Billy T. James, was a much-loved New Zealand entertainer.
William James Te Wehi Taitoko MBE (17 January 1948 – 7 August 1991) better known by his stage name Billy T. James, was a much-loved New Zealand entertainer, comedian, musician and actor. He became a key figure in the development of New Zealand comedy and a household name during his lifetime.
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".
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A cow cocky nearly died of exposure from standing in the middle of his paddock for 18 hours. The man said he was trying to win the Nobel Peace Prize by being out standing in his field.
– Billy T reads Te News
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Head cardiologist Trevor Agnew was nervously telling James the grim news that James would die.
In the midst of the sombre moment, James interrupted him. "Let me tell you a story," James said. And so, he told the joke about the "quack" who asked his patient if he wanted the bad news or the very bad news first.
The bad news is that he only had 24 hours to live; the very bad news was that the doctor was meant to tell the patient yesterday.
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I'm half Maori and half Scots. Half of me wants to go to the pub and get pissed, and the other half doesn't want to pay for it.
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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, eighteen years after his death.
Arria NLG celebrates Billy T James, another talented New Zealander who left us too soon.
Arria NLG is the New Zealand company that is the Global leader in NLG (Natural Language Generation) having Offices and Partners worldwide.
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