billy

Comedian, writer, songwriter, producer/director, troupe proprietor. Often billed as 'the man in red' during his early career and as 'the man with the silver stick, from 1921, Billy Maloney was a juvenile actor with William Anderson’s Pantomime Company before turning to vaudeville as a comedian in 1913. He appeared frequently on the Tivoli circuit and spent 1920-22 in Brisbane with John N. McCallum's Town Topics (revived by Maloney and Elton Black, 1923-24). He later toured Billy Maloney’s Scandals and was associated with Frank Neil, Joe Lawman, George Wallace, and Graham Mitchell among others. Maloney moved to the UK in 1939, appearing on television, producing revues, and later running a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. Some of his work: "The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe" Billy Maloney, Fred Whaite (composer), John N. McCallum, Town Topics, 1921 musical theatre pantomime fantasy "Too Thin Chow" Billy Maloney, John N. McCallum, Town Topics, 1921 musical theatre burlesque humor Source: www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A108146

When Billy Maloney appeared at a state banquet for the Prince of Wales in Sydney in 1920 the prince presented him with a silver stick. From then Maloney was billed as "the man with a silver stick". He appeared frequently on the Tivoli Circuit and he was especially popular in the Cremorne Theatre in Brisbane in the early 1920s. In association with Lou Handman, a visiting American composer, he wrote the song "Smithy" in 1928 to celebrate Charles Kingsford Smith's Trans-Pacific flight. Maloney's career waned in the 1930s. He went to the United Kingdom, where he appeared on television in 1939 and toured in variety. Then he made his home in Edinburgh, where he produced small reviews. Source: ozvta.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/maloney-billy-r-notes-1...

Some interesting facts: * Maloney married Claire Lloyd Brady in Brisbane on 10 Dec. 1921 (Everyone's 28 Dec. 1921). * His pantomime The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe (1921) featured a group of children. Their popularity led to the formation of Billy Maloney's Panto Kiddies which appeared as an independent act in Brisbane in 1922 and in early 1923 undertook a tour of regional Queensland. * He appears in George Wallace's film His Royal Highness (1932). * Maloney's career was not without its downsides. In late-1927, for example, he put together a Scandals company in Melbourne to tour "smalls" of regional New South Wales for Otto Hunter. The performers were never paid, and while in Coolamon, Hunter was arrested and convicted of passing bad checks. Maloney's attempt to manage the tour himself ended in disaster in Newcastle. * Surprisingly, Maloney has been relegated to "footnote" status in Australian theatre history despite having carved out a high-profile career as a comedian, songwriter, and producer. * Historians coming to the field of Australian popular theatre from the 1970s onwards were subsequently unaware of his achievements and reputation more than forty years previous Source: ozvta.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/maloney-billy-r-notes-1...

It's good to compare this to a photograph of a swagman over at the State Records NSW set here: www.flickr.com/photos/state-records-nsw/2715952698/

See a Tyrrell Today comparison here: www.flickr.com/photos/lifeasdaddy/2740006551/

Hi, this photo has been discussed in one of the threads in the Flickr Commons group, and we'd love to have this added to the group pool!

Here is a good link to a present day swagman...www.electronicswagman.com.au

The same group:

That's a great photo. Seems like there has been a bit of retouching to the swag, billy and trouser legs to make them more defined, but I'd be interested in an expert opinion. Good to compare with "On the wallaby track" from the Tyrrell Collection here: www.flickr.com/photos/powerhouse_museum/2363534490/ ADDED: Oh, I see now through at the persistent URL, that these were glass slides for display at an exhibition, so it is understandable that some features were retouched to give more definition on the big screen. Maybe some of the trees in the background have been blurred in processing too.

Very impressive portrait.

Compare him to this photgraph of Ninely and Nine: www.flickr.com/photos/nationalmediamuseum/3084038737/

BobMeade - the whole photo has been touched up extensively, but the eyes most strikingly of all. In the original only the whites of his eyes are visible and it gives the image a powerful aspect. The State Library have the original, but only digitised in low definition. A sharper version can be seen reproduced on p. 78 of Gaslight Sydney by Louise Johnson (Sydney: George Allen & Unwin, 1984). The State Library further define the location as Walbundry Station.

Thank you pellethepoet.