Merchant, Billy (Little Billy), 1919 - 2001
Dates
- Existence: 31 July 1919 - 26 May 2001
Biography
William Alfred Merchant, aka Little Billy, was an English dwarf clown born in a workhouse in Bristol on 31 July 1919. Billy was abandoned by his parents as a child and brought up in an orphanage in the city.
From a young age, Billy became fascinated with his local variety theatre, the Bristol Empire, where he was eventually recruited into John Lester’s midget troupe in 1937. From this point Billy’s career as a performer took off and he started to tour around the leading variety theatres in England with several troupes.
During the Second World War Billy worked as an aircraft fitter for the Bristol Aeroplane Company. He also performed for wounded soldiers and in 1944 was engaged to work at Chessington Zoo Circus in a double act with clown Fiery Jack during the summer season. In the late 1940s he started a partnership with Jacko Fossett which will last thirty years and turned the pair into one of the most popular clowning acts in Britain and Europe, where they travelled extensively. The duo also became a household name at the Belle Vue annual Christmas Circus until Billy retired in 1979 and spent six summer seasons at the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome.
Billy became one of Britain’s best loved circus clowns and received a lifetime achievement award from the Circus Friends' Association of Great Britain in 2000.
Found in 21 Collections and/or Records:
Programmes, c1800 - 2019
A collection of mainly British and international circus programmes and some variety and music hall programmes containing circus acts.