--- name: "Billy Gilbert" canonical: "https://film.one/person/billy-gilbert" fi1m_id: "billy-gilbert" imdb_id: "nm0317970" tmdb_id: 5464 wikidata_id: "Q186798" roles: ["Actor"] born: "11 September 1894" died: "23 September 1971" reviewed_on_fi1m: 8 average_fi1m_score: 81 average_as: "actor" average_over: 4 updated: "2026-09-25T02:45:38.611315+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Billy Gilbert ## Identity Billy Gilbert - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/billy-gilbert - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** billy-gilbert - **IMDb ID:** nm0317970 - **TMDB ID:** 5464 - **Wikidata ID:** Q186798 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Gilbert, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q186798, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0317970/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5464 Actor. Born 11 September 1894 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. Died 23 September 1971. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 11 September 1894, Louisville, Kentucky, USA - **Died:** 23 September 1971 - **Active:** 1937–1945 - **Also known as:** William Gilbert Barron, William Gilbert - **Titles on Fi1m:** 8: 4 acting, 4 other - **Frequently works with:** [Joe Pasternak](https://film.one/person/joe-pasternak.md) - **Average Fi1m score:** 81, as actor, over 4 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 84 (5), 1940s 80 (3) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 85 to 83 across 3 titles - **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 3 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Comedy 4, Romance 2, Crime 1, Music 1, War 1, Western 1 - **Screen time:** 8 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $19m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Gilbert, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q186798, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0317970/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/5464 ## Streaming the US now - **Disney+:** [*Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs*](https://film.one/film/snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs.md) (85) - **HBO Max:** [*The Great Dictator*](https://film.one/film/the-great-dictator.md) (80) - **Tubi:** [*Anchors Aweigh*](https://film.one/film/anchors-aweigh.md) (70) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Billy Gilbert > Billy Gilbert built a career on one sneeze and a great deal of bluster, and put both to better use than most comic supports of his day. He is at his best in short doses, opposite people the bluster can bounce off. Billy Gilbert's sneeze does not simply happen. It announces itself. The face tightens, the breath catches, a hand goes up, the whole body leans back and holds, and everyone else in the frame stops to wait. When it arrives it is less a sneeze than a small detonation, and the joke is that he looks as surprised as anyone. He did it for years, in shorts and features and finally in a cartoon, usually when the character was already excited or nervous, and the wait was always the point. He came to films in 1929 from vaudeville, which he had joined at twelve, and settled in at Hal Roach's studio, where the work was short comedies and the job was to be the man who loses his temper. He shouted at Laurel and Hardy in *The Music Box* (1932) as a professor with a name too long to say, and again in *Block-Heads* (1938); he was a regular foil for Charley Chase as well. Roach's shorts needed a wall for the comedians to run into, and Gilbert, large, loud and put-upon, was a good wall. The sneeze got him noticed at Disney. He recalled meeting Walt, who "liked my sneeze", and being called back over a long period to record sessions of nothing else. The result is Sneezy in *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* (1937), uncredited. Our review places him among the seven without singling him out, and that is about right: Sneezy is a running gag rather than a character, and Gilbert's contribution is a noise. It is, though, a noise a great many people can still do on request. The features of the 1940s gave him more to do. In *His Girl Friday* (1940) he is Joe Pettibone, the slow-witted process server who wanders into a newspaper story, and it is the part people cite when they cite him. In *The Great Dictator* (1940) he is Field Marshal Herring, a parody of a high Nazi official. We will be honest: watching Chaplin's film again, we barely noticed him. Chaplin is giving two performances at once and leaves little air for anyone else, and Herring is written as a target rather than a person. Gilbert takes the abuse with the patience of a man who took it from Hardy for a decade. That is the shape of the career, and the reservation. He was nearly always some way down the cast list, often uncredited, in and out in a scene or two. The timing and the dialects were reliable, and reliability in a supporting comic is a real gift, but it kept him in the same kind of room. He moved to television in the 1950s and made his last film in 1962. If you want him, go to the Roach shorts, where the room is small enough for him to fill it. In *Snow White* he is one seventh of the funniest scene in the film, and for a sneeze that is a fair return. ## Biography Billy Gilbert, born William Gilbert Barron, was an American actor and comedian. He appeared in more than 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows from 1929 to 1962. He is known for his role as Field Marshal Herring in *The Great Dictator* (1940), the voice of Sneezy in *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* (1937), and supporting parts in films including *His Girl Friday* (1940), *A Night at the Opera* (1935) and *Destry Rides Again* (1939). Gilbert began performing in vaudeville at the age of 12 and became noted for his comic sneeze routines and dialect work. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his contributions to motion pictures. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (8) ### Performed in (4) — the average rests on these - *Anchors Aweigh* (1945), Fi1m 70, as Cafe Manager — [page](https://film.one/film/anchors-aweigh.md) - *His Girl Friday* (1940), Fi1m 90, as Joe Pettibone — [page](https://film.one/film/his-girl-friday.md) - *The Great Dictator* (1940), Fi1m 80, as Field Marshal Herring — [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-dictator.md) - *Destry Rides Again* (1939), Fi1m 84, as Loupgerou — [page](https://film.one/film/destry-rides-again.md) ### Also credited (4) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* (1938), Fi1m 85, as Sneezy (voice) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs.md) - *Captains Courageous* (1937), Fi1m 84, as Soda Steward (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/captains-courageous.md) - *A Night at the Opera* (1935), Fi1m 84, as Orchestra Member Asking Fiorello Not to Play Piano (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/a-night-at-the-opera.md) - *Sons of the Desert* (1933), Fi1m 85, as Mr. Ruttledge (voice) (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/sons-of-the-desert.md) ## Complete filmography (200) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Hitler: The Comedy Years* (2007), as Field Marshal Herring (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.6* (2004), as Willie the Giant (voice) (archive sound) (uncredited) - *Dance of the Cookoos* (1982), as Doctor / Prof. von Schwarzenhoffen - *Disney's Greatest Villains* (1977), as Sneezy / Willie the Giant (voice) (archive footage) - *The Best of Laurel and Hardy* (1968), as First Drunk / Doctor (archive footage) - *The Sound of Laughter* (1963), as Billy (Large Duck Hunter) - *Five Weeks in a Balloon* (1962), as Sultan/Actioneer - *Paradise Alley* (1962), as Julius Wilson - *The Roaring 20's* (1960), series, Actor - *Shirley Temple's Storybook* (1958), series, as Able Baker, Gypsy Father - *The Danny Thomas Show* (1953), series, as Mr. Hoffsteader - *Down Among the Sheltering Palms* (1953), as King Jilouili - *Musical Comedy Time* (1950), series, Actor - *The Kissing Bandit* (1948), as General Felipe Toro - *Billie Gets Her Man* (1948), as Suitor (uncredited) - *Fun and Fancy Free* (1947), as Willie (voice) - *Mickey and the Beanstalk* (1947), as Willie the Giant (voice) (uncredited) - *Anchors Aweigh* (1945), as Cafe Manager — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/anchors-aweigh.md) - *Trouble Chasers* (1945), as Billy - *Crazy Knights* (1944), as Billy - *Ever Since Venus* (1944), as Tiny Lewis - *Wedded Bliss* (1944), Actor - *Three of a Kind* (1944), as Billy - *Take It or Leave It* (1944), as (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Crazy Like a Fox* (1944), as Cabbie - *Wing and a Prayer* (1944), as (archive footage) - *Crazy House* (1943), as Sid Drake - *Spotlight Scandals* (1943), as Billy Gilbert - *Always a Bridesmaid* (1943), as Nicholas 'Nick' Neopolitan - *Shot in the Escape* (1943), as Alexsos - *Shantytown* (1943), as 'Papa' Ferrelli - *Arabian Nights* (1942), as Ahmad - *Song of the Islands* (1942), as Palola's Father - *Sleepytime Gal* (1942), as Chef Popodopolis - *Mr. Wise Guy* (1942), as Knobby - *Valley of the Sun* (1942), as Judge Homer Burnaby - *Week-End in Havana* (1941), as Arbolado - *New Wine* (1941), as Poldi - *Angels with Broken Wings* (1941), as Billy Wilson - *Reaching for the Sun* (1941), as Amos - *Model Wife* (1941), as Mr. Dominic - *No, No, Nanette* (1940), as Styles - *A Night at Earl Carroll's* (1940), as Machinist's Mate - *Tin Pan Alley* (1940), as Sheik - *Seven Sinners* (1940), as Tony - *The Great Dictator* (1940), as Field Marshal Herring — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-great-dictator.md) - *The Villain Still Pursued Her* (1940), as Master of Ceremonies - *A Little Bit of Heaven* (1940), as Tony - *Sing, Dance, Plenty Hot* (1940), as Hector - *Lucky Partners* (1940), as Charles (uncredited) - *Scatterbrain* (1940), as Hoffman - *Cross-Country Romance* (1940), as Orestes - *Queen of the Mob* (1940), as Mr. Reier - *Safari* (1940), as Mondehare - *Women in War* (1940), as Pierre, the Cobbler - *Sandy Is a Lady* (1940), as Billy Pepino - *His Girl Friday* (1940), as Joe Pettibone — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/his-girl-friday.md) - *Destry Rides Again* (1939), as Loupgerou — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/destry-rides-again.md) - *Rio* (1939), as Manuelo - *The Under-Pup* (1939), as Tolio - *The Star Maker* (1939), as Stanislov Papadopoulos - *Million Dollar Legs* (1939), as Dick Schultz (uncredited) - *Forged Passport* (1939), as Nick Mendoza - *The Girl Downstairs* (1938), as Garage Mechanic - *Once Over Lightly* (1938), as Professor Dimitrius Kapouris · Screenplay - *Peck's Bad Boy with the Circus* (1938), as Bud Boggs - *Mr. Doodle Kicks Off* (1938), as Prof. Minorous - *Breaking the Ice* (1938), as Mr. Small - *My Lucky Star* (1938), as Nick - *Block-Heads* (1938), as Mr. Gilbert - *Army Girl* (1938), as Canteen waiter - *Joy of Living* (1938), as Cafe Owner - *Maid's Night Out* (1938), as Mr. Papalapoulas - *Happy Landing* (1938), as Counter Man - *Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs* (1938), as Sneezy (voice) (uncredited) — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs.md) - *She's Got Everything* (1937), as Chaffee - a Creditor - *Rosalie* (1937), as Oloff - *The Firefly* (1937), as Innkeeper - *Fight for Your Lady* (1937), as Boris - *Live, Love and Learn* (1937), as Newsboy (uncredited) - *Music for Madame* (1937), as Krause - *One Hundred Men and a Girl* (1937), as Garage Owner - *The Life of the Party* (1937), as Dr. Molnac - *Broadway Melody of 1938* (1937), as George Papaloopas - *The Toast of New York* (1937), as Photographer - *Captains Courageous* (1937), as Soda Steward (uncredited) — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/captains-courageous.md) - *Swing Fever* (1937), Actor - *The Outcasts of Poker Flat* (1937), as Charley - the Bartender - *The Man Who Found Himself* (1937), as Fat hobo - *China Passage* (1937), as Bartender - *Espionage* (1937), as Turk - *Sea Devils* (1937), as Billy - *When You're in Love* (1937), as Jose - *We're on the Jury* (1937), as Ephraim Allen - *On the Avenue* (1937), as Joe Papaloupas - *Night Waitress* (1936), as Torre - *Grandma's Buoys* (1936), as Von Muller - *Love on the Run* (1936), as Cafe Manager - *The Big Game* (1936), as Fisher - *Bulldog Edition* (1936), as George Poppupoppalas (uncredited) - *So and Sew* (1936), as Rudolpho - *Who's Looney Now* (1936), as Dr. Von Blatt - *Grand Jury* (1936), as Otto, the Janitor (uncredited) - *The Devil-Doll* (1936), as Matin's Butler (uncredited) - *The Bride Walks Out* (1936), as Mr. Donovan - *Early to Bed* (1936), as Burger - *Three of a Kind* (1936), as The Tailor - *One Rainy Afternoon* (1936), as Court Doorman (Uncredited) - *The First Baby* (1936), as Italian in Park - *Love on a Bet* (1936), as New York Policeman - *Sutter's Gold* (1936), as Gen. Ramos - *Dangerous Waters* (1936), as Carlos (uncredited) - *The Brain Busters* (1936), as Billy - *Millions in the Air* (1935), as Nikolas Popadopolis - *I Dream Too Much* (1935), as Cook at Cafe (uncredited) - *Coronado* (1935), as Waiter (uncredited) - *A Night at the Opera* (1935), as Orchestra Member Asking Fiorello Not to Play Piano (uncredited) — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/a-night-at-the-opera.md) - *Hi, Gaucho!* (1935), as Cappa Rosa - *Nurse to You!* (1935), as Dr. W.J. Gilbert - *Just Another Murder* (1935), as Mr. Quick - *Here Comes the Band* (1935), as Oswald Carroll (uncredited) - *Pardon My Scotch* (1935), as Senor Luis Balero Cantino (uncredited) - *Mad Love* (1935), as Autograph Seeker on Train (Uncredited) - *Paris in Spring* (1935), as First Chef - *Hail, Brother* (1935), Actor - *His Bridal Sweet* (1935), as Lesh the Lush - *His Old Flame* (1935), Actor - *Two Lame Ducks* (1934), as Billy - *Men in Black* (1934), as Dangerous Patient (uncredited) - *Super Stupid* (1934), Actor - *Happy Landing* (1934), as Husband - *Tripping Through the Tropics* (1934), as Fritz, Jack's Dad - *Them Thar Hills* (1934), as The Doctor - *Cockeyed Cavaliers* (1934), as Innkeeper - *Another Wild Idea* (1934), as Uncle Percy (voice) - *Music in Your Hair* (1934), as Meyer Schmaltz - *Maid in Hollywood* (1934), as Sneezing Man - *Roamin' Vandals* (1934), as Doc Gilbert - *Apples to You!* (1934), as Pinsky - *Soup and Fish* (1934), as Count Gustav - *Next Week-End* (1934), Actor - *The Cracked Ice Man* (1934), as William Gilbert - *Sons of the Desert* (1933), as Mr. Ruttledge (voice) (uncredited) — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/sons-of-the-desert.md) - *Luncheon at Twelve* (1933), as Betty's Father - *Keg o' My Heart* (1933), as Schmaltz · Director - *Rhapsody in Brew* (1933), as Louie Schmaltz · Director - *This Day and Age* (1933), as Nightclub Manager - *The Rummy* (1933), as Schmaltz - *The Girl in 419* (1933), as Sneezing Patient - *One Track Minds* (1933), as Train Conductor - *Made on Broadway* (1933), as Commissioner Jerry Allesandro (uncredited) - *Call Her Sausage* (1933), as Heinie Schmaltz - *The Bargain of the Century* (1933), as Captain Schmaltz - *Taxi Barons* (1933), as Billy / Dutchie - *The Keyhole* (1933), as Cuban Carriage Driver (uncredited) - *Forgotten Babies* (1933), as Radio Voice - *Maids a la Mode* (1933), as Von Smaltz - *Wreckety Wrecks* (1933), as Bill - *Fallen Arches* (1933), as Mr. Gilbert - *Asleep in the Feet* (1933), as Mr. Gilbert, Dance Hall Proprietor - *Bring'em Back a Wife* (1933), as Billy Gilbert - *Towed in a Hole* (1932), as Joe - Junkyard Owner - *Sneak Easily* (1932), as Attorney for the Prosecution - *Taxi for Two* (1932), as Billy Gilbert - *Their First Mistake* (1932), as Process server - *Yoo-Hoo* (1932), as I.M. Sweet, truck driver - *Hot Spot* (1932), as Cabbie - *Pack Up Your Troubles* (1932), as Mr. Hathaway - *Strange Innertube* (1932), as Billy - *Blondie of the Follies* (1932), as Kinskey's Friend (uncredited) - *What Price Taxi* (1932), as Jealous Husband - *The Hollywood Handicap* (1932), Actor - *Skyscraper Souls* (1932), as Second Ticket Agent (uncredited) - *Million Dollar Legs* (1932), as Secretary of the Interior (uncredited) - *County Hospital* (1932), as The Doctor - *First in War* (1932), as Commanding General - *The Chimp* (1932), as Joe the Landlord (uncredited) - *Strictly Unreliable* (1932), as The Actor - *Just a Pain in the Parlor* (1932), as Musician - *The Music Box* (1932), as Professor von Schwarzenhoffen (uncredited) - *You're Telling Me* (1932), as Bill Morgan - *Spanky* (1932), as Spanky's Father - *Red Noses* (1932), as Tailor's Customer - *The Nickel Nurser* (1932), as Todd's Butler - *Free Eats* (1932), as Head of the Family of Thieves - *Sealskins* (1932), as Mr. Morton (uncredited) - *The Tabasco Kid* (1932), as Mr. Jones a Rancher - *On the Loose* (1931), as Pierre, the Dressmaker (as William Gilbert) - *Hasty Marriage* (1931), as Distraught Passenger On Streetcar (uncredited) - *Dogs Is Dogs* (1931), as Mr. Brown (uncredited) - *One Good Turn* (1931), as Drunk - *Chinatown After Dark* (1931), as Dooley - *Shiver My Timbers* (1931), as The Sea Captain - *The Pajama Party* (1931), as Butler (uncredited) - *Catch-As Catch-Can* (1931), as Ring Announcer (uncredited) - *The Panic Is On* (1931), as Smith - Investment Broker aka The Spot (uncredited) - *First Aid* (1931), as Jenkins - *Sea Legs* (1930), as Naval Officer - *Railroad Follies* (1930), Actor - *The Happy Hottentots* (1930), as Stage Manager (uncredited) ## Gallery - ![Vintage still photograph of the 1942 film Valley of the Sun, starring Dean Jagger, James Craig, Lucille Ball, Cedric Hardwicke, Billy Gilbert, Tom Tyler, Peter ](https://film.one/media/person/102833/gallery-22f555116dd9.jpg) Vintage still photograph of the 1942 film Valley of the Sun, starring Dean Jagger, James Craig, Lucille Ball, Cedric Hardwicke, Billy Gilbert, Tom Tyler, Peter — N/A studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/%28LtoR%29_Billy_Gilbert%2C_Dean_Jagger%2C_%26_Lucille_Ball_-_Valley_of_the_Sun_%281942%29.jpg/1280px-%28LtoR%29_Billy_Gilbert%2C_Dean_Jagger%2C_%26_Lucille_Ball_-_Valley_of_the_Sun_%281942%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Billy Gilbert](https://film.one/media/person/102833/gallery-091fe5fd1589.jpg) Billy Gilbert — Mercury Artists Corp., New York, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Billy_Gilbert_1954.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Billy Gilbert (1939)](https://film.one/media/person/102833/gallery-76d764838d3b.png) Billy Gilbert (1939) — Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Billy_Gilbert_dans_le_film.png?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Red Skelton as Robin Hood and Billy Gilbert as Friar Tuck in a skit from the television program The Red Skelton Show. (1956)](https://film.one/media/person/102833/gallery-65448e0220f3.jpg) Red Skelton as Robin Hood and Billy Gilbert as Friar Tuck in a skit from the television program The Red Skelton Show. (1956) — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Red_Skelton_Billy_Gilbert_Red_Skelton_Show_1956.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Billy Gilbert](https://film.one/media/person/102833/gallery-2649e840aadc.jpg) Billy Gilbert — Image via TMDB - ![This is the reverse side of the photographic still image containing the actors and actress in the scene from the western comedy film, Valley of the Sun (1942). ](https://film.one/media/person/102833/gallery-1959f524ae63.jpg) This is the reverse side of the photographic still image containing the actors and actress in the scene from the western comedy film, Valley of the Sun (1942). — N/A studio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Reverse_side_of_%22Valley_of_the_Sun%22_%281942%29_photo_with_brief_synopsis_of_scene.jpg/1280px-Reverse_side_of_%22Valley_of_the_Sun%22_%281942%29_photo_with_brief_synopsis_of_scene.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/billy-gilbert