William Mikado Danvers (16 January 1886 – 20 March 1964) was an English comedian and

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

performer.

Life and career

He was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, the son of James Danvers (1855-1915), a well-known singer with the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. Th ...

, and his wife Annie ( Dobbs). At the time of his birth, they were appearing in a touring show of

Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan was a Victorian era, Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900), who jointly created fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which ...

's ''

The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...

'', with James in the title role, and gave their son the operetta's name. Billy Danvers first appeared on the

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

stage at the age of four, with his father and

Little Tich Harry Relph (21 July 186710 February 1928),Russell, Dav"Relph, Harry (1867–1928)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2013 professionally known as Littl ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. He then formed a double act with Frank Bass, and made his first London appearance in 1911. Described as "a red-nosed comic of the old school", and billed as "Cheeky, Cheery and Chubby", he became a successful solo comedian in the 1920s and 1930s. He appeared in

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

s (often as "

Buttons A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, ...

"), and

musical comedies Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

, and performed in New York as well as throughout Britain. He also made many appearances on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

. Billy Danvers, Search, ''BBC Radio Times''
Retrieved 24 April 2022 In 1942, Pat Hillyard, Assistant Director of Variety at the BBC, instructed all programme producers to scrutinise Danvers' performances, to make sure that he did not "slip anything in on the night".Richard Anthony Baker, ''Old Time Variety: an illustrated history'', Pen & Sword, 2011, , p.42 From 1948, described as "Always Merry and Bright", Danvers toured as part of Don Ross's successful show ''Thanks for the Memory'',"1948 sees the Palace Theatre say ‘Thanks for the memory!’", ''Manchester Theatre History''
Retrieved 24 April 2022 and appeared in that year's

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 f ...

. He made further appearances in the 1964 ''Thanks for the Memory'' tour, but died in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

shortly after the end of the tour, at the age of 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danvers, Billy 1886 births 1964 deaths English male comedians Music hall performers Comedians from Liverpool