Billy West was a silent film comedian, the best-known and most
successful imitator of Charles Chaplin's "Tramp" character, until West
developed his own comedic persona. Oliver Hardy was West's foil in many of
his silents.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Bill Davis
According the Motion Picture Studio Directory (1919 and 1921), Billy was educated in public schools in Chicago. After performing in vaudeville shows, he moved to Los Angeles, California in his early 20s to pursue a movie career and resided there until his death in 1975. He is buried at Forrest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles.