Billy T. James

William James Te Wehi Taitoko and was a household name during his lifetime.

Early life Billy grew up as William James Te Wehi Taitoko, first in the Waikato town of Leamington (now part of Cambridge), then in Whangārei. At high school, he sang and played guitar in a band. Popular for drawing caricatures of his teachers, Billy began an apprenticeship as a signwriter after leaving school.

In his mid 20s, Billy T. was invited to join showband the Māori Volcanics, and was soon performing around the world, echoing the path of entertainers John Rowles and Frankie Stevens. He quickly showed his skills as impressionist, comedian, guitarist and saxophone-player. While living in Australia Billy went solo, dropping his Taitoko surname, and rearranging his birth names to "something the Aussies could pronounce".

Taitoko was of Waikato Tainui descent.

Career Taitoko joined the Maori Volcanics Showband in the 1970s and performed around the world. Prince Tui Teka encouraged him to embark on a solo career which saw him in great demand for his skits and impressions and his cabaret singing. He adopted the stage name Billy T. James because "it was something the Australians could pronounce".

In 1980, he appeared on the variety show Radio Times, the success of which led to his own comedy sketch show in 1981 called The Billy T James Show. The same year he was named New Zealand Entertainer of the Year.

In 1986, James and Chris Slane published Real Hard Case which contained comic-strip interpretations of Taitoko's comedy. Real Hard Case 2 followed in 1987.

During this period, Taitoko name and likeness were used for the company "Billy T's Hangi Takeaways," with locations in Auckland, but the business did not last and closed after several years.

In 1990, Taitoko received the prestigious Benny Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc for a lifetime of excellence in the performing arts. That year, he was also awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

The Billy T James Show Billy T. James' self-titled television show for TVNZ featured sketch comedy and live performances of standup comedy and songs. The show lasted seven series and became a New Zealand institution. Joining Taitoko in the first series were regulars Doug Aston and Laurie Dee. Almost all of the first (1981) and second series (1982) are lost; only one episode from the first two series still exists in the TVNZ archive. The second series saw James introduce his first recurring character Pierre the Painter who would paint pictures while telling a story. The third series, the first to survive in full, saw the introduction of a parody of the Maori news show Te Karere entitled "Te News" in Episode 3, however, this would not appear again until two years later during Series 5. The black singlet and yellow towel James wore in these sketches were to become iconic. After the 1984 series, Doug Aston and Laurie Dee, along with many of the writers, were dropped. The fifth and sixth series (1985 and 1986) were co-written by Peter Rowley and included parodies of Miami Vice, Playschool, a 'Lands For Bags' television commercial, and sketches featuring Rowley as Captain Cook.

Series 1 and 2 most likely ran for 6 half-hour episodes each in 1981 and 1982. Series 3 ran for 7 half-hour episodes in 1983, and Series 4 ran for 6 half-hour episodes in 1984.

Later, Taitoko starred in a second television show, also titled The Billy T James Show. It screened on TV3 in 1990 and was based on a format devised by James and Tom Parkinson. Abandoning the popular sketch comedy format, this show was a family sitcom format and starred James as himself. Co-starring were Ilona Rodgers and Mark Hadlow, with Mark Wright, Tania Wehi, and Willa O'Neill. It ran for one series with only average audience ratings and reviews.

Deteriorating health, transplant and death In 1988, Taitoko suffered a major heart attack and underwent a quadruple bypass operation. The operation was not successful, and in November 1989 he received a heart transplant, one of the first to be performed in New Zealand. He returned to the stage of the Aotea Centre in April 1990 for the variety special Billy T James, Alive and Gigging. Howard Morrison appeared as a special guest.

Taitoko's health deteriorated again shortly afterwards, and he became ill with heart failure in February 1991. He died at Green Lane Hospital in Auckland on 7 August 1991.

Billy is survived by his daughter Cherie James, an actress and presenter of the 1997 documentary A Daughter's Story, about her father.

Legacy, recent biographies and documentaries The Billy T Award was founded in 1997 in honour of James, recognising comedians with outstanding potential. Winners are presented with a yellow towel, Billy's trademark from his "Te News" sketches.

In 2009, nearly 50% of respondents voted him the country's greatest comedian in a New Zealand Listener survey, In March 2011, it was revealed the film was to be titled Billy, and would star Tainui Tukiwaho as James and Morgana O'Reilly as wife Lynn. The film premiered on 21 August 2011 on TV One. Liberties were taken for dramatic purposes, including arguments with co-writer and television partner Peter Rowley and a minor heart attack while filming, neither of which occurred. Both Peter Rowley and James' daughter criticised the inaccuracies of the production in the press.

A documentary entitled Billy T: Te Movie was released theatrically in August 2011. Directed by Ian Mune, it proved popular with both theatre-goers and reviewers, becoming the week's top box office performer on the week of release with $263,000 in sales.

Discography Albums

Year Title Details Peak chartpositions Certifications NZ 1981 Selections Label: Starcall 23 1985 Live at Pips Released: 1 June 1985 Label: Pagan Records 33 1997 The Comic Genius of Billy T James 1 NZ: 4× Platinum 2010 The Entertainer – The Best Of Billy T. James Released: 1 August 2010 Label: Viscount Productions — 2011 Gypsy Girl (A Musical Story As Told By Billy T. James) Released: 25 September 2011 Label: Viscount Productions — 2011 Billy T: Te Soundtrack 7 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.