Billy B. Van

Billy B. Van (born William Webster Van de Grift; August 3, 1870 – November 16, 1950) was an American entertainer who performed in minstrel shows, vaudeville, burlesque, on the New York stage, and in films. Later in life, he became a motivational speaker.

Biography

Early life Billy B. Van was born William Webster Van de Grift on August 3, 1870, in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Van sometimes stated he was born in 1871. His parents were George W. Van de Grift, a railroad engineer, and Henrietta Van de Grift. His grandfather was a dairyman from the Netherlands.

Early entertainer years Van's entertainment career spanned several decades, from about the late 1870s to the late 1920s. His career reflected broader trends in popular American entertainment. He began in minstrel shows, often performing in blackface, and later worked in vaudeville and burlesque. Later in his career, he performed in legitimate stage theater and worked as a producer and actor in silent motion pictures.

According to later accounts, Van's acting career began after his family moved to Philadelphia. In 1879, J. C. Stewart, a well-known manager, advertised for a child actor to appear in a production of H.M.S. Pinafore. Van auditioned successfully, but was cast as Master Willie Van because Stewart thought his full name was too long. Van later changed his acting name to William Van, then Billy Van, and finally to Billy B. Van to avoid confusion with another actor named Billy Van.

At 14, he was playing with a minstrel troupe in Atlantic City called Trocadero, earning a salary of $10 per day. By 20, he was reported to be playing in vaudeville and burlesque productions with a stock company in Washington, D.C..

Being in the theatre likely did not align with his parents' goals. His father got him a job in his teens at the Brill Car Co., where he was reported to have spent his time entertaining the workers. He was unsuccessful in formal education, later saying that he was a "graduate of the school of hard knocks", although much later he was made an honorary member of the Dartmouth College Class of 1906.

Georges Mills, New Hampshire Around 1897, Van moved to the small village of Georges Mills, New Hampshire. The village, which then had a population in the hundreds, is located on a harbor on Lake Sunapee, a large lake in the western part of the state. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis while acting in Boston, and a fellow actor recommended Lake Sunapee. In his quasi-autobiography, Van described himself as poor and living in a barn for months while recuperating.

After returning to the stage, he accumulated enough money to buy property in Georges Mills. This included a large plot of land on Prospect Hill, now 360 Prospect Hill, where he had Frank Holmes, a local contractor, build a large stone house and barns with a silo. On the hill, Van owned a large herd of registered Guernsey cows.

He also established a presence on a large lot right on the harbor, constructing a casino and a playhouse, an indoor and outdoor studio, dressing rooms, and accommodations for 75 people. He named the site Van Casino and referred to Georges Mills as "Van Harbor".

He staged plays in New York during the summer. He brought performers such as Ethel Barrymore, Jeanne Eagels, and Marie Dressler to New York to appear in his theater productions, and acted with many of them during the winter.

In 1915, Van began filming several silent movies as part of the New York company Equity Motion Pictures. Two of these films were Zooloo Nightmare and The Lucky Hoodoo. thumb A "toy projector" clip from one of Billy B. Van's silent comedies

In recent years, efforts have recovered some of his lost silent films. John Tariot, a historian and restorer of silent films, established a website devoted to Van's movie career. He has found The Lucky Hoodoo, Where Are Your Husbands?, and other films.

Van's wife, Grace, appears to have died a few years later. They had three children: Mary Ann Bundgus, who later was a secretary to Arthur Godfrey; Bonnie Grace Harding, who lived in California; and a son, William Van. William died in 1970 and had a small metal grave marker next to his father's stone, but his name is now on the back of his father's headstone. Mary Ann and Bonnie Grace appeared as the Van Sisters in summer stock and with the Shubert organization. The Van Sisters were compared to the Beaumont Sisters from earlier years. At the time of Van's death, he had one grandchild, Peter Van Harding.

Primary sources Helga Ketchen, A Beginning Who's Who of Some Citizens of the Town of Newport, N.H., August 1961 Mary Peterson, A Collection of New Hampshire Stories, Mountaineer Publishing Co., New London, N.H. (1971) Rogers Small, As I Recall It (2003), columns by a reporter for the Argus-Champion in Newport Van, Billy B. Snap Out of It (1933), self-published.