 when Sobrante left Green Day in order to go to college. California punk band Rancid's lead singer Tim Armstrong asked Armstrong to join his band, but he refused owing to the progress with Green Day. Wright made his debut on Green Day's second album, Kerplunk. With their next album, Dookie (1994), the band broke through into the mainstream, and have remained one of the most popular rock bands of the 1990s and 2000s with over 60 million records sold worldwide. In 2009, their hit American Idiot became a musical on Broadway.

Apart from working with Green Day and side-band Pinhead Gunpowder, Armstrong has collaborated with many artists over the years. He has co-written for The Go-Go's ("Unforgiven") and former Avengers singer Penelope Houston ("The Angel and The Jerk" and "New Day"), co-written a song with Rancid ("Radio"), and sung backing vocals with Melissa Auf der Maur on Ryan Adams' "Do Miss America" (where they acted as the backing band for Iggy Pop on his Skull Ring album ("Private Hell" and "Supermarket"). Armstrong has produced an album for The Riverdales. He has also been confirmed to be part of a side project called The Network, which released an album called Money Money 2020. Money Money 2020 was released on Adeline Records, a record label co-owned by Armstrong. Armstrong also provided lead guitar and backing vocals on 3 songs for The Lookouts' final extended play IV (1989).

Hoping to clear his head and develop new ideas for songs, Armstrong traveled to New York City alone for a few weeks, renting a small apartment in the East Village of Manhattan. He spent much of this time taking long walks and participating in jam sessions in the basement of Hi-Fi, a bar in Manhattan. However, the friends he made during this time drank too much for his liking, which was the catalyst for Armstrong's return to the Bay Area. After returning home, Armstrong was arrested on DUI charges on January 5, 2003, and released on $1,200 bail.

In 2010, Armstrong joined the cast of American Idiot, which won two Tonys, for one week in the role of St. Jimmy. He replaced the original Broadway cast member Tony Vincent from September 28 to October 3. (American Idiot is an adaption of Green Day's concept album of the same name). Armstrong returned to the role of St. Jimmy for 50 performances beginning January 1, 2011.

On Thursday, July 26, 2012 it was announced he joined Season 3 of NBC's The Voice as a mentor for Christina Aguilera. He will mentor the artists on Aguilera's team where she serves as a coach.

In 1990, Armstrong met Adrienne Nesser at one of Green Day's early performances in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They married on July 2, 1994, and the day after their wedding, Adrienne discovered she was pregnant. Their first child, Joseph Marciano Armstrong, who was born on February 28, 1995, now plays drums in a Berkeley-based band named Emily's Army. Their second child, Jakob Danger Armstrong, was born on September 12, 1998. Billie Joe is the co-owner of Adeline Records, along with his wife.

Vaudeville comedienne Billie Bird Sellen was discovered at an orphanage at the age of eight years and hired to tour theater circuits with a vaudeville troupe. During the Vietnam War she accompanied 12 USO tours entertaining the troops in the war zone in the 1960s and 1970s. She had worked as recently as 1995 when she appeared in Jury Duty (1995), starring Pauly Shore. Other notable performances were in Dennis the Menace (1993) and Home Alone (1990).

One of her best-known film appearances was in the 1968 movie The Odd Couple (1968). Her last appearance was a cameo in 1997 in the short-lived television comedy George & Leo (1997) with Judd Hirsch and Bob Newhart. She had also been a regular from 1988-1992 in the sitcom Dear John (1988), and in a series of performances as a cheerful and sassy senior citizen in such productions as Ernest Saves Christmas (1988) and Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol (1987).

Billie Burke was born Mary William Ethelbert Appleton Burke on August 7, 1884 in Washington, D.C. Her father was the internationally famous clown, Billy Burke, and she would spend most of her early years touring Europe before the family settled in London. In 1903, she appeared on the stage as an actress and came to America in 1907 to star opposite John Drew in "My Wife". A red-haired beauty, she became the toast of Broadway and married promoter Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. in April 1914. Billie was signed in 1915 to make the film Peggy (1916). Of the next 15 films that she made, she would make 14 in New York. In between films, she would return to the stage which was her first love. Her last films were released in 1921 and she went into semi-retirement until their fortune was wiped out in 1929. Billie would return to films to support herself and her husband. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. would die, a broken man, in 1932.

It was in the comedy drama Dinner at Eight (1933) that Billie would find the character that she would play the rest of her career. It is the hapless, feather-brained lady with the unmistakably high voice who would be more interested in little details than what was at hand. In some films, like Piccadilly Jim (1936), she was obviously too old for the part, but played it to the hilt. Beginning in 1937, she starred in the "Topper" series of films (Topper (1937), Topper Takes a Trip (1938) and Topper Returns (1941)) for producer Hal Roach in which she played Mrs. Topper with her usual fluffy performance. But for most of the people who were raised on television, she will always be remembered as Glinda, the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz (1939). She continued to make films though out the 1940s and started another series with Father of the Bride (1950) and the follow-up Father's Little Dividend (1951).

A real trouper, she next went to television with the television series Doc Corkle (1952). The series was canceled after three weeks due to poor writing. By 1953, her career was slowing down and she would only make three more movies in 1959 and 1960. The best remembered one would be John Ford's Western Sergeant Rutledge (1960). Billie Burke retired for good and lived in Los Angeles, California, where she died at age 85 of natural causes on May 14, 1970.

Billie Lourd is an American actress. She is known for starring as Chanel #3 in the Fox horror comedy series Scream Queens (2015-2016) and for her roles in the FX horror anthology series American Horror Story (2017-present). She also appears as Lieutenant Connix in the Star Wars sequel trilogy (2015-2019).

Billie Piper studied at the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. She caught the eyes of record producers who were interested in signing a young vocalist when she was the poster girl for the ad campaign of a British pop music magazine, "Smash Hits". She released her first single, "Because We Want To", which debuted at #1 at age 15. Her second single, "Girlfriend", was also a #1 hit. By the time she turned 16, Billie had released 4 singles that all made the top three on the charts. She has been labeled the "Pop Princess" of England, UK.

Billie Thomas was an African-American child actor who was best-known for appearing in the "Our Gang" film series from 1934 to its end in 1944.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Thomas auditioned for an "Our Gang" role when he was three years old. He was cast as a background player in the short films "For Pete's Sake!", "The First Round-Up", and "Washee Ironee", all from 1934.

With the short film "Mama's Little Pirate" (1935), Thomas became the third actor to portray the character "Buckwheat", who had at first been depicted as a bowed-pigtailed female character at first, portrayed by Carlena Beard (1929-1972) and Willie Mae Walton (1918-2018); Thomas was effectively cross-dressing for the role. Buckwheat eventually became a more masculine character, and was first credited as male in "The Pinch Singer" (1936). He gained an entirely-new costume for "Pay as You Exit" (1936), where he played a slave in search of a master. Thomas kept this new look--overalls, striped shirt, oversized shoes, and a large, unkempt Afro--for the duration of playing this role, until 1944.

Thomas performed in "Our Gang" for 10 years. During this time, he was only absent for a single film, "Feed 'em and Weep" (1938), because he was ill. His character was paired with that of Eugene "Porky" Lee: they were "the little kids" who outsmarted "the big kids": George "Spanky" McFarland and Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer.

As a young child, Thomas had a speech impediment; this was transferred to his character and used as a comic device. Both Buckwheat and Porky spoke in "garbled dialogue" and pronounced "OK" as "O-tay!"

The series' original short films were produced by Hal Roach Studios, but production was taken over by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1938. From 1938 to 1944, MGM produced 52 "Our Gang" short films and Thomas was the only cast member to appear in all of them. He was the only holdover from the Hal Roach era to remain in the series until its end.

Thomas' team-up with Eugene Lee ended when Lee was replaced by new cast member Robert Blake. By 1940 Thomas had outgrown his speech impediment, and Buckwheat started speaking clearly as well. The series' final film was "Dancing Romeo" (1944), and Thomas was 12 years old during its production.

While Buckwheat became synonymous with the "pickaninny" stereotype of African-American children, Thomas himself was well-liked for being depicted as a playmate and equal to the white children of the series. "Our Gang" featured a desegregated cast during the Jim Crow Era.

Thomas largely retired from acting following the 1940s. He served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956 and received both a National Defense Service Medal and a Good Conduct Medal. Following his discharge, Thomas was offered new acting roles but he rejected them. He viewed an acting career as "a rat race ... with no security". Instead, he chose a more modest career as a film lab technician for the Technicolor corporation.

In the summer of 1980, surviving "Our Gang" cast members appeared in the second annual meeting of the fraternal organization the Sons of the Desert (named after a Laurel and Hardy film). Thomas received a spontaneous standing ovation by 500 fans, and cried in response. On October 10, 1980, he suffered a heart attack and died. He was 49 years old.

Thomas was survived by his son William Thomas Jr. In 1992, the younger Thomas created the Buckwheat Memorial Scholarship for students of California State Northridge University. The scholarship was named in honor of his father and his best-known role.

Billie was born in Coventry but taken to Bradford as a child and raised there and later joined the theatre school at the Civic Playhouse. She first played little boy parts on radio at BBC Manchester before moving into plays on television, On stage she appeared at the National Theatre but is mainly remembered for her 25 years association with the Irish playwright Samuel Beckett. in films she was twice cast with Albert Finney in Charlie Bubbles(1969) and Gumshoe (1995)

Billy Aaron Brown was born on 28 July 1981 in Clarinda, Iowa, USA. He is an actor, known for Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003), 8 Simple Rules (2002) and First Night (2007).

Billy Barty was born William John Bertanzetti on October 25, 1924 in Millsboro, Pennsylvania. He began performing at age three and began making pictures in 1927. He played Mickey Rooney's little brother in the "Mickey McGuire" comedy shorts series. He was equally adept in both comedy and drama, and generally gives an added zest to any production he is associated with. He founded the Little People of America in 1957 and the Billy Barty Foundation in 1975. He possessed an immense talent and energetic charm that added a much needed shot in the arm to many series and films. Billy Barty died at age 76 of heart failure on December 23, 2000 in Glendale, California.

Billy Boyd was born in 1968 in Glasgow, Scotland, to Mary and William Boyd. The talented young boy, inspired by Star Wars to try acting, got his first taste of it in his school's production of Oliver Twist when he was 10. Boyd's parents were extremely supportive, driving over two hours to get him to the performances, but sadly they passed away when he was 12. He was thereafter raised by his grandmother. He realized that he enjoyed acting very much and told his school counselor that was what he wanted to be, but the counselor discouraged this choice and told him to "keep it secret". When he was 17 he left school and went to work in a book-binding workshop. He worked there 4 years as an apprentice and 2 years as a workman. Ironically, during the years he worked at the book-binders, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was printed and bound there, many copies bound by his hands. After the 6 years as a book-binder, he was thoroughly sick of it. Billy planned on going to America for a year, but before he went he called the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and asked about applying for when he got back. But it so happened that they still had space for that year and they asked him if he wanted to apply and he did. He was at the drama school in a 3-year course for his bachelor of arts degree, meanwhile studying everything from Shakespeare to puppet-making. During this time Billy had a few small roles in TV series such as "Down Amongst The Boys" and "Taggart". After graduating he performed in many plays like 'The Slab Boys', 'The Diary of Adrian Mole' etc. at The St. Andrews theatre which were his first paying roles. He then received a call from his agent about the Lord of the Rings movies and if he would like to audition for them. He went along not expecting much, but within a few months Peter Jackson came out to Scotland to meet him and to audition him personally. While rehearsing for a show he received a call from his agent who said that the part of Pippin had been offered to him - if he wanted it. The rest is history.