Billy Sands (January 6, 1911 – August 27, 1984) was an American character actor who appeared as a regular on The Phil Silvers Show (Sgt Bilko) as Pvt. Dino Papparelli and was a regular on McHale's Navy as Harrison "Tinker" Bell. He also made guest-starring roles on many other television series, including Car 54, Where Are You?, All in the Family, Here's Lucy, Happy Days, and The Odd Couple. Sands also appears in one of the opening scenes of Rocky as a booker for the fighters and season 1 episode 22 of Alice.
Billy Sands | |
|---|---|
 Sands at left with Phil Silvers and Paul Ford in The Phil Silvers Show, 1958 | |
| Born | January 6, 1911 Bergen, New York, US |
| Died | August 24, 1984 (aged 73) |
| Resting place | Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery, Culver City, California |
| Occupation | Television actor |
| Spouse | Marsha[citation needed] |
| Children | 2 |
Personal life and death
editBorn William F. Sands in Bergen, New York to Samuel & Henrietta Epstein, he began his professional career in 1946 when he appeared on Broadway with Spencer Tracy in Robert E. Sherwood's Rugged Path.
Sands died of lung cancer at age 73 at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, on August 27, 1984, and was buried at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.[1][2][3][4] He was survived by his wife Marsha, daughter Susan, son Eugene, two sisters and a brother.[5]
Partial filmography
edit- McHale's Navy (1964) - Motor Machinist Mate Harrison Bell
- McHale's Navy Joins the Air Force (1965) - Motor Machinist Mate Harrison Bell
- The Reluctant Astronaut (1967) - Airport Announcer / Man Mopping Floor in Film (uncredited)
- P.J. (1968) - Barber (uncredited)
- The Love God? (1969) - Barber (uncredited)
- How to Frame a Figg (1971) - Bowling Alley Manager
- Another Nice Mess (1972) - Interpreter
- The Harrad Experiment (1973) - Jack
- Rocky (1976) - Club Fight Announcer
- The World's Greatest Lover (1977) - Guard
- High Anxiety (1977) - Customer
- Serial (1980) - Bartender
References
edit- ^ "The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Page 40". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 31 August 1984. p. 40. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "BILLY SANDS". The New York Times. 31 August 1984. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ "Billy Sands, 73, Popular TV Comedy Series Actor". The Los Angeles Times. 30 August 1984. p. B22. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
- ^ Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory. McFarland. May 1, 2001. p. 110. ISBN 978-0786450190.
- ^ "Actor Billy Sands, best known for roles on such..." UPI. 30 August 1984. Archived from the original on 2020-04-12. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
External links
edit- Billy Sands at IMDb
- Billy Sands at the TCM Movie Database
- Billy Sands at AllMovie
- Billy Sands at Find a Grave
- Rotten Tomatoes profile
This article about an American television actor born in the 1910s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |