Billy Gilbert(1894-1971)
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
The son of singers in the Metropolitan Opera, Billy Gilbert began
performing in vaudeville at age 12. He developed a drawn-out, explosive
sneezing routine that became his trademark (he was the model for, and
voice of, Sneezy in Blanche-Neige et les Sept Nains (1937)). Gilbert's exquisite comic timing made him
the perfect foil for such comedians as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and he was
especially memorable as the dim-witted process server Pettibone in
La dame du vendredi (1940).
