- Born
- Died
- Birth nameWilliam Gilbert Barron
- Height5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
- 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 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (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 His Girl Friday (1940).- IMDb Mini Biography By: [email protected]
- SpouseElla McKenzie(1937 - September 23, 1971) (his death)
- His exaggerated sneeze
- Was a middleweight prizefighter.
- Briefly performed as a female impersonator.
- Barry, his 13-year-old adopted son, committed suicide after being scolded by his grandmother for letting his pet parrot escape from its cage.
- By his own account, he was working on stage in Louisville one night, when his straight man was taken ill. He pressed into service the Theatre Manager to substitute. That manager turned out to be Bud Abbott.
- Was born in a dressing room at the Hopkins Opera House in Louisville, KY.
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