BILL KERR

1924 -

Bill Kerr's character changed during his spell in "Hancock's Half Hour": in the early shows he was portrayed as sharp wise guy, later his image changed to that of a village idiot. Bill's home was a place called Wagga Wagga, a small township in New South Wales. He was actually born in South Africa whilst his show business parents toured in 1924. He, like Sid James, made his first appearance on stage at a very early age: his mother took him on stage at the age of ten weeks.

Bill's early career was based around a vaudeville act. After graduating from vaudeville road shows, Bill moved on to touring with the Young Australian League. He also did a lot of work on radio for the ABC until his voice broke and he ended up working as a bellhop in a hotel.

At the outbreak of World War 2, Bill signed up for the Air Force Reserve, working as a comic entertaining the troops in the South Pacific. After being demobbed he went back to vaudeville again until he got a passage to England on a cattle steamer, landing in England with just £5 in his pocket. Things were so desperate for Bill he was about to pawn his suit when he met Joy Nichols, an old friend of his from his days in youth theatre. Joy helped Bill get an audition for a show called "The Navy Mixture" From there he went on to do some variety acts and a small tour. His big break was to appear in the hugely popular radio show "Variety Bandbox".

He needed an agent and a friend suggested Phyllis Rounce. Although he had telephoned to make an appointment he was over half an hour late ; outside Phyllis's office there was a man lying face down in the snow - it was Bill. He had never seen snow before and was rubbing handfuls into his face.

Bill starred in several radio comedies before "Hancock's Half Hour" including "Variety Bandbox". Bill appeared in films including "The Dam Busters" and "You Know What Sailors Are". He also appeared on TV - he did a series of "Dr Who" with Patrick Troughton in 1967 and also appeared in Sid James's BBC series "Citizen James". Bill returned to Australia where he is in demand as a character actor for both films and TV work.

• Harmony Row (1933) .... Sonny
  
  
• Silence of Dean Maitland (1935)
  
  
• Penny Points to Paradise (1951) .... Digger Graves
  
  
• My Death Is A Mockery (1951) .... Hansen
  
  
• Appointment In London (1953) .... Flight Lieutenant Bill Brown
  
  
• The Dam Busters (1954) .... Flight Lieutenant H. B. Martin
  
  
• You Know What Sailors Are (1954) .... Lt. Smart
  
  
• The Night My Number Came Up (1955) .... Soldier
  
  
• The Captain's Table (1959) .... Bill Coke
  
  
• The Wrong Arm Of The Law (1962) .... Jack Coombes
  
  
• A Pair Of Briefs (1962)
  
  
• Doctor In Distress (1963) .... Sailor
  
  
• Doctor In Clover (1966) .... Digger
  
  
• A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966)
  
  
• The Confessional (1975) .... Davy
  
  
• Gallipoli (1981) .... Uncle Jack
  
  
• The Year Of Living Dangerously (1982) .... Colonel Henderson
  
  
• Dusty (1982) .... Tom Lincoln
  
  
• The Pirate Movie (1982) .... Major-General
  
  
• The Settlement (1983) .... Kearney
  
  
• Vigil (1984) .... Birdie
  
  
• Razorback (1984) .... Jake Cullen
  
  
• Relatives (1985) .... Grandpa
  
  
• The Coca-Cola Kid (1985) .... T. George McDowell
  
  
• Double Skulls (1986)
  
  
• The Lighthorsemen (1987) .... Chauvel
  
  
• Running From The Guns (1987) .... Gilman
  
  
• Mortuary Academy (1988) .... Brody
  
  
• Kokoda Crescent (1989) .... Ross
  
  
• Sweet Talker (1991) .... Cec
  
  
• Over The Hill (1992) .... Maurice
  
  

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  Television

• Garry Halliday (1959) [TV Series]
  
  
• Citizen James (1960) [TV Series]
  
  
• Ghost Squad : "Hong Kong Story" (1961) .... Wacker
  
  
• Doctor Who : "The Enemy Of The World" (1967) .... Giles Kent
  
  
• Deadline (1982)
  
  
• "1915" (1982) [Mini-Series]
  
  
• A Fortunate Life (1985) [Mini-Series]
  
  
• The Christmas Visitor (1987) .... Watson
  
  
• The Heroes (1988) .... Paddy McDowell
  
  
• The Private War Of Lucinda Smith (1990) .... Scotty
  
  
• The New Adventures Of Black Beauty (1990) .... Samuel Burton
  
  
• The River Kings (1991) [Mini-Series] .... Captain Elijah
  
  
• Snowy (1993) [TV Series]
  
  
• Minty (1998) [TV Series] .... Willy Courtnay
  
  

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