Billy Beck (born Frank Billerbeck; May 26, 1920 – June 29, 2011) was an American clown and character actor.

Life

Born Frank Billerbeck on May 26, 1920 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Billy did drawings of clowns as a kid. Beck fought in World War II with the Allied Forces in France during the 1940's and returned in 1948 to Paris, France.

Career

After fighting with the Allied Forces in France during World War II, Beck returned to Europe in 1948 to Paris, France, where he began his show business career acting in French films. Beck began his career as a clown at the legendary Cirque Medrano in Paris, France, in the late 1950s, and appeared in small roles beginning in the 1950s, Beck appeared in the 1954 made for television series Sherlock Holmes, starring Ronald Howard. On TV he portrayed Coco the Clown in episode #24, "The Night Train Mystery", as well as appearing as Rafe in the third season of Combat! in the episode "The Town That Went Away " (1964) as Rafe and in S11E22's “The Wishbone” as Mr. Tonkins in the TV Western Gunsmoke (1966). He also appeared in such films as Irma la Douce (1963), The Patsy (1964), The Fortune Cookie (1966), Nickelodeon (1976), House (1986), and the 1988 remake The Blob as the first victim of the title creature.

Death

Beck died in his Glendale home of natural causes on June 29, 2011, at age 91.

Filmography