Billie Ritchie

William Hill, known professionally as Billie Ritchie, was a Scottish comedian who first gained transatlantic fame as a performer for British music hall producer Fred Karno — a full decade before Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin took a similar career path. Ritchie is best recalled today for the silent comedy shorts he made between 1914 and 1920 for producer-director Henry Lehrman's L-KO Motion Picture Company and Fox Film Sunshine Comedy unit.

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