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BillyT James

Tainui
  • Comedian
  • Actor
Billy_T_James_Key_Profile.jpg

Billy T James ranks as a key figure in the development of Kiwi comedy. Billy honed his talents as a singer and comedian on stages worldwide, then brought them to a local TV audience on throwback show Radio Times. His self-titled comedy show was a major ratings hit. His turn as the Tainuia kid in Came a Hot Friday is still fondly remembered — as is Billy T's infectious chuckle, black singlet and yellow towel.

Screenography

Biography

When TV series Funny As was made, tracing the history of New Zealand comedy, Billy T James got namechecked more than most. He was an entertainment icon, beloved by a wide audience for his many television and stage appearances. A gifted impressionist, his affectionate and oft-debated portraits of Māori (and other nationalities) stretched the boundaries of Kiwi comedy. His trademark giggle is embedded in the country's popular culture; nearly half the respondents in a 2009 Listener poll voted him our greatest local comedian.

Awards

1990 Variety Artists Club of New Zealand
Benny Award (supreme award)

1986 GOFTA Listener Film and Television Awards (New Zealand)
Best Performance in a Non-Dramatic Role - Television: for The Billy T James Show
Best Entertainment Programme: The Billy T James Show
Best Male Performance in a Supporting Role - Film: for Came a Hot Friday

“He sang. He danced. He drew. He joked. His live shows never failed to sell out and crowds flocked around him whenever he was out in public. He enjoyed popularity and wealth on a scale that had never been seen before in New Zealand. ”

— Matt Elliott, in his 2009 biography Billy T - The Life and Times of Billy T James

Related images

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The cast of the 1990 sitcom version of The Billy T James Show. From left, Billy T James, Willa O'Neill, Tania Wehi, Ilona Rodgers and (back, middle) Mark Hadlow.
Photo courtesy of TV3
The-James-Gang-Rides-Again-Gallery-2.jpg
On the set of The James Gang Rides Again on Auckland's West Coast. From left: Terere Koopu and Peter Read, George Andrews, Billy T James, Dee Jamieson and sound recordist Dave Hurley.
Kindly supplied by Onfilm.
The-James-Gang-Rides-Again-Gallery-1.jpg
The James Gang (l-r): Jim Mclead, Tina Sinclair, Graham Comber, Edwin Telle, Billy T, John Findlay
© TV3
Came-A-Hot-Friday-Gallery-1.jpg
Billy T James (left) as the Tainuia Kid and Peter Bland as conman Wesley Pennington in Came a Hot Friday.
© Mirage Films
Came-A-Hot-Friday-Gallery-2.jpg
The Tainuia Kid (Billy T James) has the heavyweight Sel Bishop (Marshall Napier), the operator of an illegal casino, inadvertently covered in Came a Hot Friday.
© Mirage Films
Centenary-of-cinema-gallery-2.jpg
A model of Billy T James in Came a Hot Friday, created for Greg Page's short film New Zealand Centenary of Cinema.
Kindly provided by OnFilm
Billy-T-James-Gallery-1.jpg
Ilona Rodgers and Billy T James on the set of the 1990 sitcom version of The Billy T James Show. Rodgers played the Australian wife of Billy's character.
Kindly provided by The Dominion Post