Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsPrimetime EmmysToronto Int'l Film FestivalFall TV GuideMost Anticipated This MonthSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayTrending peopleCelebrity news
    IMDb LabsHelp centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
    Some content may be auto-translated
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Biography
  • Awards
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Billy Gilbert(1894-1971)

  • Actor
  • Director
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Billy Gilbert
Three Reasons Criterion Trailer for The Great Dictator
Play trailer1:32
The Great Dictator (1940)
13 Videos
75 Photos
The son of singers in the Metropolitan Opera, Billy Gilbert began performing in vaudeville at age 12. He developed a drawn-out, explosive sneezing routine that became his trademark (he was the model for, and voice of, Sneezy in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)). Gilbert's exquisite comic timing made him the perfect foil for such comedians as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, and he was especially memorable as the dim-witted process server Pettibone in His Girl Friday (1940).
BornSeptember 12, 1894
DiedSeptember 23, 1971(77)
BornSeptember 12, 1894
DiedSeptember 23, 1971(77)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 1 win total

Photos75

View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
View Poster
+ 69
View Poster

Known for

Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday (1940)
His Girl Friday
7.8
  • Joe Pettibone
  • 1940
Charles Chaplin and Paulette Goddard in The Great Dictator (1940)
The Great Dictator
8.4
  • Herring
  • 1940
Fun and Fancy Free (1947)
Fun and Fancy Free
6.3
  • Willie the Giant(voice)
  • 1947
Oliver Hardy, John G. Blystone, Patricia Ellis, James Finlayson, Billy Gilbert, Minna Gombell, Stan Laurel, and Hal Roach in Block-Heads (1938)
Block-Heads
7.5
  • Mr. Gilbert
  • 1938

Credits

IMDbPro

Actor



  • Peter Lorre, Red Buttons, Barbara Eden, Fabian, Cedric Hardwicke, Richard Haydn, BarBara Luna, and Chester the Chimp in Five Weeks in a Balloon (1962)
    Five Weeks in a Balloon
    5.7
    • Sultan
    • Auctioneer
    • 1962
  • Paradise Alley (1962)
    Paradise Alley
    6.9
    • Julius Wilson
    • 1962
  • Tex & Judy (1962)
    Tex & Judy
    7.3
    Short
    • Sheriff
    • 1962
  • Red Skelton in The Red Skelton Hour (1951)
    The Red Skelton Hour
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Pirate
    • Friar Tuck
    • Mayor Edgar C. Mathews ...
    • 1956–1961
  • Angela Cartwright, Rusty Hamer, Sherry Jackson, Marjorie Lord, and Danny Thomas in The Danny Thomas Show (1953)
    The Danny Thomas Show
    7.1
    TV Series
    • Mr. Hofsteader
    • Joey Mason's Father
    • 1956–1961
  • Donald May, Dorothy Provine, and Rex Reason in The Roaring 20's (1960)
    The Roaring 20's
    8.0
    TV Series
    • Gus Weber
    • 1961
  • Shirley Temple in Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958)
    Shirley Temple's Storybook
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Gypsy Father
    • Able Baker
    • 1958–1960
  • El coyote (1957)
    El coyote
    5.5
    TV Movie
    • Manuel
    • 1957
  • Producers' Showcase (1954)
    Producers' Showcase
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Giant
    • Mr. Poopledoop
    • 1956
  • William Bendix, Wesley Morgan, Marjorie Reynolds, and Lugene Sanders in The Life of Riley (1953)
    The Life of Riley
    8.0
    TV Series
    • Mr. Bellflower
    • 1956
  • The Butcher, the Baker, the Ice Cream Maker
    5.0
    Short
    • Baker
    • Merchant (voice, uncredited)
    • 1955
  • Andy's Gang (1955)
    Andy's Gang
    8.2
    TV Series
    • The Teacher (voice)
    • 1955–1960
  • My Little Margie (1952)
    My Little Margie
    7.6
    TV Series
    • 1954
  • Gloria DeHaven, Mitzi Gaynor, Jane Greer, William Lundigan, and David Wayne in Down Among the Sheltering Palms (1952)
    Down Among the Sheltering Palms
    5.6
    • King Jilouili
    • 1952
  • Musical Comedy Time (1950)
    Musical Comedy Time
    6.6
    TV Series
    • Don Emilio
    • Col. Kasimer Popoff
    • 1950–1951

Director



  • Keg o' My Heart
    Short
    • Director
    • 1933
  • Billy Bletcher and Billy Gilbert in Rhapsody in Brew (1933)
    Rhapsody in Brew
    6.4
    Short
    • Director
    • 1933

Writer



  • Dixie Dunbar in Once Over Lightly (1938)
    Once Over Lightly
    5.1
    Short
    • screenplay
    • 1938
  • Super Stupid (1934)
    Super Stupid
    5.7
    Short
    • story and adaptation
    • 1934

Videos13

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Clip 1:24
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Clip 1:25
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Clip 1:25
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Clip 1:31
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Clip 0:52
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Clip 1:08
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition
Clip 1:09
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition

Personal details

  • Alternative names
    • Billie Gilbert
  • Height
    • 5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
  • Born
    • September 12, 1894
    • Louisville, Kentucky, USA
  • Died
    • September 23, 1971
    • Hollywood, California, USA(stroke)
  • Spouse
    • Ella McKenzie1937 - September 23, 1971 (his death)
  • Other works
    Unsold pilot: Co-starred with Muriel Grossfeld, a 1956 Olympic gymnastic champion, in the pilot for a western series produced by RKO called "El Coyote", about a female Zorro-like avenger.
  • Publicity listings
    • 6 Articles

Did you know

  • Trivia
    Briefly performed as a female impersonator.
  • Trademark
    His exaggerated sneeze

Contribute to this page

Suggest an edit or add missing content
  • Learn more about contributing
Edit page

More to explore

Recently viewed

You have no recently viewed pages
Get the IMDb app
Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
Follow IMDb on social
Get the IMDb app
For Android and iOS
Get the IMDb app
  • Help
  • Site Index
  • IMDbPro
  • Box Office Mojo
  • License IMDb Data
  • Press Room
  • Advertising
  • Jobs
  • Conditions of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Ads Privacy Choices
IMDb, an Amazon company

© 1990-2026 by IMDb.com, Inc.